You know you've been reading too much FSM when...

hey your name is garth, too. holy poop on a stick. im garth finck.

If you do get around to adding the turret your van, you might want to also consider a hedgerow cutter or a crab flail. Both could come in handy during rush-hour traffic.

How about 'urban' pioneering tools. Instead of a shovel, ax and pick, you could have a grill, dvd/tv combo and folding picnic table attached to the side. They all should come in handy when you have to 'dig in' at a local tailgate party.

Don't even get me started on the wading conversion...

~ Garth

it was just rumors that it caught on fire, but later production tanks had it removed. this is the ingredeants in zim.
10% saw dust
10% zinc sulphide
15% ochre pigment
25% polyvinyl-acetate
40% barium sulphate

it was not anti magnetic but it put a layer of stuff between the tank hull and the mine.


http://www.maadhq.com/html/zimmerit.htm
that site has the info on zim.

really!!?! didnt know that. how come??

also when hit by shells the zimmerit could be set on fire too. not a good thing

wbill-- WHOA there buddy, don't be too quick there... aroound 1942-43, there germans started taking heavy tank casualties from russians with just those magnetic mines. in russia at the time, it was either die running at a tank, or be killed by your friendly komrad kommisars (spelling?). so infantry really did run up to tanks plant a mine on the side and so forth. if there wasn't any real threat from these mines, then, pardon me, why the hell would the germans implement the use of zimmerit on nearly every armored vehicle by the end of the war?? they had standard design patterns set up, so NO, yur wrong. there.... LOL

the material was a type of concrete anyway I believe. sure it chipped, it was applied to metal, and nothin lasts. but I think it would at least have stopped a small arms round.

audiophile- thnx much for the kind comments!! I always like a sig that has a bit of a character of its own. mine could made into a cartoon character! hahaha, hohoho, hehehe,.....

ok so it sucked i know. glad u liked it tho......

LOL! I laughed for probably two or three full minutes when I read the suggestion to convert my van into a tank. Add a turret. Apply zimmerit. hahaha .. great stuff. Maybe I'll do it with another vehicle later on..

gringe - Loved your sig. I remember always laughing at that guy whenever I heard about what he'd been saying. I was waiting for an Army Ranger to interrupt his press conference and take the microphone to say, "Hello, Iraq! We're here!" ..because he kept on denying that there were any Americans even there. hahahaha .. oh well

wbill - I do the same thing! Except with the NATO colors - green, brown, black.

I'm the opposite; I have trouble getting enough Fine Scale Modeler! When the new issue arrives, I read it, then I go back to my stash and dig out an issue from six or seven years ago and read that. Sometimes after that, I'll get another six or seven yeard old issue and read THAT!

When my girl friend , says to me ," Get a Life " , after seeing the newest issue of FSM , on my bedside table , my PC is stilled logged on the FSM Website , I have reference material , on my coffee table , relating to a model I am building ,and we are watching the news on recent terrorist activities in the Former Soviet Union , and all I notice is a BTR 80 , in the background. LOL , at me!
Frank .

Zimmerit is a thin coated paste...somewhat fragile in fact. Definitely wouldn't stop bullets. The biggest irony about zim is that it was designed to counter magnetic mines/explosives that someone would have to actually place on the vehicle and then detonate...a virtually non-existent threat.

In the realm of spending too much time with FSM....you know it happens when you get the opportunity to color a Chili's Pepper for charity and when you are given the crayons, immediately look for the red/yellow/green combo to do a camo scheme with...

it was a sort of cement-like material, so im guessing it probably did both

QUOTE: Originally posted by JCon Don't do your van as a sherman, cover it with Zimmerit, remember it will be safer for those drive by shootings and road rage in the big city!

I didn't know zimmerit was supposed to stop bullets , wasn't it used to protect against magnetic explosives ???

that's why I try to even out my dosage each month, slowly going thro the mag. that's just my way of staying sane...

Models, we're supposed to build models?

Don't do your van as a sherman, cover it with Zimmerit, remember it will be safer for those drive by shootings and road rage in the big city!

QUOTE: Originally posted by DanCooper You know you've been reading too much FSM AND spent too much time on this Forum when you notice that none of the kits you are building show any progress at all

now this one i am in total agreement on. oh wait another post.


joe

You know you've been reading too much FSM AND spent too much time on this Forum when you notice that none of the kits you are building show any progress at all

Try to convert your van into a sherman! believe me, you will never see anything like that again after you labor over that job

I have been reading FSM for decades now and I have always been fairly happy with their offerings. As for the multiple part article, they have been doing that for years. I have a subscription so realy it does not bother me, I'll just read about it next month. I agree that some articles seem very basic. Maybe thats cause I've been doing this for a few decades. When I see an article about which glue to use I know that it was not realy targeted at me but at someone who is entering the hobby. I remember as a young lad reading those types of articles with great interest because I did not know. I still read them, but I dont gain as much as I used to, the learning curve is not as steep as it was back in the day.

