DISCUSS:how to make better WIP thread

[dag65]

Originally Posted by auw12

hello guys~in the last days of 2006 i did a look-over of my threads posted in 2006,i found i made crapy WIP threads.reasonless arranging of pics,lacking introducing,important steps,bad and unsized pics and so on.i always appreciate wonderful WIP threads like what MPWR,robi,gio,hiroboy and some other masters in AF does.and also stuned by very creative and impressive WIP thread like klutzie's 36H challenge or Mr.Ping&Pong's 15,000 miles double thread(that's my thread of the year ) but there're also some very cool works without a decent WIP thread...i think WIP thread is the most important part for people to study and share,so i'd love to hear from you guys about this topic.what do you think are the factors of a decent,helpful WIP thread.what pics are necessary,what steps should be described detailed and what should be done compendiary?what kind of introductions are helpful etc.thank you very much guys!

Personally I don't even bother to read text like this. Capital letters at the beginning of a sentence and punctuation at the end make a huge difference.

[gionc]

Originally Posted by dag65

Personally I don't even bother to read text like this. Capital letters at the beginning of a sentence and punctuation at the end make a huge difference.

Try to do it in Chinese
BTW you're right

[mike@af]

I agree with a lot of what's been said here. For me, I love threads showing the phases of how something was built. Not only does it give me ideas for building, but it motivates me. Andy, Rob, Stevenski, and Gio are perfect examples of this. I love how Andy will post a part, and then come back and repost with pictures showing each step for maching a part. His air cleaner on his Lotus S3 is a prime example, which can be viewed here.

I know how you say its a lot of work to set up for taking photos. I understand how that is. I have to take shots on a solid back drop for them to be acceptable for the magazine editor. I too have to clean off my bench, set up the backdrop, lighting, take the pictures, and then preview before I move on.

However, for work in progress pictures showing the build of a part can be taken on your bench, just move some of the clutter around it. Then the final part can be photographed with your backdrop and perfect lighting. Thats what I do when I am demonstrating how a part was machined on the lathe or mill.

For me, I try to take as many pictures as I possibly can and then I archive them for reference, tutorials, or use them to answer questions. I wont post all of them. I do post them all on my Fotki, and soon my website.

Just my $.02

[Martin S]

First of all, the forum is not really made for making progress threads. It's a hassle. Uploading pics somewhere and linking them into each post etc. People change their picture accounts and old, but really interesting threads you want to read tends to die with the picture links...

I would also like to be able to see if a thread with 14 new posts has actually been updated by the builder, or if it's just 14 posts saying "awesome"..

In a perfect world It should be more like a project page with possibilities for people to make comments.
But the good thing is the amount of activity. Theres plenty to see here every day.

I think one important thing is to select a few good pictures to post.
I try to think: What do I want to show with this pic?
Seeing 5 almost identical pictures with just slight difference in angle wich is not so interesting.

And as someone said, a standard curbside build maybe doesn't need to be wery detailed if there isn't a special detail or technique that could be interesting.

[924_CarreraGTS]

I agree with most of what has been said here. However, I find it difficult sometimes because I simply don't have TIME. The problem is that my only decent Internet connection is at my dad's auto repair shop. This is on our property; however, when I am there, he expects me to be working, not using the computer. So, I rarely get a chance to do updates.

As a result, my threads get buried and become hard to find (without search features), and my updates are huge. For example, I have started an AMT 1969 Firebird, to which I have done massive amounts of fabrication work (in an attempt to make the model somewhat realistic ). I currently have 67 pictures of this model and have not yet posted! Such huge updates are undoubtedly overwhelming, scaring people from reading my thread if they only have a few minutes to look at it.

Of course, this is sort of a personal problem. But this is often the cause for insufficient textual details in my case. I am actually doing these posts from school, because I can do that. However, I cannot access Photobucket from school (it is a blocked site), and thus cannot make updates to my threads. Additionally, I can only view a few threads of other people, because in most threads, the pictures are all blocked...

Just my problems--but perhaps similar to other people's.

[tigeraid]

Well, to be honest, there is a lot of COMPLETED threads where there's nothing TO say except "awesome." I try to throw in specific comments about what I like or don't personally like (paint job, wheels) and if there's something that could use improvement, I then offer a critique. I expect the same in my threads.

I do agree that proper punctuation and capitals at the beginning of sentences really does make it a lot easier for me to read; but I also understand that there's lots of AFers who don't speak English as a first language, so I keep my mouth shut on such things. They're doing the best they can.

[theOmni]

(sorry if someone has said this already, I'm in a rush)
One suggestion I'd like to make is that people should post updates of their cars right on the first post. For example, people should make their first post and later on when they made some progress they'd like to show, they should edit the first post, add a break and the date right after what was last written in that post and then add the changes with pictures listed.

The way people do it right now is really messy and unorganized. After a few weeks or so when modelers post their next update, there has already been about a page or two of comments between the update being posted and the update made earlier, which destroys the continuity. This also makes it a burden for those just looking at old WIPs because they have to find the next update etc.

