New members to our hobby

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Colin

Being a multi millionaire doesn't mean that I have to live in Kensington, far to many noisy pop stars and magazine editors for my liking.

As a matter of interest how far is it to your nearest boating lake?

Paul

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

You are all quite lucky that there is still quite a lot of interest in your particular type of model shipbuilding. Interest in my field, miniature merchant ships between about 1850 and 1965 virtually died out many years ago!

Collecters love them, but fellow modelmakers tend to keep well-clear, preferring kits to scratch, and battleboats to merchant ships!

When I do build anything these days, it is for my own enjoyment, but at the local ship model club, they rarely attract more than a casual glance.

Bob

[Tony HadleyParticipant @tonyhadley]

Bob,

Just found a copy of Model Shipwright from 2004. Whilst looking for an item (by Jim Pottinger) on the paddle steamer "Shanklin", couldn't help but notice your article on the French four masted Barque "Jacqueline".

Sorry to see Model Shipwright disappear.

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

After Model Shipwright finished, it was replaced by the annual Shipwright, a full-sized journal in full colour. This rans for severall years, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. But after the long-time editor John Bowen retired, they discontinued it, and that was the end of it after just over 40 years! I wrote for both publications regularly. After it finished, I took the plunge and followed up with my own version Miniature Shipbuilder 2015. This has been a great success and it has been reprinted several times. It has been discussed here in Model Boats when it was in the process of being written:

**LINK**

Bob

[Gareth JonesParticipant @garethjones79649]

We sailed at the Round Pond at the Model Yacht Association centenary sail about 5 years ago. We also displayed a number of Elizabeth's vintage model yachts as part of the exhibition that was held on the day. There is still a London model yacht club based there but it is a long walk from their clubhouse and car park to the pond. As it was a special event we were allowed to drive into the park and down to the pond with our models – but we had to be there at 6:00 am in the morning and go down in a single convoy, then immediately take our cars back to the clubhouse car park. We could not drive back in at the end of the day to collect our yachts after the event closed (health and safety of the public). It was *****Y hard work walking back several times on a hot sunny afternoon carrying heavy vintage pond yachts.

The local club do have the use of a number of trolleys to get their yachts from the clubhouse to the pond and back. I suspect the use of any noisy powered craft would not be permitted.

Gareth

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I always have a landing craft at the pond specifically for the lending to small persons to have a go. Never know they might get the taste for it. All clubs should have something for the kiddies for encouragement, as a starter. They are also suitable for MB readers who are (still) working on their masterpiece(s) and do not currently have a boat to sail but wish to keep their hand in.

Perhaps I should keep some flat-pack LCM (or whatever) kits handy as a starter if the children/parents show an interest!!! or some rubber band jobs as kids do not mind running around???

Perhaps shows should have more for children, even if its just a large plastic pool with small r/c boats, or a "race-track" affair, made from guttering, or…..a pop-pop demo track, a have-a-go rubber band boat…perhaps some..ooh..i don't know….any suggestions?????

The marine life/boat mus centre in somewhere in Cornwall (name escapes me) has a great big indoor pool (for want of a better word)…like a swimming pool or fish pond…and it has blower vents all the way round. There are r/c yachts in this pool and for £1 a go you can sail around the buoys. Fantastic fun. Bit large to carry round I suppose.

 

Paul; Colin does not live a million miles from Bushy park, where the parking is free, right next to the pond, there is a good hardstanding for boat launches, seat for resting, refreshment facilities, loo and the boaters are very friendly.

Ashley

Edited By ashley needham on 14/01/2016 09:57:34

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi DG

Thanks for the link to the Keilkraft handbook (Bible) it is like being able to do time travel.

Ray

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Ashley

Bushy Park sounds ideal but remember what happened the last time Colin visited, his limousine became stuck and his 'nurses' got mud all over their high heels.

Ray

Thank you for bringing the topic back to its original premise, the book that DG posted is great and does indeed take us back to 'happier times' but does it have any relevance to the youngsters of today.

Paul

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Paul. I did not want to mention that, but I still have sufficient red carpet left for the walk from limo to landing stage.

