Every time a Modern Release gets posted in the News Section, the response is frankly impressive. Not just the usual one-liners, but the time a lot of people take to add photos of the actual vehicle, answer questions (usually my own dumb ones ) and, in general, make the effort of posting. This doesn't happen to anywhere near the same extent in any other sections.

Now, the 'What's New' thread is pretty important in the sense it shows (apart from the page-view counter on the Report) that people are genuinely interested in these new items and, equally important, the manufacturers are taking note of the comments made.

Now, this isn't to say that there isn't enthusiasm in other areas (Allied, Axis, Figures, Dioramas etc.) it just suggests that Modern builders seem to be less 'reticient' in letting their feelings known.

On a purely selfish basis (and I speak for the others in the News Section as well) it can get damned frustrating when you spend a hour putting together a Report and no-one bothers to comment)

So, simply put, thanks for the great input!

I certainly appreciate the work you put into the News section Jim and eagerly await the updates you give us.

I guess to my mind the modern releases do seem to be more exciting than most of the period stuff. Maybe because there is so much older stuff out there or maybe because we have a closer connection to the more modern items?

Either way "News" is always my first stop when logging on !

The modern subjects are so interesting because they haven't received the attention they've deserved until now. In addition to the kits being overall well researched and highly detailed, new kits are being released several times a year. In many ways the responses we see are an outpouring of built up frustration and pure delight/excitement in finally seeing what we've wanted to in modern armor as modellers.

Keep up the great work Jim!

I agree with Jeremy... I think it has to do with modern enthusiasts dreaming for so long of having reasonably priced PLASTIC kits of modern subjects.. and now we're seeing a lot of our wishes come true. I hope this "modern trend" keeps going strong.

Also, regarding the many informative posts, obviously this has to do with the fact that several of the members here either now work on some of these vehicles, or have worked on them recently.

Hisham

Thanks for your effort Jim
I am a Modern vehicle freak as you may notice and truly we are living in the golden age of release. i did a comment on the legend MRAP release in Resin stating that was a pretty risky release and a week later Bronco annouced the release of the Buffalo. I hope that this trend will keep up. And as a French modeler, I would like more attention to French subject such as VAB, VBCI and VBL.
We are patient...
Cheers
Seb

I guess the trouble the WW2 guys have is that basically all the mainstream stuff has been released and then re-released to higher standards. Some will disagree, but note I use the word mainstream, and by this I mean things like Churchills, Tigers, Shermans, Panzers, halftracks etc, the common stuff if you will. On top of this many of more un-commons tanks have and are being produced. Next we have the much more niche releases which inevitably appeal to a smaller audience e.g DML's various date specific Tigers, or some of the limited prototype tanks.

The thing with doing modern subjects is that there are new real vehicles being fielded all the time, so for example the Buffalo MPCV is basically a 'new' vehicle, so its a really exciting time to model these subjects. One doesn't quite know what will come out next and every release is rather fresh and exciting (from the point of view of modern vehicle modellers) We have seen a steady stream of announcements of late of vehicle which so far have received no attention from model companies at all. Coupled with companies releasing models of subjects which themselves have only just been fielded.

All the theorising aside for a moment, it truly is a fantastic time to be a modern armour modeller. I just wish I had more time to build everything!

Jim;
firstly I want to thank you for continuing to bring us great news fast! Many thanks to Hisham, Seb and all of the other guys that regularly contribute photos, news, links and just general info. Since joining this site over a year ago I have found my self in a great position with the wealth of information that is available here whether it is just in the forums or in the "/news". Since I started in this hobby too many years ago to talk about all I was interested in was "modern" subject. With the wealth of kits now available to us currently and the wealth of new kits that keep being released it is hard not to be a little giddy and excited when something new and modern is released even if it is not some thing that I will build. Although after reading reviews and build stories here I have found myself buying more kits, and God knows that I surely do not need to. . . .
So thank you for continuing to bring us great information, you all are doing a really superb job of keeping this hobby interesting. Cheers.

