Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Five New Years resolutions for you

I'm not one to make New Years resolutions for myself, but I'll happily make five for you! Please pass them on!


1. Start experimenting. I appreciate the ease with which you can ask questions on the internet forums, but all of us need to spend a few days throughout the year trying a new technique without the promise of success.

2. Don't pick fights with rivet counters. I know some of them can be abrasive at times, but we should be thanking them for offering critiques of new models. We've seen several instances where their observations have prompted the manufacturers to re-tool kits to make them more accurate. If accuracy isn't a driving factor for you, skip their reviews.

3. Stop hijacking new release threads with your personal wish list. Enjoy new kit announcements for what they are and post your requests elsewhere; practically every manufacturer now provides a medium for providing feedback. I'd love to see a 1/48 L-17 Navion, but you don't' see me posting that every time Kitty Hawk announces a new kit. Oh, and quit with the annoying "wrong scale" barbs. You're annoying.

4. If you build armor, show some restraint in your weathering. I appreciate the artistry of highly weathered tanks (which I have yet to master myself), but it's time for this fad to go away. Who among you will offer something new for us to get excited about?

5. Inventory your stash (and books) for insurance purposes. One of our peers recently lost his house in a fire. I have no idea how much he lost in terms of models and related resources, but it should open our eyes to the substantial investments we've made in our hobby. Inventory that stuff and store it offline. I recommend DropBox, but there are a number of solutions available today.


2 comments:

  1. as for no4, yes, lately it's became real intense and you know how humans react when under a group mentality, it's as if everyone SHALL do extreme weathering now! all armor should have ample amounts of chip and rust with mud and dust..... as long as the weathering products are produced by the same group of folks albeit under different brands don't expect this to go away, at least anytime soon - the marketing hype will be always with them.

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    1. Murad, that's a good point. Maybe we'll have to endure the trend through 2014. Ugh.

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