What happened to scale modeling on the internet?

[joelwideqvist]

I started modeling in 2001 and pretty soon found out that there was no modeling club in my home town. There had been one but it had to close due to lack of interest.

I found some discussion groups on the internet, then found AF and SPC forums. There were a steady flow with threads, discussions and comments Had to cut down on modeling in 2008 and when I returned a year ago or so I found something had changed. The tempo in mentioned forums had turned from high to pretty low (just have a look at 360spiders frustration regardning the interest in the AFMOTY) and now I'm trying to analyze what happened.

Have people moved on elsewhere or just turned away from showing their work on the net? If that is the case, why?

Toy store in town that sells model kit sais that there is absolutely no regrowth into the hobby. Kids just want videogames. But I guess we are a lot of middle aged people that still do modeling and HAS been on the Internet sharing our work and making contact with fellow modelers. Was it just the charm of novelty when Internet boomed? Personaly I don't think so. Is it just life that came between, as for me back in -08?

For me, that have almost none in my friend base that do modeling, internet forums has been a great well to find knowledge. Please share your thoughts and input on the subject.

/Joel

[mike@af]

The rise of Facebook and Instagram took a lot of attention away from forums. Many people share there work on Facebook groups, or even their own Facebook profiles. There are Facebook groups for SPC, and many other modeling groups that have a lot of attention and posting going on.

[lovegt40]

modelling clubs very often followed the presence of modelling shops. They disappear and clubs usually too. then was forums. some (like this one) are still very nice. many are crap, but you can always choose.

FB is a great choiche to see other people works,also I did a sort of fanpage about my artworks (mostly a guy I know did it for me..) but sometimes is disappointing cause too many models and dioramas look amazingly nicer than everything seen before, and you cant know is handmade, 3dmade or photoshop made.
Check at some ships diorama....amazing.

What surely is better today is the access to informations and the possibility to have it quickly and at price shops can never have.

About afmoty I suspect is just a lazyness and no interest in being competitive vs. others. I am the same way, but anyway want to be part of it, at least to be thanksful for the effort of some unknown guys around the world to organize something here, as I did with Phil for the porsche 911 gallery tribute. I know I cant match SB,puffrys,chris,alex, micahil, roman and too many others,but anyway want to be WITH theme, always trying to learn something....

[sjelic]

Hi Joel,
I would say that time bring changes, as always. I am also sad when I see only few new threads every now and then, but I am also guilty for not putting anything on, even thou I am still doing some models, not as much as before but few a year.
I can only talk for myself and I can tell you that I hate to take photos and I really hate to upload pictures in this form of communication, I know this is wrong and I am sorry that it is like that.
Like the internet evolves, we all try to follow, this is why I use tumblr or instagram or pintrest for sharing photos, to use a phone camera is much easier for me and to upload and write few words....much much easier.
I know I lost a lot of nice contacts I have had in past and this is the thing that bothers me the most.
Still, I always look at AF, I write almost nothing now days, but still I love to take a look from time to time.

[joelwideqvist]

My wife let me know the other day that she couldn't understand my thrill regarding the modeling forums. Why can't you just build for yourself but have to show others, not only completed builds but even WIP she asked. I did some thinking and I came to the conclusion that I, like most humans, am a social creature that want to talk to others regarding common interests. Isn't that why people attend gym class, watch soccer together or share baking recepies?

I have no relation to any model builders at work or in my closer range of friends. Without forums that would leave me sitting in my room alone, building stuff for the sole purpose of building, wich I find rather dull. I don't have to compete with others but comparing makes me evolve and pick up techniques from others.

Interesting to read your posts and I agree to your conclusion that everything changes over time and perhaps the time of forums as I used to know them has run out. My thoughts on the use of Facebook, Instagram and other similar tools to show your work makes the essence of modeling go away. The slow, mindful process of building these gems gets lost in the flow of everyday life. Everything moves faster and faster wich is probably the sole reason to why there is no regrowth.

I don't want to be the party pooper but there is something in that constant hunt for progress and a faster life that makes me sad.

[BVC500]

Good post. I've noticed this forum to be much quieter, though I check it every day. I can say the same for the eBay modeling market - dried up, but that could be for other reasons. I just don't finish models anymore - don't have the time, and I have never posted WIPs! I'll prep, paint and polish a body, do a few other things, and then it just sits for years. I will tell you that a big factor that stalled my building in the past couple years and gave me a lot of frustration: switching to 2k clear. Just learning how to use and then polish that damn(!) paint out set me back forever.

[JTRACING]

Lots of people are on YouTube now making videos.

The only good forum left for automotive models is model cars magazine http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/

[stevenoble]

I came back to the bench recently and posted my Sauber C31 first and now my Lotus 102b on the forum. Interest is minimal, I've made more update posts than I've had replies. It's a sad fact but no one seems interested any more. Just like you said, no interest in AFMOTY contest either

[joelwideqvist]

Good thing about forums is that it's easier for people to find that spot than for each and everyone to find every youtube channel or interesting builder on FB.

I find this evolution to be pretty sad but to do about it. For me, who almost exclusively build bikes the genre is so narrow that I should probably move to Japan :-)

[KC27]

I guess less people posting is simply down to less people building. When you're building you want to share and therefore also want to see and encourage what everyone else is doing and learn on the way. And I think less people building is down to less availability of what they want to build. Bit of chicken and egg.

