I have taken the liberty of sending personal emails to our members. I have sent 60 emails so far.
Date # emails sent
3 Oct 21 90
4 Oct 21 120
9 Oct 21 180
12 Oct 21 240
15 Oct 21 Remaining members.
Note that regular contributors were not contacted.
Lou
First responder is Ben aka Animek.
Quote" Hi Lou, not an Avid broadcaster, but I read your forums from time to time.
Ben" Unquote
Lou
Second respondent is Kevin aka Captn Kev.
Quote "Salutations Lou
I am doing well thx for asking. Your query can be answered simply by saying, I am as always interested in scale modeling. Like most people in the last 18 month's I have seen some large changes in my life. Priorities have been rearranged and I find myself little time for my pastimes (SMM as an example) putting an emphasis on family and health. Looking forward to the day we all can get back to having some fun.
Thank you
Kevin Moore " unquote
Lou
Chris aka Gliders wrote,
quote
"Hello, Yes, still Interested.
Chris"
Lou
Albert aka joppyuk1 wrote.
Quote
"I find that old age creeps up on a person, and my eyesight and finger dexterity are no longer what they are. I do very little craft work these days, but occasionally browse the site for nostalgic reasons. Sorry I can't be more positive, but I'm sure other, younger, workers will still be interested.
Ian (Albert Wetherspoon)"
Unquote
Lou
Dimitri aka dberdebes wrote
Quote
"Hi Lou definitely interested in SMM also on your Facebook page
cheers Dimitri"
Unquote
Lou
Pat aka busntruck wrote.
Quote
"Hi, I still am although I haven't posted anything yet.
Pat
Killing has intensified along the road to peace.- Tom Waits
The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant."
Unquote
Lou
Ken aka kjnoble wrote
Quote
"Hi Lou
We are doing fine. Trust the same for your family. Have been tied up at work so don't have much time. Am hoping to get back to the Halifax's and others in the next two or three weeks.
Thanks for checking in. - Ken"
Lou
Don aka donandglo wrote
"Hello, good to hear from you. Must admit I have not been very active my Bonnie is calling for attention and I will complete her. I think the absence of interest from a group of like minded folks in the area takes some of the excitement and determination out of projects but I will get back to it. Letters like yours will spur us on, Covid has not helped either, we cancelled our trip to the coast this year and my old buddy passed on. I am going to get off my butt and finish my projects and thank you for the kick. Be safe and keep in touch."
Unquote
Lou
Bob aka grandone49 wrote
Quote
"I am still interested but keep running out of time.
Bob Neill"
Lou
Guy aka Guy La Casse wrote
Quote"
Hi Lou, how are you? Thank you for asking. Sorry to hear and the lost of your (our) friend. Been busy this past winter making the Gregor (CF-BMB), was built in Thunder Bay... Believe that I send some pics. of it in spring. Sending pics. of it again and the weathervane currently "flying" on garage. And also pics. of CF-AWR and CL-84 in temporary warehouse where I volunteer in restoration. The new museum will open next spring, they already have hung from ceiling 5-6 airplanes...Now making 2 Husky in 1/48 scale, should be finish by X-Mass, one on floats, other on skis. Keep in touch, regards. Guy. Enjoy the pics."
Unquote
Paul J aka Paul_D wrote
Quote
"Hi Lou,
I'm doing well down here in Portland. Not much activity in the solid model construction hobby but still building other things. I was saddened to here of the passing of Barry. I always admired his work. I hope things are going well for you."
Unquote
Krete aka Duck001 wrote
Quote
"For sure!"
"Unquote
Lou
Matt aka gmmattingley wrote
Yes, thank you
Lou
Rex aka broadsides 3 wrote:
Hello Lou:
I'm fine and pretty work-bound these days. As far as being part of the email list for Solid Model Memories, please remove me. I've taken a new direction since 2012.
I hope all is well with you. sir.