No, no matter how well or badly the News is covered, the important thing is really the participation, which, from the Modern Forum, is frankly, second-to-none.

Even though i'm not particularly into modern subjects, the enthusiasm and the amount of info that follows the What's New threads tends to enthuse people.

Keep it up please

I believe that "modern" subjects recieve so much attention, because they were around during a person's lifetime. People can look at it and say "I was there/here when that happened". Building a modern vehicle allows some artistic license, as it may have happened, but been overlooked. Modern weapons also show the culmination of History's lessons. Top of the food-chain, so to speak. The "best" tank/apc/arv is ever evolving and leads the way for more current weapons. As well, you can gather more resources for these builds by talking to those who crewed the real ones. I will point out AEF's droid for the Merkava. We can't really get good references on it, because it is still considered a secret weapon. What's cooler than building something that can't be openly discussed. Having said all of this, I should mention that I am a panzer and artillery fan. I do a modern build from time to time, but keep getting sucked back into WWII. My best refferences are my father, who served two tours; my grandfather, who faught in WWII and Korea(again two tours); and some from my step-dad, who occassionally talks about his role in Vietnam. That's one first person for early weapons, one for general modern military(seems the EOD didn't belong to one specific branch), and one for the rare glimpse into Vietnam.
I model early weapons, because that is when the United States declared itself as a true world power. Anything beyond that, is redundent.

Don't take this personally Jim, but for the past year or so, many of your announcements have been "a day late and a dollar short" as we say on this side of the pond. You generally get pretty annoyed when someone posts something that you've already posted (I read one of these as late as yesterday) yet you yourself post "/news" after someone else has already. People tend to post comments on the first thread they see on a subject, not later ones.
I usually post news on Legend items, Henk as well for other makers, and Hisham, well, I think this guy really does have a Jinn hidden away somewhere.
Having said that, I found the process of submitting reviews, and to a lesser degree news items, to take too long. That's why I've posted so many mini-reviews of Legend releases, usually with at least a partial build rather than a glance in the box. If the process could be streamlined I'd be more likely to "officially" submit them. For "posterity" as one moderator told me.

Again, this isn't directed at you personally, but merited mentioning.

Hey there, Robert... regarding Jim posting a news item that someone else already mentioned.. he does that, as he always says, in order to have the announcement in the news section where people can always find it.. because any other "regular" post will quickly disappear down the pages and a lot of other people won't get to see it.. so, there really is a need to have these items in the news section.

As for the posts I make, I really don't make them as news announcements.. it's just when I see something I get excited about.. I feel I want to share it with others.. and like I said before, there are no other modelers here in Egypt, so I have no other means to share things with people other than these forums... but I'm certainly not trying to do the news staff's job.

Oh, there ain't no Jinn or anything I just surf the net a lot while doing my translation work.. which I do at home and on the computer.. so this allows me to see a lot of new things posted on various sites. Also, I think the different time zone thing allows me to see some things before others do.

In any case, I thank God for this site.. for if it weren't for it, I would have gone crazy with frustration

Hisham

1) It's NOT a one-man show. If someone passes us on a snippet we can act on it. Neither myself nor Darren can be everywhere at the same time. If we're passed on News we can react to it. Everyone is on different sites at different times.

2) We're first out the gate remarkably often. For example we're now the Nº 1 for Bronco. Another thing that people should be aware of that one of the factors at play is the different Time Zones. If I post a news item in the morning (local time here) then it'll be in place when those from North America come on-line. If however, another Site (in Australia) gets News directly from a manufacturer from China, they'll have it posted hours before either myself or Darren can get it up. We do have to sleep sometimes

3) Now, some of the criticisms I will take on board, but just a couple of little Statistics to be aware of. There was a 20-hour period last week when we had over 10,000 page views on the various News reports. In October, we posted (well) over 100 News reports. No-one on the 'Web is coming even vaguely close to that

It's also worth remembering as well, that there are only TWO of us keeping the News Section going. If anyone feels they can contribute, e-mail myself or Darren. We could sure use some more hands!