Me and Squadron's Black Friday sale

Another Squadron Black Friday sale has come and gone, but the echo of complaints will echo well into the week. I thought it might be useful to take a step back, take a deep cleansing breath, and consider the place that Squadron's annual sale has acquired within the hobby and to share my thoughts about their sale, which I did not take advantage of this year.

After reading several discussions on the forums this weekend, I came to a big realization: we're spoiled. Simple as that. We expect epic sales. We expect to buy a lot of models with very little money.

It began several years ago with Squadron's first Black Friday sale. If I recall correctly, they offered 50 percent off if you spent $300...with free shipping. Friends, a sale doesn't get much better than that. That said, if the wholesale value is generally 40 percent of retail, I honestly don't know how Squadron made money that year, particularly when you factor in the cost of mailing what, for most of us, were large parcels.

Over the following years Squadron has progressively increased the minimum order to enjoy the maximum discount while decreasing the discount. It's easy to see why so many modelers have had strong reactions. They've come to feel entitled to deep discounts, but the truth is, Squadron is running a business and seeking to make money, so they have the right to offer promotions that they believe will drive sales and maximize profits. It's a bummer that we don't enjoy half-off pricing, but that's life. Accept it or continue to work yourself into a collective frenzy.

As I said up-front, I didn't order from Squadron this weekend. I could have. I had a list of models that exceeded the $500 threshold, due in part to three 1/32 scale jets (which coincidentally were out of stock during last year's sale), but I decided not to pull the trigger. As enticing as the sale was (even one that's less than 50 percent), I had to a personal sanity check and realized:

• I have more models than I can build in my lifetime. Never mind how many, but I pretty much have everything that I "need," more than enough to make me happy. Most of what I could have bought this weekend would've been impulse purchases made for no other reason than to take advantage of a good sale.

• I really don't need to start building 1/32 models. I'm a 1/72 scale guy who's intrigued by large-scale models, but after reading a post from Jon of The Combat Workshop -- about how much time his current 1/32 F-16 building is consuming compared to his usual 1/48 scale kits -- I realized that the Trumpeter 1/32 F-105 in my stash will satisfy my need to explore a large scale project when the time comes.

• I have lots of stuff in my eBay watch list awaiting purchase. Sixty items to be precise, and most of it is aftermarket for models that I already own. I should probably buy those before bringing new projects into the stash.

This is the first time that I didn't take advantage of Squadron's sale, and guess what? I'm alive and well. I don't regret not purchasing anything. I'm not angry at Squadron because a few models that I wanted were out of stock. I remembered that I don't have to buy. I can choose to spend my money in productive ways, in ways that advance my enjoyment of the hobby, and not in response to an enticing offer. I think that makes me a smart consumer.

How Takom's KV-5 ruined a man

So you think you a bad week last week? It probably wasn't as bad as Mark Muller's week. Here's his story, and I promise that most of what you're about to read is true.

On January 12, 2011 Mark woke up on a snowy morning and said to himself, "Self, it's about time I scratchbuild another model." You see, Mark is an award-winning modeler. He's won Best of Show at three AMPS conventions and Best Armor at the 1999 IPMS National Convention with a scratchbuilt Soviet armored train. He's one of those rare modelers who takes the hobby to levels that most of us can only dream of thanks to a unique engineering and problem-solving mindset.

So Mark lay there listening to the sound of sleet hitting the tin roof of his shanty and the barking of his four beagles from the barn out back and wondered to himself, "Self, I wonder what I should build. It should be something where I can use parts from other kits, to make it just a little bit easier on me. And it should also be obscure enough so that those gosh darn rivet counters won't grill me on the details."

"Most importantly," he said out loud to his wife (who, by the way, knows about as much about plants as Mark does about armor), "It should be something that we will never, ever, ever -- not in a million years -- ever see in kit form."

His heart racing at the possibilities, Mark got out of bed and ate his usual breakfast of Wheaties, two bananas, and a kale and brussels sprout smoothie. It was while watching an old episode of Three's Company and thinking what it would be like to live with two twenty year-old women that the subject hit him. "I'll scratchbuild a KV-5! It's cool as heck, it never made it beyond the design phase, and most modelers won't even recognize it." Mark called his friend Graham and joked, "There's a better chance of our seeing three kits of the Object 279 than our ever seeing a KV-5," and the two laughed harder than they had the first time they watched The Flying Leathernecks starring John Wayne.

