I can understand his frustration with modellers. They can be a pretty snippy bunch, they never seem to be happy with what they have and they want to have it all. Tuff crowd! I tried twice at being an IPMS club president and it was just a lot of painfull work, we want something different just as long as it is not change!
Now i will get off my soap box b/c i am still a little bitter.
But if he goes that will be a great loss. Maybe we can recruit him after he comes back from therapy!
I sure hope Terry takes a break, has a few Fosters and reconsiders what seems to be a hasty decision to close down PMMS. I understand he needs to do what's right for him but man, his news and reviews will be missed.
For variant details and small detail omissions, tools, hatches and the rest: He really knew his stuff...
However, my main interest in modeling is getting the overall shapes and dimensions right, and, with the exception of some of his useful analysis of the Hobby Boss Sherman debacle, he never went out on a limb to provide any accuracy information for any of the other 1/48th vehicle kits...
The far superior HB KV series gets a rather biaised give-and-take assessment... And no mention of the better Tamiya tracks!
As another, and far worse, example, I am mildly shocked at his comparison of the Skybow Tiger I with the Tamiya Tiger I: His conclusions reflect a rather one-sided view of kit value...
He makes no mention or of the far deeper front hull bow plate of the Skybow kit, a very visible area of superiority for the Skybow hull, especially if you don't use the spare front hull tracks...
Even worse, the deeper, and better, undercut "chin" of the Tamiya turret passes without mention, even though it results in an enormous difference in the size of each kit's mantlet. Anyone who has had both kits together knows the Skybow's mantlet is far larger than the Tamiya's, and it is the Tamiya kit that is correct this time...
Worse: The comparison photo he provides of both mantlets has the Skybow mantlet COMPRESSED vertically(!) which makes it look similar in size to the Tamiya: The sentence next to them says: BOTH are correct, despite the huge difference in size in reality...
Exactly what kind of kit comparison is this?
The fact is, the Tamiya turret is far more accurate, even up to the gun muzzle, and some modelers would be interested to know that, so that they could join this better turret to the more accurate Skybow hull rather than stick to the single-minded one-box agenda he appears to have...
He could also have mentioned that the much better Tamiya tracks fit perfectly to the Skybow drivetrain...
There are also few hints in his reviews of the greatly inconsistent accuracy in 1/48th Tamiya vehicle kits.
He got mad at some criticism he got on M-L's 1/48th scale forum some time ago, and had stopped 1/48th reviews anyway...
I'd be curious to know what it was this time, but revisiting the Tiger 1 comparison left me singularly unimpressed. The HB Sherman reviews were top-notch however, so if he can't take criticism, it's too bad for us...
I must be really bored..........again.........to respond to this but
November 3 2009, 10:36 PM
makes me wonder if I should have taken up needle point, crochet or quilting at times........for crying out loud it's a hobby. Try to have a little fun and be just a little more tolerant. I feel bad for Terry, when you look at all the work he has done, well I for one am impressed. But as I have said before sometimes when the HOBBY turns into WORK....the FUN is gone. It probably doesn't help when you have to deal with piss-ants on every corner........
Holy hell the world is ending.im sorry to see pmms going west as it was my first place to check out what was coming from around the world plus the reveiws at least gave us a look in the box before we spent our money.And as for mig departing the scene that was asuprise it sounds almost like burnout ,but on the plus side it sounds like he will be modeling again and i for one loved his builds and they have help my finished work get better so for that i owe mig a thank you and for terry at pmms i think he's taking the wrong option but thats his choice not mine What next well ill still buy migs stuff when i can and ill still keep building and posting my stuff .have fun WAYNE
Gaston, can you PLEASE write this sort of thing up as a modelling article. I for one would have no problem combining parts from different kits to make a better model. I wanted to make a model of 007 Wittmanns tank, and this sort of thing would be invaluable. I few pics of your model as it progresses would be so useful, not only to inspire us other modellers, but to illustrate the points you raise. And remember, if you need anything cast up, I'll do you some parts from your masters for free! Can't say fairer than that, can I!?
Tim
PS Yes I know guys, I've got some wheels and tracks to do first.....
Nope...I knew I shouldn't believe it....PMMS is not closing down. According to Terry's latest blog update, he has been humbled by the overwhelming posts he has received and will return. For now, though, his hosting site is going to be kaput. He says he will be up in a day or two, but that due to some health issues, the site will be "reference" only until he has taken a much-needed break. I like his attitude, "I may even build a model for the hell of it!". So stay tuned folks, in a week or two everything should be back to normal.
Thanks for all the comments, appreciate the feedback.
Just like to correct one comment made if I could?
[quote}He got mad at some criticism he got on M-L's 1/48th scale forum some time ago, and had stopped 1/48th reviews anyway... [/quote]
This is not really the case, the reason I stopped most 1:48 reviews was simply logistical. There is unfortunately simply not enough hours in the day to keep up with everything. As I can't keep up with releases in 1:35 as well as books etc, something had to give.
As there are far more releases in 1:35 than 1:48 I had to make the decision to just concentrate on 1:35 for the time being.
That's all, hope that clarifies that small point, thanks.
I still contuniue to but 1:48 kits and accessories as i like the scale as well as the larger 1:35/1:16 and maybe someday I'll have the time to pick up the 1:48 reviews again.
Your reasons for the decrese in 1/48 reviews make sense.
If you were able to add more in the future, that would be great. As it stands, the ones that you have already done remain a valuable resource and I (and many others) still refer to them regularly.
Terry your reasons are, well, reasonable I hope you can manage to squeeze in a 1/48 review now and then but I understand if you don't. I'm also glad teh enxisting 1/48 reviews will stay. I reference them frequently.
A lot of modeling sites - like Terry's - are run by and contributed to by volunteers - to whom I want to say THANKS ! Sometimes folks seem to forget that. Everyone has something of value to add, and that is what keeps things interesting. Lets just be nice and constructive when we differ. Sorry if this sounds preachy, but I think it bears remembering.
I didn't know this Terry fellow, but I can understand why. I've run into the so-called "purists" who seem to think they know it all, but I've noticed that tanks in the field are always being repaired with whatever parts from other hulks can be scavenged. None of the vehicles that have been in battles look exactly the same. Just my 2 cents worth....heck I've even been banned from a couple of web Forums...Scale Auto and Model Cars Forum.....but they can't keep me out.....hehehe, having a computer degree from 1977, oh well that's another story.
Terry is human like the rest of us and sees as well the true value in continuing the site. Having it back with all of the support that he obviously has, along with regular reviews of DML kits (WARTS AND ALL) will actually be just fine in my opinion. You will believe that the dead will rise again... Chris Schwach
I hope you can manage to squeeze in a 1/48 review now and then but I understand if you don't. I'm also glad teh enxisting 1/48 reviews will stay. I reference them frequently.