First off, thank you Nigel for your post, it is very reassuring to know that members feel this way towards our forum.
The forum was initially started to allow a place for people to show off their models, talk with like minded modelers and to pick up new building techniques. The forum was never intended to be a place just for experienced modelers, it is a place where all skill levels are most welcome and all members, regardless of their experience, are made to feel like one of the family. In my eyes once on this forum we are all equal, we are all here to learn and we are all here to communicate with fellow members in a kind and courteous manner. This forum has only been operating for a short time and in that time has attracted over 1200 members all of whom are extremely friendly and helpful people. There is no class distinction here, whether you build a model in a weekend or spend countless years building your model makes little difference, the object of the exercise is to enjoy what you are doing and be proud of the result. Displaying photos of your build or your finished model not only benefits you but many of the members as well, regardless of how good or bad we think we are we are always learning new tricks. not a day goes by without me picking up some new ideas from the forum members and there builds.
It has become obvious that some members are a little hesitant to display their models on the forum, please don't feel this way, displaying your model photographs is what this forum is all about, we all love to see what other members are building, it adds so much to the forum and gives the builder a real sense of satisfaction, it allows the builder to become part of the forum and its members through participation. As Nigel said in his post, until he joined the forum he was pretty much a lone modeler, to tell you the truth until i joined a forum I was exactly the same, I would build dozens of models and the only person to see them was my wife and myself. After displaying a model for the first time on a forum I was elated, over the moon, extremely excited that other people actually though my model looks okay, my shyness and embarrassment soon disappeared and since then I have made countless friends worldwide.
Many forums have started and many have failed, some due to bad management and others through bad members, just two or three aggressive members is all it takes to destroy a forum. Our forum (I say "our" because I feel this forum belongs to the members) is one on the friendliest on the net, it is also one of the fastest growing WW1 aircraft forums around, and I am so proud to be part of this wonderful community. WW1 model aircraft is a very tiny niche in the overall modeling industry, but through this forum we are making this little niche THE place to be, I thank all our members and hope that our forum continues to grow and prosper.
Des.