Over the following years Mark gathered what reference material he could find, which amounted to simple drawings and one-page summary of the tank's concept, which he somehow translated from its original Russian. That may be the real magic of this story!

Anyhoo, Mark was eventually able to begin building his next masterpiece. The only commercial parts it contains are roadwheels and suspension arms from Trumpeter's KV-2, drive wheels modified from an IS-2, Friulmodel track, and eventually two T-34 engines. Everything else is scratchbuilt and, get this, features armor that is scale in thickness! The model is no secret to modelers in the Columbus, Ohio area. Mark has been showing it to friends and fellow modelers, using it as a tool to teach simple and complex scratchbuilding techniques. (Mark is always eager to share what he's learned.)

Fast-forward a couple of years to last week, May 16 to be precise. Takom announces its upcoming KV-5 in 1/35 scale. And the following day Trumpeter announces its kit. What would you do?

I spoke with Mark on Friday evening, and he's taking it all in stride. Because he's using his model as a teaching aid, he said he's in no hurry to finish it, predicting its completion later this year, probably well after both the Takom and Trumpeter kits hit the shelves. Most of us would be seriously bummed out to be in Mark's position, but he's interested to see how his kit compares to the two commercial offerings. He's particularly curious to see if the models are based on drawings made for the World of Tanks video game. He's already noticed a couple of subtle differences.

Here are a few photos of Mark's KV-5. I hope you enjoy it. I can't wait to see it finished!

 

So there you go. I think you will agree that Mark Muller officially had the worst week ever. 

My thanks to Mark for his allowing me to share his story. I've been fortunate to call him a friend for nearly 25 years, and he is truly one of the nicest and most generous modelers I've ever met. Thanks also to Graham Holmes for the photos.

The kit I'm most looking forward to in 2014

If 2013 was any indication, 2014 promises to be an exciting year for scale modelers. Looking at the list of 2014 new kit releases on Cybermodeler there's something for all of us to look forward to. Kitty Hawk's Seasprite, UH-1Y, and AH-1Z. The Su-33 Sea Flanker from Aviation Art. Trumpeter's 2S7 Pion and T-80. Another huge 1/200 scale ship from Trumpeter.

Someone recently asked me what I'm most looking forward to, and my answer was...the kit we don't yet know about.

Seriously, look back one year to January 1, 2013. We knew nothing about the most exciting kits that were announced or released during the year. Who would've guessed we'd see a new tool 1/72 F3D Skyknight, a 1/48 MiG-25, a 1/35 IDF D9R, or three Object 279s! Or that we'd learn that a 1/48 MiG-31 is in the works or a 2S7 Pion is on the horizon?

This is why 2014 is exciting. We now know that the manufacturers are willing to keep some of their best projects under wraps until the last minute. At this point I'd venture that whatever secrets reside in the hangers of Area 51 are far less interesting than what Kitty Hawk, Trumpeter, and Meng have in store for us.

And as the manufacturers announce these new kits, I ask that you remember one of the five questions you should stop asking: When is it going to be released? It'll get here when it gets here.

Models and money

Last week the Sprue Cutters Union's topic had to do with our spending habits. I'm coming into the conversation a little late, but reading others' thoughts on the subject got me thinking about how I spend my money. Of course this kind of self-reflection, especially when it comes to money, can be painful, but looking over the responses by the Union's participants gives me hope that most of us are fairly careful.

I can haz a Su-24?

One of the recurring themes when it comes to money is our working with a limited budget. In that respect, I'm lucky. I'm not wealthy, mind you; I don't drive the Aston Martin Vanquish that I'd love to have, nor can I afford to pave my short, gravel driveway, but being single and having a decent job allows me the privilege of being able to afford most of the plastic thingees that catch my eye. My modeling budget is constrained only by the other necessities of any home budget, such as building and maintaining an emergency fund, paying for heating costs, the rising price of gas, etc.

I know, it's a good problem to have, right? But when I sit amid my stash of a few hundred unbuilt models (it could be 150,000, I've lost count) and realize that I'm in my mid-forties, I'm forced to acknowledge that when I die most of these models will still be unbuilt. That makes me very sad; not that I'll die (well, that kinda sucks, too), but that so many projects -- and I have a vision for each model that I own, as I'm sure you do as well -- will not come to fruition. There's a chance I may never build that Kinetic F-16D in MiG killer markings of the 56th FW! What will my friends say? "That Steve. He never fulfilled his destiny. How sad." And then they'll fight over the model and the related aftermarket.

