Revell did not. The company that owned them did. Revell is back under Revell of Germany control.
[quote user=“modelmaker66”]
Not the end of the world,I would miss it and the guys,but like anything else you move on, forums are a dime a dozen now.many of our residents are already spread out over a large variety of forums
some people are very narrow minded and only care about their part of the world and section of hobby etc. I can understand their anger over the loss of the Auto mag and forum but it is true, as others have said. Economics and profit/loss.
I have no animosity towards any type of modelling and I do build Aircraft, Tanks and occasionally ships and I can appreciate a good build from a talented builder no matter the subject matter or scale.
What I don’t appreciate is someone who only builds one type of kit posting “nasty” comments about my build of a totally different type without any understanding of the type and complexity of what I am doing (or attempting to do).
Yes. I will live and let live. If I want to build a Panther tank (in any scale) and paint it pink (think about that for a second!!!) there will be people that like it, people that think it is different and people who will turn dark purple and start screaming.
Ok. I did something that never happened and tried something different for a bit of tongue in cheek fun. There is no need to go and put yourself in orbit. If these Scale Auto guys are like that then fine.
Poke a veteran with a stick then be prepared to see a foxhole dug, sandbags put round and a pair of eyes below a tin hat with a mile long stare. Everybody is welcome and if everyone plays nice then there’s no problem. If you have a problem with a build of mine then fine. Tell me you don’t like it and then leave things alone. Do not pick a fight!
Take of the blinkers… there’s a big world out there!!!
Just a reality. FSMs number of subscribers and circulation is about only 1/3 or less of what it was in its 80s heyday. The internet has arisen, and the magazine industry is dying in general, not just niche hobby publications. I grant there are more European hobby mags, but they are mostly awful cookie cutter clones of each other - 80 pages of press releases with the occasional 37 photo no text article on a hobby project to fill out the pages that weren’t thinly disguised advertising. And in many cases, they’re struggling too.
I have given up on hobby magazines. For several years, I was a member of the American Philatelic Society, mainly so I could subscribe to the American Philatelist magazine. But as my philatelic interests narrowed and I began to specialize in a few collecting areas (airmail and wars of the 20th Century), I rarely found articles of interest to me, certainly not enough to justify the high cost of subscriptions. I tried the digital version of the magazine, but it was mostly just frustrating to read.
Only last year I bought a subscription to FineScale Modeler magazine, but soon realized that relatively few of the its articles pertained to my skill level and interests. I was learning a great deal more just from this discussion board, and have decided not to renew my subscription, understanding, of course, that my dollars help to support the discussion board, which probably will go bust one of these days. If that happens, it certainly won’t be because of my failure to renew my subscription, but because a lot of modelers haven’t renewed theirs, or never bought a subscription in the first place.
Blame for this situation, of course, must be laid at the feet of the internet (assuming the internet has feet). But the internet is just an artifact of civilization, much like agriculture, religion, the printing press, the discovery of microbes and viruses, and the existence of pandemics. Unfortunately, we have to learn to live with what we have, not what we wish we had, what we have lost and wish we hadn’t lost.
Model building will go on, or not, and we modelers will go on, or not. [:|]
Bob
Hmmmmm;
You know that the same vibes exist at model shows too. Don’t you? It seems if you don’t build Planes, Tanks and Warships you are not a modeler. Just a hanger on. It’s funny but not funny. Cars and Ships of a peaceful bent were built long before plastic came along,Yes you had warships too. Otherwise how would the builders sell the ships to the Admiralties.
The same thing in Mags. For some reason those who build Cars, and it’s a minute few Car Modelers, that don’t like what we do here. S’Funny I build all types of plastic, From Trains to R.C. and everything in between including Warhammer( I don’t play the game) and Gundam MaschinenKreiger.
Besides, has anyone ever seen an F-4-J in Candy Apple Red? I have, and a Ryan Navion(that’s an old one) with a Metallic Pearl Fade paint job! I don’t understand the animosity either. It’s all plastic to me. I get Kidded now, in that I prefer to build non combatant ships.
Why? well, there’s so many out there that make a Battleship/P.E. slathered model look like Child’s play. To me they are. Now to build a level five card model, let’s see how you do there. Can you say 1100 parts WITHOUT detailing stuff?
I have had folks tell me Paper Modeling isn’t real modeling. That it’s just childrens play. Now where the subject is concerned is sad. There are NOT a real lot of good Card Model autos. What there aren’t in my interest column. We ALL build Models, No matter what it is, if we are Modelers. Let’s quit cutting the other guy and his Mags down. Else soon we won’t have any mags covering our hobbies.
