Rebadging one of the forums?

Thanks for bringing up this topic.  And since you asked, in my opinion, actually, none of the above. 

Years ago, when the old "Zone" was dying on the vine due in part to a very antiquated interface, I suggested that the separate scales were working against the success of the Zone.  It is my opinion that we collectors tend to focus on our scale "tribe" and never or rarely venture out to experience other scales that might hold great appeal.  When the new Zone took over and redesigned the website, I couldn't understand the rationale for forums for large, exotic, and "Corvette" models.  Those forums made no sense to me, and apparently, a lot of others agree because they get almost zero attention. 

Instead of having the scales segregated, I believe all should be combined together into one diecast forum.  This will expose products from all scales to all participants and collectors.  Further, I think it would generate a positive interest level, and member participation would increase as a result.  If all scales were in a single forum, then modeling tips and dioramas would be seen by everyone and not just those who take a peek.  The Lounge would still be separate, as the topics there are relegated to mostly non-model discussions. 

To be clear, there would be two forums.  One for all diecast cars, regardless of scale, and The Lounge.  I think it is simpler and exposes the entire diecast scale spectrum to the wide variety of models that are available.  More importantly, I think it will foster better and more conversations among members.  

It's a valid discussion to have yet it's my opinion that "dormant forums"  don't necessarily translate to lack of appreciation. For example, I rarely visit the drywall section of Lowes, but every now & then I do need something and "check in." Just as I, every now & then, "check in"  (and post ) on Forum 24 or 1:12 Scale and Larger.

If, however, the goal is to garner the most "forum traffic"  possible then perhaps "re-purposing"  might be in order but honestly most every topic I can think of can currently be discussed somewhere (among these forums ). Any mods, customization or fabricating can be discussed within their respective forums, so too can any new releases, "scale news,"  reviews & video.

The Lounge caters to everything else, sans a few topics such as politics & religion (and WE CAN NEVER GO THERE!  😬 😬 😬). 

Being an exclusively Diecast  forum might seem a bit dated now that Resins (and plastic models) have become some-what ubiquitous among all scales.

Posted by: @chris

It's a valid discussion to have yet it's my opinion that "dormant forums"  don't necessarily translate to lack of appreciation. For example, I rarely visit the drywall section of Lowes, but every now & then I do need something and "check in." Just as I, every now & then, "check in"  (and post ) on Forum 24 or 1:12 Scale and Larger.

If, however, the goal is to garner the most "forum traffic"  possible then perhaps "re-purposing"  might be in order but honestly most every topic I can think of can currently be discussed somewhere (among these forums ). Any mods, customization or fabricating can be discussed within their respective forums, so too can any new releases, "scale news,"  reviews & video.

The Lounge caters to everything else, sans a few topics such as politics & religion (and WE CAN NEVER GO THERE!  😬 😬 😬). 

Being an exclusively Diecast  forum might seem a bit dated now that Resins (and plastic models) have become some-what ubiquitous among all scales.

First, I agree that little activity on a forum doesn't mean no-one appreciates it being there so it should be scrapped. But for example in the "Supercar and Hypercar" forum there was one post 6 months ago and the rest are 1 or 2 years old, so either there very few fans of that category or they are posting in one of the specific scale forums instead. It wouldn't be a case of "shutting them down", they seem to have largely moved out already. It looks like a vacant lot waiting to be filled.

I also agree (as I said in my original post in the Lounge) that posts about "modelling" can be, and often are, submitted in any of the scale posts. However, I have encountered collectors who think that commercially produced models, whether mass-market or high-end handbuilts, should be left strictly "as is", and modifying or improving them in any way is either sacrilege or is pointless and of absolutely no interest to them. They only want information and conversations about models they own or can buy, not one-off mods or conversions. That's why I thought there might be a space for a forum for those who are specifically interested in such things, or reading about them.

As for the "Diecast Zone" label being outdated, yes, it probably is, but I think we happily ignore that and I don't think anyone feels any hesitation about posting about resin, plastic, white metal or whatever. I suppose it could be changed to The Model Zone but I don't think it would make any difference in practice.

@marty-johnson I appreciate your desire to shake people out of their narrow collecting "bubble" but I don't think that having separate zones dedicated to different scales or categories really locks people into a particular scale or inhibits them from looking around more widely. Anyone with a casual interest in models, without regard to scale, can wander into these forums and browse though all the categories to see what interests them. There are no barriers between the forums, and even if you happen to register through a particular forum (I registered in Forum 43) that doesn't restrict you from exploring all the other forums if you want to widen your horizons.

