Any of the old Rec.Scale.Models crew still around?

Just re-found this group after what seems an eternity since I last posted. I poked around a bit but the group seems fairly quiet. Just wondering out loud...
Frank Kranick

I still look in every so often, but if you'd consider me one of the oldtimer I'm not sure..
Claus Gustafsen Denmark
" snipped-for-privacy@scranton.edu" skrev i meddelelsen
Just re-found this group after what seems an eternity since I last posted. I poked around a bit but the group seems fairly quiet. Just wondering out loud...
Frank Kranick

On Wednesday, January 23, 2013 2:27:00 PM UTC-5, Claus Gustafsen wrote:
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I've been mostly lurking around, since the mid 90s. The UseNet seems to be dying.
Peteski

Den 23-01-2013 19:12, snipped-for-privacy@scranton.edu skrev:
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Still reading whatever someone finds time to post ;-)

On Wednesday, January 23, 2013 5:03:13 PM UTC-5, Uffe Bærentsen wrote:
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I stop by every once in a while to see if there's any news, mostly there is n't... 8^C
Regards, John Braungart

I'll take a shot at posting an equiry here, since it seems there are still some folks around. I've been building model cars on and off over the past 30 years or so, but it's been a while, and I recently decided to start getting some of my stash built (starting with one that I had only barely begun working on nearly 20 years ago). I build model cars, at 1/24 and 1/25 scale. I don't care too much about the size difference, though I do prefer 1/24 if a subject I'm interested in is available at that scale.
I'm continually trying to improve the realism of my completed models, and I hope that each one I do is somehow better than any that I've done before. Certainly those I did about 20 years ago were a lot better than those I'd been doing in the early 1980s, and the one I've restarted on now is absolutely going to be in that range. A decent quality build, with nice detailing and realism, though probably not an award winner. Obviously, I'd like to continue stepping up the builds.
As I'm finishing up the current one, I'm starting to plan for some of the upcoming ones. In particular, I'd like to learn how to model leather and vinyl seats and interiors, and possibly even vinyl tops.
Are there certain paints that are good at those textures? Does anyone have any tips and techniques for successfully modeling these?

On Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:12:45 -0800, snipped-for-privacy@scranton.edu wrote:
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I stick my head in every now and then. I'm pretty sure that the various web fora have replaced the function RMS used to provide. They give flexibility to post photos in your articles which don't have to be downloaded and decoded, for example.
J

Lots of lurkers it seems. I started a thread on Seams a few weeks ago and got some good info and interchange.
All you lurkers, start something!! The good old days are now.
T2
"Jessica" wrote in message wrote:
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I stick my head in every now and then. I'm pretty sure that the various web fora have replaced the function RMS used to provide. They give flexibility to post photos in your articles which don't have to be downloaded and decoded, for example.
J

snipped-for-privacy@scranton.edu wrote:
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I still look in a lot...haven't really been building much of late, but still buying stuff and keeping up on what's up in the hobby.

I still look in - but activity is nowhere what is was many years back when you could ask a question and get many answers. Some others like Timelines and Planetfigure have taken up part of te slack along with Yahoo Groups. However I still miss the Old rms.
Val Kraut

On Wednesday, January 23, 2013 1:12:45 PM UTC-5, snipped-for-privacy@scranton.edu wrote:
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I check in about once a week. Nothing much going on here, I've been pretty busy with non-modelling things. I did finish an ancient Otaki 1/70 F6F a few weeks ago.

On Wednesday, January 23, 2013 1:12:45 PM UTC-5, snipped-for-privacy@scranton.edu wrote :
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. I poked around a bit but the group seems fairly quiet. Just wondering o ut loud...
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I don't know if I count as part of the "old crew", but I think I discovered rec.models.scale around 1997 or 98 while stationed at Redstone Arsenal. I remember those days because I had to travel to various Reserve and National Guard units on weekends and could not check RMS while away.
When I returned, it would take HOURS to even attempt to catch up on the mes sages. I usually ended up bypassing many messages due to sheer volume.
I eventually migrated to web forums like Missing Lynx in 1999-2000, then Ar morama in late 2001 and a year later to Fine Scale Modeler in 2002. Today I 'm only active in ML & FSM and occasionally in the IPMS USA forums, and the n only in certain forums (like the armor forum at FSM and modern armor foru m at ML).
Even in the web forums, there used to be hundreds of new posts daily. Miss a day and the last posts you read were 3 or more pages back. Today, you can miss the better part of a week without checking and the last post you read will still be on the first page. Activity is down across the modeling foru ms.
Lack of activity could be due to the plethora of modeling websites that are genre-specific. There are forums for armor, aircraft, ships, automotive, s ci-fi, figures, etc. Why sift through pages of aircraft posts when you only build WW2 German tanks, etc.
On Fine Scale Modeler, every few years a user tries to push the rules and g ets booted. Usually battle lines are drawn, sides taken and the banished le aves with his followers and takes up residence at a new site or they create their own modeling forum. That's happened at FSM at least three times that I can remember.
I never could figure out why all the drama was necessary at a forum about p lastic models. That's the reason why I no longer visit Armorama. It was eas ier to leave than to put up with it. FSM is run by the magazine and the edi tors are quick to nip conflict in the bud. It isn't a perfect site; true cr itiques are informally discouraged. I could tube-glue a 1970s motorized tan k model and hand paint it with the little white Testors brushes using their gloss paint bottles while blindfolded. It would still get praise.
There's also a lot of misinformation at FSM. One of the main reasons I'm st ill active at Missing Lynx is because of the depth of knowledge in almost a ll aspects of armor and armor modeling. Ask a question at ML and you will g et the real answer, probably from a modeler who wrote a book about the subj ect or provided input into development of the kit. Ask a question at FSM an d you will get several answers that are mainly the opinions or guesses of t he guys who answered. No guarantees that any of the answers will be right.
Bottom line, I still check in on occasion, but not with any regularity.
RobG

On Jan 23, 1:12 pm, " snipped-for-privacy@scranton.edu"
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.  I poked around a bit but the group seems fairly quiet.  Just wonderi ng out loud...
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I just wandered in today, Feb 25... probably haven't really checked R.M.S. in a couple of years. Kind of fell by the wayside. Used to be a daily ritual.
James B

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com writes:
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.AN I poked around a bit but the group seems fairly quiet. .AN Just wondering out loud...
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Still here.... pretty lonely though.

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote the following on 2/25/2013 7:30 PM (ET):
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I don't have much to say since I don't build models much anymore, but I still stop in for to see what AMPSOne has to say.