Are hobby shops doing enough?

I recently wrote about the demise of hobby shops and wondered if that’s really a bad thing. We talk a lot about the challenges that hobby shops face in light of the availability of models on the internet, but I’ve always wondered if shop owners have done enough to drive sales. Many seem content to just sit and wait for people to come into their stores. They’re not encouraging customers, particularly existing customers.

A couple of months ago my fiancée and I had dinner at a nearby restaurant, and after the meal they gave us this envelope.

As you can see, it offers two rewards. At the very least it promises three dollars off your next order. It also entices you with the possibility of a bigger reward, but you won’t know what it is until you give the sealed envelope to you waiter upon your next visit. It could be an additional $5 or $10, or even $500. It’s an intriguing opportunity and it’s hard not to want to go back for another dinner.

I wonder why hobby shop owners don’t do something similar. Call me crazy, but if I were an owner I’d be doing everything I can to get my customers to buy my products, and a big part of that effort would be directed at my existing customers.

I’d periodically have flash sales and alert customers via email. Imagine, “25 percent off all plastic kits on Saturday from 10-noon."

I’d offer a rewards program for frequent buyers. For example, get a $10 coupon for every $200 you spend.

I’d offer a birthday discount, like 20 percent off order on your birthday.

I’d give a reward for volume purchases. For example, spend $250 and get $20 off your next purchase of $100 or more.

You get the idea. I realize there’s be a cost to programs like this, but I have to believe that $25,000 in revenue, for example, with a rewards program is better than $15,000 without one.

P.S. If you’re wondering what we ultimately got in that pretty red envelope, well, it’s a funny story. I didn’t realize there was an expiration date, so we didn’t get to use it. Turns out it was good for $50!

How to critique someone's model

Our good friend Doog recently wrote about the attaboy culture in our hobby, the tendency to offer only compliments on others' models. I found myself agreeing with him, particularly having spent a number of years painting figures, where the community of painters eagerly seek feedback on their painting skills from respected, more experienced painters.

How would you critique this piece of crap?

Look at that landing gear! What do you say to that?

So what if you're the person who's asked to provide that feedback? How do you deliver a helpful critique without coming off as a jerk? Here are some ideas.

When someone asks you for feedback, I know what you're thinking. "He only wants to hear something positive. He doesn't really want an honest critique." I'd suggest you begin by asking the guy what he likes the most and the least about his model. That should open an interesting conversation. You may agree with what he says, which makes your critique a bit easier if you're not willing to put yourself out there with a critical assessment. For example, if he says he doesn't like the paint, you might say, "I think you're right. It looks like the consistency of the paint was too thick for the pressure you used."

Without an opening like that, I like to begin with a compliment. Open the conversation by telling the modeler what you like about his model. Find something, anything. I remember being a high school student, new to the hobby, and bringing a younger, even less-experienced friend to an IPMS meeting. He brought a really shabby looking A-10. He was maybe 14, really didn't know how to build a model beyond simply assembling it and painting it with a cheap brush. Nonetheless, the club president complimented him on his decision to display it on a base. It was a simple gesture that made my friend feel good about his efforts.

If you're asked to provide a deeper critique, it's important to realize that most feedback falls into one of two categories. The first are "mistakes," items that would typically be noted in a formal contest environment. For example, you might point out a visible seam on the fuselage spine. Or you might point out poorly aligned bombs under the wings.

The other category consists of more subjective feedback. These are the items that one modeler may like and another dislike, such as panel line shading, weathering, and paint choice. When I address these items, I always add a disclaimer. For example, "I think your weathering is a little too heavy, but that's just a reflection of my preferences."

No matter what feedback you provide, ask a question or offer a solution. "I see a seam on your wing tanks. What kind of putty are you using?" Or, "The paint looks a little dark. Next time you might try adding a little yellow to the mix and see if you like it." Ultimately this process is about helping, not judging.

I can't stress enough, always comment on some positive aspect of the model. Find something, even if it's nothing more than the modeler's choice of subject matter. "I really like your P-51. I could look at that plane all day long." Or, "It's really great to see a P-80 in the contest. You rarely see them built up." Remember, we all have an ego, even if it's a small one, and we like to be complimented from time to time even as we endure the discomfort of growth through critique.

