11-25-2012, 09:50 AM
Amazing...
Everyone is leaping to dire conclusions because "Google says so". This is the same "Google", may I remind you, that censors the internet on behalf of repressive governments.
When the various railroad publications start talking about the end of railroad modeling, I'll take it more seriously. When the Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette says it's ending, I'll take it VERY seriously.
Certainly the hobby is changing. The trend is towards larger scales and mega-layouts, well beyond the means of a lot of adult modelers, let alone young people. It's also a largely sedentary hobby that mostly takes place indoors, which is not usually attractive to young, active people.
Clubs need to re-learn manners and common courtesy. The last show I went to featured the Colorado Springs Slim Rail club. They stood in front of the audience and blocked the view of the trains in action. They made no effort to talk to the viewing audience and get them involved, and their layout was positioned too high for kids to even see. This club might as well not have bothered to show up or set up. You must get people involved to get them interested.
I used to be a volunteer for the Colorado Reptile Rescue, and my wife and I "sold" the idea of snakes as positive creatures to the public, using real snakes. We set up once a month in the lobby of the local PetsMart. I also went to schools with tubs of critters and snakes and got the entire class, plus the teachers, to begin handling them, overcoming phobias, and getting to know complex and interesting creatures on a personal basis. My one hour presentation became an entire afternoon for the entire fifth grade one day, at the specific request of the teachers themselves, who observed the deep interest of the kids. The principle is the same. You have to get people involved personally to generate interest, especially young people.
I recently chastised my friend who runs the LHS in Colorado Springs. I asked him if he held operating sessions for the store layouts, or invited people to watch the construction of the O gauge layout in the storefront window. Nope, he replied. Why not? I asked him. You're in business to sell this stuff, but you are passing up golden opportunities to not only interest the current group of modelers and potential modelers, but the next generation as well. Then I told him Kevin Costner got it wrong: because Mike opened his L:HS, people might come, but they wouldn't buy unless they wanted tl, and making them want to was Mike's job, not just operating the cash register.
Everyone is leaping to dire conclusions because "Google says so". This is the same "Google", may I remind you, that censors the internet on behalf of repressive governments.
When the various railroad publications start talking about the end of railroad modeling, I'll take it more seriously. When the Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette says it's ending, I'll take it VERY seriously.
Certainly the hobby is changing. The trend is towards larger scales and mega-layouts, well beyond the means of a lot of adult modelers, let alone young people. It's also a largely sedentary hobby that mostly takes place indoors, which is not usually attractive to young, active people.
Clubs need to re-learn manners and common courtesy. The last show I went to featured the Colorado Springs Slim Rail club. They stood in front of the audience and blocked the view of the trains in action. They made no effort to talk to the viewing audience and get them involved, and their layout was positioned too high for kids to even see. This club might as well not have bothered to show up or set up. You must get people involved to get them interested.
I used to be a volunteer for the Colorado Reptile Rescue, and my wife and I "sold" the idea of snakes as positive creatures to the public, using real snakes. We set up once a month in the lobby of the local PetsMart. I also went to schools with tubs of critters and snakes and got the entire class, plus the teachers, to begin handling them, overcoming phobias, and getting to know complex and interesting creatures on a personal basis. My one hour presentation became an entire afternoon for the entire fifth grade one day, at the specific request of the teachers themselves, who observed the deep interest of the kids. The principle is the same. You have to get people involved personally to generate interest, especially young people.
I recently chastised my friend who runs the LHS in Colorado Springs. I asked him if he held operating sessions for the store layouts, or invited people to watch the construction of the O gauge layout in the storefront window. Nope, he replied. Why not? I asked him. You're in business to sell this stuff, but you are passing up golden opportunities to not only interest the current group of modelers and potential modelers, but the next generation as well. Then I told him Kevin Costner got it wrong: because Mike opened his L:HS, people might come, but they wouldn't buy unless they wanted tl, and making them want to was Mike's job, not just operating the cash register.