Why does it take so long to start campaigns? i signed up for the 'Cruise'n for a Bruise'n campaign and then I read it doesn't start till July 2010, that's 8 months before I can start building, Hell! I could be dead by then. Build time is 6 months, ok, that's fair enough for the slow builders, but 8 months to think about it and acquire the stuff needed is ludicrous. Why not start it now and finish it in December of next year?, at least some of us can build, finish and enter our subject before we forget all about it.

Hey, its my first campaign, and just learning the ropes(pun intended). Cut me some slack mate, I'm a total noob at this.

At the time, I felt that there were enough campaigns going on in the next few months to keep everyone busy for awhile. Plus the flattop campaign has taken a lot of my funds and will take a good two months at least with all the PE I have for a 1:700 Akagi and I might try a Kaga as well.

I'd be okay starting early provided the mods can alter the date(I cannot) and a majority of those signed up agree. I think you are right though. Next time I'll make it longer and not so far out.

Maybe someone should do a "Quick Skipper" campaign, one month prep and one month build time. I might sign up, provided I could do another 1:700 PT boat.

Hi Kym,
Very basically, the MSW sanctioned Campaign/Group Build section of MSW operates as a revolving single build, per se, all timed on a schedule so that we are never without an operating build on the books at any given time...I know that there are many builders out there who can bang out ship kits quicker than I can buy them, but that's not what the whole idea of our group builds is about.

Our group builds are meant to achieve many facets, most notably, the formation and nurturing of camaraderie amongst the participants...with the hopes of us all growing to be better friends within the hobby and our site here at MSW, by going through our builds together....learning about the various ship subjects being covered in the campaigns, different modeling techniques being used, and also covering the hurdles that are discovered and conquered within a build by documenting the individual builds in member build logs.

There hasn't been a campaign yet here at MSW that hasn't gleaned many build features, build logs, and exciting and valuable learning experiences that we can all share and benefit from. In a nutshell, Kym, a general learning experience for all involved, mate...know what I mean? We also like to list a long build time for most campaigns to encourage a more difficult build, a complicated dio, or multiple builds...all which are normally included in everyone's campaign guidelines.

I know that you are one of us who can skillfully crank out a fabulous ship build faster than most of us can choose what kit we are going to build, and with this fact set, maybe we should examine the possibility of setting up a more advanced section of the group build, a "Master Class", if you will...this is definitely something that I would consider, but the rub of it all is I would need someone to head the project up and keep it going. I'm going to "sticky note" this topic to keep it at the head of the bunch in this forum section, let's discuss it here, get some feedback, and see where it heads!

Cheers,
~Gunny

Gunny, that was an awesome post. I think that spirit is all over the KitMaker Network. Group Builds and Campaigns are all such an awesome social event lasting months, with such potential for learning and teaching and sharing.
I'm not a shipbuilder...yet...myself, but, I see and promote that same drive in my Scratchbuilder's ACUTR group build and the Stop, Look and Listen GB in the ModelGeek forums.

@Kym- Oh I understand. My honest advice? Jump in on a running build. The start date of any GB or Campaign isn't a limitation. You can sign up any time between the official folder opening to the end-date. Distraction is the key, I think. But, I hear ya and I totally understand. You see that subject and it inspires the imaginative juices and ya get all jumped up about it and then ya look at the start-date and BAM!

It's a toughie. But, Gunny is right about the scheduling. Tight.


Hang in there.
Cuhail

A fast model builder? Isn't that an oxymoron? No disprepect Kym, just my daft sense of humor.

Although I'm a relative unknown on this forum, I do have experience of running GBs on other modelling websites and from my perspective I would say that Model Shipwrights simply doesn't a sufficient number of actively modelling members to have more than 2 or 3 GBs a year. Compare to Armorama which has the numbers to have a dozen going at once!

I know that for whatever reason ships can take a hellishly long time to build, so 6 months or more for a GB is reasonable, but you could maybe squeeze another one in there so that there is some overlap ie as one GB is winding down, another one is starting up.

Thanks Murph...I too agree as well, the philosophy holds steady across our entire branch of Kitmaker, my friend, and personally, you won't find a better bunch of guys to sit down and build a model with...

Hi Neil,
Well said, and yes, you are absolutely right...and most of our Campaign/Group Builds require a bit of teeth pulling just to get our members to sign on!

BUT, once they do complete a campaign, and see how easy and rewarding the experience is, I see their names appearing in the next build, and so on....it's not a competition, guys, quite simply, any of our Campaigns/Group Builds are just that...a bunch of guys building models together, and sharing the experience along the way...good times, good fun, good modeling!

Cheers,
~Gunny

I kind of sympathize with Kym. 6 months to do a build....well the longest I spent was 3 and a half months and granted i had a lot of free time, but most times i can crank out a tank in 4 weeks a large ship in 2 months. But, I have been a campaign leader (MEOW Campaign) and there is a lot to do. I used to do 5 or so campaigns a year.

Of course Kym's real lament is having to wait so long to start the build. The reason behind this is the vast number of campaigns going on.Of course most of the reasoning here was dictated by the Armor section. They could crank out 2 dozen a year. Softskins, German Armor, Russian, modern etc. So this carries over to the ships. There are plenty of campaigns going on currently. The problem is the time factor, with builds going on a year or so things back up.So here is waht I do. I join a campaign set up the kit i am going to do, make sure I have all the materials I need, and then set the kit aside until the time. Btwn then and now i build other stuff. I don't worry about the time so much as like Kym, I don't need 6 months or so.

I agree with Gunny, and advise that the time be spent on research. Too ioften you finish and slap your head when some new bit comes to light.

Kym - you can always build a few dozen other kits while waiting, think of this GB as a special event to look forward to.

oops, forgot - Kym, saw your gallery, nice dio work!

I will throw in another variable.... some of us get 'stopped dead on our tracks" due to work/life/health issues (like me!). So, we may go couple months without touching the workbench or even posting frequently in the forums. We 'need" 8-10 month GB time span because we may actually only be modelling for a month or two of that span

Another reason to wait for a strart of the GB - research time... I a newbie/hobby-returnee, so takes me some time to get familiar with the subject, study the instructions, attempt not to repeat the 139 errors I made on my last build, wait for that PE set to come on sale somewhere... you get the drift! : )

Cheers

I agree that campaigns should be longer. A lot of us have other things in our life and 6 months just aint long enough. That leads me to just not want to join a campaign. I think we should be trying to be inclusive and get people involved. If you a fast builder all power to you . However , have some consideration for community members who arnt