Auto modelling is just much more niche than when I was building as a kid 20 years ago. When you could go to an actual store and browse and maybe pick up something interesting 'passive shopping' rather than now with no stores you only get kits from online by actively searching.

Anecdotal things like:
Modelzone closing;
Tamiya releasing very few new scale model auto kits - tends to be more R/C stuff or completed items;
The brands coming in to fill the void (such as MFH) tend to be right at the very top of the market. The products are for a niche of clients who have the enthusiasm and cash to make it viable.

It is moving away from cheap and easy (so you can learn, make mistakes not too costly, etc) to only at the high end for really committed builders. I super detailed a Tamiya 1/12 Williams FW14B last year and all up kit, detail parts, 3D printing, paints, display case, etc went to several hundred £. At least I saved it back by staying out of the pub!

I am hopeful that 3D printing in the home will give the sector a new injection of life in the next few years by making it cheaper and therefore more accessible. When people can pick what they want in any scale and have the parts printed or reprinted if they make a mistake.

KC

[ScratchBuilt]

I agree with KC's comment about the connection between less people building and the availability of interesting things to build. Although I don't build kits, for me it's a similar situation with gaming - until there's something on the new-generation consoles that really makes an impression, I'll be sticking with my old Xbox 360. Back in '96 it was an advert for the F1 game that made the original PSX a must-buy...but nowadays there just doesn't seem to be that 'killer-app'.

I can imagine younger potential-modellers losing interest through not being able to build the cars / bikes / planes / tanks that really appeal to them - especially as it doesn't seem to be the 'cheap' hobby it once was. Are kids today as interested in WW2 tanks and aeroplanes, etc, as most of us probably were at the same age? Look at how Lego has changed - 35 years ago it was all relatively basic bricks and plates, but now you've got intricate details and things like the UCS Millennium Falcon with several thousand parts...but a 1:72 Airfix Spitfire model from 1980 is still (I assume?) much the same as the equivalent 2015 version.

Regarding the forum, although I try to post an update every week it just depends on whether I feel there's progress worth showing. With long-term projects it's good to know that people are interested, and it's nice to have the encouragement that comes from the replies. I'm guilty of not posting on other threads as much as I should - if I'm honest, it's because so many of the projects I see are so good, that it's difficult to know what to say! Of course, that's the same support others on this forum show me - so I should return the compliment.

...the problem is, time spent posting is time not spent modelling!

SB

[joelwideqvist]

VERY interesting input from both KC and SB. I've seen the development in the bike genre but not really reflected upon it. The move from a solid range of Tamiya bikes with a pretty decent stock of aftermarket decal sheets to a situation with superdetail sets several 100 $, metal fork sets and lathe made parts in every other build. You put your finger on something there, it's not an easily accessible hobby anymore. As a new builder it isn't enough to put some Bare metal foil on the fork sliders. The paradox is perhaps that with every superdetailed bike WIP the crowd to show it to is getting smaller and smaller. Like the snake eating its own tail.

[joelwideqvist]

VERY interesting input from both KC and SB. I've seen the development in the bike genre but not really reflected upon it. The move from a solid range of Tamiya bikes with a pretty decent stock of aftermarket decal sheets to a situation with superdetail sets several 100 $, metal fork sets and lathe made parts in every other build. You put your finger on something there, it's not an easily accessible hobby anymore. As a new builder it isn't enough to put some Bare metal foil on the fork sliders. The paradox is perhaps that with every superdetailed bike WIP the crowd to show it to is getting smaller and smaller. Will it be as fun to build a super detailed bike with parts for 300 $ when you are the sole person to view it (as your spouse isn't interested ;-) ) Like the snake eating its own tail.

[Kaj45rpm]

I think that the standard of modelling on this web forum is top drawer but I have also seen people criticise inaccurate builds and parts of models. There are a few wannabee experts who nitpick on details. People should be encouraged and helped to improve their skills and techniques. Modelling can be very enjoyable and rewarding but it is also very expensive now. Decal sheets can cost more than the cost of a kit! There are no high street model shops now and everything has to be ordered on the internet. Postage and custom charges add to the expense. When you add in paint etc, the cost climbs and climbs. Also, the major manufacturers don't release enough new models. When was the last Tamiya rally car model - Peugeot 307 in 2006? Hard to believe.

[cjsbosox]

Interesting subject. As I think about it, the points being made are very valid. I for my part got into the whole WIP thing until my camera broke. Add the fact that uploading takes time and how easy it is to use my iphone, I stopped. Another big factor for me, especially with online contests, is that the photos can enhance or detract from the work performed. Our work is better enjoyed and appreciated in person.

Another obvious issue is the cost. Thankfully i have been building for a while and have a stash of paint etc. But to build the way I want to build, I end up spending enough money that after 2 kits I can buy a plane ticket to the caribbean. Thankfully I met Mr Apoxie Sculpt and can make body mods now. And so I avoid some of those very tempting aftermarket kits. And don't get me started on wheels and decals. Im hoping that my new job at a prototyping, 3d printing and casting company will help with this

It seems to me that todays generation here in the US just does not have the patience and focus to build either.

Til we build again---
Ciao