Friends,
My changing attitude toward modeling:
I don’t know whether it is a matter of just getting older, or tired or what, but my attitude toward what I do for this hobby has changed. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy the work, I’m just finding that I am not as obsessed with making things “perfect” as I was when I started TMD. Any more, I am happy if the master “looks the part.” I no longer need my masters to be perfectly scaled-down representations of the real thing. It’s more important to me these days if the products I sell are easy to use and, most important, that they fir the kit(s) for which they are intended. If I hit that mark, then I consider the master/product to be “perfect,” just in a different way.
If I had to explain this change in attitude, I suppose I would have to say it is the product of retarded maturity (yes, it took 59 years, but I think I am finally ‘growing up’). Instead of worrying about making everything ‘perfect’ (a standard that experience has taught me is impossible to meet, anyway), I am more concerned with the overall quality of what I do for the hobby. Is my product still the best I can produce? Is the price fair? Is my service as good as it can be? After some 24 years in business, these are the things that have come to mean the most to me.
Then there are my constant mistakes:
I am living proof that my Faith is not in vane. I keep repeating the same mistakes and I keep returning to where I should be and what I should be doing. When I make those same mistakes, things go sideways. When I get back on track, they get better. The thing is, I am getting tired of making those mistakes; tired of my stupid “self.” I suppose this part is personal, but I want to start working toward clearing a lot of ‘red ink’ in my ledger. I owe some things to a few very important people, and I am going to figure out a way to force myself to deliver on the promises I made. I have always struggled to produce a steady flow of new masters, but my changing focus on ‘looking right’ is helping me with this. Still, I have other things that weigh on me and I want to correct them, as well.
And my constant attempts to find a working solution:
So, at the same time I am on TMD (see my 2025.6.6 UPDATE), I am going to work to finish the re-organizing of my shop. A clean and tight environment helps my peace of mind, as well as my efficiency. The goal is to finish this and maybe even post pictures by the end of the summer.
Another goal for my TAD period is to make a switch to 1/35 WW II subject matter ONLY! I need to stay narrowly focused or I get side-tracked and start making those stupid mistakes again. Therefore, I will be making several passes through the shop to identify stuff I do not need, but which might get built if I were to find it a new home. So, watch for sale posts on the Blog, here, and our FB page. I’ll start selling off anything and everything I have post Korea very soon. This includes books and after market items in addition to kits.
Finally, I have never been happy with my web store. I like the shopping cart Sprue Brothers, Andy;’s and Squadron are using, but I cannot afford to switch over just now. However, I am going to make an effort to finish updating the current product line and to streamline the current shopping cart by narrowing the categories I am using. I have a lot of re-mastered stuff ready to release. Some of it the re-mastered items will keep their old product numbers, but some of the remastered items will require new product numbers. As soon as I decide how best to do this — with a minimum of resulting confusion — you’ll start seeing the re-mastered items pushed out. The process will continue until I have updated the entire line.
Finally, a BIG THANK YOU!
To all of you who have been with me these last 20-something years, THANK YOU! I really mean that. You have made it all worth the effort. I just hope I have provided and can continue to provide the best possible products I can produce, and even better service. I need your business to survive — especially these days. But, more importantly (at least to me), I NEED TO EARN YOUR BUSINESS!
That’s all I have this time. I’ll see you all again soon.
Joe
P.S. I am still plugging away at my M4A1 build 😉