Is interest waning these days?

[Hector Bell]

It seems to me that the forum is a lot less active than it used to be three years or so ago when I first joined it.
Several names no longer appear, fewer posts when I click on "recent unread posts".
Much the same is evident on a couple of other forums I read.

Is this indicative of a lessening of model making activity?  Or perhaps people are tiring of forums and they are not being replaced.  Maybe it's cyclical.

Any views?

Martin

[W C Greene]

Martin, it could be any number of things but the fellows I know are more interested now than ever. I am fortunate to be "associated" with an On30 modular group here in Dallas, and there are many "lone wolves" who sometimes get together for some train jabber. I would like to think that the reason there are fewer posts, etc. is because more work is being done instead of sitting at the computer. One site that I watch has guys with 16 to 20 THOUSAND posts! I have looked back at some of their posts and I can't find any modeling being done. What is funny is that several of these guys take great delight in telling others how to do things and how fine their work is...but still no photos. I probably spend an inordinate amount of time on the net, but I like the communication with guys from other states and countries and I do post photos of my stuff. What I have found lately is that on one site in particular, whenever a new guy wants or needs some help and I know how to describe "how to do it", there are some "young turks" (25 to 40 years old) who ALWAYS know better than I do and make a special effort to tell the new guy and me so. Maybe that kind of attitude is running some off, I just don't know. I love to hear the voice of experience but that may be an obsolete attitude nowadays. Several guys have told me to just quit lurking on these sites, but I have to "stir the pot" and because of that, the Texas Outlaws On30 group has named me the official troublemaker. Things may pick up, the days are getting short and those cold winter nights may warm the modeling and posting juices, I would like to believe so.
Maybe someone else will chime in with their opinion, this is a viable discussion and I will keep watching.
                                    Woodie

[eTraxx]

Martin. For me it's simply that I do a lot of watching and listening here while I post modeling on other forums .. while .. working toward building my skills and modeling so SOMEDAY I can feel comfortable in displaying my small efforts in the light cast by these giants of modeling that post here.

... I had no idea that people could cast light! Ha.

[marc_reusser]

I have had to cut back on my forum posting due to workload, and in order to get more modeling time in......and the items that I am building tend to be of little interest to most....so I have not found it worthwhile to take the time to do any SBS's (which also take away from modeling time).


Marc

[darrylhuffman]

As the moderator of several groups beginning with OneGroup, which was sold to EGroups, which became part of Yahoo groups, I saw a steady pattern with each new group.

A lot of initial activity which then steadily dropped until it was just a few of the regulars.

So I am not surprised to see the same happening here.

Personally, there is so much to see online these days that I find less and less time to actually build anything.

Old age and longer naps doesn't help either.

[JohnP]

I check this forum every day and that is about it. I have learned a lot from this small group of active posters in the short time I have been here. Plus, my thread on resin casting was well received and gave me hope my efforts are not lost to the modeling world.

Remember, it's quality we are after not quantity. We explore new techniques and not just the latest trends.

Marc, what have we missed by you holding back projects?

John (just got up from after supper nap)

[marc_reusser]

Not much........green thing....



...armor models, and painting/weathering on some older "in progress builds".

...plus I may never get them finished anyway! 


M

[Ray Dunakin]

That "green thing" looks pretty cool.

[chester]

Maybe I'm visiting the wrong sites but I think that in comparison to others that I frequent, the activity here is quite vibrant. And it goes without saying that the modeling is of the highest quality. And with regard to my own personal contributions frankly, if I thought most of what I model was of interest to this group, I would share more.

[78ths]

I think it is great that this forum is here. There is a very high level of skilled members here and a wide variety of models being showcased and built. I am relatively new here although not new to the hobby. I belong to many forums and have built and run 4 forums. As with all things there are quiet times and really busy times. One of the interesting things about hobbies is all too often life gets in the way and eats up our valuable hobby time, I know when life is really busy and the kids (mine are 6 and 9) take up my time there are days when all I want to do is build and be in the workshop and not post or take photos etc...

Personally I think forums are growing in popularity now more than ever. In the late 90' s and up to 2002  yahoo groups was my life line to my hobby then I thought it in-adequate and hunted to find php scripts to replace the former with a better medium, I found smf the very script that this community is built around and have used it since (in my 6th year). I have made great friends that I look forward to connecting with at national and local shows, and have learn't more than I could ever describe from fellow modelers. To me forums are the very essence of the internet, people connecting globaly without barriers helping and inspiring each other.

To answer the question "

Is interest waning these days?

" I would say definately no. Just traffic and posts go up and down with seasons, life's obstacles and other distractions from our hobbies and thus posts. The solution is simple if you feel it is slow, share what you are working on, I know I often hold back thinking "I can't post that who would care or be interested in that!"
Just my ramblings, sorry if it was on the long winded side. 
Will now head off into the workshop to fire up the laser and work on the project.

