How can we improve the website and forum?

[José M. Rico]

Hello everyone,

I would like to know what do you guys think about the website and forum, and what would you do to make it better. Do you have any suggestions, things you would like to see added, changed, improved, or expanded? Do you guys find this forum useful? Please let me know, I would like to hear from you!

Best regards,

José M. Rico

[marcelo_malara]

Jose, do you have an NNTP service for the forum? It will be far more easy just to look in Outlook (or other NNTP client) if there is a new posting than crawling in the webpages.

Thanks

[Ulrich Rudofsky]

what is NNTP ?

[marcelo_malara]

Is a protocol that allows a forum to be accessed with Outlook.

[_Derfflinger_]

Jose - I find your web site and your forum to be quite valuable. Perhaps the forum would be more active if you added some topic headers to stimulate discussion of the other KM ships by class? I'd like to see more discussion, for example, on the KM destroyers and torpedo boats, which have always been of great interest to me.

Derf

[Kit-Builder]

Hello everyone,
Being new to this site I’d like first of all to say “WOW!” thanks for the resources that are here (and http://www.bismarck-class.dk/ too). I’m taking a break from the high-temperature world of kit tanks and thought I’d go navel (as apposed to aircraft) and thought of only 3 ship kits that I’d like to build. They are Bismarck, Yamato or New Jersey. Well you can guess what I pick on “his” looks alone. I’m into the Tamiya 1/350 (the cheap one!) with the 3 White Ensign Model sets plus one more extra one of portholes and doors because I’m not sure how much I’d need (4 set total).


Anyway the reason that I joined this site was strictly because of the Bismarck topic. I’d thoughtfully recommend that you try to keep the forum topics specifically relevant to the Bismarck/Tirpitz.
The temptation to expand the forum to generate “traffic” could in effect lower (degrade) the power of the site’s appeal to historian/researchers and kit builders. If anything more should be done to get kit building traffic to generate topics that would be more appealing to those that are regulars here (as Derfflinger perhaps would be happier with?). I know that there is the repetitious posts that relate to “what color should I paint the deck?” or “how do I do the rigging on the Bismarck?” and that this seems to get under the skin of the regulars who answer them on a thread page by thread page basis ( ).

How about topics on “sectional construction” for those, like me, who are here for as long as it takes to build a halfway decent ship? There are lots of areas that need fixing and not all of us are as gifted as say “Jos Visser” that could use some help tweaking the kits (big and small).
The WEM sets have almost no instructions to do with integrating the photo-etched with the plastic parts (Michael Taylor is partially useful).
There are other sets that could use “online help” too to get a good looking kit.

Anyway that’s a big ramble when I could have just asked that you put more into the kit side of the interest in this fine looking warship (of the three I stated earlier the “Bis” is the best so please no “Bis-mato” or “New-marck-ato” threads .
Regards Steve

[Kit-Builder]

Derf, sorry if that reads as derogatory to your view. I was only trying to encourage uses of this site to surf the hobby forums to pick up kit builders who have asked a question about the Bismarck and the only response they get is a total lack of interest.

There is a disdain shown to hobby enthusiasts who, for what ever the reason, find three World War 2 topics the most appealing. The Bismarck, the Yamato and the Tiger I/E. Any hobby site you go to will give you the cold shoulder over these three but they would be the big three kits for the kit manufacturers. There are 6 manufacturers building god knows how many Tiger I kits in every imaginable scale that span from the early 70s (Tamiya) up to 2005 (Dragon with two in 1/35 (3 if you count the sPzAbt.501 one for the OEM) AFV Club with one 1/35 (2 if you count the Wittmann/s.SS.PzAbt.101 special ed.)and Tamiya in 1/48). This is an indication of the tanks over all selling power but the stink that the new Tiger kits caused was totally out of proportion to the WW2 topic coverage.

