PLEASE...

If it has a Scale on the Box for the Thing that I am Building. Then I guess that I'm doing Scale Modeling Too ........ LOL

I think I would use a different term here

I think I would say it is an ''Accurately Reproduced Miniature'' to better depict that it's an exact replica of a real thing

- I'll agree with that...and that's a big part of why I don't do contests. Accuracy don't count for much

I guess any kind of a Sci-fi -or- Fantasy Modeling just doesn't count because of the fact there's no way to actually verify any reference or data to a proto-type or any item already in use out in the field;

- Uh...not really, as I see things. But I also see that type of modeling as more creative and artistic. I've tried it and can't do it well even though I can design jewelry. I can repect fantasy builders when they do good work just like anyone else.

Heck - That goe and lets out nearly Half the Stuff that I really like to Build -- LOL

- Again, I doubt that.

If you LooK Real Close at the Opel Blitz that I Built that is in my Web-Page you might find a Dozen or so things that are wrong or Not up to ''Snuff'' as they say

But you would be very Hard Pressed to say that it wasn't a Good Modeling Job

It's in here if you wanna take a LooK :)

My Main Page with My Models and INFO

... Carl ..........

- And that's the bottom line. The Growler I was looking at had way more flaws than just the AIM-9's...most likely starting with the kit itself.

Small world - I was born near Fitchburg.

WmB

What I'm seeing is that radio control has become far cheaper while plastic modeling has become far and away more expensive since I was a kid - I've done both. Kids like stuff that moves and interacts, and R/C, slot cars, and model rocketry are on the same level or expense...so they're choosing something different. At least that's the way I see it.

Actually, the facts and accuracy count for a lot more than one would think on a professional level, and even I never really considered that for years. I started building kits at the age of four, and the adults (primarily my grandfather) always took the time to make sure I not only new how to build, but just what it was that I was building and where it came from. It wasn't until I got to high school and started building armor that I started really paying attention to detail and accuracy. And that directly influenced my career choice...my old boss used to hate me saying "I only work to support my hobby", but it's essentially true.

I had an interview with Northrop once where the interviewer was more interested in my modeling skills and background than my degree, and said he preferred to hire builders because "they know where stuff goes". I had a test pilot stop me in the middle of a discourse and ask how in the hell I knew so much about airplanes and how they went together without ever being in the service - I told him I built models. And I was told directly by the founder that everyone in the employ of Scaled Composites was a model builder because if you came forward with an idea, you better be able to build it yourself. And to my own surprise, when my family visited the NASM in DC about a month or so after it opened...my mother was walking around with my aunt, rattling off the names of the planes on sight. When my aunt asked how she even knew what an Me 109 was, she replied - "because I think we have one at home"...that was her first realization that I wasn't just "playing with toy airplanes".

So, for me modeling is both a hobby and an education, and I try to make it a point to pass that along. It teaches stuff - all sorts of stuff. Motor skills, technical skills, history, technical diversity, artistry, aesthetics, composition, creativity...and that's just scratching the surface. So that's why I like to "get it right"...and my interpretation of "getting it right" is pretty broad and variate.

But trust me - if you build something I walk past every day and take "artistic license" with it, I'll tell you about it. And laugh at you. A lot. So will quite a few other folks I know.

what's the furniture company, the famous one really popular now for it's

50's-60's? i'm going out of my mind trying to remember. their factory is on main and has that pedestrian covered walkway over the street to join 2 buildings that is almost a trademark of new england? stickley was earlier....damn, it's driving me nuts. i have one of the red died wood dining sets and sideboard in storage. AAAHHH!!!

I wish more people would say so...and yeah, I agree with the point about craftsmanship, except when it lacks; like when someone is learning. In that case you point out the errors so the next one will be better.

I've been to a lot of contests where accuracy seems to be the last thing the judges look for. Since most of the builders I know actually work on the real thing, there's a LOT of accuracy experts on hand that don't usually judge. So I don't do contests, even though I took a first in the only one I've ever entered. I'd prefer attending a "convention" and open discourse to a contest any day...I'd build for that.

I get to be farly creative and reactive on my job, but I really only think of it as an extension of my hobby(s). I build to learn about things or machines I don't see at work...sometimes I'll hack together something from a paper study that never gets built - like my canarded F/A-18, or my "production" STOL F-15"F". But mostly I find I can carry what I learn building to work, and not vise versa. If I didn't have to go to work, I'd build more...a LOT more. Found that out during my LOA last year.

...all I want is the right ords in the right place...who you blow up widdem is yo' biz.

BTW - my fav shop in Chi-ville is going the R/C / rockets / slots route I described elsewhere. But at least they're still open, and seem to be doing great biz.

