Small Scale Military Headquarters

For most of my collecting years I spent all my time here. That's why I have been astonished by my experiences on other collecting forums. Namely the old Yuku, DAC and now Model Hangar.

There are so many people there that just criticize, berate and lambaste virtually everything that comes out. Why? And why, to my recollection, has that never happened here?

Constructive criticism is fine and I've done plenty in my time, but these people go beyond.....it's almost vitriol and they seem to try and outdo each other. wtf?

aferguson wrote:For most of my collecting years I spent all my time here. That's why I have been astonished by my experiences on other collecting forums. Namely the old Yuku, DAC and now Model Hangar.

There are so many people there that just criticize, berate and lambaste virtually everything that comes out. Why? And why, to my recollection, has that never happened here?

Constructive criticism is fine and I've done plenty in my time, but these people go beyond.....it's almost vitriol and they seem to try and outdo each other. wtf?

Because diecast collectors scrutinize every aspect of a new release in an attempt to obtain the best (in their eyes) models available. I have been collecting diecast since Corgi first started the Aviation Archive line back in 2000 and it didn't start out that way. Once prices started climbing though, collectors started demanding better accuracy and better details and they are critical when they don't get the quality they expect. Especially now that prices are reaching upwards of $60 to more than $100 for a piece.

The reason you didn't see much criticism here is that ultimate soldier collectors, both in 1/18 and 1/32 were just very appreciative that manufacturers were making stuff to buy and at a very affordable price. I don't believe accuracy was a serious concern because these were viewed more as "action figures" and toys rather than collectibles and the prices reflected that.

My opinion.....

I agree with Harry's analysis. Different groups of collectors have different views as to how they see their hobby. Hard core die-cast collectors expect perfection and when they don't get it, well they aren't shy about complaining about it. And as many used to build plastic kits, they expect the same or better level of quality in their die-casts that they had in their kits. I think a large section of the collecting base aren't as negative as some forums make them out to be. I personally am very accepting of most models - plastic and die-cast. When commenting on a model, I prefer to instruct rather than insult.

Also there are "human" factors involved. Competitiveness, insecurities, and disrespect of others seem to be the norm when you have large numbers of members from different backgrounds thrown together. Some people are never happy and they have a deep-seated need to find something wrong to complain about. People don't like to hear it, but how a forum is set up and what the culture the members themselves will tolerate plays a vital role as what a forum will be. On this forum, the culture is easy-going and respectful - this is what attracted me to join. There are other small, less mainstream forums available to us that are the same. You just have to look for them, read their threads and posts, and then decide if they are for you.

pmmaker

interesting perspectives guys, thanks,

Some negativity I can see justifiable, but others I suspect don't want anything new when they have many earlier versions of certain models that are worth way more than they paid (B-17?)
Something new that is done well or even slightly better for a reasonable price can threaten outrageous resale values.

On the other hand prices are going up so better detail and accuracy would be expected too. A lot of times the quality of a model doesn't justify the price paid.

Then there's multiple manufacturers all releasing a Tomcat at the same time and collectors for years and years can't even get a decent P-40? ...gets one in a bitchy mood sometimes .

Upon re-reading the initial post, I thought of something else to add. I place a lot of the blame for negativity on the forums (especially the aircraft ones) squarely on Hobby Master.

Years ago collectors (on the forums) used to be excited when a new catalog was being released. We couldn't wait to see what Corgi or Dragon was going to give us. Finding fault with any of these models wasn't the instantaneous knee-jerk reaction then that it is now. Collectors wouldn't find issues until the models were in hand and could be studied.

Then Hobby Master arrived and they wanted feedback on their pre-production models. William was an accessible contact who would actually listen to our ideas, suggestions, and criticisms. Then once our input was given, HM had the unmitigated gall to actually act upon these suggestions and they would fix their models. Suddenly, we as collectors, had the power to actually affect the quality of our models and even tell a manufacturer which planes we wanted made.

In my view, this is the biggest change I've seen in the hobby and the driving force why critically ripping each new release made has become so much a part of the forums. It has become expected that whenever a new model is announced, finding faults, no matter how obscure or petty, is the required expectation. Now when a plane we really want is made, the first reaction by many is "to find what's wrong with it?" rather than just being happy it's being made.

pmmaker

I believe that another factor is the age of many of the more hyper critical posters on the other forums. Many seem to be younger---like we were when we began collecting 15-20 years ago. Perhaps it's a matter of maturity levels. Also, as mentioned, above, this forum is more balanced between interest in armor and aircraft than the other forums and this may play a role as the standards we set for armor models are not as tight as for aircraft. I think that the orientation away from WW2 to modern jets is also a factor. Modern warbirds carry many forms of complex ordinance and younger collectors seem to make a point of knowing all about these---often in minute detail. When a diecast manufacturer makes a mistake or takes a production shortcut to save money, this sets up howls of anguish from younger collectors who have studied the planes in depth and want perfection.