ipmsusa2

Over the years...and decades...whenever I can get someone to listen to me, one point I make is one that I suspect most of us never really focus on. At least we don't in a way that non-modelers or parents of potential modelers will remember for five minutes. And that is that modelbuilding...no matter the subject...is the greatest general education you'll ever find. Promotion of the modelbuilding hobby (or business) can be done in many ways and the General Education angle is just one more way. What most people don't realize...and this is basically what I tell them...is that modelbuilding teaches without you realizing you're learning. Some of us learn to translate foreign language captions, others wind up using portions of advanced math without knowing they're doing it, manual dexterity improves, communication skills improve, photographic skills develop, design analysis that is necessary for scratchbuilding and conversions are developed and refined, then there's color analysis, color mixing, how to make your own decals, chemistry and on and on. Bottom line is that...if you pursue the modelbuilding hobby long enough...modelbuilding is essentially a community college degree in a capsule.

Dak, I agree with you 100%. Ancestry is valuable, in fact essential, if you have any interest in genealogy. After all, everyone can find value in knowing their family history. As far as censorship goes, I ABSOLUTELY agree with you. Censorship is the bane of creativity and freedom of expression. When I talked about YouTube, I never intended for it to be a primary focus. Instead, it should simply be a part of an entire range of possibilities that, in toto, help promote modelbuilding as both a hobby and potential business. So here's a question for each person reading this thread: What are you doing personally to achieve that stated goal?

Nick, I absolutely agree that you are entitled to both your opinion and the right to dissent. I'd be crazy to disagree about the discrimination and mistreatment of Native Americans since I am to some degree part Cherokee Indian. The only thing I will say about your second paragraph is that I simply reported on it. it's our current "I'm Offended" culture that has focused on it. And just so you know, I am...in order...a Christian, a gentleman, an American, half Italian, Tennessean, Southerner and Texan...and I got to Texas as quick as I could. We could probably have some very interesting discussions about the subjects that have been mentioned briefly here, but this isn't the place for it. If you care to pursue it, feel free to private message me. Now let's get back to modelbuilding and the original subject of this thread, which I would suggest is not vapid.

Hello Dak, Just for general information, my family on my mother's side also goes back to before the Revolution. On her half of the family tree is German, English, Scot & Irish. Once they reached these shores in 1745, it didn't take long for the politically correct Native Americans...AKA Cherokee Indians...to join us. Now on to a more important subject. As for my YouTube suggestion, that is a direction all...or at least most of us will need to go. At least to some degree. I already do that for three of my CD-ROM photo galleries. So far I've gotten views per video ranging from 364 to 9.9K. In the YouTube world, even the one closing in on 10,000 isn't considered much at all. And they've been up for four years. Still, if I can figure out how to get the traffic I should have, it could wind up being both informative and lucrative. Keep in mind that every video stands on its own, good, bad or horrible. All you can do is your best effort, watch the results and then try to improve in the areas you think need improvement. The best tip I can offer if you decide to try the YouTube route is to do exactly what I've been trying to do. Learn to think like a television/movie producer.

Since y'all are brainstorming ways to publicize modelbuilding in general, the IPMS/USA in particular and encourage people to visit and hopefully join local model clubs, consider the following possibilities: 1. Add the URL of your model club's website as a line under your signature on all emails you send. 2 Do the same for the IPMS/USA 3. Anytime you post something on your Facebook page...if it makes sense...include a hotlink to your club's website or IIPMS/USA website. 4. Ditto for any other social sites you happen to be on. 5. Do you have a blog about anything? See if you can work modelbuilding into a post in some way, shape or form. 6. Here's a biggie. All of us...at least many of us...write articles of some kind or produce youtube videos. Those who do can work URLs of modelbuilding club websites and/or the IPMS/USA website into. 7. And finally, those of you who write print and/or E-books need to do what I am now doing. In the About The Author section, mention your IPMS number at the very least. When it comes to E-books...especially those that you self-publish...you have all the room in the world to promote the IPMS/USA, include links to your modelbuilding club and on an on. Hope some of this helps. Not every person will do all of these things I've mentioned...or even most of them. But pick the one that works best for you and then do it. Show those who don't know that modelbuilding can be a fantastic and enjoyable hobby at the very least. Even better, you can even make a living at some aspect of it if you really want it and are persistent enough.