On the other hand, for practical reasons of cost and space, more serious collectors tend to stick mainly to one scale, and it's convenient to have a forum dedicated to that scale. I wouldn't particularly want to go into an "All Scales" forum and browse through a hundred posts to find the dozen or so that relate to 1:43 - particularly since topic titles hardly ever specify what scale they refer to, so you'd have to skim through the lot to see if a particular post was relevant to your favourite scale.

I don't really see that having separate forums inhibits people's interest, or that combining everything in one forum would stimulate interest - the bulk of material in one place might just as easily be a turn-off.

And as I said in my reply to Chris Moroni, a lot of collectors are only interested in ready-made models they can actually collect. Conversions, modifications, dioramas etc. are of no interest to them and lumping all models scales and all modelling topics into a single forum would only increase the amount of stuff you would have to wade through. Hence my suggestion in the Lounge for a specific forum which could maybe be labelled "Modelling, etc."

Posted by: @graeme-ogg

And as I said in my reply to Chris Moroni, a lot of collectors are only interested in ready-made models they can actually collect. Conversions, modifications, dioramas etc. are of no interest to them

I respect your opinion, there's no right or wrong  ideas here. The ONLY comment I have about "modification"  is...  Where do you draw the line? 

I'm aware that not everyone will seemingly create models from "whole cloth"  (as Marlowe, John Q or I have done ) but a vast majority of collectors do "something."  Adding license plates or an antenna, adding a touch of subtle weathering, or even a convertible boot or top-up all qualifies as "modification."  

Furthermore, collectors (..such as John3976, Marlowe and even me-to a lesser extent ) occasionally commission others to fabricate certain replicas or parts. My point is that it appears few collectors simply "remove from the box and display."  And, without question, I think it's fair to say we can and have all learned tips & tricks from each other.

Not sure what all this exactly means but I'm not convinced that "a lot of collectors are only interested in ready-made models they can actually collect. Conversions, modifications, dioramas etc. are of no interest to them."

Again, I appreciate your opinion and naturally, I could be 100% wrong.... it wouldn't be the first time. 🙄 🙄 

Well, I don't think we have any real disagreement here. I am not saying there is a right or wrong way to look at the allocation of topics to different forums, I simply put forward a suggestion that there might – might – be an opportunity for a new category.

I agree that lots of people make little changes or additions (like number plates ) to a model and others do much more extensive "chops", and I'm not suggesting for a moment that some of these people qualify for a special forum and other don't. Nor am I implying that someone who adds licence plates or an antenna to a model can't post details on their usual "scale forum" rather than in the proposed "modelling" forum. I wasn’t trying to “draw the line” anywhere. I was simply saying that there are people who go to their favourite forum and are only really interested in seeing and discussing models they have some hope of acquiring if they're interested, and although they might be quite happy to see photos of a model which has been "enhanced" in some way or modified John Quilter-style, they might be totally put off by a lengthy blow-by-blow illustrated account of the various steps in a major conversion or scratchbuilding project. That is the kind of thing that I envisaged might be better in a separate forum where people could discuss and illustrate their projects at some length without worrying that some people might be rolling their eyes in boredom. And if people who don’t do that kind of thing, but want to see what others have done, well, they can simply pop over to the new forum (if it ever materialises).  No-one would be checking their modelling credentials at the door!

I think I would have to disgree with the notion that “few” collectors simply buy and display models without doing anything to them. I suspect large numbers of people do just that, and never ever take them out of their boxes or cases. Especially with the newer resin models or expensive white metal, which they hardly dare touch for fear of damage. Personally, I have carried out some fairly drastic conversions on various expensive (and quite fragile) white metal models in my time, but that's not for everyone.

Just in passing, I can confirm that I used to go to a good number of collector swapmeets, armed with pics of my own model conversions, and showed them to people who were “collecting by catalogue number”, as I would call it, and they either said “That’s no way to treat a good Dinky toy" (or whatever) or they simply looked blank and told me to my face that “it’s not in the Dinky model list so it doesn’t exist and is pointless and of no interest to me”. But that’s just by the by.

I have always simply gone to "recent posts" and have enjoyed the very wide variety of topics discussed in numerous model categories.  I am interested in it all, as a model builder and collector of Dinky, Corgi, MBox, etc. in my youth through to now simply collecting metal and resin models (mostly 1:43); the various ideas, abilities and opinions of people in the model hobby are really amazing and informative.  This includes their varied outside interests from cooking to other hobbies and life enjoyments....you name it..... and I love the collective humor tossed around!   I prefer to find what works for me within the current structure and find it works well.