Regards,
Rex
Douglas aka D61warren wrote:
Hi Louis. I got your email regarding the Solid Model Memories group. I'm definitely still interested in solid models and the group. It's a great resource for wood models.
Lou
Dick aka gunner44 wrote:
Oh yes!
I'm still building models. Although at a slower pace...
And will attend the monthly meeting tonight.
Dick...
Lou
George aka gjb602 wrote
All's well thank you.
My interest is still there, mostly historical with Skybirds and similar makes.
As part of my Retrotoyspares business I reproduce most Skybirds engines, propellors, wheels etc in white metal..
ATB
George
Lou
Kirk aka kirkb wrote
Hi Lou,
Haven't logged on in awhile, but yes...
Kirk
Lou
Ken aka subnuke wrote
Thanks Lou for reaching out to me. I had earlier started checking in more often after Gera reached out to me. Gera is a long, dear friend of mine and it was good to hear from you buddy.
When I disappeared a few years ago it was mainly to care for my mother. She died in 2016. My responsibilities then shifted to caring for my father who died in 2020. I have recently settled his estate and looking to return to a life that I haven't had in many years. My house and modeling area is cluttered with possessions I kept from my parents and I still need to dig through all that and get things sorted. There will be a day I return to modeling but I plan to keep up with the forum while waiting for that to happen.
Cheers to all,
Ken
John aka airmedical wrote:
Yes, still interested. Thank you.
Lou
Japwee aka japboon wrote:
Hi Louis
Thanks for writing.
Crazy time we are living in, isn't it?
Everything is fine here in down under, but haven't been checking into the SMM and my other interests' group sites( photography and printing making, among other) because of family matters and work.
I appreciate your reminder, and yes, I am still very much interested in SMM, which I find quite therapeutic looking at other people's beautiful works and learn some history of the solid model making matters.
Please keep me in the loop if you can.
Warmest regards & stay safe
Japwee Boon
Lou
Raul aka bearpilot wrote:
Greetings!
I want to get back to building models.
Keep up the good work!
Lou
Hank aka hhdempsey wrote:
yes; very interested
Lou
Larry aka Flying T wrote:
hi Lou, still interested but cant make them cause I started to shake. made most of the ones i was interested in . Could not find anyone interested when I was at the flea market with samples and kits I made up, next to Shaw AFB.
Lou
Jim aka Fingers wrote:
Hi Lou:
Yes, very much interested, and still check it regularly. Haven't been able to contribute since last fall, unfortunately, owing to family health care responsibilities and other commitments. But I've recently started building again and hope to be submitting new material before too long.
Thanks for your stewardship and interest.
Be well.
Jim Atkins
Galway, NY
Lou
Hello Lou
Thanks very much for your email. I did reply but my email was rejected and bounced back undelivered.
Your email immediately prompted thoughts of the only aeroplane model of my Dad's that I ever saw, when as a very young boy, I spied it sitting on a shelf at Great Aunt Winifred's place (circa 1960); a solid, white Heinkel He.59 biplane with floats, rigging and big red crosses. I vaguely recall picking it up, breaking it and getting into trouble.
Alas, I had quite forgotten about this site. I suppose having computers blow up and not backing up favourites, and a torrid time in and out of horsepiddle half a decade ago for operations and stuff that mucked up my cognitive abilities, may be contributory factors, though they sound like excuses to me %~))
Well, I'm pensioned off now and have returned to scale modelling with a vengeance; a perfect activity for steampunk tinkerers in this lockdown culture.
Although the plastic fantastic (an expression of ambivalence) features strongly in these months, I have a couple of projects coming up that will require drafting and fabrication skills. I'm absolutely besotted with interwar British bipes on floats and plan to carve a set to convert a Hawker Hart in 1/48 into an Osprey. I'd also like to construct a catapult and crane ala His Majesty's cruisers to display a Fairey Swordfish. Longer term, I wonder about fabricating a Fairey IIIF on floats in 1/48 and other aeroplanes of this era that are sadly overlooked in this scale, like my beloved Blackburn Blackburn.
