...something else...

The subject...the people in it, the info shared

The subject, discussions, the activity gives me impetus to finish.

Hercmech

The subject...the people in it, the info shared

Hercmech

The subject...the people in it, the info shared

And as much as I enjoy a big ol' modelling free-for-all, I get as much enjoyment out of smaller groups. (Falklands GB wrapping up shortly - GBs for Saab's Anniversary and Grumman Intruders will likely remain small) I'm not as likely to miss anything, and likely won't need to check through 6 pages of new content every day to get caught up.

subject and info shared........Hey Joe are you the fighting Joe from many moons ago??? If so long time no see welcome back.

Thad

Medicman71

 

Hercmech:

 

The subject...the people in it, the info shared

 

 

Yup.

Also it helps if there are a lot of photos of WIP's going on. It helps motivate me to see others building. It doesn't hurt to have other critiquing your work as your building along too.

Actual participation.I've entered a few that just faded away with very few completed models.

Hey Joe are you the fighting Joe from many moons ago???

one and the same.  it has been a long time.  

joe

Let me guess are you gonna start a Pearl GB. Have not seen one of those in a while.

Thad

actually no, there is one going right now.  just had this question cross my mind and thought i would throw it out there.

joe

Right click the image and save as, just like you would any other photo.

To display it is just like posting a photo on here. Upload it to a third party site (I use flickr,) copy the link, then go to edit your profile, and paste the link into your signature using the media button.

- The topic. Cohesive enough that everyone has some familiarity with what everyone else is building, but open enough for all kinds of variations. I think that was one of the problems w/ my weathering GB - it was technique-based, but so wide open in terms of subject matter it ended up being people just building past each other. I've also seen it with a few GB's that encompass opposing sides or just tons of different combatants, vehicle types, eras etc. The more focused - Gamera's Japanese GB or deafpanzer's Pz.III GB - seem to have greater staying power.

- The time-frame. There seem to be a few GB's that defy gravity and keep going. Others...I've definitely come around to the idea of a six-month GB vs. a full year.

- The people. Really, this matters. A good group actively engaged and building - even if it's a small group - really goes a very long way and is more important than anything else IMO.

Good to hear from you, Joe.

I have been in quite a few, but although I finish them they are rarely successful.

There is one answer only. 

The host. The host. The host. The best host I ever saw was Frank  (Daywalker)

He would answer every post, every day. It kept the thing alive.

Hans V H is good too for a similar reason.

A GB cannot run itself. There needs to be a constant lead on the deadline and the general admin.

The Falkland GB has been a very good one and like I say, I know of what I speak. Both the OP and a few helpers have kept it on a pace. 

Joe you had a good run of PH GB's. What made those work was the constant leading posts you would toss in, every day.

The host is really the key.

thanks for the replies.  let me throw out a related question.  if you see a group build which is hosted by a member who has had "good" builds in the past, are you more inclined to join as opposed to, lets say, a new member?

i have been browsing around the group build forums and kind of watching the activity.  there are some builds that quite honestly have little or no activity that i consider pretty good subjects.  i got to wondering why a good subject with alot of initial interest isnt more active.  i also thought of the many group builds i have been in and the ones that i hosted and then the question of what makes a good group build. 

joe

If a GB that i was interested in came up but was hosted by a new member, i would either wait out and see how it went or just jump in. If it dies on its butt, then theres no lose.

But i have noticed in the last year or so that there seem to be less commitment to GB's than there used to be.

fightnjoe

thanks for the replies.  let me throw out a related question.  if you see a group build which is hosted by a member who has had "good" builds in the past, are you more inclined to join as opposed to, lets say, a new member?

Bondoman: Thanks for your comments. I've noticed my GB had been dragging recently and was thinking it was because it's been going on for nine months or so now. Now that I think about it I haven't posted any work in months now, I'm going to get back out and front and lead, hopefully it will keep us chugging along to the deadline.

Geez, is it just me or has there been some kind of Group Build question-fetish going on here in this forum lately?!

You were right about it being "thrown out there" before lol!

Well as new member (relatively) i tried to start a GB in Armor co hosted with a higher post count member than I as too help me (a newbie.) But i tend to notice on here the well respected posters with high counts and great builders dont look or comment or help. HOw are we newbies gonna know that we suck at hosting without help from you guys. Dont hesitate to comment to them to help us gain experience so we cann all learn and make it more enjoyable. It also sucks when i work hard as everyone does and no one even looks at my stuff cuz i have a low count or something its very discouraging. It just sorry ucks when I go to build something and post it and not a person looks and when i start a GB no one says anything to improve or adjust it, i'm just shy and dont talk alot on here but when i do i want the same treatment as eveyone else.

sorry for the rant

well i opened that can of worms.  scratchbuilder my apology, my poor choice of words.  i guess i am trying to ask if a group build is started by one who has hosted multiple group builds is looked at differently than a group build hosted by one who has started fewer.  i have been in builds with folks hosting their first and to be honest a couple were most pleasurable.  i have also been in builds with hosts who had hosted multiple builds that the group build died on the vine.  i joined fsm the first time in 2004, during the time here i have been a part of many group builds, i have hosted several.  even my own builds some were good, my own biased opinion, and some, well some should have died in thought. 

i have watched many of the current group builds for a while.  i was just curious as to why some seem to have a very active core and some have a very very loose group with few showing work.

i have not achieved a level of activity again where i feel i could contribute to a group build again.  to me that is an important thing.  if i join a build i want to be an active part of it. 

