I probably have too much time on my hands and think about these things far too much. So apologies for another ramble.
I have to ask, what are group builds for? They sound like a "good idea" but in reality most drift from lack of interest and models not getting completed on time. Most of us just want to share the models we are building with other like-minded enthusiasts, and often group build subjects don't fit with what we are building or plan to build. However, a bigger issue is that they fragment the board. Most people have limited time to check the forum, so IMO the most important sections are the "Under Construction" and "Completed Models" areas, because I know that's where people are posting work. If you have group build sub-boards, you create an area that might get fewer views because people might not want to check additional areas of the forum to see what people are building. None of us want to be posting in an area that isn't getting the views.
For those reasons, I have never really bothered with group builds in any forum I've been on. But here's the however. I did participate in the Dave Wilson group build and really enjoyed it. First, there was a very good reason for doing it. Second, it made me take something out of the stash and build it, because the subject matter was not too narrow. It really prompted me into "just build it" mode, which is what Dave would have wanted.
So group builds can have their place. If we are going to do them, here's my thoughts:
- Don't have too many. 2 to 3 a year sounds a lot to me and you risk low participation. I bet many people on here don't complete more than 3 WWI kits a year, so they aren't going to be "told" what to build by our group build schedule.
- Keep the subject matter wide. For me, a group build should be a reason to get something off the shelf and build it even though I hadn't planned to. People are unlikely to buy something just for the group build, so a narrow subject area will mean lower participation.
- Make it about more than just planes. If we want to grow participation and membership, we should try to keep the group builds open to all modellers (which was one of the good things about the Dave Wilson group build). So for example a group build about a specific campaign or year leaves this open to all types of WWI model. And instead of something like "Aces", make it "Personalities of WWI" so that it could include non-aviation subjects. You could still have aircraft-only group builds but maybe you could alternate aircraft-only group builds with more general ones.
- Make sure the group builds don't become a quieter backwater of the forum. You want everyone looking at and commenting on the group builds, not just the folks taking part in the group build. Maybe submit the group build postings to the main "Under Construction" board but flag them in some way as being part of the group build. I've seen this done on a music forum that I was on and it worked well.
You know my views on prizes. IMO a group build should be about taking part for the fun of it, not winning something. And if you need a prize or some incentive to make members take part in a group build, then why are we bothering with them?
That's today's ramble over......
