gonna disagree with you on this point, my man…facebook, and it’s many groups, offer many, many ways to share stories, ask for advice, and provide step by steps and other pertinent information. Is there some toxicity out there? Sure, there always will be. But the positives found in groups like ‘The Model Maker Union’, and ANY of the various podcasts’ groups, PPP, Plastic Model Mojo, On the Bench, The Model Geeks to name a few, are frequented daily by fantastic modelers always willing to offer words of encouragement or guidance!
I think you guys have a huge feat in front of you to try and bring this place back to the glory of the turn of the century. One BIG step that would let you compete with the social medias would be to upgrade the photo posting. That, folowed by very little engagement are the two main reasons I don’t frequent the forums like I once did…
I’ll bet Lack of engagement is also a result of the site not being phone friendly. I know I often see posts I want to reply to but tell myself that I’ll do it later when I’m at my computer… sometimes I remember sometimes I don’t…
BK, I hear what you are saying and share a lot of your sentiments. Group builds help keep me motivated and enjoy the hobby more. True, it narrows down what I build, but for me, there are more positives than negatives…
Well, in my case life got in the way, so much so, I thought I was going to quit the hobby altogether. I have notice not nearly as much traffic as when I started on this forum, but, I’m not going to let that keep me from being as active as possible. I may even attempt to run a group build later in 2023. Right now, I need to get a kit finished, just for the sake of finally finishing one! lol
Could engaging the kit maker’s owners/mangers/sales reps to come here and chat with us help? I belong to a triathlon forum and sometimes the forum owner brings triathlon related manufacturers to the forum for “ask me anything” sessions. Its fun, builds bridges etc. Not just a youtube interview with pre arranged questions. Get down and personal.
I prefer forums to social media. Facebook doesn’t really have the concept of a thread so its kinda haphazard. I did enjoy the pics before I left though.
I really only use FB for the groups to get ideas. I don’t generally interact as many times you get jumped for saying nice things. My experience is the FB tends to be toxic even when moderators try to keep it civil. I’m just not down with that. I hang out here because I love the people and the climate. It always friendly here. [2cnts]
There have been some good suggestions, some like the “Like” ability shouldn’t be too hard to implement but I totally agree with Justin on image hosting. If FSM could make life easier in this one area people would be more likely to post WIP and maybe even join group builds. I’m guessing many older folk in particular can’t be bothered to mess with finding a trustworthy free image hosting site, figure out how to sign up for it and upload to it, and then link to their uploaded images from here…
I think people tend to follow the path of least resistance with the most positive feedback.
And for the love of God please enable some form of Spell checking! [:D]
In the past I have been very critical of the FSM site and magazine, but putting that aside, the reality is that the forums are what got me back into modelling. I love the cameradrie and support of the GB’s and I have learnt so much from you folks out there. On top of that I have established some great friendships around the world and I often tell my wife and family about my mates in the FSM world. I also love that the forums have none of the bull and politics of most organisations.
I am not a fan of Facebook and use it only as a means of keeping in touch with our family in the UK. I have only been a member for a few years, so I cannot comment on the forums “heyday”, but I love what I’m getting from the forums now. I get great mates from around the world, all the help and advice I need, wonderful cameradrie, encouragement to build models and a wonderful sense of belonging. I also get to see truly marvelous modellers at work.
As for the GB’s in general, I’m not in a position to comment on the past, but I find that there are way too many GB’s going for me to enter them all and when I announced the Go Figure GB, I was completely blown away by the response.
Yes we have lost some good mates, but I also see a lot of comments about people losing their motivation for modelling, which of course happens to us all from time, and life issues have a habit of getting in the way. I don’t think the forums are dead, far from it. Perhaps they are quieter than they used to be, but all things change. It would be interesting to hear from some of the newer members on this subject. Would there be any value in a member survey? For me, I’m a pretty happy little Vegemite.
I prefer to build alone, I dont like GB’s… still haven completed the Midway GB from 2017!!
In fact, I havent completed anything since 2018. I still look in and comment on others builds from time to time but I have lost the spark for building. I keep buying gear but havent sat at my bench for 18months.
I just open my Christmas presents from my Dad with x3 Tamiya 1/32 kits (F4U, Spit and Mustang), maybe that will be sufficent to ignite that passion I once had for the hobby… maybe.
I love the hobby and I love the comradeire here in the forums. I haven’t been active for a couple of years due to injury and surgery. Two rotator cuff surgeries in 2 years rendered my arms and hands pretty useless. During Christmas vacation, I had hoped to do a mad dash to complete a couple of group builds by the end of the year… Nope, flu then compounded by covid. So, maybe more than a few of us have been taken out of action by illness or injury. It sucks…
But, even when I’m sick and incompacitated, it is still fun to lurk from the side lines and see the amazing work being done. If you can’t build yourself, it’s always good to see what other modelers are up to. It’s theraputic and motivating at the same time.
I enjoy the group builds and the interactions between group members as they work through their builds. I’ve signed up for several with every intention of finishing, but then something happens in real life to disrupt it all. Like others have stated earlier, the forums are great, but it is definitely a chore to upload pictures to the site. For some of us less tech savvy folks, this can be a very frustrating show stopper.
There are a few useful FB model groups that I follow. While they may be easier to interact with, there’s just not the depth of discussion there that we find here in the FSM forums. I appreciate everything that the Kalmach family does for the hobby and the venue they provide for us modelers, whatever level of expertise we have, and whatever level of commitment we have to our group builds.
I admire and appreciate all of you guys. Keep being an inspiration and an encouraging voice for each other. I hope that 2023 is a better year for all of us.
Dave: I hope you’re better soon! I’d hate to damage my hands like that, without models or computer games I think I’d go insane.
Damouav: I kinda know how you feel. I kinda solitary myself. I like GBs but I generally have a few things I’m building just on my own at the same time.
Thanks for checking in Dave. I hope you get well and are able to get back to the bench soon. Thanks for checking in. Please keep us updated on your progress!