Well, if the proposed forum materialises, I guess you would still find the latest inputs to that forum in "recent posts". So no change there. If you come back from holiday or your latest expedition to locate meteorite craters in the Gobi desert, the "recent posts" would have moved on and you would have to browse the forums in the usual way to catch up with anything you've missed. So you'd simply have one more forum to browse. No big deal.

But yes, if a whole lot of people say "please just leave things as they are", I have no problem with that. We'll just have to see which way the wind blows. As I keep saying, it was only a suggestion.

@chris - "Being an exclusively Diecast forum might seem a bit dated now that Resins (and plastic models) have become somewhat ubiquitous among all scales."

Ha!  I remember saying I'd never add resin models to my diecast collection.  Now I have at least 12+ of 'em in my collection!

Posted by: @graeme-ogg

Well, if the proposed forum materialises, I guess you would still find the latest inputs to that forum in "recent posts". So no change there. If you come back from holiday or your latest expedition to locate meteorite craters in the Gobi desert, the "recent posts" would have moved on and you would have to browse the forums in the usual way to catch up with anything you've missed. So you'd simply have one more forum to browse. No big deal.

But yes, if a whole lot of people say "please just leave things as they are", I have no problem with that. We'll just have to see which way the wind blows. As I keep saying, it was only a suggestion.

And a worthy suggestion it is Graeme.  Although a trip to the Gobi would be fascinating (and thanks again for offering to buy me a 1-way ticket....very kind of you) there is no need to travel to experience meteorite craters...they too are included in our comprehensive Forum.  You will recall that post the other day where those lucky folks in the tourist center narrowly avoided certain death from a meteorite that crashed right beside them!

Posted by: @marty-johnson

@chris - "Being an exclusively Diecast forum might seem a bit dated now that Resins (and plastic models) have become somewhat ubiquitous among all scales."

Ha!  I remember saying I'd never add resin models to my diecast collection.  Now I have at least 12+ of 'em in my collection!

   

Yes, I do recall your "steadfast reluctance."   I'm still at zero; I've come mighty close a few times but I'm still at zero.

John Kuvakas, asking a question like you did is like asking 1000 people what they want to be served at a banquet.  You're going to get 1000 different answers.  For what my opinion is worth, I like the Forums as they are.  I visit the 1:24, 1:18, and The Lounge on a daily basis.  What I like about the 1:24 and 1:18 Forums is that they ONLY talk about and reference those scales.  For those who like and collect the other scales, they probably visit their scales the same way.  I say, if it isn't broken don't fix it.  If all of the scales are together, it's going to be a lot more cumbersome to just look at what we want to look at.

George, I don't know if I'm slightly misunderstanding your comment, or if you misread something, but neither JK nor myself has said anything at all about lumping all the different forum scales together into a single forum. I think most of us like having our individual forums for our favourite scale and nobody is suggesting that should change. The proposal was simply that there might be an opportunity to offer a new forum aimed at those with a particular interest in modifying models, building dioramas, and similar model related "craft work" - and posts in that forum could relate to model handiwork in any scale.

@graeme-ogg -

George didn't make that suggestion of combining scales, but I did.  I think George was likely referring to my recommendation that all forum titles be done away with and all Zone members participate in a single forum.  I made that recommendation years ago when the Zone was on its last legs and on the verge of shutting down, and I'm recommending it again now. 

Personally, I fervently think, and I cannot overly emphasize, it is the best way to go!  In my opinion, I think the potentially positive results are numerous.  It will enable us to make new friends, foster new conversations, and expose scale-centric collectors to other scales that they usually don't consider adding to their collections.  From a business perspective, for the benefit of Mint Models, the owner and presenter of The Zone, my suggestion DEFINITELY works in their favor as well.  Impulse sales would occur that never occur now because those models are never seen because collectors don't even know they exist.  BTW, checkout stands in grocery stores are the best place to sell items.  So are endcaps.  That's because their locations foster impulse sales.  

I also think we could do special events like Mopar Mondays, Throwback Tuesdays, or Ford Fridays.  Perhaps do weekend themes like Tailfin Weekend, Classic Weekend, or 60s Cars Weekends.  And if Michelle is monitoring, if Mint Models was my operation, I'd be promoting The Diecast Zone on that website and do Mint Model specials on The Zone.  Perhaps a special promotional sale where a specific model is heavily discounted for 1 hour on Saturday morning.  Buy three models, and get the fourth at 1/2 off.  

These are the kinds of things I would do if this were my show.  Get some excitement and some fun going with all kinds of events and specials.