Magazines do a job.They must do it well. Do you have any idea what it costs to publish any kind of mag? I won’t go there, but advertisers and subscribers are what bring it alive and keep it so. Welcome, Car Modelers, and I think over time you’ll help make Fine Scale Modeling a true all around MODELERS magazine. I am gonna miss SAE , but I can’t change it. I do hope Kalmbach fits it in FSM in a good all around way.
Hey!Mr. Morrison.
Listen Up! If you drift ya better leave me your E-Mail!!
Most of us can build any kit, a kit is a kit afterall, but to make it look like a scale model is a different story. I give props to the car modelers…and ship builders…and the aircraft builders…and the builders of anything outside my comfort zone. Whenever I assemble anything but an AFV, it basically looks like an assembled kit, not a miniature of the subject. (if that makes sense) The paint does turn out right on a car, the weathering is off on a jet, or the kit is just a PITA that I want done and to go away, etc. etc.
I recall hayday ten or 15 years ago when more this forum was popping with activity. I drifted away and back after some toxic keyboard warriors spent more time stroking their egos than discussing builds with helpful critique and tips. Fortunately, those individuals also look to have drifted on as well while I took a long break from all the forums. Unfortunately, so did all those I considered friends back then. This has just taught me that all things pass with time…if FSM ever shuts the forums, some others will crop up in their place. Some may even succeed.
These days, I just look to group builds to motivate my builds, and if I meet some interesting new friends, that is just whipped cream on the sundae.
Perhaps a mixed up group build with the new auto builders would be a nice icebreaker. jets and tanks with an high gloss auto finish, and the street cars in military camo. Challenge everyone’s notions of what is right!
I slammed out the Meng toons Tiger and Panther for the Silly Egg GB last year. Tiger was painted orange and white with black stripes ( got to have stripes on a Tiger), and the Panther was done in pink with a really lousy hand done cat.
Pics are up in the GB if you want a chuckle.
As a Scale Auto user more than FSM I think that the ‘Auto’ side of FSM will be well watered down.
Also as a magazine subscriber should I continue to get FSM instead of Scale Auto as my sub goes to December 2021 or ask for a refund incase FSM disappears as well!
Wow, I didn’t realize the animosity between builders could be so strong. I just like to build-- aircraft, armor, cars, figures, stick and tissue, metal earth- so looking forward to more articles and interactions related to auto modeling.
It’s probably more common than you think, though I wouldn’t say it’s an animosity, a hostility. More like a tribalism-“We’re armor modelers/car modelers/airplane modelers/ship modelers”, etc, etc, “and every other subject but ours sucks.”
Among the guys who belong to clubs, I bet there are many who have seen this in action. There are the Armor Guys, the Car Guys, the Plane Guys, the Ship Guys, and they all think the Figure Guys don’t really belong.
The one club I belong was that way back in the 90s, till we got a president who worked to bring everyone together as modelers first, and subject modelers second.
For me, I’ve always believed that while I have my favorite subjects, I can look at any model and appreciate the skill and the techniques of the modeler.
It’s even more important today not to have the tribal way of looking at things, as we see the guys who model the subjects we like ageing and dying off, and younger people entering the hobby in subjects few ever considered even a couple of years ago-the fantasy and sci-fi modelers and painters. If we want the clubs and the shows and the hobby to continue, we have to look beyond our narrow horizons and encourge people as modelers, not subject modelers.
I was a subscriber to Military Modeler for many years & heavilly participated in its on-line forum once retired. The mag & forum collapsed when the publisher was absorbed by another entity. That forum was open & well managed by real modelers who respected the craft & all types of modeling were accepted & supported. The paticipants were very well behaved & many friendships blossomed to the point when the forum folded, most went to the same hobbyshop supported forum. That forum grew to the point where the hobbyshop couldn’t support it w/o upgrading its’ software, so the members were asked if they would support an add free membership with a $10/yr subscription alongside a free membership w/adds. The bonds between members were quite strong and many accepted. We’re still going strong after two years. I did belong here some years ago but found it pretty sterile so I moved on. There were no members who worked in my scale & the mag didn’t seem to support it either. I recently came back & found it improved. I hope the car guys will come over because I’d hate to see them lose the comraderie they enjoyed previously in their own forum. Ramblings over first cuppa. PaulE
Well, maybe to help the auto guys feel welcome here we could do some car models. I am supposed to be working on a Charger for the Secret Santa GB so that would be an obvious start for me.