I would really like to see Dragon use the attention to detail and the latest molding technology it is currently using on the 1/35 armor subjects to do a 1/350 (perhaps a 1/300 for those of us with failing eye sight) Bismarck/Tirpitz. They could kill Tamiya with a stunning ship at about 2/3 the cost and trust me when I say that the industry is going mad with kits in 1/35 armor or just German WW2 (K5 railway guns (230mm? Anzio Annie), 120 ton Karl with railway transport, every type of 251 halftrack (20+ so far) built, all models of the Pkw IV are in the pipe works (they are starting with the earlies B/C/D/E (multiple manufacturers doing the same tanks ) now and are fast moving up the alphabet) even prototype AFVs are hitting the shops. One company is doing a WW2 era BR52 steam locomotive due out very early in 2006.

I just can’t help but feel that there is a massive “floating” Bismarck enthusiasts audience that could be tapped into here (I’m one after all with no real loyalty to ship building as a hobby or the Bismarck historically, just trying to build a halfway decent kit for my own pleasure).

Anyway again I’m sorry for appearing to be rude (not my intention honestly).
Regards Steve Campbell (a new one with the same name )

[_Derfflinger_]

Steve - No problem.

I'd like to see this forum, and other KM forums as well, do more to stimulate discussion of other German ships, WW2 and WW1. In particular, I'd like to have more discussion of the KM Zerstorer and Torpedoboot fleets, long favorites of mine.

As I'm getting to the age now where my eyesight is starting to impact my ability to do high quality detail work on models, I've cut back considerably on my model kit inventory - selling many off and using the funds to add to my book library. I'm still building a few models though - guess what! - KM Z's and T's (Heller 1:400 kits). Plus, have bought a few more books on them, in particular their ill-fated adventures around Narvik in April, 1940.

I guess more and more I'm converting into an armchair modeler!

Derf

[Antonio Bonomi]

Ciao Derf, Steve and all,

I would like to add to your comments my one.

Modeling, of course I am a lot interested on it and I think we can share a lot of valuable infos on the model section.

I have made more than once all the KM ships on 1/350 ( Tamiya ) and 1/400 ( all Heller ones ), plus all the KM existing 1/700 all kits maker.

I can support with technical and camouflage information ( full ship life ) all modelers about the 10 major KM warships and the Hilfskreuzers, .. than if anybody is interested on Regia Marina battleships, .. we can talk about those too.

Lately I made the BS and TP with photo etched parts ( WEM and TOM's) so I can share some insights and tricks about them too.

Now I am finishing an X-Craft on 1/35 by Accurate Models ( for the Tirpitz Alta Museum ), .. but very soon I will start 5 new kits of Tamiya Tirpitz to make her on all versions from the beginning till the end or her technical evolutions with WEM PE parts of course.

I am with you Steve, Dragon can definitively look for ships and not only for aircrafts, tanks and big cannons ( by the way very liked by me as well as I made hundreds of them too ).

Is there any chance that we can write them and subscribe for a request of a kit ??

Of course as you both know I have no problems to cover also the other KM warships discussion, maybe I know less light Cruisers, destroyers and torpedo boats, but one can always enjoy and learn.

Even if Jose' will not modify the forum structure there is always room on current dedicated list of topics to write what one wants to talk about.

At least this is the way I see it, ...

Ciao Antonio

[Kit-Builder]

I've started a new topic thread so as not to get this one to far "off topic" .
If you can please have a read and see if you can help me out Antonio, that would be great.
Steve

[José M. Rico]

Thank you all for your suggestions.

I'm somehow reluctant to make new forum sections just to have them empty because nobody posts messages. Of course as the forum expands this could change but for the time being I don't think it would be a good idea.

Marcelo – To see if there is a new posting just log in first and then look for this image:

José

[Madcap]

I think it would be good if you expanded your brilliant site to include the other ships of the kriegsmarine in the same detail as the Bismarck.

[RF]

Could somebody set up a translation facility for the Spanish sections of this forum/website, so that those people such as myself who are not proficient in Spanish can follow the dialogue.

I'm not complaining about people conversing in Spanish, I just want to understand what is being said.

[Ramius]

it would be nice to have a chatroom on here to have an actual conversation.

[Ramius]

How about the member list automatically set to Total Posts (descending). This is because only 1/6 of the people are at the rank of "Member" and have 20 posts, making them almost regular contributors. This edit would make it easier to find fellow members' profiles and PM's easier, instead of going through 12 pages of wanabies that sign on and never look at it again