I won't be of much help there, I was still in diapers when we moved south - ironically enough, to a town within an hour or so of the acknowledge furniture capitol of the world - High Point NC.

If my Dad was still with us he'd cough up the name in an instant - he was Fitchburg born and bred. He'd tell you the name of every store or factory, the precise locatin and rattle off three people that worked at each.

I gave a shout to my Mom, she's a Leominster girl herself - she remembers an upscale store called Kidder and Davis. She says that would have been way back in the 40s though. Mom also said Gardner Mass as she recalls was the real hotbed for furniture.

As for Google - it says the store on Main is Harper Furniture. Butler Furniture on airport road.

WmB

no, it's a maker, not store. damn, i'm going nuts. they are really hot now with collectors. i was offerd about 12x what i paid for my set...but i paid too much. greed is telling me to wait.

that sucks wind but they will probably be able to survive. while i understand yo finicky bits, i also accept a bit of slop in what is, essentially a hobby and recreation to most. i've seen your work, it's awesome and correct. that's why i'll hide mine when you finally visit. face it, rufus, we want a custom fit in an off the rack world. sometimes a bit loose is the way it is.

I found the X-2 kit:

Pat

One day, around 1970-73, a P2V Neptune flew over Jamestown heading westwards. One of the odder types of planes that landed here around the same time were three TBF Avenger torpedo bombers that had been converted into water bombers. First they buzzed the town, and boy, was seeing those unexpected.

Pat

I was trying to do the math on that, particularly when it comes to tank kits. I think the dollar is worth around 1/3- 1/4 what it was back around

1960, and you used to be able to get a Monogram M-60 for around $2.50. Extrapolating from that, a entry level tank kit should cost around $8.00 to $10.00 now. That's nowhere near the case, and even a 21st Century Toys tank will set you back around $14.00 at Walmart. So kids have been priced out of the hobby.

Neat story; thanks for that! :-)

Pat

Those electric RC aircraft have made a big dent in the hobby. Once all the mess and noise of internal combustion engines is taken off the RC aircraft, they become very salable items, particularly given the low cost of modern electronics.

Pat

That's sort of why I build...I get a custom result. But that's only one of many many reasons, really.

I think the shop will do just fine - they're only following the market, and I can't fault them for that. If I lived back there I'd probably ditch plastic models for slot cars myself...they've got a great selection of 1/32 slots, and even a public track in the basement, I think. I've always been a fan of large scale slot racers. I'd also let them drag me into electric R/C.

I still get surprised when I see an F-117...dunno why, but I never expect those. We see lots of stuff out here - from Mig-15s to Hunters to Fouga Meisters to P-51s...even had a Sea Fury divert to the base on an emergency as he was returning from Reno once.

Between Mojave, Scaled Composites, Reno Air Races, the guys at Chino, local rich boys toys, and the military (US and visiting) So Cal is like grand central for airplanes...and the weather is fantastic for flying.

Yeah, that's really my take on it...I'm amazed at what you can get a decent four or even six channel R/C rig for these days - about the price of a going 1/32 kit. If it's a choice between a 1/32 F-105 that sits there or an ARF kit with a radio system I can actually fly, I'd opt to spend my kid-bux on the flyer, if I have them to spend.

Even car kits - used to be a about a $2 thing you could get the money for from mowing lawns...now the advertisers and corporations have them up there in the range of the slot cars - again, a choice between something I can interact with or something that sits there.

Between the price points and the net age getting kids more inclined to be interactive geeks, I see the static model hobby on an eventual and unavoidable decline...much like skilled craftsmanship in industry.

Yeah, and they're also in the fast or pre-built category now. I was always a better R/C builder than R/C flier...but now that skill's being lost too. Or maybe the tech is just evolving.

Then there's the new fad for high power rockets - this shop also caters to that crowd. We have some full scale energetics engineers that are into it out here, and there's tons of room to loft such without risk of hurting anyone or damaging property, but back there...I'm a bit surprised.

Well, if they only have ten floating around out there, it's unlikely I ever heard of it. I think Tom Y. has something even rarer but I can't recall what.

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.

Oh, poo poo!! Where'd you get the 1/3 - 1/4?

...

In 2006, $2.50 from 1960 is worth: $17.02 using the Consumer Price Index $13.85 using the GDP deflator $0.00 using the value of consumer bundle $20.22 using the unskilled wage $37.78 using the nominal GDP per capita $62.66 using the relative share of GDP

The consumer price index is probably the best measure to use. There are plenty of 1:72 scale revell and dragon armor kits and dozens of 1:24 and 1:25 car kits at my local hobby store for under $17. Raise the bar to $20 and I'd definitely say kids aren't priced out of the hobby.