[RoughboyModelworks]

Absolutely not and Ferd and others are right concerning the pressures and time demands of modern day life. As Young Richard is fond of saying "Life has a way of interfering with art."

The best features of this forum include the calibre of work posted here, the dedication of the people who post, the willingness to share both successes and failures so that we all can benefit from the learning experience, the constructive criticism, and the fact that not everyone takes themselves too seriously. Newcomers are always welcomed and encouraged and will stay, as long as they can take the occasional dose of constructive heat. Every forum has more lurkers than contributors, punters and tire-kickers if you will. This forum is no exception. Some of the lurkers contribute the occasional ataboy, others will nitpick but unfortunately we never see examples of their work posted so it's very difficult to respect their opinions. It's this way in every field of endeavor however, the benefits of essentially immediate direct communication with other authorities and like-minded individuals far out-weighs the negative aspects of forum participation.

Paul

[Ray Dunakin]

This forum is actually a good deal more active than some of the other forums I frequent. And I find that I get much more out of the posts here, in large part due to the high calibre of work displayed.

[finescalerr]

This forum tends to have a lot of lurkers and a few contributors. The contributors are among the most talented and intelligent on the planet and, compared to a few years ago, I think I am reading MORE, not less good stuff. It may be more posts from only a couple of dozen people but, as others have said, the quality here matters much more than the quantity. Besides, this place can be intimidating to an insecure modeler and sometimes those guys, however talented, need to work up the courage to join us. (And all of them need to develop a sense of humor!)

The hobby in general, though, is in terrible shape in comparison to twenty years ago. In the past eight years the U.S. has lost more than half its hobby shops. Magazine page counts and advertising are down. Circulations are smaller. Product sales are down across the board except for a few mom and pop outfits whose fluctuations rarely mirror the industry as a whole. The hardest hit areas of the hobby are large scale and narrow gauge. The Great Recession acted as a sieve to remove the borderline hobbyist and what remains are dedicated hobbyists and the occasional new or returning guy. Even the hardcore guys have less time for modeling today than they did some years ago. Modeling in general is down but the overall quality of what remains is up.

As a businessman I hate what is going on and I know that only a wholesale change in the values and culture of the Western world will reverse things. Otherwise we can expect to watch our numbers decrease by about 10-percent each year.

As a hobbyist I couldn't care less. The cream remains. The better modelers need one another far more than they need big manufacturers and a few dozen of us could continue modeling indefinitely at a very high level of quality simply by helping one another. Computers and the Internet have all but eradicated borders, oceans, even language differences. Substance trumps form. The top tier modeling community now is international in scope and all of us have genuine friends and colleagues in other countries we've never met face to face.

Despite the cancer eating away at my own business and the decay of the hobby industry in general, we are living in the Golden Age of modeling.

Russ

[jacq01]

  I agree with Russ..
  an input is however needed for lurkers, discussions, scrutinizing, learning, etc,etc.  some time away from the fora is needed.

  Presently all my time is taken up with preparing the last bits of an project which started  some two and a half year ago.
  The first presentation of the sawmill diorama will be in Warley in 4 weeks time. There are already plenty of invitations and following the usual feedback,
  rework and adding the scenes that could not be finished will take up some modeling time. The development history of this diorama has been followed with a lot of interest, seen the amount of visits

  I am also preparing good quality photo's based on Russ's tips.  It will also be time to reveal the idea's for my next project.....most probably 1:35 narrow gauge.

  One possible point to consider when thinking about the title of the topic is the amount and tone of an increasing amount of praise replies. They are becoming more and more like replies read on other fora. 

I admit I am missing the critical discussions. In so far Martin is correct, that more opinions are written nowadays than good discussions on active modeling/material published.

Jacq


 

[JohnP]

As a businessman I hate what is going on and I know that only a wholesale change in the values and culture of the Western world will reverse things.

Russ

Jeeze Russ that's harsh...but I totally agree. Spouse and I were driving around today, there is this one old farm I particularly care for (photo below), makes me sad to see it. I can imagine the skill of the farmer to fix or grow anything, the connections he had the local community, the few demands he placed on his government. There are numerous places like that around here. Is there a point where progress just isn't in reality? That could be where we are with hand skills in the US. Since we somehow let local manufacturing slip away there is less need for physical world intelligence (plus it is a big part of the Great Recession). Electronic devices rule now. Which may be an explanation for the lack of young people modeling. The other thing is that model manufacturers and most press put such a high standard on what is acceptable that it is difficult to buy into a modeling hobby, especially trains. A shake-the-box Athearn kit is no longer there to start a modeler on a search for better skills and techniques.

Meanwhile, I have been busy casting bridge parts. I have had exciting interest in my bridge and I hope it will continue. There are modelers out there who appreciate quality.  Just fewer of us.  But maybe this is evolution at work?

John
PS Russ, when I get all this resin off me I still want to create an article on the little Phoenix bridge.