A Sad Day for modeling!

[bob letterman]

The oldest running model magazine closed it's doors today. I got an email from Ken Jones today passing along the news. Ken was the managing editor of the English magazine, Military Modelling, a staple for modelers world wide for decades. I can't even remember when that magazine didn't exist. VLS was the importer of it for 15 years and I had several articles published in it.

Kinda sad for me and some other old timers!

Bob

 

[Tony lee]

Short notice too. They were told around 10am yesterday that the lights would be turned out this coming Monday.
It was one of the first sites I joined when I built my first kit.

Made a lot of friends there too :nothingtoad
Tony lee ldguy

 

[Iron Mike]

That was a publication I used to look for when I started building armor, it helped fuel the fire. I have to admit I get much more from our forum and have not purchased a magazine in a while.

 

[135engineer]

this is sad news indeed. I agree with mike. I get more from the crew here and am also guilty of not getting magazines. I think I will look at my magazine habits after this

 

[bob letterman]

That was a publication I used to look for when I started building armor, it helped fuel the fire. I have to admit I get much more from our forum and have not purchased a magazine in a while.

I haven't bought a model magazine in ten years at least! You know Mike, you, me, and thousands of other modelers have done exactly the same thing. Sometimes things change and we wonder why, but the reality is that we actually bring about the change by our own actions or inactions. The same way with Hobby shops. When I started VLS in 1983, there were more than 9000 brick and mortar shops in America. Today there are less than 2000. There isn't a decent hobby shop in the city of 250,000 where I live now. The closest is in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

I guess that is what they call progress? Nothing lasts forever. :-(

Bob

 

[lupanzer]

That was a publication I used to look for when I started building armor, it helped fuel the fire. I have to admit I get much more from our forum and have not purchased a magazine in a while.

I haven't bought a model magazine in ten years at least! You know Mike, you, me, and thousands of other modelers have done exactly the same thing. Sometimes things change and we wonder why, but the reality is that we actually bring about the change by our own actions or inactions. The same way with Hobby shops. When I started VLS in 1983, there were more than 9000 brick and mortar shops in America. Today there are less that 2000. There isn't a decent hobby shop in the city of 250,000 where I live now. The closest is in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

I guess that is what they call progress? Nothing lasts forever. :-(

Bob

... ...something occurs here in my country,too...

 

[Iron Mike]

Magazines take up so much space, but I can't tell you how many times I have gone back through them for ideas and motivation.

Sharing ideas, builds and feedback on forums such as this are what keep my fires stoked. Looking at the forum is like having model club night everyday.

:drinks

 

[moon puppy]

Sad news indeed.

 

[135engineer]

this is sad news indeed. I agree with mike. I get more from the crew here and am also guilty of not getting magazines. I think I will look at my magazine habits after this

 

[White_Wolf]

It's sad indeed. I don't know the details but we do live in a different world. Not better necessarily, but different.

Bob, what you said about the number of hobby shops is also true down under. Online shops are taking over. Spoke to a few people a while ago about this, they all said rent became impossible to pay. Best way of doing business in this world is to own your facilities, machinery, patents, materials, the lot.

Online hobby shops - can run them from your lounge room, all you need is a very good website and supply chain.

Laurence

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Sad to see. To be honest, outside of seeing a few issues here or there, it was mostly an "out of sight" magazine for me. I currently subscribe to FSM and while I only get on their forum once in a while, they do a really good job of being visible once you hook in a little bit.

As to Brick and Morter hobby shops we have one of the better ones here in Memphis. While the plastic kit part is only about 25% of the overall, Emo does get in collections and the more expensive kits. He also has a large train area, RC sales and repair with gaming and whatever else seems to bring in the bucks and pay bills. There is a decent group of folks that work there and there are always a bunch of customers in the place.

 

[bob letterman]

Well, I think most of us would agree that the Internet, and this site in particular, has tremendous advantages over magazines. Model magazines are probably going the way of the buggy whip. It's kind of sad for us who did most of our modeling prior to the existence of the Internet. What i truly miss though, is, back in the 60s and 70s, I travelled a lot. I'd check into a motel in a new town and go for the phone book, then write down the names and addresses of all the hobby shops.

In nearly every town, I could find one of those old, messy, musty smelling shops that were disorganized as hell, but, the treasures you could find in them. Many would also have "rooms" that were not usually open to the public, where if the owner knew you, he'd let you browse in them. It was like being a kid in a candy store! Really fantastic memories of back then. Those shops are so rare anymore, one of the last great ones, CRM Hobby in St. Louis, closed it's doors last year. Terry, (Mr. T), may remember another great one in Kansas City. Pappenfuss Hardware and Hobby store. It was incredible. He had three of those "secret" rooms, and hundreds, maybe thousands of out of production kits. Loved that place! And there were so many more!

What other pastime could make you nostalgic about a really old, smelly, dusty shop?

Bob

 

[Piet]

Bought my very first one on my first day of leave after basic training at the news stand on the train station..........been buying them ever since