For those who don't know, the IPMS/USA has changed a lot since its inception. It got its start when Jim Sage, yours truly, Jay Frank Dial and others who I don't remember were members of the Texas Aviation Historical Society. All of us were aircraft nuts, as you would expect. When Jim started the IPMS/USA, the interests of everyone involved was strictly aircraft. If you stop to think about it, it couldn't have been anything else. I was writing a kit review column, Jay was working on...or had already published...his United States Camouflage United States book, etc. Once the IPMS/USA got started, other members began showing an interest in other categories and the IPMS/USA gradually expanded to include Armor, Cars and more. Even ships. But it took a while and for many years the focus was somewhere around 90% aircraft. Today, as recent National Convention Contests and any Journal prove, it's literally anything goes as it's plastic based. 3D printed models excepted at the present time, but that'll probably change as the rules and definitions are sorted out. Now, watch my next post for some more suggestions for promoting the IPMS/USA and modelbuilding in general.

Nick, When I described the offended parties as "one small tribe", it is because of two factors. First, it was publicly reported that one specific small tribe...I don't recall which one, though they could be identified with a brief search...objected to the team's name and secondly, there were also public statements from other tribes that they did not find "Redskins" when used as a football team name to be offensive. As has been said previously, every person is offended by something. What matters is how you handle it. Just for the record, I'm a first generation half Italian, born in Tennessee to a full-blood Italian father who was born in Italy. I couldn't care less if you call me a Wop because I am first and foremost an American. That said, let's get back to talking about the IPMS and modelbuilding.

Nothing wrong with that, Dak. It certainly beats doing nothing,

Noel, I would suggest that political correctness....at least to a small degree...belongs in this thread. Keep in mind that it is political correctness that prevents magazines from publishing articles on Civil War dioramas because the diorama in question "glorifies slavery" or displays the Confederate Battle Flag. Granted, you can go too far with the political correctness argument, so we have to be careful how we approach it. But it exists and we can't ignore it. Also, I agree with Dak that when you attend a museum or IPMS Convention Contest Room that contains art, models or noseart that offends you, no one forces you to look at it. You always have the choice of staying or leaving. Just because it's there doesn't mean you HAVE to look at it, never mind enjoy it. Still, when you have a venue where it is known young children of either gender and their parents are going to be attending, then you have a responsibility to consider how certain depictions might effect those children. Under those conditions, it's a fine line you have to walk because no matter what you do, you are going to offend someone. Mark, As for the magazine/business card in doctor's offices, that's been done by a number of people over the years. Has it gotten any results? I don't know. Frankly, there's no way to track results, it there have been any. Most occupants of medical waiting rooms scan magazines simply to kill time. Also, the great majority are women. While we might pick up a member or two over the years, generally speaking it's a method that I would suggest simply doesn't work. Of course, if you don't need or want the magazine anymore, it sure beats throwing it in the trash!

Dak, you make a valid point. However, I would suggest that it isn't limited to the IPMS/USA. The current "I'm Offended" culture that has developed in this country has to be a major factor. Keep in mind that practically anything that exists has the potential to offend anyone, but it has gotten completely out of control. Consider the efforts to make the Washington Redskins football team change their name because 'Redskins" is offensive to one small tribe. Other people are offended by the use of certain words, while others by actual historical events. Look at the complaints that started with objections to the Confederate Battle Flag...actually the Battle Flag of Northern Virginia...and expanded to statues of Confederate heros and schools that were named for men who had virtually no connection to the Confederacy other than fighting for the South. Political views are now subject to similar bias. Liberal viewpoints are widely publicized, while those of a conservative bent are castigated or banned. I was unable to market an article to a magazine I wrote for because the model in question....a Peterbilt 377 with an American Bald Eagle w/crossed American & Confederate flags on the air dam....was refused because "it might offend someone". If I did that model today as an ebook, I would be forced to apologize for it, accused of being a racist and required to remove the ebook from the marketplace. And if you want to get an idea of just how hypersensitive people are getting...as well as ignorant...I very recently had a magazine article corrected by my editor because "I've never heard of it, so I'm sure no one else has ever heard of it!" What was it? Believe it or not, a Mexican Jumping Bean. Instead, the editor changed Mexican Jumping Bean to simply 'jumping bean", thereby identifying every bean on the planet as a jumping bean! And if you think all of the above is a recent development, it's just the extreme result. Tony Weddel, a deceased aviation artist and my friend, quit doing heavy combat aviation art back in the late '70s or early '80s because he could no longer sell the art or prints. Why? Because people didn't want to purchase art that depicted violence. Result? He wound up doing pretty paintings of aircraft against storm clouds or toned down combat...unless a client specifically requested heavy combat. That, by the way, leads to your comment about viewing scenes of violence in model dioramas. Incidentally, it's also the reason why I've never created a crucifixion diorama of my own....it would offend virtually everyone who saw it. I have no idea where this is going to end, but if you build models, dioramas, articles and/or books for a living, it's already having an impact on what you can produce without offending someone. And it doesn't matter if it's a group or a single person. Dak, in case you're wondering, I'm 76 and I have no more problem viewing real life scenes than you do. I knew a preacher who I offered a copy of my P-38 CD-ROM to, warning him that it had a lot of nose art images containing pinup or semi-nude figures. His response? It's history. It'll be interesting to see what kinds of responses I get to this little tirade. Richard

