A general question to the populus of the site - are you laden with reference materials, ie. books, pictures or do you have a great library in your vicinity?

I find the thouht of building my own library daunting - there are so many books & subjects and without a fat wallet a mere thought only.

I guess I could just build out of the box, but that got old years ago. What do you do when you find you need to get more reference but just can't??

I have a few books, plus the internet. If I post questions here it's because my own references can't answer them. If they don't get answered here, then the answer probably ain't published!

Google!!!! That's what I do. But, at same time if I need a book I search for it on ebay and get it pretty cheep. One thing that is buggin me is I'm going into business with some friends, and the one thing we definatly need is reference books. Where my partner says go to the library. I feel its better to have the books on hand. I just go a buy what I need for references if Google doesn't do the job. BTW it only failed me once, And that was on a search for a specific Tiger I in S.Pz Abt 502. Go figure. STUG

stug: wow google has done great for you, but I haven't had the same amount of luck. If I had a library close to me that had a lot of reference material I would plundering, but I don't.

dave: One question I'm actually looking for is a pattern of a t-5 parachute, but Armorama hasn't been able to help...thus far that is...

When I first started modeling, I picked up any book I could find with lots of photos. Now, I'm more selective.

When you're on a tight budget, it pays to specialize and look for books that give a lot of bang-for-the-buck. I build mostly U.S. WWII vehicles, so I tend to pass by all the neat panzer books that are out there. Also, Squardon, Schiffer, Concord and Allied-Axis books are great values -- lots of good photos grouped by subject. The Web is great, but it still can't beat a good book!

I'm also lucky to have access to one of the biggest military libraries in the U.S. just a few blocks from my office -- the Combined Arms Research Library at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. When I go in there it's information-overload. I've found it's best for me to choose my information goal before I enter the library and then try not to get side-tracked. Sometimes it works ...