Just a thought. I really think this is worth it.

[quadzero]

Coming up with a wip that is both informative and interesting is something I still try to work on and develop. Descriptions are important as well as bright clear in focus pictures but I understand not all of us are as handy with a camera as an x-acto knife so that's ok with me. I dont feel having 37 pics of the exhaust from different angles is of interest to anyone. There are some very great wip's here and they are the ones where they take you from a box of sprue on an evolutionary trip to something that can be proudly displayed by the builder. It really doesnt have to be complicated and these builders dont even have to be great modellers. But when I open a wip for the first time and see an unpainted, untouched body sitting on 4 tires from 7 different exciting angles, I move on. Also, I dont understand why people smear some putty on a body, and take a picture of that, usually again from 7 different sensual angles. I mean, really who cares about that? How about showing how the putty is sanded and what grit was used for the people that are just starting to learn how to use putty. I also love the wip where a person installs the steering wheel and takes a picture of that. I feel most modellers here are smarter then they let on and the builder should recognise this and provide a wip that doesnt insult their intelligence, but providing a clear and constructive update on their project and it doesnt have to be only about things that most of us cant do. (making PE parts and casting and lathe work, for example) It can still be all about simple clean techniques to keep people coming back. I really enjoy a nice wip even if I dont learn a thing, as long as the builder is aware of people reading his notes and is happy to answer questions. If a person has a wip going and finds barely any responses to it, I would say that maybe he/she try a different approach. There are some builders here that keep me coming back and usually it's subjects I would never build or even be interested in building. They are just fun and I try to learn from them not just modelling techniques but the whole wip process.

[willimo]

Not to drag this thread on forever, but there is another frustrating occurance in the WIP section. The "short-on-time" post. It's usually a thread starting post that includes the apology "Sorry for the blurry pic but I'm headed out the door!" and a blurry pic from an odd angle, that frankly looks like it was taken while heading out the door.

Now, I understand building a model, and sharing it, is exciting. I know that we're all eager to post pictures of our latest work and want comments as soon as possible. But you know what? All of us will survive waiting a day to post a model, and we'll all survive waiting a day to see a model. A fully fleshed out post is far, far preferable to a "teaser" post. If a builder hasn't time to tell us what's going on, then why should we waste time looking? Just wait until tomorrow, when you're not headed out the door, to take a couple more pictures and to think about what needs to be said about the model, before posting.

That's all that's really required. Effort into posts is as important as effor into models.

[tonioseven]

I don't care for the WIP threads that have no pictures when they're posted but promise pictures "soon". I really want to delete those threads.

[theOmni]

I'd like to add something else. I don't mean to be a stickler or anything, but...

in the WIP forum, is it necessary to write "W.I.P" in the thread title?
( :P :P :P )

[tajoe]

Personally I would like to see a completed gallery for each of the W.I.P. galleries. If I go into the completed gallery I only look at builds that I'm interested in seeing. How about a completed street, completed motorsport, completed motorbike and completed muscle car/hot rod gallery instead of just one for everything? I noticed that some of you don't look at the completed gallery, maybe if you could go directly to the gallery you are interested in you might look a little more. I like to check them out because there are so many great builds that I often get some ideas on what I might want to do.

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by tajoe

Personally I would like to see a completed gallery for each of the W.I.P. galleries.

Oh please, just don't go there. I almost left AF after the last subdivision fiasco (anyone else remember the Memorial Day Massacre?). This place simply does not need to get any more subdivided and cliquey. I fondly remember the days before the divisions, when there was only In Progress/Completed, and all models and all modelers were welcome. At least we all still share the Completed area as common. What's next, a subdivision of the general area as well?

[tajoe]

Originally Posted by MPWR

Oh please, just don't go there. I almost left AF after the last subdivision fiasco (anyone else remember the Memorial Day Massacre?). This place simply does not need to get any more subdivided and cliquey. I fondly remember the days before the divisions, when there was only In Progress/Completed, and all models and all modelers were welcome. At least we all still share the Completed area as common. What's next, a subdivision of the general area as well?

I wasn't talking about the general area and I don't know anything about any "Memorial Day Massacre". That must have been before I joined. It was just my opinion, I didn't think I was suggesting anything that was taboo.

[bhop73]

Originally Posted by tajoe

Personally I would like to see a completed gallery for each of the W.I.P. galleries. If I go into the completed gallery I only look at builds that I'm interested in seeing. How about a completed street, completed motorsport, completed motorbike and completed muscle car/hot rod gallery instead of just one for everything? I noticed that some of you don't look at the completed gallery, maybe if you could go directly to the gallery you are interested in you might look a little more. I like to check them out because there are so many great builds that I often get some ideas on what I might want to do.

I like it the way it is already. I personally like to see finished models from every 'category', and generally look at every completed thread, so it saves me the hassle of clicking back and forth between forums. I think it's easy enough to see what threads you want to click on and which you don't, most are labeled clearly enough.. for those that are more "selective".