State of the Hobby

[jmpugsley]

Hello. I am new to this forum, and have returned to model building after doing it as a kid. I have to say, I am disappointed in the shape I find this hobby. I can hardly find any hobby shops that sell Guillow's (or any other brand, for that matter), and hear over and over again that folks just want to open a box and fly the plane nowdays.

I am very happy to find this site, and see that there are still some who like to build for the fun of the build. It seems to me that the general desire to just open a box and fly is indicative of a larger shift in attitudes today.

I still remember my dad building an amazing Guillow's biplane and climbing on the roof of the house for its maiden flight. He wound it up and let it go. It sailed, so beautiful, across the yard, and directly into the trunk of a large tree. It was completely destroyed! But the real lesson I took away from this experience was that my dad was not upset in the least. To him, the fun was had in the build, and the fact that he saw it fly across the yard was just icing on the cake.

I have browsed this forum and am highly impressed with the crafts you all produce. I doubt if I will be posting any photos, at least not til I get the 32 years of rust out of my system.

So, I would love to hear others' views on this. By the way, I am very grateful for Guillow's still being around and still producing fine model kits for our enjoyment.

[scigs30]

How do you compete with the Internet, video games, cell phones and instant models in a box? This hobby was so popular back in the day because none of the above was an option. Even simple builds require many hours of hard work and most young people are not dedicated to this type of craft. This is not the only hobby suffering, try to find a RC kit at the local hobby store that is not RTF. Even Guillows is now making RTF RC planes, when was the last time Guillows came out with a scale rubber powered plane? There is just no market for it.