Where did all the tread-heads go?

[Kreighshoer]

erm ...

i second what ken said - each single word!

i for my part miss the old rat pack - anybody remember laz, lazdos and siim? they're gone into the ether ... then ken of course, saúl and rick who occasionally post here!

while i have regular conversation with ken and saúl and gladly got in touch with rick again i really miss the two lazzes and siim!

marco seems to be the only remainer of the old pack that i miss so much! (too much!) we used to have so much fun together and the discussions about single details that went on for pages in some cases were so enormously informative!

from time to time i find myself wanting to start a new vbench build but then i see the forums and refrain from doing so because ... guessed right ... i miss the old pack too much!

apart from that i couldn't cope with the change of activity - i'm no attention whore but when i post an update of a build of mine and notice 300+ views and get only one answer it disappoints me and i ask myself if it's of no interest for the others, if i annoy them and if it's worth my time to upload pics, write what i did and explain my latest building step! the least bit i expect is some constructive feedback! the lurking attitude took overhand the last two years but it seems to have changed lately!

i'm really busy administering another place but pa was and is my number1 love, my first real home and it really hurt me to witness how contribution went down some time ago! but the more i'm glad that you gordy have found alex and am happy to see pa in full steam again!

maybe it's a change of watch, a change of user generation and that my 'generation' had it's time here - time to leave the grounds to the new generation!

that being said let's be constructive:

- the vbench system is the most superior all over the web and i wholeheartedly love it! do not touch it, do not change it!

- some of you might know that i was (and am) in charge for group builds on that other place i won't name - group builds are a lot of fun, generate common interest and help newcomers to a community to join and feel incorporated! furthermore they are very lucrative for feedback and tweaking! bring on the group build spirit! it will tighten the common sense of being planetarians!

- reviews and news are spread all around over the web and one specialty of pa is that the focus lays on building and discussing builds, having fun in the sense of this hobby! i don't think that pa is in need of reviews or hobby news! this is not to object you rudi and your reviews and work you put into them are highly appreciated but it's my opinion regarding pa! the lack of reviews was always one of the highpoints of pa - focus on modelling and kittalking ... nowadays exactly that is what makes pa special!

- "rivetcounter talking" - an atmosphere of constructive common research where everybody is invited to join in and where peoples may ask questions without having to fear unpolite answers would surely help! know what i mean? e.g. anybody remembers james tainton's build of the dml panzer 4 f2 where a discussion about correct coloring went on for about five pages, including color correction in original color photos and discussing unit history? that's what i'm talking about!

encourage peoples to profit and provide from the pool of knowledge assembled here!

- an own gallery would surely be helpful!

- years ago there was a suggestion of a 'sharkpool' area where peoples who take part allow others to give constructive critizism without mercy! if there's a flaw it will be mentioned and possibilities of repairing that flaw provided! no 'rahrah', no 'good job' in any case but more "well done but you surely screwed up that part here! repair it! you could do it like so or like so" ... peoples daring to enter such a sharkpool would surely improve their skills and knowledge significantly!

if i can be of any help, please let me know alex and gordy! you know where to find me!

[alexwencho]

Now that is what I'm "talken' bout".

let's get it OUT!

Speak your mind and let it those words come from your heart.

Like I said "...good therapy" "chicken soup for the soul"

If you want the attention of the folks that run this outfit then by all means, say it!

Thanks and still here listening, (standing at attention!) to hear more from ALL that really care!

AWD

[armor fiend]

I like that sharkpool idea.

[schlichtr]

Alot of good ideas here. One of the reasons this was and still is my favorite site is the atmosphere. It's hard to describe but this site just has a different feel to it but lately I have noticed a change and cannot quite put my finger on it. It was really noticeable after haveing been gone for awhile. I came back and noticed it but again couldn't put my fingure on it. The V-Bench was one of the things I noticed and it was mentioned before that there seems to be alot of lookey loos and no comments. Some things that I will agree with whole heartedly is

1. Leave the V-Bench alone. It's my favorite part of PA.
2. No review site. There are plenty of review sites out there and besides the V-Bench is the best review site around bar none.
3. Group builds can be fun and I think can be incorporated into the v-bench quite easily.
4. A gallery could be nice but I think only models completed on this site via V-Bench should be allowed in.

Some things I am not to hip about are:

1. New forums, there are plenty here already. Things like the Rivit Counter or Sharkpool are all things that can be done with what we have already. If someone gets bent out of shape when some one makes suggestions to their model after asking for comments has no place posting their models to begin with.
2. Non-armor postings. This is an armor modelling website that should be limited to armor and military ground forces type stuff. If you are working on a v-bech and want to post a pic of your formula one racing car that you just finished thats fine but no post or v-benches devoted to non site specific models.

Again this is my favorite site and don't want it to change all to much.

Roy

PS. Lets not have "features" unless it is clear what that feature is for. I still don't know what the "friends" thing does.

[camokid]

Just a quick post while I'm home on my lunch break to agree with what everyone has said about the vbench. It is the coolest thing on the web and one of the top three reasons I joined and began posting here.

P.S. I have no idea what the friends thing does either, unless you had your profile to accept messages from friends only or something?

[alexwencho]

True this is an armor modeling site, but now under "new management".

Didn't someone ask me if the Board Track racer was a "civilian" model?

...

AWD

[schlichtr]

Originally Posted by alexwencho

Didn't someone ask me if the Board Track racer was a "civilian" model?
AWD

Yes that was me. I have no problem with you posting a pic of your wonderfully built bike but would have rather seen it as part of a general modelling post of your other interest. Devoting a whole V-Bench is beyound the scope of this site. Again this is an Armor site.

Originally Posted by alexwencho

True this is an armor modeling site, but now under "new management".
AWD

So does that mean we are going to start seeing planes, autos, ships and what ever else on this site. Maybe I'm just reading that wrong.

Again, this is my favorite site but I don't come here to look at planes, autos, motorcycles or anything else that doesn't fall under the scope of "Armor Modelling".

Roy

[alexwencho]

So how do we make everyone happy and not just someones happy?

[alexwencho]

I'm getting the sense of true loyalty with the above discussions and that is the essence of life on planetarmor.com

[astralscooter]

Lots of interesting ideas and thoughts here. I'm busy moderating our national IPMS forum, so I haven't spend too much time contributing here unfortunately, but I do have a vBench which I update every once in a blue moon (and get lots of views on some of the builds, and not so many replies, as seems to be the norm for several).

I haven't got any better ideas than anybody here about what to do to improve things, but there are two things about PA that "bugs" me.

1) the vBenches are listed under the modeller's full name, whereas all the posts elsewhere shows the user's nick. As a consequence of this I, more often than not, fail miserably at finding back to the right vBench if I want to find a build by a particular modeller. I will have to resort to going through the vBench top blog-thread or search. Nothing wrong with that, but still.

2) The colours of the site. It's dark, brown, drab and depressive. A slightly more cheerful theme would go a long way.

And finally a question for Laura. How the heck do you organize a group build system that works? We've been doing group builds on our IPMS site for a long time, and the fact of the matter is that just about every group build with a subject the members have elected from a list (compiled through input from said members), have a fair amount of activity in the beginning, only to die a silent death with very few completed models when deadline is reached.

The most successful group build has been our "Perkele" build, where a bunch of members simply started to build Finnish subjects. The idea caught on, and builds where grouped together as new group build.

But trying to get people to build the same kit, or even the same vehicle/plane/whatever, has been a complete and utter failure.

Arild