These days I find myself being very selective in what I buy. It's tempting to buy every cool new release, but just how high is my enthusiasm for that new Wolfpack 1/48 T-38? Sure, I'd like to build it, but there are so many more models in the pipeline that I'm much more excited about. Maybe that's the trick in managing our money. Before you buy a model, ask yourself, does this model get me more excited than the "top 20" models already in my stash? If the answer is no, you can probably skip it.
Here's what I've learned about buying models these last few years.

1. If you don't buy a model when it's first released, odds are good that you'll be able to find it on eBay or from another modeler 5, 10, 15 years from now. True, the price may be higher, but that will determine just how much you want the model.

Real life example: When Hasegawa released their 1/72 series of F-111s I was spending my time building armor. Fast-forward ten years and I'm back to aircraft, but alas, I ain't got an F-111 in my stash! It took a few years, but I've since acquired one each from the series, which makes me one step closer to what Maslow referred to as "self-actualization." Or something like that.

2. To point #1, even if you never buy that one rare model you've been looking for, aren't there at least ten others that you own that will provide just as much satisfaction?

Real life example: I'd like to have the old Otaki C-5 Galaxy. I'm not sure it's rare, but it generally sells for around $120. I will probably never get one, but I'm pretty sure a few dozen of the other kits in my stash will keep me very happy over the next 40 years of my life.

3. If there's an expensive kit you want, wait for it. There's a good chance you'll find it at a good price in the future. It may not be this year or even next year, but eventually you'll find it on sale via Squadron, Sprue Brothers, or at a contest.

Real life example: I've wanted the Trumpeter 1/48 Su-24 since I saw it at a contest several years ago, but the $130 price tag put me off. I just couldn't justify that much money for a model. But then Squadron had it on sale for about half that, and I took the bait. Add in a couple of other models for friends and I got their free shipping deal as well.

I've ranted long enough. Time to log off of SMS and go check the classified on ARC and Hyperscale.

I am a cheater

There was a very interesting post by Spencer Pollard on Hyperscale a week ago bemoaning the lack of true modeling in the hobby today. Photos of the new Revell He-219 and discussions about the kit’s inaccurate propellers prompted Spencer to write, and I think his thoughts are particularly noteworthy given many of the new products that have come to the market over the last few years, and it’s something I’ve been intending to blog about myself.

Last week a friend told me he had just finished a Tamiya 1/72 A6M Zero, which is a jewel and will be a leading contender for my Kit of the Year. He used the Eduard canopy mask for the complex framing on the airplane and told me how much easier it made the painting process. But then he asked if using an aftermarket canopy mask was cheating.

Truth be told, I think it is cheating and I told him so. Yes, the masks are available to anyone who wishes to use them and, especially if you’re competitive, you’d be foolish not to. That said, I think our use of them as a community of craftsmen and artists (or whatever we think we are) is to the detriment of our skills and the hobby. Even though we all want to produce replicas in miniature, wouldn’t it be more fulfilling to master the skills ourselves rather than rely on others to do the “heavy lifting” for us?

To be fair, I have at least a dozen of Eduard’s canopy masks in my accessories stash, and I’m sure they’ll make my models better. They will not, I am sure, make me a better craftsman.

I feel the same way about pre-colored photoetch. That’s cheating, too. When they first came on the market I promised myself I’d never use them, but after trying them on a 1/72 F-105D I saw their value…despite the fact that my detail painting skills are no longer challenged and nurtured. I think that makes me a lesser modeler, but the reward (even if it’s a bit hollow) is a good looking model.

I could make the same argument about the turned metal barrels that I use on my armor and those beautiful, fine pitot tubes I can now buy from Asian suppliers.

I think what many of these conversations come down to is why any of us is in the hobby. Do you build models because you enjoy the craftsmanship of building models or because you want a replica of an airplane, tank, ship, or car on your mantel? For me it’s the former. I work in software, so I don’t actually create anything tangible, at least nothing I can hold in my hands to study and admire. Scale modeling gives me the opportunity to use -– and ideally: improve -– my mediocre craftsmanship skills.

By the way, what you just read was spell-checked by Microsoft Word.