The little contest that should

As my long-time readers know by now, I’m a huge proponent of model contests, especially entering them. I try to attend as many as I can, looking at models, seeking out bargains in the vendors room, and meeting up with friends. For a hobby of introverts who spend more time in our basement workshops than we do socializing, contests are those periodic opportunities we have to come up for air and spend time with each other.

That’s why it pains me to see poorly attended contests. One such contest is Armorcon, held annually in Danbury, Connecticut. I’ve been attending the show for five or six years now but have been disappointed with the relatively small number of entries I see from year to year, typically between 200-300. Last weekend's show was no exception.

It’s unfortunate, because theoretically the contest has everything it needs to be bigger than it is. The sponsor, the Northeast Military Modelers Association, is a chapter of both IPMS and AMPS, so they should have a strong network into the members of both organizations. And they have location. Connecticut is a great spot for the large number of modelers in the Northeast, with more than a few states and a dozen or so IPMS chapters within driving distance.

The vendors room is strong, with vendors selling practically every armor kit currently on the market (including new releases). Red Frog Hobbies brings a huge line of paints and supplies, Farina Enterprises has their line of diorama supplies, and Boomer’s Books had an outstanding assortment of new and out-of-print books this year.

Armorcon has seminars, which are rare in IPMS contests. This year they were anchored by a discussion of Soviet post-war heavy tanks from Neil Stokes, who you probably know from his definitive books on the T-34 and KV series and his web site, 4BO Green. He talked about the IS-3, IS-4, IS-7, and T-10, a timely subject given the recent releases from Trumpeter and Meng.

The contest entries are quite good from year to year. I’ve pictured some of my favorites from last weekend. The contest follows the typical AMPS style of judging, with entries carefully scrutinized and scored by four judges with the best awarded a gold, silver, or bronze medal.

I really believe this contest can be bigger. It should have larger attendance and stronger contest entries. I don’t quite understand what’s happening, but I hope we can get the word out and make this contest the “must-see” event of the fall contest season. I'll do everything I can.

Note: I have no affiliation with the NMMA. I'm just a loyal customer.

Microaggression and the scale modeler

Have you heard the term microaggression? I hadn’t either until a few weeks ago until I ran across this article on Vox.

The term goes back to 1970 when a Harvard professor used it to describe the insults that white people made toward African Americans. A psychologist later expanded use of the term to include insults toward other marginalized groups and defined microaggressions as "brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to certain individuals because of their group membership.”

For example, a white person might say to a wealthy African American, “You’re a credit to your race.” Or when you learn that the Asian high schooler who lives next to you won a math competition, you might respond with, “I’m not surprised." These comments aren't intended to be insulting, but to the group they're directed at, they are.

I write about this here because we see microaggressions in the scale modeling community as well. They’re the subtle jibes at other modelers and companies that often result in a discussion quickly going downhill. Here are a few that I noticed over the last few months:

"There is a correct way of doing things, then there is the Kitty Hawk way.”

“Prepare for the criticisms of this kit and your commentary from the usual suspects."

Anyone who refers to eBay as Evilbay.

And from your’s truly, my periodic contribution to the scourge of microaggression, “Very nice painting and weathering. It’s nice to see armor that’s not over-weathered for a change.”

These comments are not overtly aggressive, but they’re expressed with a tone that can trigger a more aggressive response from someone else. And that response can subsequently prompt another, and so on until a discussion thread is locked, deleted, or its participants banned. It’s all very silly given the context of what we modelers talk about, but it’s a reality in our community.

I can’t tell you not to be a jerk. Haters gonna hate, as they say, but for those of you who are reasonable, level-headed members of this community, I can only suggest that you look carefully at how you express your opinions, and when confronted with a microaggression (or an all-out aggressive remark) from someone else, that you choose the high road by simply not responding. Don't feed the trolls, as they also say.