So there you have it. I'm back! I've renewed my password, popped a link into my toolbar menu, had a cursory look into a forum thread or two and hope to make some meaningful contributions soonish.
Many thanks again, Lou.
johnh
Thank you for posting John. I look forward to your future submissions.
Lou
Norman aka Bluesocks wrote:
Dear Lou
I recently joined and finding it a very valuable source of ideas, plans and techniques. It probably caters to a small group of people, but I am sure that they appreciate the time and effort it takes to be an administer for the site. A belated thank you to you for this.
All the best
Norman Gleadow
British Columbia Canada
Lou
Lars aka Lars_Opland wrote:
Hi Lou,
I'm still here...though my sheet styrene supplier, Evergreen Models, vanished without trace last summer. # :^(##
You folks are kindred spirits to me, but I usually use the internet only for seeking out reference photos, looking up aircraft registrations & such. Customers keep me busy producing plastic kits & there is rarely time for new product development or model building, but my choices for kit subjects have always been about promoting the modeling of more civil subjects. I chose the bush plane genre because I was raised in Alaska, immersed in bush flying lore &, of all general aviation categories, bush flying carries about the closest thing you can find to that "machismo" which attracts modellers to military subjects...& if they can't be lured away from military subjects, the kits I've produced so far can all be correctly displayed in military markings, too. Good bush types make good military liaison, observation & light transport types.
I'm still an active member of the Wings of Peace discussion group, but never visit that site either because the discussions are conducted via e-mail.
Part of last winter was spent making a Cessna mobile from rejected kit moldings (many experiments last winter to get the new styrene soft enough to mold well) for our youngest grandson, & I borrowed the black window method for solid models to help simplify & speed the process...
..."rattle-can" spray paint, no research (beyond what I had already done to produce the kit) & no registration numbers; just "generic" builds:
(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10004/normal_Cessna_001.jpg)
(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10004/normal_Cessna_002.jpg)
I was also very happy to try out all the kit options on this; the most fun I've had modeling in over a decade!
(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10004/normal_Cessna_003.jpg)
That's right: I built all these models from vac moldings I would never sell my customers. Quality control!
Cheers, -Lars Opland
Khee-Kha Art Products
P.O. Box 875638
Wasilla, Alaska 99687
U.S.A.
Lou
Hi Lou,
I seem to be back in business again :)
I have been mostly lurking in the background keeping up to what is happening in the SMM world. I just have not had the opportunity to sit down and log my activity (sporadic as it was).
I realized I had not posted since April. Wow. It seems that is when the summer came upon us, my hobby moved along in fits and starts. All is well and I will be posting more stuff in the future about the Banshee.
Good to see the other replies from fellow modellers. To you all, Keep up the excellent work!
Fraser
Thank you for checking in Fraser.
Lou
Michael aka michaelpierce123 wrote:
Hi Lou,
I hope you and your wife are doing well in Canada. As a recall, she has some medical issues earlier this year. Hope she's well.
I got the email below and tried to respond, but the email failed. I am still interested in SMM, although my first model sort of sputtered to a halt due to work and family commitments. Thanks for the prompt (and all your instructions) -- I need to pick it back up and get it across the finish line.
I recognize that keeping the site running can be a chore. I hope you'll do so. Let me know if I can help, or if contributions are needed.
Thanks!
Michael Pierce
Lou
Peter aka Peter wrote:
Hi Lou,
I still read the posts and visit on regular basis. Just haven't put a knife to a piece wood in a few years due to health and work commitments. Hopefully will be coming active soon.
Peter
Lou
Roger aka oldflier2 wrote:
You bet I'm still following S. M. M. don't let anything bad happen to it.
Roger.
Lou
Noel aka scratch39 wrote:
Lou;
I'm still modelling and interested in other fellows work. I'd like to share more often, but like I've said before, I have trouble navigating the website. I'd like to stay.
Noel Allard
Lou
Thomas aka scottzepher wrote.