joe

Scratchbuilder725

Well as new member (relatively) i tried to start a GB in Armor co hosted with a higher post count member than I as too help me (a newbie.) But i tend to notice on here the well respected posters with high counts and great builders dont look or comment or help. HOw are we newbies gonna know that we suck at hosting without help from you guys. Dont hesitate to comment to them to help us gain experience so we cann all learn and make it more enjoyable. It also sucks when i work hard as everyone does and no one even looks at my stuff cuz i have a low count or something its very discouraging. It just sorry ucks when I go to build something and post it and not a person looks and when i start a GB no one says anything to improve or adjust it, i'm just shy and dont talk alot on here but when i do i want the same treatment as eveyone else.

sorry for the rant

I'm joined several GBs put on by new members who either left the forum or dropped the GB quickly, some who dropped the ball before the GB even started. I'm certainly not saying you did any such thing, it's just I've had bad luck there with new people starting GBs.  If you want to start one hang out for a while, join some other GBs, and contribute to the forum. Sorry about your bad luck, hope your next one goes better.

Scratchbuilder725

Well as new member (relatively) i tried to start a GB in Armor co hosted with a higher post count member than I as too help me (a newbie.) But i tend to notice on here the well respected posters with high counts and great builders dont look or comment or help. HOw are we newbies gonna know that we suck at hosting without help from you guys. Dont hesitate to comment to them to help us gain experience so we cann all learn and make it more enjoyable. It also sucks when i work hard as everyone does and no one even looks at my stuff cuz i have a low count or something its very discouraging. It just sorry ucks when I go to build something and post it and not a person looks and when i start a GB no one says anything to improve or adjust it, i'm just shy and dont talk alot on here but when i do i want the same treatment as eveyone else.

sorry for the rant

Well that is a shame for sure. I try to help out when need be. 

I suggest that if you do start a GB, announce it! Stir up some noise. Find a subject that will be interesting. Some subjects are just to limited or obscur for most builders.

Check out other GB's out for ideas, style, rules, etc. Most importantly: participate. Some builders say they're going to build this or that and you never see them again. The more vocal traffic, the more interest in the thread and your builds.

For my latest GB, I chose Big Cats: Panthers and Tigers. Very common, but very popular subjects. My other current GB is That's Amore Italian GB. It's much smaller, but has been a treasure trove of information on seldom seen modeling subjects. Some very cool builds in there too. 

Scratchbuilder725

 

 

Well as new member (relatively) i tried to start a GB in Armor co hosted with a higher post count member than I as too help me (a newbie.) But i tend to notice on here the well respected posters with high counts and great builders dont look or comment or help. HOw are we newbies gonna know that we suck at hosting without help from you guys. Dont hesitate to comment to them to help us gain experience so we cann all learn and make it more enjoyable. It also sucks when i work hard as everyone does and no one even looks at my stuff cuz i have a low count or something its very discouraging. It just sorry ucks when I go to build something and post it and not a person looks and when i start a GB no one says anything to improve or adjust it, i'm just shy and dont talk alot on here but when i do i want the same treatment as eveyone else.

sorry for the rant

 

 

 

Just an observation here from an old veteran member... I've been here for five years already and have seen this dynamic before.

I think that some new members don't understand that this forum--like others--is really a social club. Picture it as a metaphoric local neighborhood bar where people congregate and shoot the shhhh with their buddies. Guys make friends here; there are disagreements, some people stalk off and don't come back, others play the peacemakers; we have loudmouths, smartarses, the quiet corner-lurkers, and the popular people.

When you come into a forum as a "noob" and try to get a Group build going, I think it's rather like walking into a new local bar and announcing "Hey all! Party at my house this weekend! Who's up for it?!" If you don't really know the people yet and they don't know you, you're not going to have a full house. Especially when people already are committed to some other guy's party who they might have known for years.

I'm not saying that that's the way it should be--I"m saying that despite what we may want it to be like, THAT'S the way it IS.

Very well said Doog

I am probably still considered somewhat of a newbie, not so much for time maybe as the fact that I tend to float in and out more than most people.

That being said, I do think this forum is for the most part a really great group of people. I have had no problems feeling welcome, and it seems to me that even mediocre work is praised as long as you show willingness to improve.

I tossed out several GB ideas before I finally had one that took off (1942 GB.) Why that one succeeded where others failed, I have no idea. Subject matter? Maybe. People recognized me by then? Maybe, but I kind of doubt it. I think maybe the stars just aligned perfectly so that enough people had something lined up that would fit the GB. It's almost halfway through now and has so far been pretty good, I think.

All that being said, I think the Doog has some good advice. Sit down, build a couple models, actively participate in a few GBs, and most of all, don't feel like people are snubbing you, because as long as you're open, they probably are not. And make some friends. That's what I think a lot of this is about. Some of us don't have time to physically go to a club meeting, so this is all the socializing we get to do with a modeling crowd. Crack a few jokes and just forget about the rest of the world!

Hope to see you around the forums! I'll keep an eye out for you in case you need a friendly face.

Ye, i think Doog is pretty spot on their. We do try and welcome all the new guys. I know there are a few that have joined over the last couple of years and it now seems they have been here for ever. Its not about being a great model builder, its not even about posting endless images of your builds, but it does help to get yourself known.

And the subject matter is very important. I thought your idea was great, but how many people would have a suitable kit in the stash. I only have 1, and if i didn't have that i probably would not have even looked at your thread as i would have known it was not for me.

So ye, i hope you stick around and maybe try again. maybe expanding the idea to an Artillery GB including missiles.