If you're interested a deeper look into microaggressions and how to deal with them (particularly if you're a moderator on any of the forums), be sure to read this article.

Solving the problem that is yellow

I often see conversations on ARC and other forums about painting yellow. It seems to be one of the more challenging colors to work with. I've never had to paint a large area of yellow myself, but with a few models in the stash that will eventually call for yellow (T-6/SNJ, T-28, Blenheim), I've been anxious to see if it’s as hard a color to apply as people seem to imply. Of course I'd use my paint of choice, Tamiya.

Before accepting the challenge, it might be helpful to briefly review basic color theory.

Three attributes define all colors:

• Hue – the simple name for a color, such as yellow, red, blue.
• Lightness – a color’s value in terms of whether it can be described between two poles of light and dark (or black and white).
• Saturation – a color’s colorfulness, that is, whether it’s intense or dull or somewhere in between.

Let’s talk about hue. I’ll share a simple thought: Yellow, even a specific pigment such as FS 33538, is basically…yellow! As I suggested in this post a year ago, don’t obsess over finding or using a “correct” yellow for your model. Be content with a color that any reasonable person would identify as yellow.

That leaves us with lightness and saturation. There are many factors that affect the specific yellow that you see on a 1:1 scale airframe. There’s the sun's illumination and its light being filtered through clouds, real-world weathering, variations in the manufacture of the color used on the actual aircraft, the correct mixing and application of the paint in the factory or field, etc. Likewise, there are many factors that affect the specific yellow that you see on a scale model. The light in the room, scale effect, the paint you used, your ability (and a viewer’s ability) to correctly see color, and the memory that you (and a viewer) have of what they think the correct color should be.

Those factors affect the lightness and saturation of the colors that we see. Accepting these variables and knowing that you cannot control all of them makes it easier to be comfortable applying a color to your model that looks like yellow.

The challenge with painting yellow is the opacity of most paints. They generally don’t cover well, so you have to use a thick application or many thin applications. The former is problematic because thick paints don’t flow efficiently through an airbrush, and the latter is problematic because many layers of paint tends to obscure detail.

With all this color theory in mind, I set out on an experiment by selecting a suitable model, Sword’s 1/72 Northrop N-9MA Flying Wing. Pretty crude kit, but the point of the project was learning how to paint yellow not superdetailing. Nevertheless, I added a few things here and there, particularly splitter plates inside the leading edge air intakes, and I had to scratchbuild a new front landing gear when the kit piece broke.

Earlier this week I arrived at the painting stage. First I applied a suitable blue to the underside of the aircraft, custom mixed by eye. Simple.

Then I thought through an approach to yellow that would address the challenges I described earlier. Most modelers suggesting a white undercoat prior to the yellow. I’m not one to apply bright, true colors to my models, so I decided to try something different. I wanted to try a tan color with a marked yellow hue. I decided on Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow mixed 50:50 with XF-3 Yellow, the paint I would use for the main color. I theorized that tan would provide a deep primer color that would not subsequently require copious amounts of yellow. And I was right; the color was perfect for a reasonable application of yellow.

In thinking about the final yellow, I’d read that opacity was problematic, so I decided to follow this “tan theme” and mix a bit of the same Desert Yellow into the main yellow color, which I theorized would increase its opacity. I used Tamiya XF-3 Yellow, XF-59 Desert Yellow, and XF-2 White in a 4:1:1 ratio respectively, the white used to bring down the color a bit for scale effect. Again, the result was a satisfactory color that, I think, is slightly lower in saturation than it would’ve been had had I used the pure yellow out of the bottle.

I’m very happy with the result, especially after some subtle post-shading, though to be self-critical I don't think I used the right color to tint the yellow. A pin wash and weathering will ultimately follow, which I expect will alter the finish a bit.

As you approach painting challenges, I encourage you to think outside of conventional wisdom. Follow your intuition. Try something new. Make your own path. You might be surprised what you learn along the way.

Maybe hobby shops are obsolete

Every couple of months there’s a post to one of the big forums about another hobby shop closing. We lament the closure, talk about how great hobby shops are, and then open a new browser window and place an order from a favorite online retailer.

