Is scale 1;500 now defunct ?

[Brusselsairlines]

Hello everybody, I'm currently visiting the city of HongKong and here too, lots of 1:500's are sold! No so many as 1:400 but still a lot! By the way, it's funny because I saw on antother forum the question; "why is 1:500 so popular"? Funny Greetongs from HK.

[Brusselsairlines]

EDIT: greetings

[Siegerflieger]

Why don't you bring all your 1/500 collectors to an actual functioning forum instead of putting up w/ the degradation at the main forum

I guess it would help if this site had a dedicated 1:500 section. Listing discussions under "other" doesn't really make anyone feel welcome. Even this discussion wasn't posted there!

Scale preferences seem to vary greatly by country.

Besides Herpa (ca. 250 releases in 2013), there is currently also Sky500 (ca. 20), Hogan (ca. 7), JC Wings (1; already 3 in 2014), who release far less models, but still contribute nicely to collections.

So, in Mark Twain's words: "The report of my death was an exaggeration."

[Geoff]

If I knew how to set up such a forum I'd be quite happy to do that. To put what I asked earlier into perspective, I give an example of what I'm on about. I have in my collection a model Boeing 747-200 that was used by Boeing as the flying test bed for the then new Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 for the new Dreamliner. I have it in the scale 1;500 which as I understand it is now rare as it's now only made in the scale 1;400, and I can only find one for sale, and that in the United States. The one I have is not accurate in that all four engines are the same size instead of number 2 engine being larger. I keep the model more as a novelty, but not in my normal display. I agree with you that the phrase "other" can mean anything these days, but can understand why it's quoted that way. Perhaps I should become less reliant on Herpa and look elsewhere, but I find that other makers charge more, and like all things in life, you get what you pay for. As to your remark about scale preferences, I note that there are more 1;400 scale models in the States, and in Europe more 1;500, or perhaps I'm not looking in the right places to get an accurate take on this. Anyway, I'll keep looking, and buying those models that make, and keep me happy.

[Geoff]

WHO CARES !

[fleetlordatvar]

????????????

[Geoff]

Thank you for at least posting something up. I truly don't know whether to carry on on this website or call it a day. I must admit I've had great fun on here and have been glad to meet kindred spirits such as yourself. I do feel very much cut off living, as I do, in Ireland, where very few people have such a hobby as I do . I would appreciate your comments over this. Kind regards, Geoff

[fleetlordatvar]

Other than physically moving, you can do a more thorough search in your home country to find someone or a group to meet in person. Other than this i can only think of continuing online in some form.

[Geoff]

Thank you for your note.As far as I'm aware there are only 2 shops in Dublin that have any stocks of Herpa and then very few as they don't sell very well here in Ireland. I might stand a better chance going into Northern Ireland. The next best thing is to stay on this website for a while longer and see how things go. Kind regards, Geoff

[fleetlordatvar]

Since this website is much nicer you can ask others to check it out & get something going on here?

[Geoff]

I agree with you that this is a very good site to find kindred spirits on. They all seem to be very enthusiastic about their hobby which makes me feel less of an idiot.

[eugenevh]

Geoff,

Keep in mind that DiMA is still a fairly young forum, so there might not be a lot of people on here.... yet!.
The thing is ... there are other forums out there, but they seem to be going downhill with regards to moderation and toleration.
There is a particular forum I see where people are more interested in pointing out the problems of a particular model when someone posts a thread of their newest arrivals (which they obviously are proud of and have spend hard earned cash on).
I find this in very poor taste. If a model is no good then they should start their own thread - A comparison thread or something where they can point out the problems. But to put down a model for which someone took time to photograph to share with others is very bad manners in my opinion.

Other forums also have those who belittle other's collections by posting THEIR 'superior number of planes' compared to the poor dude who just wanted to share his current 'smallish' collection.

Granted, the same COULD happen here, but so far DiMA seems a lot more 'civilized' to me.

So you have an opportunity now be in the vanguard to get more 1:500 collectors onto DiMA in order to grow that section. You can even then aggitate to have a dedicated 1:500 section and the Administrators might grant that wish. But even if they don't, I still think DiMA has a lot of untapped potential.

It will only get much better if more people join DiMA to make it better. You can be part of that. I understand that people want instant answers and a million people who can answer a question, but it takes time for a forum to reach that goal and the only way to reach that is if people stay to contribute.

Onto this particular topic. I did read your request, but as I don't do modifications myself as I would most likely mess it up completely, I didn't respond. My personal philosophy is to contribute when I have something worthwhile to contribute, or something which I think should be heard, otherwise I tend to SHUT UP. So don't feel you are ignored. People are also quite hesitant to provide advise in case the advise leads to the ruining of a model and they get blamed.

Here in Cape Town South Africa we don't even have a shop where we can buy models. The closest I can get is a shop in Johannesburg (about 2 hours away by commerial airliner).
There are a couple of collectors I know of in Cape Town, but we have different tastes (military collections) so we don't really mix.
So my fellow collectorate you all on these forums.

I thus do hope you stay here an help build from your side. :-)

[Geoff]

My dear friend. Many thanks for you long and uplifting message. I shall of course take my time to digest all that you've said. It's nice to know that someone cares enough, and can be bothered to drop me a line. It has encouraged me to stay here on this website. I do get very despondent when no-one to whom I send a cry for help bothers to respond, but I take on board your thoughts re being blamed for any damage to ones models. I do ,however get annoyed when goods I've bought in good faith do not turn out to be what I expected, my Boeing 747-200 of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 test bed turns out to be just an ordinary plane and not have the larger number 2 engine as shown on the box, though I understand the second version has got the right combination on it, getting hold of it is another story however, and search as I might, no joy so far .Kind regards,Geoff

[eugenevh]

I still don't understand why they do that.
Maybe go onto the Herpa website and send them a query on why you paid for a model that doesn't have the right engine?

https://www.herpa.de

Or more specifically: Contact their Customer Care Centre:

http://www.herpa.de/herpa_cms/%28S%282gjdkq45lixycbfou5cyndqc%29%29/en-GB,218,0,1,0.aspx

Maybe they can surprise you?

[Geoff]

Therein lays my problem. It's not made by Herpa but I think by Phoenix models. If I knew where they're based I'd get in touch with them, but alas I can find no information about them, hence my seeking help on DiMA, but so far, no response from anyone.

[Siegerflieger]

Therein lays my problem. It's not made by Herpa but I think by Phoenix models. If I knew where they're based I'd get in touch with them, but alas I can find no information about them, hence my seeking help on DiMA, but so far, no response from anyone.

It's made by Sky500. I think only retailers know how to contact them, there's no contact info on the web (or even a website), I'm afraid.

[Geoff]

Thanks for the info. I ferret about and see if I have any luck.

[JAL1628]

Geoff,

...people are more interested in pointing out the problems of a particular model when someone posts a thread of their newest arrivals (which they obviously are proud of and have spend hard earned cash on).I find this in very poor taste.

.....Amen

You'll find if you ever ask a "real" question (e.g., how do I do 'X', or, where can I find 'Y', etc.) that scarcely anyone will answer you. When I was new to the hobby I had lots of good questions and most of them were never answered to my satisfaction. So that's what I think about the 'experts'...

At least DIMA is still fairly cooperative and peaceable, unlike some of the other forums.