# Where IS Everybody???



## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Guys,

I haven't been over here for awhile, been busy building models. But I did take time out to enter some of them in the annual "Build A Monster" contest run by our own Trevor ("MadCap Romanian") Ursulescu at his Monster Hobbies store. If you don't live in High River, Alberta, Canada, you can still enter the contest online - find out how here.

I just checked MCR's Facebook page and can't believe I'm the only online entrant so far...doesn't _*ANYBODY*_ who calls him- or herself a HobbyTalker build models anymore?


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I build models.
I do not use Facebook.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

But you are online. You don't have to use Facebook to enter. This is a fun little contest, and it helps support a long time HobbyTalker.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I followed your link and saw something about building a Monster 'Denizen's of the Deep' contest ending in two days then Facebook demanded I log in to continue.

I do not know if he had posted anything for this contest on Hobbytalk, but this is the very first time I have heard of it. Sadly I do not have any appropriate kits to draft for this even if I had the time.

I know Facebook gives people/places an inexpensive way to host a page and share with others. My problem is that unless it is on one of the various forums I belong to that page might as well be on another planet. I know this is a self imposed limitation, but aside from the information harvesting I simply do not care to socially bond with people online, posting on forums is sometimes further than I prefer. 

I hope he does well, but honestly, chastising people for not entering a contest being held on a rather obscure Facebook page is assuming a lot. I am sorry if he had posted about this contest on HT/SSM/RPF/etc and I missed it- with a bit of planning it would be a fun one to enter...


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Richard,

I did a quick search and saw that the last mention of the annual "Build A Monster" contest was in 2017. That's odd, because Trevor usually posts an announcement thread every year, well in advance of the contest. Apparently you missed the thread to Trevor's website, which I embedded in the highlighted words "find out how here. Although I use Facebook, I'm not crazy about this business of "friending" every Tom, Dick, and Harry who wants to be one's BFF.

I'm sorry if you felt chastised; I was addressing my remarks to those HobbyTalkers who have participated in the contest before but didn't this year. Having done the search I suppose that Trevor's failure to post a notice this year had something to do with that. But as the saying goes, there's always next year!


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

Agree with Richard. Facebook's best avoided.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Can't argue the point, S.G. I only mention it because that's where MCR has posted photos of the entries.


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## Todd P. (Apr 12, 2007)

I understand the reservations about Facebook, but it's where the bulk of the hobby crowd online has gone, including many people who used to be active here. I love kitbuilding but probably would have fallen away from it years ago if I couldn't share it with friends, even friends I'll never actually meet in person. These days, that means Facebook.


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## smoke14 (Aug 16, 2009)

Hello Mark, I don't build the types of models you do but, from one lifetime supporting member of HTF to another, I think you handled this issue you're having in the wrong way, you waited too long to make a point of it here. Facebook is not for everybody. I was recently bullied into setting up a page by my family and wouldn't you know, people who I'd been happy to forget are lined up asking me to friend then, it's a pain in the ass to scroll past them to get to making a post, my email inbox is full of requests and spam from notifacations, PITA is what facebook is! I know this is where a lot of people think it's where it's at and how business is done. It's run by the liberal left and they think they can remove posts and delete accounts of folks who's views that differ from theirs...that is BS! I will not support that behavor from anyone or any company.


You seem like a nice guy :thumbsup:, I'm not flaming you, just sayin'...


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I'm right behind you, Mark. NO! Don't turn around!!


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## Todd P. (Apr 12, 2007)

smoke14 said:


> I was recently bullied into setting up a page by my family and wouldn't you know, people who I'd been happy to forget...


Not defending Facebook. The criticisms you offer are among the many, many ills that I think have been exacerbated, possibly even created, by social media in the last decade or two. Facebook is only the one I know best. I suspect Twitter is even worse, and I don't even touch Pinterest, Instagram and Google+. I think I have a MySpace account but I dropped off that as soon as I finished taking a good look at it, years and years ago.

That said, I have two Facebook accounts, one I use for my hobby business and the other for people I actually know but no longer see often if at all.