Dear Lou,
Apologies for not replying to your first email; you're most kind to be asking about my welfare.
First of all, I want to say that I'm still very much interested in SMM, and continue to take every opportunity to promote the website. Since I came across the page years ago looking for information on my SE-5a project (which is still very much in process), I have never found another website so focused on wooden models as SMM. I was very happy to see it doing so well, breaking the previous record proves how it stands out in the whole Internet.
It has been a while since I posted any progress, and I have to say there hasn't been very much since the completion of the MS type BB. A great deal of my time and energy has been taken up by writing. I was having trouble promoting my first book (search "BT James: Writer and Observer" for more about that), while trying to make time to work on my first full-length novel. Many different ideas, so little time. Sadly my first book is no longer widely available, due to issues with the publisher.
There has been a great many personal issues to deal with, several having to due with the health of my family members. This and various issues reducing the access to my shop created challenges getting there. I am happy to say that the recent government payments allowed us to improve the garage issues significantly. The old (and highly inefficient and insecure) wooden doors were removed, totally walled over with cinderblock. One of the upper windows, section of inner wall and an outer wall leading outside were all opened up to create doorways which provide secure access from inside the property, something I had not enjoyed for several years owing to serious neglect of our neighbor's property. Now popping down to do a little modeling is infinitely more convenient!
I have a Dornier Libelle and a dual-engine Tachikawa roughed out, and a few other kits waiting as well, but my next major project will have to be a set of stairs from the one outside door. I'm currently getting in and out by means of a ladder!
I should be posting again by the beginning of next year, when I should have some progress. Thank you again for your concern.
Thomas Becker
(Scott Zepher is a name I use online, which in itself has an interesting history, I'll tell you about it sometime!)
Lou
James aka Spaceranger wrote:
Still here, still interested. Doing fine. How you?
(James) Michael McMurtrey
Carrollton, Texas
Lou
So far to date, 36 members or 13% responded to my emails. The number is small but greater than I expected. Several also mentioned they were about to return to the hobby.
Thank you to all who answered my requests.
Lou
Terry aka twick wrote
Hi, Lou.
Doing okay. Still enjoy your postings.
I've collected hundreds of balsa solid models over the years, and thousands of paper (not literally solid; volumetric, in British jargon) models. Some of them I've started to sell off; even now, I have a few listed on Ebay. But most, I expect, will go to the grave with me. Or, at least, be still in my collection up to that time.
Hoping all is well with you, too,
Terry
Lou
Steve aka restarting wrote
Yes, I am still interested in solid models. Taking a hiatus right now but look to SMM for plans for when I get going again.
Steve
Lou
Terry aka ttpatrick wrote:
I am still making models in wood, I have done so for what must but 60 years now, all in 144th scale. I do like to see what others are doing so I do look at SMM on occasions. I some times think I should show my latest creation on SMM but it seems I never get round to it, perhaps I will.
Keep up the good work Lou.
Terry
Lou
Don aka Donner wrote:
I appreciate your effort. ' Been getting over cancer this past year. If
you continue, I'll be here. Thanks!
Lou
Richard aka oldblacksmith wrote:
Hello Lou,
I check in to the website occasionally but am not an active carver. I just retired and may have time to do some carving in the future. Still very much interested.
Regards,
Richard
Lou
Steve aka rocketpilot wrote:
Hi Lou,
Sorry for the delay in responding. I am doing well and very much interested in Solid Model Memories. I do hope you are not looking to dissolve and close down the website.
It is a great website and very important.
Best to you,
Steven
Lou
Roger aka oldflyer wrote:
Dear Lou,
I'm building as much as I can, at 73 years old. It is some times hard, I can't see, my hands are crippled up, and my days pass by like a freight train. But I still work with my Great Grandson, Grayson, to teach him how to build all manner of models, including Solid Scale Models. My Father and Uncle instructed me on Solids, 65 years ago and I'm still building.
Stay Well Lou, and keep building.
Thank you, Roger.
Lou