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Dakimbrell

IPMS/USA Member
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Everything posted by Dakimbrell

  1. Noel, I disagree with you on the Civil War PC stuff. I was just out at Barnes & Noble where I saw numerous magazines related to the CW. At least one had a Confederate flag prominent on the cover. I think your take is a bit tainted with over conservatism. Times change and the attitude of people change. I grew up in the heart of Civil War country. My great-grandfathers fought for the South. One was part of the militia that captured John Brown and stood guard on his body. But I think a large portion of the Confederate monuments SHOULD be taken down because they are used as rally points for the neo-nazis and KKK. The world lost the right to the swastila because of Hitler and company. America gave up the confederate flag when the KKK and others started using it as a symbol of terror and no one spoke out against it. Things like the changing name of the Redskins is a result of pubic pressure. If the people as a whole didn't care, there would be no change. It is not always mere correctness, but a sea change in public awareness. The pictures from Dachau changed the way many felt about Jews, the war, and racial superiority, in general. I have no problem with re-enactors, or models of the Confederacy. I don't have a big problem with models of aircraft flown by hardcore Nazis like Rudel. But it does make me angry that stuff related to Rudel can be displayed at a contest, but a scene depicting something like the train at Dachau in 1945 is forbidden. I think IPMS has often acted on the opinions of a tiny handful obsessed with not offending anyone. BTW, my family goes back before the Revolution, so if you aren't Native American, you're all immigrants. LOL I think Richard Marmo has some very good ideas. Posting shots from a contest on YouTube would be a way to go. Put up something every year showing the National and the works displayed would be a good way to go. Show the stuff as ART. Show the content of the vendor's rooms. This is the kind of thing which spikes people's interest. Dak
  2. We had a couple people come by the club. No string takers, but I have pursued it like I planned....life, you know. But the big thing about advertising is persistent. However, the idea is relatively free and easy. Dak
  3. Yes, they deleted my post about my figures. This is exactly the type of thing that drives people out of IPMS. We are adults having an adult conversation. Yet, we get treated like we we naughty middle schoolers! Yet, nose art of a naked woman with suggestive captions are quite acceptable! Extremely inconsistent. Bill, your idea is very similar to what I did. I got back issues of the Journal and put them around in local doctors and dentist offices. Dak
  4. Unfortunately, IPMS/USA still tends to think in “juvenile” or “family” terms and are overly concerned about lawsuits if someone gets offended I’m 65 and am quite able to look at figures of naked people, Payton peeing in the Rhine, or scenes showing violence like a concentration camp without being offended by them any more than the Christ on the cross diorama, I saw one year. It does bother me there are SS troops all over the place, but showing their victims is verboten Dak
  5. Thanks guys, and here it is complete with the pilot.
  6. My ICM 1/48th Mig-25 is almost done.
  7. I did ten models in 2018. All had figures. One had twenty-five figures. Additionaly, I wrote Journal articles for most of the stuff. Dak
  8. MasterBox has a nice range of 1/25th figures. In a way, Hitler was a successful artist. Like many, his paintings sell for big money....now that he is dead. Actually, I think there would have been a world war, but vastly different, if Hitler had not come to power. Dak
  9. Maybe, but hey, have you ever seen the movie THEM? Keep this thought in mind....Adolf Hitler never made it as an artist because he never did good figures. Aren't you better than him? Dak
  10. OK, we seem to agree the "hobby" is not dying, IPMS might be dying, and that it is an art. So, rather than sit here crying amongst ourselves, what do we do. What positive, but relatively simple and realistic steps can we take to change things? In short, cheap and easy to do. Dak
  11. I am challenging everyone to put a scale figure with EVERY model they build in 2019. Scale doesn't matter nor the number you should add, but try adding at least one. Dak
  12. Richard, Yes, I do think it is art. I have never seen to models come out exactly the same. Every builder adds their own touch, yet many would say it is a craft....as if there is any difference. I am often reminded of a poster showing a group of guys with the hood of a car up and looking at the engine; nothing but backs and butts. How is that any more art than a skillfully done diorama? A common hiker using a smart phone can take much the same images as Ansel Adams. If you look closely, you will see the hands of Michelangelo's DAVID are out of proportion. There are also proportional problems with parts of the Sistine Chapel. The Mona Lisa was basically nothing more than a snap shot like, many have on there desk. Some of the great religious art, done as a diorama, would be banned from an IPMS National.(display of the suffering of human beings) 3000 year old models can be found in art museums, yet, many still act like they are ashamed to even admit they build models. If we want to see things grow, we need to find ways of bringing it out of the shadows. But back to topic, I still say the "hobby" is not dying.... at least world wide, particularly in China. As long as we have the internet shopping, it will thrive. Dak
  13. Allowances for children have increased with the cost of living. Giving a kid an allowance like the one I had as a child would be considered child abuse. But the reality is children are not the ones driving this "hobby". If we want the Society to grow, two things need to be done. First, start acting like an adult organization and second look to appeal to adults. Young adults who have been playing on line games start getting interested in building the real thing or college students wanting to get away from the computer. Treat models as art, rather than some weird perversion. How many reading this deliberately spend time talking to people about the models they build....talking to people that don't build models?Most will just sit quietly and pretend they know nothing it. Dak