Nothing like a fascinating conversation where definitions are determined by individual perception. Noel, creating something from raw materials is modelmaking and it doesn't matter what the raw materials are or how you create the end creation. In fact, most if not all modelbuilders are also modelmakers. If that sounds strange, consider this: When you take a model kit and then superdetail parts of it using raw materials....or as close to raw materials as most of us get...you are both a modelbuilder and modelmaker. For example, take a model with a basic landing gear and no detail in the gear wells. Build the kit stock and you are a modelbuilder since you add nothing to the kit parts that were provided by the kit manufacturer. However, when you add detailing to that landing gear and/or gear wells by using minute pieces of wire, bits of scrap plastic, etc, then you are a modelmaker. Rusty uses skills developed in the creation of patterns from conventional material. That definitely makes him a scratchbuilder and modelmaker. But when he complements those learned skills with additional skills required for the use of new technology, you would say that he is not a modelmaker. I would suggest that a rethink is required due to the fact resin or whatever material is used by a 3D printer still qualifies as raw material because it has to be changed to create the desired form. And it would not know how to change into that form unless the creative person using the new technology had the scratchbuilding experience to create the program that the 3D printer used to instruct the raw material...resin or whatever...to become the final form. It's really not that different from me creating a pattern from wood of a desired part, then building a mold box, pouring RTV over it and...after it cures...removing the original pattern. Now I pour liquid resin into the RTV mold and when the resin hardens, I remove it. Result? I have a copy of the original pattern. I have combined my skill at scratchbuilding with those needed to use a different technology to create a part that can be reproduced repeatedly and sold to anyone who would like one. Now, here's where it gets to be fun. While, as I have described, Rusty and I would both have legitimate claims to being a modelmaker. But if someone buys that part and uses it as instructed to a kit they are building...without any other detail beyond the commercially manufactured part...they are a modelbuilder, but are NOT a modelmaker unless they add detail of some kind that begins with some type of scratchbuilding material. Bottom line is this: Creativity resides in the mind. Without that spark, all the technology in the world won't help you. It doesn't matter whether you use a block of wood, scalpel & sandpaper or a computer, CAD program & 3D printer. When you have that God given spark or talent, you are a modelbuilder and as soon as you start adding detail created from raw material, you're a modelmaker. You're also an artist, but that's a discussion for another day. Richard

This is a long shot, I know. But, a client commissioned an 18" Jupiter II kit and provided all the aftermarket goodies. Including the Moebius Lighting Kit # MOE2097. Unfortunately, when I was burglarized, the idiots were taking things at random after they took my computers and printers. Airbrushes and random kits were part of it, including a boxtop only. They didn't touch the Jupiter II or any of the aftermarket parts...except for the lighting kit. Naturally the most expensive item to replace...if it can be replaced since it was a limited run. So, by any miracle, is there anyone who bought the kit and decided not to use it? Or maybe bought two of them in case someone might be looking for one? I'd be forever grateful to anyone who could help. Richard

Before anyone asks, the ambulance is 1/25th scale.

Interesting challenge. Hard to do when you build for clients, but maybe.... Right now I have two projects to start, a 1/9 racing bicycle (that's what I said, a racing bicycle) and a 1970s vintage Cadillac Ambulance. The ambulance is certainly possible but I don't know about the bike. 1/9th is an odd scale for figures. BTW...would the Third Reich have ever happened if Hitler had become a successful artist?

I'm posting this so you won't keep wondering when the next installment is going to show up. It won't. If you're curious, private message me.

Excellent points, Pete. Excellent. Going even farther, there are those among us who produce outstanding models and dioramas that IS definitely art, yet never perceive themselves that way. Why? Because they have been brainwashed by constant exposure to phrases like "In the end we are all still playing with toys!", "The only difference between men and boys is the size of their toys.", "When are you going to grow up?" and "When are you going to get a real job?" What's sad is that the majority of society doesn't appreciate the artist...or worse...even knows we exist. At least until we're dead. Then they start collecting work that we've produced.