Are we not debating two points here; the building of (anything), and the playing with (anything)

Getting them to build and getting them to play with. Possibly two different things. I think the building bit has to start at home. I must say that Berengar did not specifically assist me in the building of, but I certainly showed him what I was doing, talked on and on about the (easy) technicalities, asked his opinion on what he wanted from the whatever/build in progress and so on. Similarly he has seen me build Robot wars wooden `bots, forts, tanks and so on. He has built a fair amount of Airfix kits.

After the whatevers have been built, I have carted him to the pond where he certainly enjoyed boating, and the interaction with the friendly pond boaters.

He has only stopped now as the COMPUTER has taken over, but this was a late thing, and in any event life stops to revolve around girls and the computer at that age (and work hopefully!!)

All this means (hopefully again) that when the time comes he will remember the doing of and with a bit of grandpa`s help do the modelling thing with his children. He may even get back into it before this.

How many boaters on this forum actively encourage or even take their children or grandchildren to shows or to the pond, or make them things??

Ashley (I shall never be a grandpa)

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Posted by ashley needham on 14/01/2016 15:55:14:

Ashley (I shall never be a grandpa)

I said that once… I now have seven of the grand and four of the great-grand variety. It's "one of the known unknowns", as Dick Cheney might have said. Never say 'never' Ashley – it will come back to taunt you.

My problem with getting the various sprogs interested is mainly geographical, because most of them live a long way from where we are and so we see them infrequently. I'll ask grandson #3, who is 13 and therefore the most obvious subject for such a question, whether or not he might be interested and, if not, what might spark an interest. His father showed absolutely no inclination to make models at all, but the ZX81 and BBC B had kicked in by the time he was 13. He manages a multiplex cinema these days.

DM

[Phil H1Participant @philh196021]

I'm guessing the death of the hobby shops is not helping. I went to pick up some styrene sections today and yet another shop in the middle of Ellesmere Port has disappeared. The place now sells prom dresses!!!

Interestingly, the annual exhibition just down the road at the boat museum seems to be getting more popular?

Philh

[CookieOldParticipant @cookieold]

Phil , You are right , the death of model shop is to blame they can,t compete with on line .

Dave

[Phil H1Participant @philh196021]

Dave, I agree.

Upon finding the shop closure, i went to a well known hobby chain store in Chester. I picked up some styrene sheets and put them down again when I saw the price. The internet is almost exactly half the price.

However, I honestly think the clubs and exhibitions hold the key, because the youngsters would have searched the internet for the materials before going to an over priced store.

Philh

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Actually I don't think that it is the Internet that is responsible for the demise of the local model shop at all. When model making was a mainstream hobby just about every town had its own model shop. There were sufficient customers in the immediate locality to support them. Model making is now a relatively niche interest and there is simply not enough footfall to keep purely local shops afloat. Rises in business rents and rates have not helped either. Those shops that do survive do so on the back of extensive mail order or internet trading which enables them to serve a wider customer base. Just simple economics really.

Without the internet we would simply be unable to obtain the modelling goods that we do today.

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Any model building supplies that I require, I get online. Quite often, it is a case of order one day, get it the next. Usually cheaper than a shop anyway. We still have a big model shop in Preston, but I rarely use it!

Years ago, most modellers built from scratch. Then kits came in, and gradually took over. I never imagined it would ever change from that situation. But now, 3D printers are coming in. In a few years, model builders will prepare the plans on their computers, feed them into the printer, and then clear off for an hour or so. Then they will come back, take the model out, paint it, and say "Look what I just made!

Bob

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Bob. I think the way things are going, it will come out ready coloured!! Ashley

[mike farrellParticipant @mikefarrell21522]

By way of looking into what would help our model making getting more people interested I went back to my previous interests.

Down to Strubby aero club,_no one there .

Next a trip to our model racing car clubs _ Sadly only one of three were left running with a reduced attendance .

Asked at a previous model car supplier ,his answer Quad Copters _small cheap and now they are racing them . So little fingers want to do the latest thing .

Conclusion _unless we can encourage the media (tv ) to support us . the only way is to wait for the young to become old fogeys who are becoming bored with all that spare time Michael

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Many people here are bemoaning the lack of model shops, model club attendance, and all the other things that go with a flourishing hobby. The Internet, ready-to-run models and the lack of boating pools are also mentioned.