For the business account, I accept pretty much all friend requests and then end up not following a bunch of them because they can't stop posting offensive political garbage. I'm only there to share the hobby, which isn't really a major way to bring people together with a common interest but every little bit helps. Plus, I do roughly a third of my sales through Facebook groups, particularly the Parts Pit group and an Aurora Monsters group.

The other account drove me crazy when I set it up. I was getting friend requests from people I'd almost forgotten, few of whom I really wanted to reconnect with. People from high school, the frat house. Oh, the showing off! I hated it. So I idled the account for about a year, then came back, adjusted my privacy settings so that pretty much no one can find me and quietly removed at least half of the people on my friends list. I wish them well, but what's past is past. Now I check that account about once a month and I rarely post anything.

In the end, of course, it's no skin off my nose if someone refuses to get onto Facebook. I resisted myself for quite some time, but in terms of business connections I would now have a difficult time doing without it. However, I'll still cheer as loudly as anyone if a new, better tool comes along, or even if the forums regain the influence they had when I re-entered this hobby in 2001.

Um ... Mark, I'm sorry, I've helped derail your thread, haven't I?


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

All Facebook is is another way to communicate. It's the ONLY way I can keep in touch with some of my more remote family members, like 2nd cousins I hadn't seen since we were kids, nieces and nephews in distant states, and _their _kids. Catching up with high school classmates turned out to be interesting. Fellow modelers share their current projects and provide inspiration. Plus there are tons of special interest groups - favorite actors/actresses; hobbies; pets; history...

'Friend' the people you want to talk to, and ditch the rest. The last election revealed people who can only talk about politics by hurling foul curses and calling you the most disgusting names, so they got ditched regardless of relation, and I stopped talking politics at all. Lesson learned there.

I'm on every day for little while, checking up on family and friends, getting inspiration for a project, finding historical photos I've never seen, looking at cute puppies... to each his own.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Todd P. said:


> Um ... Mark, I'm sorry, I've helped derail your thread, haven't I?


Maybe Todd. But then again, the Internet has become an important tool in our hobby; so it's pertinent to this thread. Like just about everything else everywhere in this world, there benefits and disadvantages to joining Facebook. You and John P. listed most of the pros I can think of, and everybody has mentioned one or another of the many cons. On the whole, I think the benefits outweigh the pitfalls - at least, as long as your "Delete" button works!

One aspect of Facebook that I enjoy is the ability to join groups that focus on specific topics. In addition to the discussions in these groups one can buy from, or sell to, a target audience. With a website like eBay, it's strictly a matter of taking pot luck that a desired item may be listed or that an interested party might respond to a listing. For instance, I'd never have found your resin John Carradine for the Aurora Dracula kit if I hadn't been a member of the Resin Maniacs group.

Anyway, I have brought his oversight to Trevor's notice. if it's too late for him to post something on this forum this year, hopefully he'll remember to do it in 2019.


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## djmadden99 (Dec 23, 2008)

I, for one, still lament the old Yahoo Group - Aurora Onelist, where emails were the only way to communicate...that said the hobby groups are pretty much the only reason I even log on to FB. I still like coming here to Hobbytalk, but the traffic, while still enjoyable, is not quite as prolific as it was.


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## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

> Where IS Everybody???


Gettin' older. Our model making generation is dying out. The rest are on Facebook or looking at memes that they make for fake internet points.

Some things are based on the generation. When I was a kid my parents went to the horse races all the time. Their friends did. The neighbors did. My friends parents did.
When I grew up I went a few times if I was at the Fair. I haven't in decades and don't know anyone who does.


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## smoke14 (Aug 16, 2009)

terryr said:


> Gettin' older. Our model making generation is dying out. The rest are on Facebook or looking at memes that they make for fake internet points.
> 
> Some things are based on the generation. When I was a kid my parents went to the horse races all the time. Their friends did. The neighbors did. My friends parents did.
> When I grew up I went a few times if I was at the Fair. I haven't in decades and don't know anyone who does.



Hehe, when I was a kid in the 1960's all the grown ups smoked and drank :surprise:. Happy Hour promptly every 4pm at so and so's house.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

They waited that long, till _*four?!?*_ >


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

I'm still here. I used to swing by every day, but as traffic died off I only pop in about once a week now.