It finally happened to me, two weeks prior to the IPMS Nats, when I saw that Avenel Hobbies in Colonia, New Jersey would close at the end of July. It was one of the best shops I’ve been to, and it’s a shame to know I can’t go there for paint, supplies, or a kit. Whenever I made the drive to the shop I always tried to buy a model, paying retail, if only to make my small contribution to the shop’s success. (Alas, it didn't help.)

We all know why hobby shops are failing, so I won’t beat that dead horse. Prices, selection, aftermarket, blah, blah, blah. Suffice to say, this is our reality, and we have to face the implications.

I haven’t been to a hobby shop in three or four months, and I have to be honest that I don’t miss the experience. So I have to wonder…are hobby shops obsolete?

I hear your arguments.

“The LHS is a great place to meet up with friends.”

Really? Whenever I was at Avenel or any local shop I almost never saw modelers shopping much less talking. Meetups are a rare event, though in fairness I do know of at least one shop in Ohio where 10-15 guys regularly gather every Friday to talk plastic.

“The LHS is a good place to introduce new modelers to the hobby.”

Maybe, but I have a feeling that new modelers — at least adult modelers — will gather information about the hobby from online resources before setting foot in a hobby shop. For example, I’ve been considering learning how to brew beer at home. There’s a small shop near my home that sells supplies, but I’d probably do my research and make my subsequent purchases online. I don't think someone new to scale modeling to be much different.

“If I need a bottle of Model Master paint I can buy it at my LHS instead of waiting a week to mail order it.”

Yes, if you're lucky to have a shop close to you. Avenel Hobbies was a 60 minute drive for me, so swinging by after work was not an option. The two remaining shops, mediocre by comparison to Avenel, are at least a 30 minute drive. It’s easier for me to mail order paint and nearly anything else I need. Granted, that presumes that I monitor my supplies and plan ahead, but I don’t find that task terribly difficult, and ordering online ultimately saves me time driving to/from a shop on the weekend, time that could be spent at the workbench.

I'm afraid to say that hobby shops may no longer be a viable business opportunity. That so many have closed tells us either there’s no market for them or the owners are mismanaging them. Or a combination of both. Either way, like it or not, we’re adapting to a new reality that may not be as bad as we suspect.

My favorite Boston bookstore

Boston is one of my favorite cities. It offers a wonderful mix of old and new, has a great restaurant scene for foodies like me, and it's a comfortable walk from one side of the city to the other. I have not yet prepared a "so you're visiting Boston" article as I have for New York City, but I thought I'd tell you about my favorite Boston bookstore.

Brattle Book Shop touts itself as America's oldest bookstore, founded in 1825. That's right...in the Nineteenth Freakin' Century! Even if that were just a marketing gimmick I'd still encourage you to visit when you're in town. They stock more than 250,000 titles, but the great thing about the shop is the selection on the shelves. You won't find those run-of-the-mill B&N coffee table books and latest best sellers. Instead you'll see more obscure titles that came from the collections of book lovers. Boston is a city of intellectuals, so the selection is one you won't find anywhere else in the country.

And here's the great thing for the scale modeler. Brattle has an awesome selection of military titles, filling up nearly an entire aisle.

Here's a small selection of Brattle's aviation titles.

I even found a bound collection of journals from the American Aviation Historical Society spanning 1956 to 1984. The price? Over $1,000, although membership in the AAHS provides online access to these same journals. But they sure would look great in your library, right? You can browse the journal index on their web site.

While I'm writing about Boston, I should briefly mention two of my favorite places to eat. For lunch go to the Parish Cafe on Boylston Street in Boston's Back Bay. They have a unique selection of sandwiches, each designed by a prominent American chef. For dinner I recommend Cragie on Main in Cambridge. This is a manly restaurant (their dining room and menu are reminiscent of Resto, one of my NYC recommendations), with a rotating menu that usually features oysters, clams, sausage, and even pig's head. My girlfriend wasn't game for the latter on our last visit to Boston, so if any of you are interested, ping me and we'll make a reservation!