I aplaud FSM for keeping a healthy balance of "been there, done that, got the T shirt" to "holy crap look at what this guy did with this ship." Maybe I'll try some of those techniques on my next build. We are not all on the same page of music here, some of us are learning how to play jingle bells, while others of us are on mosart. Its gotta be tough to be a FSM editor.

As for some of the articles that you have mentioned that should be done, they have done in past issues. I am sure that they will be done again in futuer issues and thats just alright with me. It lets me know whats new out there, and lets a new guy know some basic information to keep his interest level in the hobby up.

As for you know you have been reading too much FSM when: When you wear the covers off of past issues rereading them over and over again. Ill bet I've got that last 6 months worth memorized by now. Come on mail call, I need a new FSM! LMAO

WoWeee;

I agree with some of your issues to a point.

Sometimes the articles contained in the issue are quite sparce or simplistic. However, there are an equal number of articles that have contained tips and/or techniques that are quite unique. I have the entire series of FSM minus the original trial issue. I have noticed some "recycling" of articles over the length of the magazine, however in defence of FSM most have been updated to incorporate new items and usage to keep the hobby current.

As far as subjects to be covered the simplest solution I think would be submission by you, me or any of the members here. This will keep the magazine moving forward and limit the repitition or vagueness.

In regards to the issue of how far will modeler's go?
I personally, really enjoy seeing the extremes that some modellers take ordinary kits to. This level of detail showcases not only the individual modeler as a skilled and detail oriented craftsman/ woman but also affords the challenge to better ones own skills to achieve a higher standard and ultimately an awe inspiring piece at the end.

I have over the years seen many magazines for modellers. The worst offender by far was Military Modeler / Scale Modeler for recycling old materiel and limiting itself to only a handful of new submissions monthly while showcasing the same modeller month after month. The magazine finally ended and left a void that FSM has filled and re-defined quite well.

After all of the foregoing my best advice would be to send in a submission to the Editorial Staff and solicit the magazine to add new items monthly. Ask for the additions of sections for beginners, intermediates, advanced and a showcases of masterclass modelers works. Tips and Techniques for and from each of these groups. Maybe even a few yearly special issues of just reference photos, drawings, paint schemes for one specific type or subject.

After all FSM is just a magazine. It's readership is what drives it and fills its pages and prolongs its. It's up to us to foster the direction it takes us in.

Now I will get down off my soapbox and get back to the workbench.

Cheers;

Gregory

Is it just me or has FSM gone down hill. Let me explain, for two weeks I waited to read the article on washing a Tiger (my fav. modeling subject) then the mag arrives, and to my disappointment the article takes me all of 2 mins. to read and contains nothing new, then to top it off it's continued next month...what is that! Are sales that bad that they have to resort to trapping consumers into buying the next month’s magazine? The article on figures was good, but still lacked substance. The 'Super Detail" aircraft was neat, but how many modelers out there go into that type of detail. Now they have a column about “the forum” to fill the pages; if I wanted to read what is going on in the forums (worked I’m here now) I WILL READ THE FORUM! Don't feed me regurgitated information! There is tons of modeling subjects they could cover, How to do staic grass, how to use PE properly, tools not normally thought of, proper use of Putty, cleaning and care of an airbrush, how to make a good compressor set-up. I could go on and on, but I think you get my point. Give us useful information! Well off my soap box...and back to real life! Sorry for the ramble!

Yes, that is probably cheaper, but not as fun in traffic!

Maybe you should lay off the glue and invest in a spray booth.

Perhaps it is a sign that you need to mount a turret on your van. Seems like the most obvious next step.

Too much FSM? Hmmm, that's an interesting condition you have. I suggest you lie down in bed for a couple of days and read your whole collection, from begining to end, just to get it out of your system.

We all suffer from the same thing at some point in time.
The first step to recovery is to realize you have a problem.

oh yes there is such a thing as too much FSM. i was so bored on a train one day that i read the thing cover to cover thrice. i gave that particular copy to a friend......... and he used it to line his birdcage ! oy veh

There is no such thing as reading too much FSM.
Good luck with the weather down there. I hope you and yours get through it all ok.

A simple and quick solution....

1. Wear a respirator next time you're at the bench
2. Try some Light German Armor
3. Do not combine FSM and moving heavy equipment

Just kidding... Hopefully you have weathered the storm and everything remains intact at both the bench and with your family.

Cheers;

Gregory