I haven't posted much model related as I haven't really touched a kit in well over a year 
A combination of packing up everything to move, remodeling a new house, health issues that kept me severely limited for about 6 months, then moving, unpacking, and still working on the new house.
I hope to have my modeling workbench set up and up and running sometime in late spring. It will take me that long to build it all, and I won't be able to finish until I do the electrical upgrade in early spring. Going to swap out the 5 fuse boxes with one big breaker box, Which will give me the circuits I need to wire and light the workshop.
I have some small slim hope of maybe finishing a kit or two by WF next year.

Sadly, it seems the more time passes, the more things get in the way of hobbies.

As for FB, I do use it. I started almost 10 years ago as a way to keep in contact with my daughter when she went off to college. It's still about the only way I know what is going on in her life, as well as several old friends that moved away to far off states.
I try to keep my hobby stuff limited there though. I am involved with the Prehistoric Scenes group and a few other specific subject groups but shy away from the general modeling stuff. Too much out there. I could spend hours and hours trying to keep up, but then I would never have time to do anything. And I hate trying to go back and find old information anywhere on FB. That is why I still prefer forums. 
Mainly over at the Clubhouse, since I kinda help run the place, I sorta need to be there on a regular basis.


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## Seaview (Feb 18, 2004)

I come here every once in a while to learn new techniques from you pros, but for the most part keep busy and stay off the computer and enjoy life.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

I'm here. I have a severe history with this place.


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## Capt. Krik (May 26, 2001)

I'm here, I think. I might actually be somewhere else, it's a metaphysical thing.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Hmmm...sounds like you might want to recheck the settings in your TARDIS there, Cap.


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## Capt. Krik (May 26, 2001)

Mark McGovern said:


> Hmmm...sounds like you might want to recheck the settings in your TARDIS there, Cap.


I would Mark but ever since this woman Doctor showed up I can't find a darn thing in the TARDIS. Hair curlers and panty hose everywhere!:grin2:


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## bigdaddydaveh (Jul 20, 2007)

I haven't posted here in quite awhile. Most activity has moved to Facebook. I've tried my best to keep up with the old BB friends there and most have accepted my friends requests over on Facebook. Others have not, even after repeated requests so I stopped asking. I guess I must have done something to piss people off but I have no idea what that was?☹ I've known some folks around here from the very beginning and it's a bummer for me. I still lurk here but I have no idea what I did that was so offensive. I sure miss the old days around here when we all got along. It's just not the same.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Capt. Krik said:


> I would Mark but ever since this woman Doctor showed up I can't find a darn thing in the TARDIS. Hair curlers and panty hose everywhere!:grin2:


At least it smells nicer now. :cheers2:


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

bigdaddydaveh said:


> I haven't posted here in quite awhile. Most activity has moved to Facebook. I've tried my best to keep up with the old BB friends there and most have accepted my friends requests over on Facebook. Others have not, even after repeated requests so I stopped asking. I guess I must have done something to piss people off but I have no idea what that was?☹ I've known some folks around here from the very beginning and it's a bummer for me. I still lurk here but I have no idea what I did that was so offensive. I sure miss the old days around here when we all got along. It's just not the same.


You should stick around and see how easily we are offended. :grin2:


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## Todd P. (Apr 12, 2007)

bigdaddydaveh said:


> I've tried my best to keep up with the old BB friends there and most have accepted my friends requests over on Facebook. Others have not, even after repeated requests so I stopped asking.


Is it possible they don't know your real name? One thing about forums, they allow anonymity. I could name quite a few people I've known through this hobby, by their usernames, for more than 15 years but I still don't know who they really are.

Others seem to pass on accepting friend requests because they prefer their hobby interactions take place through the groups.


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## Capt. Krik (May 26, 2001)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> At least it smells nicer now. :cheers2:


This is true, and she is easier on the eyes than the doctors previous incarnations. :wink2:


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I didn't intend to go away but HT blocked my account some months back. I guess they were upgrading their passwords? My log in wouldn't work and I could never get it reset and , after a while, I said screw it and gave up. 

