I remember it pretty well. After about a week or so of 10-18 hour days of non-stop work (I was between regular jobs at the time), Armorama, my fun little hobby site was born on December 16th, 2001. I remembered getting all the various areas finished on the 15th and then late that night if not right after 12:00am I turned on the page so that everyone could see it. I posted on a few sites (KitHobbyist for one) and attracted the attention of a few people like Rob Gronovius (Sabot) and Ken Fortier (Kencelot). They were instrumental in those early days to providing the energy the forums needed to grow. And they still do a great job at that today!

On December 18th I posted this thread on Missing-Lynx....
New Armor/Military Modeling Site

The response was about what I had expected. What I didn't expect was that in a few short months we went from 1 user to 500. By the time our first anniversary was rolling around we were well past 1000 members and heading into uncharted territory. Uncharted by me that is because I never thought the site would get much bigger than that.

We have come a long way. We have made good friends and learned what it's like to be part of an online community. All in all I can say it's been one heck of a ride these past 4 years. I am really looking forward to the coming year as I think we will have some really exciting things happening on all fronts. More on that later.

Have a great day and if you have an Armorama T-Shirt... wear it proud (if your boss will let you!) hehe.

Cheers,
Jim

Happy Birthday Armorama.

I for one appreciate all the efforts that Jim and other staff members over the years have put into this site.

From the moment that I was introduced to it by Grant Macintosh (dioman) it has been my main modelling site, and almost my only interface with other modellers; so here's to the next 4 (and more) years.

Well what more to say , that this 4 years old baby is part of my life , and a serious one.


This community has proved over the years , that distance is not a problem when intentions are the best. That friendship can be over the neighbourhood, politics , and any kind of national hostility.

That a lot of guys are ready to help every day , assist, encourage and stand by your side.

Jim when u had the idea, when u started all this , i dont know if u knew what would come out, but u surely did it very very well .


I cannot say more cause i am really moved..and i just can wish Armorama Live Forever.

This family has to be above persons , and personals.

Thanks a lot Jim , and i mean that .


Happy Birthday Armorama ..

Ken originally introduced me to the site.

Happy birthday Armorama and thanks Jim for getting it up and running for us.

cheers
Cliff

Happy birthday
Many cheers to the staff who run this site in such a erfect way. We owe you so much in terms of skill increase that you deserve the success of Big A.

Merry Xmas and Happy new year slightly to all members

olivier

I reckon Costas has hit the nail on the head here - what Jim has created, probably without realising it at first, is more than just a website but a worldwide community of like-minded people; without regard to geography, ethnic background or religion.
The members have a great deal to do with maintaining this spirit - a truely great bunch of guys & gals that I'm proud to be a small part of.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARMORAMA!!! Wow ..four years. What an amazing feeling that much be for you Jim as you look back at how far the site has come in such a short period of time. We appreciate and really love ya man for everything that you do keep this site up and running. And as has been said before a few times... this ones to the next four.

Mary (++)

Happy Birthday Armorama

If I had a Tee shirt, I'd be happy to wear it......... :-) :-)

and Pvt Parts' shirt is way too small...... LOL

Nice job Jim......

signed:
The crazy oldman that moved into the neighborhood. :-)

Congratulations Jim and the team on another very productive year with the "Big A"

You will be pleased to know that your wonderful site is the reason I'm only producing a few models a year as I can't leave it alone!!!
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)


Happy Birthday Armorama and may you have many more.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARMORAMA
4 years, +10 000 members, huge amount of activity and forums that covers all flavors of modeling hobby. All of this in a world wide community. That is an amazing achievement.

Wow Happy Birthday Armorama!

Even though im a newish member to this site, the hobby certainly isnt so i do feel like like ive been here for awhile.

Hey Jim, just out of curiousity, is the site running on current CMS (content management system) like Joomla and php-nuke or did you code it from scratch? Reason for my asking is that i have my own web space that im trying to develop and would love to hear your suggestion on what you think is best.

Happy birthday Armorama!!!!!
Many thanks,Staff Jim.Great job!
4 years and 10,000+registered members.Mind boggling isn't it?All for the common draw of a simple hobby that transcends generations,politics,nationalitys,and religions.
I will wear my Armorama shirt proudly,when available. :-) :-) :-) :-)
Thanks again-cheers

Happy Birthday to the Armorama!!!
Wishing another 4 and 4 and 4 and 4 more years (at least) to come, and an ever increasing number of members!
And Thank You Jim for creating and running this great site for us!
Long Live Big A

Cheers
Pedro

Happy Birthday Armorama....

I'd like to thank all the Staff-members, and in particular Staff_Jim for all the efford they put in this site.
Like many of us said over and over again: This is a Family....and I'm proud to be a member....

Merry Christmas everybody, and a Happy New Year!!!

John.

Jim - I first visited the site about two weeks after it was live, and then formally "enlisted" in January. Like many others, I am proud to be a member of the community, and take pride in "our site".

I'd love to see some statistics.... just simple "did you know" kind of information....

how many people who registered in the first year are still active posters?

What is the average number of posts per month, per user?

What is the breakdown of "rank"... ie, how many people are privates, how many corporals, captains, generals, etc.?

Congrats!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARMORAMA AND WHAT I GREAT JOB YOU GUYS DO.

Whoohoo 4 years!

And the site keeps improving :-)

Congrats Jim, you've done a lot for the world wide scale model world

Martin

Happy Birthday Armorama. Thankyou Jim, the staff and all the members for making this the BEST site on the planet.
Andy (++)

Two words Jim:
Thank you.

Sean

I remember the first days of Armorama as the 51th member...it was great to have a new modelling site but in those days i never thought it will turn to a 12000+ members family or a lifestyle....thanks brother for what you have done and long live Big-A.

Happy 4th Birthday Armorama.

If memory serves me correctly I found the site in January 2002 by following Jim's link on ML and I've been here ever since. This is the only site I visit on a daily basis and IMHO it's the best.

Pete

Happy Birthday, and here's to many more
I have the night off tonight, so I'll raise a glass (hmm, probably more than one..) to our continued expansion..
Today the net, Tommorow the world.....
Woehahahahahaha

:-) :-)

How on earth did you know I was wearing it today.... actually I'm wearing it right now

Happy Birthday to all of you. I'm proud to be a part of this fantastic family !!

Let's all raise a glass .... bottoms up dudes and dudettes !

Happy Birthday Armorama