Dak, You have touched on something that I suspect most IPMS members have never thought about. As some of you know, I make my living as a freelance writer/professional modelbuilder, so I am definitely vocal about what I do to anyone I run across. Believe me, it's a constant battle to get any real respect from non -modelers who find out what you do. Never mind finding anyone who is willing to listen and/or discuss the subject. And it doesn't matter if you do it as a hobby or business. For example, I used to take finished models to show off at my church. Some people enjoyed looking at them, but that was as far as it went. One lady looked at one I had produced for a magazine article and said "What did you do? Just put the little pieces together?" Another time, a preacher...who knew what I did...actually asked me "When are you going to get a real job?" And, of course, there's the classic perception by most non-modelers that anyone who builds models is basically playing with toys. What you have to buck is this: Being an Electrician or a Plumber is being self-employed. Being a Writer or Professional Modelbuilder isn't. Finally, you are absolutely correct when you say that we need to treat models as art. In actual fact, they ARE art and those of us who build them are ARTISTS. The only difference between us and someone who paints on canvas or a sculptor who uses a chisel on a chunk of marble is the medium. But the bottom line is that anyone who works in the creative fields has to be both stubborn and the possessor of a thick skin and I have both in spades. If I didn't, I wouldn't still be doing this after 51 years!

Dave, that is the correct book. I didn't know there were that many out there. The last time I checked...before Amazon... I could only find one copy and it carried an $80 price tag. You do need to keep one thing in mind. The color chips were actual paint chips and there's no way of telling how much the colors may have shifted, depending on where these books spent their life. My PDF version includes an index...there are still no page numbers and never were...along with ten photos of actual aircraft, as well as scans from my personal copy that I've had from 1964. It's rarely been opened, so I don't believe my chips have shifted much, if at all.

Andrew, this may or may not help you, but I have an ebook available on the subject of United States Camouflage WW-II. It was originally authored and privately published by Jay Frank Dial in 1964 and original copies are next to impossible to find and also expensive. In 2008 I restored and enhanced the book and made it available as a PDF E-book download. Price is $9.99. You can find full information and a buy now button at http://scalepublications.freeyellow.com/camouflagebook.html. All data was gleaned from WW-II Tech Orders, including such things at the dates National Insignia designs changed, exterior colors and camouflage patterns. There are also scans of the actual color chip pages that Jay included. It may or may not give you everything you're looking for, but what it does give you comes from the proverbial horse's mouth.

Pete, At the present time I agree with you. Howsomever, things are changing at warp speed. XYZ.com...the makers of the DaVinci 3D printers...now offer what is purported to be a high resolution hand held scanner that will produce an STL file. No idea what their definition of high definition is, but the scanner in question is alleged to be able to scan literally anything you can walk around, including the human body, couches, pets, etc. Price? $250 at Best Buy. If this thing is the real McCoy, it totally eliminates the need for CAD knowledge as long as you don't need to create a part from scratch or can't find a prototype to scan. Of course, as you point out, there is still the time and cost of acquiring the necessary experience as well as the cost of a 3D printer capable of producing the level of quality needed for a model. To repeat comments from others in this thread...3D printing for the average modeler ain't there yet...but it's darn sure picking up speed.

I have done resin castings of various subjects over the years and have sold many of them thru my Modelers Weapons Shop website. While 3D printing has tremendous potential for the modeler, particularly when it comes to aftermarket parts, you still need rather deep pockets. It just isn't there yet for most of us, but it's coming. For the moment, creating your own pattern in order to produce resin copies is still the best way to go. At the moment. And I say that despite the fact that I start salivating every time I see a new 3D printer show up on MicroMark or the DaVinci website. And consider one more thing. Unless you want to spend the money and time to learn CAD, you'll still need to create an original pattern that can be scanned to create the STL file that the 3D printer needs.

Hey Tony, Glad you like the site. Keep checking the site from time to time and maybe you'll find an ebook you'll want. Next one will be the Kinetic E-2C 2000 that I've been posting a build thread on. BTW, let me know what kind of subjects you would find interesting as Modelbuilding Guides. I'd appreciate it. Actually I'm an adopted Texan. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, I got to Texas as soon as I could and have been here most of my life. Can't think of a better place to be! Keep in mind a bumper sticker I used to see: On The Eighth Day He Created Texas!

Hello Mike, Appreciate your opinion on the website. After I married my wife, I found out where Tahoka is. BTW, she said that her parents lived in O'Donnell for a while before she was born. That would put it into the 1930s. If you feel like it sometime, give me a shout at 817-946-9670.

Thanks, Mark. Now if it does its job right, I might even sell a few ebooks!

Hi all, For those who would be interested, I just today activated my revised and ...hopefully... improved Author's website. You can find it at richardmarmo.com I would be most appreciative if y'all would check it out and let me know what you think of it, good or bad. Just be constructive whichever way you lean. Thanks in advance.