But, I spend more time on some other forums than here, and, of course, Facebook. It had gotten to be so dead around HT that it wasnt worth coming on anyway with zero posts or just some Chinese spam junk.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

djnick66 said:


> I didn't intend to go away but HT blocked my account some months back. I guess they were upgrading their passwords? My log in wouldn't work and I could never get it reset and , after a while, I said screw it and gave up.


If I remember correctly the last software upgrade made it necessary for all of the members to create new passwords. Temporary passwords that allowed us to do that were sent to whichever e-mail address the members had on file here, but apparently a lot of long-term members had moved on from those old addresses and never updated their profiles here so they never received those temporary passwords. Some created new accounts to work around this, but a lot of 'em got so frustrated that they stopped coming here.

Also, a lot of long-term members left before that because the previous owners (is that the proper term for a web forum?) were like absentee landlords--they rarely made their presence known, didn't appear to have any moderators, and made no obvious efforts to maintain the site. By comparison Milton is the ultimate spokesperson for a forum like this--he participates in the threads, moderates when necessary, and has directly responded to our questions and issues with the forum and, as much as he could, kept us informed while tweaks and fixes were underway. It reminds me of the good old days when I first joined Hobby Talk and the people who ran the site seemed to enjoy it as much as the members did, i.e. when it was a lot more fun.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Thanks for the kind words zombie_61. The new owners at Vertical Scope and my fellow super moderator KITT have made that much easier to do as well.

If you are still out there lurking around but find youself still locked out - you can create a new profile as zombie_61 suggests above or use the contact us link at the bottom right of the page. It is always good to welcome back old members and have new members sign up as well. :cheers2:


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

bigdaddydaveh said:


> I haven't posted here in quite awhile. Most activity has moved to Facebook. I've tried my best to keep up with the old BB friends there and most have accepted my friends requests over on Facebook. Others have not, even after repeated requests so I stopped asking. I guess I must have done something to piss people off but I have no idea what that was?☹ I've known some folks around here from the very beginning and it's a bummer for me. I still lurk here but I have no idea what I did that was so offensive. I sure miss the old days around here when we all got along. It's just not the same.


The thing is, I don't accept friend requests unless I know who the requester is. I don't know your real name, so I wouldn't know it's "Bigdaddydaveh from hobbytalk." If I _did_, you'd be made in da shade.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

I feel the same way, John. I don't want to gather a whole host of "friends" who are complete strangers, as Emma Watson did in _The Circle_ (2017); things didn't go well for her in that movie - and in a chillingly believable fashion. But I do miss the camaraderie we had here, and I'm trying to visit more often.


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## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

'You should stick around and see how easily we are offended.'

Now that is the slap down funniest thing I've read in a while. Lord knows I've been there a time or two.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

*HOWDY Mr. McGovern!* :wave: :freak:

I'm usually too busy with my own builds on limited time to enter online contest but use Face book for family and distant friends / school mates etc.

BUT! I agree with you! I sure miss the old Hobby Talk feel and the harmless fun we had poking at each other, your Dremel sulutes ( LOL ) etc etc ...even with all the horsing around we still managed to get the matters at hand. 

NOTE: I feel I need to add.....Hobby Talk is still a friendly and fare board compared to other similar hobby boards just not as goofy/silly ( at times ) as it once was.


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

I've been "ghosting" these boards for a couple of years because of the logon snafu a while back. I've finally gotten my password sorted out, so I will be submitting again!

Merry Christmas everybody!

Larry


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

*HEY Larry!* :wave:

Merry Christmas to you and yours too! 

I guess that goes for Mark as well tho I'm pretty sure that evil pagan monsters do not celibate Xmas LOL  :freak:

( as I run for cover )


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## crazy mike (Aug 26, 1999)

(Stumbles back in from a long stay at the asylum) Been out of the loop for far too long. Do hobby shops still exist?


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

HIYA Mike! :wave: Welcome back! Do they know your out or was it a self release kinda deal? 