Like the Hiryu aircraft carrier I am restarting, I have NO experience bulding muscle cars. But I do know I will learn a thing or two from the build.
I also have to get back on my stalled build of the Tyrrell P34. It’s been sitting idle for 5 years! Sadly, that is not anywhere near the worst of my offences. [:$]
When I started the P34, I didn’t know anything about F-1 cars. But I learned a great deal about their inner workings as well as their history while falling down the rabbit hole. I have to admit the journey has been enjoyable so far, despite the bumps and bruises.
What scale is your P34? I am working on a 1/12 scale P34 and it is a major PITA to build. It was originally sold in the mid 1970’s and almost all of the 600 parts need to have their mold lines sanded off.
JohnnyK, it’s the 1/20 kit. I also have the 1/12 version, and believe me, the bigger brother kit is better than the smaller one! The 1/20 kit was one of Tamiya’s earliest F-1 kits, and it shows. There are lots of ejector pin marks and mold lines, and the molds are deteriorating in places.
Hmmm, I’d better have a closer look at my 1/12 kit. I bought a recently reissued one with fresh decals with the sashes in the correct neon yellow. The only thing that jumped out at me was the “C” shaped snap fittings on the suspension parts. Can you post photos of your build?
Ooh, we’re talkng car models now! [:D]
I’ll start a WIP of my 1/12 P34. The “C” shaped snap fittings are okay. I only broke one. The front brake cooling ducts in the kit are made from springs??? They are really stiff which makes it not possible to “steer” the front wheels. The engine is really nicely done. When finished it looks really nice. The kit is designed so that all of the body panels are removable. I hate that idea because everytime you touch the model it falls apart. As I recall, there are over 600 parts and almost each part needs to be individually painted. There are not too many visible ejector pin marks, but a lot of mold lines.
As a contributor to Scale Auto, I think FSM should continue running as is. These are two completely different mags and genres, not mentioning tastes. Would I contribute something to FSM if asked? Sure I would but I would rather not do so no matter how much they try to integrate both mags. I feel sad to see SA go but I also understand that life goes on. I am not a FSM subscriber, nor do I like armor, planes or whatever else they offer but I am a fan of modelling. There is always something we learn from each other. It will be interesting to see what will happen from here on but at the end of the day, I am here to help and not to complain, even less hate…
I have to admit I don’t build model autos, or tanks, or space crabs 
And the demise of SAM doesn’t really bother me. BUT … I’m not sure how trying to bring in SAM subscribers will solve the problem of the demise of SAM or any other specialized genre magazine. To me there are really two issues: sustainability specilized magazines and the related forums.
As for specilized magazines, I’ve seen this before in fly tying. Years ago I subscribed to Fly Tying Quarterly and Fly Tyer, both specialized magazines. FFQ shut down and FT eventually combined with Fly Fishing Magazine. After a bit I eventually dropped the combined mag FT&FFM because it contained one, maybe two articles on fly tying. I wasn’t interested in gear reviews or designation spots or the 70% adverts for ff gear. I’m sure the lack of sufficient subscriptions, a drop in advertizers and the rise of the internet played big in shutting FFQ and FT down.
I’ve been debating subscribing to FSM and wondering if I really will get that much out of it. I recently ordered Building and Detailing Aircraft from Kalmbach only to get an acknowledgement with a back order date of 11/6/2020. Really? 3 months backordered? I can see the writing on the wall and that makes me doubly hesitant to subscribe.
For the forums, I don’t see a problem with combining SAM with FSM on this site. It’s easy to have the sub-forums for each specializtion. I visit the aircraft, subs, ships, techniques and the general discusions, etc. Easy enough to find what interests me most. While I don’t have any particular hankering to build autos or armor, I do appreciate and respect those who do. And I learn from those that post about their builds. I’ve joined several modeling groups on Facebook but really spend most of my time only on one, IPMS/USA. There is a wide variety of kit builds and those I don’t fancy, I skip by. No problem.
Just my $0.02,
Tim
I’m sorry to hear this is happening. It’s a shame that we’re at such an amazing time for scale modeling in all the genres and yet fewer people are even interested. Personally, it’s fine with me if FSM broadens its range. It is called Fine Scale Modeler, not Armor R Us, after all. I enjoy seeing what some people are able to do in other genres. I’ve even been considering building a scale car and testing my skills in that arena. Besides, if the interest pool is shrinking, and it seems it certainly is, then consolidation is better than losing everything. Barrett