But these are not CAUSES of a lack of interest. These are the RESULTS. Before we can have boating pools in every park and model shops in every town we need an interest in making models. Young kids don't start getting interested in modelling because they join a club – they join a club because they are already interested. I'm wondering what stopped this interest.

To some extent it might be to do with the move to stay-at-home entertainment, and to do with purchasing ready-made items rather than building them yourself. But kids make lots of Warhammer models, motor sports like circuit racing, where you have to rebuild engines, are flourishing – so I wonder why making model boats seems to be diminishing…

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hi Michael

We don't necessary need the media to promote our hobby, why try and chase the BBC when we all have access to YouTube.

If clubs organised themselves they could produce their own documentary style shows and then promote them on social media.

Paul

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

I put this on U Tube on the 20th January, 2013. So far, there have been 3,855 views and two comments!

The private response though, has been overwhelming, but as far as I know, only two or three have tried to build the Sverdstad, but the ones that did try have been successful!

There are lots of model shipbuilding U Tube clips by numerous model builders, each with their own style.

Bob

**LINK**

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Perhaps it is a case of it being difficult to judge exactly what the state of the hobby is. My yardstick would be by the numbers actually sailing on the ponds and lakes and attending shows.

It is easy to appear to be keen on social media. It takes no effort.

Ashley

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

So is social media the key to attracting new blood?

Model Boats Magazine has pages on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest but how many of us have actually 'clicked' on to these sites.

It must be in the interests of My Time Media to promote social media as a way of maintaining or even increasing subscriptions………but who would pick up this particular baton?

The following are simply points for discussion:

Should clubs make better efforts to engage with potential new members by using social media (inc YouTube)

Could somebody be brought in on a part time basis by My Time Media to manage the social media side?

Could Paul Freshney and Colin Bishops roles be brought together in one 'super editor' where one person managed and edited the magazine, website and social media. I appreciate that both roles in their existing formats might make this impractical and I should qualify this by saying that I have no idea how much time both roles soak up and how much 'free time' both roles absorb.

Would My Time Media find it in their best interests to promote social media by conducting competitions whereby clubs or individuals could produce 20 minute documentary style productions for YouTube by offering decent prizes to the best entrant.

Paul

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

The level of interest in the hobby must be gauged to a degree by the circulation figures of both MB My Time Media & MMI Traplet's publication who are publishing to make a profit, as a level of interest if not actual participation in a practical way, as I take 5 other modelling titles per month covering other disciplines ie planes, trains & engineering I class my self as Model Maker covering what ever takes my fancy, which may be a clue to the forerunner which spawned Model boats. I'm sure shows such as the London Model Engineering where I am tomorrow on the AMBO stand are a great places to showcase our hobby.

Ray

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

I don't feel it is worth worrying about myself. No-one is stopping any of us enjoying our own particular field of modelling. I attend the North West Model Shipwrights Society every month in Grimsargh, Lancs, and there are never more than one or two models there, and quite often none! The meeting lasts between 1100 and about 1530, or 1600 in summer, and we have a jolly time talking about models or nautical subjects. There are also organised days out from time to time to places of maritime interest. Some take packed lunches, whilst others go to local pub between 1230 and 1345.

Every so often, we get guests who apear to enjoy it, and then we never see or hear from them again! At present, there are 41 members, but only 12 are active at model building!

Anyway, if any of you want to come, you are welcome as guests, wives and partners also welcome as well as supervised children. Next meeting 23rd January. Plenty of free parking next to the meeting hall.

Bob

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Posted by Paul T on 15/01/2016 12:17:10:

It must be in the interests of My Time Media to promote social media as a way of maintaining or even increasing subscriptions………but who would pick up this particular baton?

One would think that the magazines and Model Boat industry would have an interest in promoting the use of their products – but the big bucks seem to have gone to China and the multi-national industries (mainly, I suspect, American-based)

One would also think that the model hobby governing association – in our case, the MPBA – would be interested in maintaining public interest. Certainly the fly-boys ran a lot of campaigns and submissions to councils during the 70s and 80s when flying fields were under threat. But I note that the MPBA does not have either a 'clubs officer' or a 'press officer' currently. It is pretty much entirely a competition-organising body, and has little relevance to everyday boating…

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