The only reason I'm posting so often is that I was called into work today and have very little to do so 

Some Shops are but sadly online Hobby is the mainstay for many for some its simply the only option they have. 

Our local Hobby Store ( Galaxy Hobby ) is still going strong with a whole Isle for Sci-Fi / Fantasy kits alone as well as two for paints... not too shabby.


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## crazy mike (Aug 26, 1999)

fluke said:


> HIYA Mike! :wave: Welcome back! Do they know your out or was it a self release kinda deal?


Sorta depends on if Father's brother Samuel puts out anymore bizarre work orders. Had a hellofa 6 year run building desks for Ft. H, really need to retire.:freak:

This is the first board I ever got involved with. Kinda peaceful compared to the rest of the cyber world. Feels good to be home:smile2:


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

Same here ...Hobby Talk was my first internet social deal, Fine scale was my second.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

How'd I get to be an evil pagan monster? I'm not evil, just misunderstood...


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

Lol! Hiya Mark :wave: 
Hope your Holiday is going well! Merry Christmas!


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Back atcha, flukie!


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Well, I started this thread on account of the 2018 Build A Monster contest that our own Mad Cap Romanian holds every year at Halloween. You're very lucky if you're fortunate enough to live within a convenient distance to his store, Monster Hobbies in High River, Alberta, Canada. The rest of us have to enter photos of our models online. I have attached some photos of the models I entered, along with the nifty award certificates that Trevor sends out to the winners (I had to fudge the La Brea Tar Pit scene because it was out of my hands before the certificate arrived).

Mark your calendars to be ready for the 2019 Build A Monster contest!


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Congrates on the wins! :cheers2:

(Remind me next Oct and we can post a sticky thread about the 2019 contest.)


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> (Remind me next Oct and we can post a sticky thread about the 2019 contest.)


*Next October?!??* I'll be lucky to remember to remind you by beddie-bye time!


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Mark McGovern said:


> *Next October?!??* I'll be lucky to remember to remind you by beddie-bye time!


Remind me about what?


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Oy. Milton's the Moderator, y'know...


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

Very nice work Mark! BRAVO! :thumbsup:


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Thanks, and have a Happy New Year, O Fluke!


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Monstrously good work with your entries Mark. Good show!

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Thanks, and have a great 2019! :cheers2:


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## Capt. Krik (May 26, 2001)

Excellent models, Mark. I especially like the display you made for the Mummy. Congratulations on the wins and Happy New Year


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

Happy New Year to you to Mark and everyone else!:grin2:


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

Happy New Year's guys! Wish me luck: putting out for donations to buy equipment to repair motherboards on a component level. Perhaps I can earn some extra money....


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

*Hey Buddy!*! :wave:

Hope it all works out for you. HAPPY NEW YEAR!


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Capt. Krik said:


> Excellent models, Mark. I especially like the display you made for the Mummy. Happy New Year


Thank you, Cap'n. I based the design on the movie - the ancient Egyptians _never_ painted their tombs like that! Have a Happy New Year yourself!


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

fluke said:


> Happy New Year to you to Mark and everyone else!:grin2:


 Back atcha, flukie! You have a Happy New Year, too. Hope they can step down the voltage on the electroshock therapy next year...


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

You promised not tell anybody! :freak:


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Mark, the tarpit is _astounding_!


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

fluke said:


> You promised not tell anybody! :freak:


Whaddaya mean, *I* promised not to tell? You were the cover boy, remember? Or maybe you don't...


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Coming from a modeler of your calibre, Mr. P., I take that as an enormous compliment! Thanks for a positive start for the new year.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

A liitle dab will do ya !


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

fluke said:


> A liitle dab will do ya !


Yeah, makes for better contact with the electrodes... :freak:


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

fluke said:


> *Hey Buddy!*! :wave:
> 
> Hope it all works out for you. HAPPY NEW YEAR!


Thanks, Fluke! If I can get myself semi-self-employed, it will help out a lot!

David

Now: back to our regularly scheduled program!


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

Vibes sent your way ! :grin2:


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## Bugzy (Oct 14, 2004)

...Happy New Year ....
:thumbsup:


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