I'm not sure about any of you in our forum, but just recently I've received just about every kind of response (except positive) when sharing anything related to scale model building.
It starts when friends or family get together. If its friends who are now retired they all want to talk about and share thier hobbies involving golf, beer, wine, old cars, trap or skeet shooting, etc. That's when everyone starts sharing thier "other" hobby interests. When it's my turn I bring up my enjoyment in scale modeling and everyone gives me the stinky diaper look.
Even family ask about my modeling hobby and once they ask they immediately go to another subject or just look at me and say, "Are you still doing that kind of stuff? I thought you did that when you were a child. I remember slapping them together and shooting them with my BB gun when I was young. I didn't even think stuff like that even existed anymore. Why don't you build or restore 1:1 vehicles instead? Is that junk really fun? Where would you find something like that anymore? For me, I grew out of that in high school", and so on, etc. etc.
Nobody understands scale modeling anymore except other scale modelers. Almost nobody can comprehend the prices, time, or skill needed to complete a scale replica today. A few months ago I was at a hobby show and I overheard a (non-modeller) person ask a modeler if they would sell thier built contest model and offered them $50.00. That set of a reaction by both parties; the modeler was surprised first that it was not for sale, and second that the person thought so little of the model to only offer $50.00; and the non-modeler who was interested but ignorant to the cost, time, effort, and venue. Unless you are active in this hobby you would never know the costs, effort, and skill that goes into making a contest worthy model.
My older brother is a retired industrial engineer. He has restored over 10 classic cars, 15 antique tractors, and 35 classic motorcycles. Then he looks at what I do an tells me he does not understand how I can work on this little toy things. The funny thing is when he was younger he was the one more than anybody who got me interested in model building.
My brother-in-law is a retired professor from BGSU. He asked me what I've been working on in my modeling and as soon as we begin to talk about it he says, "Well isn't that special", and then moves on to another subject after just 1-2 minutes.
My wife puts up with me modeling in the basement because she knows where I am, I am banished to the basement, and she puts up with the lower costs of scale modeling versus 1:1 classic vehicle restoration.
I suppose after all of the local hobby shops closed this kind of turned in to a closet hobby. Your local hobby friends either gave up the hobby or you see then at the monthly model meeting, never at the local store anymore (because they are all gone).
The only people who can relate or care to share any interest in scale modeling are long distance friends I've gained through clubs or contests, or people like you in the forum. So I guess I should just say, thank you Fine Scale Modeler and thank you forum members, for allowing me to share the joys and challenges of my hobby with all of you.
It is nice to have a place like this to go............
Ben