  14. If we... IPMS...are declining, (and I'm not sure I agree with that thought), then it is because for several decades IPMS has mainly focused on recruiting children. This was a mistake. Young adults, particularly post college are the best ground for recruitment. They are adults, many married and starting to settle down, have real income and can travel on their own. personally, I think membership levels are cyclic. College level courses in engineering, architecture, art, and history are prime areas for recruitment, also. I'm convinced engineers would benefit greatly from learning how to build a model and working with kits. Some do. Cars may have always sold out military models, but NEW kits are few and far between. The dominant car kit I see are very old kits in new boxes by AMT, but very few are current automobiles. So, this leads me to question if that is where the money really is. (There are quite a number of aftermarket items.) Dak
  15. I often hear we are in a dying hobby. I disagree. Today I just got this delivered. A 1/35th Maus tank with interior. In1987, the only kit of this tank was a horrible resin kit. Now we have a kit with a full interior along with three others by Takom and DML, in 1/35th. I find it hard to believe Trumpeter would go to all the effort if there was not money to be made. After all, who builds VCRs any more, right? Dak
  16. Well, since the “topic” was originally groups that hate IPMS, I think it was on topic. Am conversant in all three of the rules systems you posted. And I have no problem playing by the rules as long as everyone else does, also. Even though I do enjoy finding a loophole and exploiting it. I like the team system currently in use by IPMS and think it superior to point systems. However, in the end, the winning models are all a matter of opinion on a creative/artistic creation regardless of which system you use to pick a winner. But I also think the current Class/Category system we use is getting outmoded and needs serious overhaul or there will be problems, if contests continue to grow in size. Dak
  17. Ralph, You are the one who introduced information on other groups and made a remark about judge’s feedback. I was merely explaining why I did not like feedback and that I was not trying to rag on other groups....specifically AMPS....about how they do things. If I “go off”, I name names, dates, and places. Generally, I agree with the rest of your statement. Far too many don’t get involved. Don’t read the rules. I do. And I read the rules carefully and in detail. Some years ago, I started getting tagged to judge cars. Not only did I read the rules, I actually talked to car builders to see what they look for, since I am primarily tanks and dioramas. I take judging seriously and try to be good at it. As for me personally, generally if I don’t place, I’m sad, of course....I like to joke that the models are badly judged until I win...., but I don’t go around whining and complaining, I go back to the work bench and plan for the next one. My remarks about feedback stand. For me, it is rarely useful and I think short remarks out of context are pointless. I certainly hope you did not perceive this as somehow blaming others for my short comings as a model builder, because it is not. Dak
  18. Ralph, I did not say the judging was bad, but that the remark was stupid and wrong. No, I did not discuss it with the head judge. It was not at a National event, either. But the same thing applies to IPMS. I do not want to hear or read the judges opinions. It has never been a good experience for me. I am not so vain that I can’t learn, but I’ve simply never gotten any good feedback from contest judges. And as a judge, I don’t like leaving anonymous comments for the entrant. If they ask my opinion, I will give it and put my remarks in context. However, short scribbled notes without context do no good, in my opinion. I have been an AMPS member and dropped out because I like more variety. Also, I find the judging methodology too rigid for my taste. I think the freer flowing team method of IPMS gives better results than the point system used by AMPS. Do not perceive this a an attempt to slam AMPS because it is not. AMPS is fine for what it does, but is far to limited in scope, for me. Some find the environment more comfortable than I do. My only complaint about AMPS members are those that show up at an IPMS show and whine about “that’s not how AMPS does it”. I might even attend a contest, if you hold one in Oklahoma. Dak
  19. I have participated in AMPS competition and found the Judges feed back to be totally worthless. In all cases, they missed the flaws and gigged things that were correct. For example, in one case criticized the tracks as too rust even though I provided a color photo showing exactly what I did. I do not say all AMPS feed back is bad, but that for me it did nothing but make me angry. I would rather NOT know what the judges thought. Give me an award or don’t, but don’t try to tell me how to build models. Dak
  20. When I say body of work , I literally mean ALL your entries are judged, not just the best one. The number of models and diversity of your entries are considered in the judging. Your models would be treated somewhat like an unrestricted collection. The judging criteria would be the same we use now: craftsmanship with some consideration for diversity and creativity. Dak
  21. I guess we see difference things as cracks. The changing kit design and availability coupled with continued or increased reliance on splits will probably cause major problems by the end of the next decade. Certainly using GSB awards with our current system would be a failure. However, using it with the body of work system I described earlier along with our current team methodology, would work well and solve many problems we have and make for a smoother running event. Attempts at partially changing the current 1/2/3 system will almost always result in failure and dissatisfaction. Of couse, there is no perfect system. No system relying on human beings will ever be perfect. But in the end, all our judging is based on opinions. There is no way to perfectly gauge an creative or artistic activity. Dak
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