How many of you find yourselves building all your models in a Campaign or group build ?

Well more and more that is what I have been doing! I just stopped to think, every model that I have built in a long time now has been for a campaign or a group build. I have not build a model for myself in the last year!
Campaign Aholic? Yep, and proud of it! I find that building in a campaign has added so much more to my hobby. Number one, it lets me interact with all of you good mates, and I have made some great friends in doing so! It also has raised my modeling skills a notch or two. Making me build more acurate models.
Building with others in a campaign has special benifits, you have several heads thinking together to help each other find references and hard to find items, or get that extra part that your kit is missing!
And for me, it realy puts the fun in modeling!

Hey, I'm hooked! I'm a Campaign Aholic!

Cheers,

Garry

Guilty.

At one time I signed up for every campy that came down the pike. That meant I didn't finish in time or at all, which defeated the purpose. Now I pick my battles so to speak and actually finish projects. That is the main reason I enlist, to finish things. Armorama is essentially my model club. There aren't any real world clubs close enough for me to belong to. So, enlisting in campaigns gives me an oppurtunity to get good feedback and build things that otherwise I probably wouldn't. The "Armorama 500" campaign is a good case in point.

Shaun

You got it Shaun, Armorama is my only club also! I to have no modeling clubs in my area. The closest one being 75 miles away. So I am very content right here at Armorama and the campaigns!

Garry

I keep getting sucked in because of all the good ideas. I always have a kit or two I'm building just for myself though. Normally, I have a kit in progress or in the "to do" pile that fits a particular build.

Now if I could just finish more of the campaigns...

My name is Dave S., and I have a problem.
OK, now I've said it. That feels much better.
I do have a rule though, I won't enter a campaign unless I have a kit on hand already that fits it.

Dave S.

I was in a local club 10 years ago, a pretty good one, but at that time they didn't have group builds. People would bring in their projects for others to look over.

I did start attending again a year ago, but it was to sell kits. They have since introduced a theme-oriented contest every month, but I don't want my stuff to be judged. I'm not in it for competition.

I've found the campaigns here to have just the right combination to get me back in the building saddle again. We're not competing and all working on a theme. And I think the time limit will also help to get me moving.

You took the words right out of my mouth Rob...

And I agree with keenan's point about Armorama being my modeling club as well. My LHS used to fairly well involved with the community, sponsoring modeling contests, appearing at local Cons and giving modeling seminars as well as kids Build it/Take it events, but for the last few years they have absolutely nothing for the modeling community.

One of the largest benefits (for me) of having the Campaigns, is it gives me a chance to get involved with subject matter I might not normally embrace. Which in turn makes me do some research, and expands my knowledge of that particular subject.....a win/win all around for me.

I must also mention that, one of largest dissapointments for me at the same time is not having the time to finish all the Campaigns I want to, with the reason being that little thing called 'Life'.....just wish there were 48 hours in a day, and I didn't need sleep at all.....then it would all be 'good'

Tread.

Oh, one last little point. I really commend ALL of the Campaign managers in regards to having an understanding, and a compassion for the participants.
I don't doubt for a second that the vast majority of us all feel bad about not completing a Campaign.

Yeah guess in a olic, but I blame garry and Tread :-) :-) no seriously I like the campaigns they get me to finish kits Im a lazy modeller takes me months to finish one but like Tread says life gets in the way.Also the big "A" is my only model clubbut who could ask for better. Yes garry Im in the Tank Destroyer campaign :-)

Actually Ive gotten a little burnt-out on the campaigns. At the start it was cool, joining in, in a campaign and seeing the progress as it went along. Then campaigns appeared out of nowhere. It wasn´t possible .. although it took me some time to realise this.
Likewise, over the last year or more, nearly everything I did, was campaign related. And it WAS FUN. But it got to the stage where I wanted to do my own thing, but stubornly didnt want to pull out, when Id already committed.
IMO the ealier campaigns were more fun. Lots of in-progress shots and discussions. Now there are so many campaigns we´ve lost a bit of this. Extra time is taken up by participation in a few running alongside each other. Instead of all, finishing to the highest degree, I think some have even been rushed to meet a deadline. When a new campaign is started theres lots of excitement, but instead of carrying this on throughout the campaign, the excitement is carried to the newest campaign started, and the next and the next, etc.
When the first dio campaign happened and the cold war cook off .. it was still fun seeing all the entries and seeing the campaign folder coming together. The last campaign I was in (Bucket Bonanza) was over for a few days before it was mentioned by any participant. Only a few have posted in final thread. Im surprised actually as I thought the M113 campaign would have been a major attraction for the site as its so popular ..... even me, as I consider WW2 more my area.
The campaigns are a great idea, and I will join more .. but not for the short term. I just hope that the idea doesn´t burn itself out, over time. I feel it would be better with less campaigns and more emphasis on them. But this has come up before and the majority wanted as many campaigns as was asked for. I would like to think that every member would fully participate in their chosen campaign and keep the moral up and post more often. Its impossible for the campaign leader to do it all themselves.
Stepping down from my squakbox now ...these are some thoughts Ive been having for some time and this thread seemed to be the one that got lumbered with them. Sorry bout that.

Seems like most of the campaigns are of kits or subjects I was planning on anyway. I have yet to purchase a kit for a campaign. It has always been me already having the kit.

I have finished 2 out of 3 campains that i entered so far.. I think they are a way to "encourage" building.. I normaly enter only ones that interest me and that I have a kit for... and also am ready to build... I don't think i would enter one just to be entering if the subject didn't interest me at that time..............

Hi Frank!
There is a lot of truth in what you say. One can get tomany campaigns going at the same time, and by doing this you never seem be able to finish them all. And that can couse burn out! Campaigns can also go stail by a loss in enthusiasm. As a leader in a campaign, I try to plan things out in advance. And I am always trying to think of new ways to keep the interest flowing. It realy helps to be able to team up with one or two other members of the campaign who have high energy and can work together to keep the ball rolling! By keeping people talking about the subjects the Campaign stays hopping. But sooner or later you are going to take a break like you are, just to build somthing you want to build. We all need that at some point! When you decide to build in a campaign again, we will all be here for ya mate! The main thing, just enjoy your hobby!

Best regards,

Garry

I have definiatly been joining more as of late. I want to join others but completion dates are too close to campaigns I am currently enlisted in and I know I wouldn't get them completed.

HastyP

Seeing Red is my first Campaign and I hope a) to get finished on time, and b) to an acceptable standard.
Having said that I am greatly enjoying the theme of the discussions and viewing the range of subjects being approached. I however have been following the progress of other campaigns and studying the "form"
I intend to persue this campaign very much as a test case and although the By the Book and Tank Destroyer ones are very tempting I don't intend to sign up until I can be sure I can build within deadlines.
Cheers October.

Oh oh oh campaigns......I want to join them all!

Actually, I got the feeling I'm participating in more campaigns than I can handle right now haha.

The things I like about campaigns are the group feeling and it more or less forces me to actually finish something! (now I don't have 90% half builds)

Yes, I'm 100% campaignoholic

Current campaigns:

AO
DDD
MSG
VE day
OOUT (once I finished my M4A1 that is)

Upcoming campaigns:

Capture Aidid
Burn Baby Burn
Red Cross
Dreadnaughts
Tank Destroyers (if approved)
Amphibs (if approved)
By the book

I have enough to do till 2006 haha

Martin

I only enter campaigns that feature subjects that I would normally model anyway , the only slight abberation was 'Remember Korea'. Others such as 'One of our tanks' and 'Move it' I made multiple entries because I would have made these anyway.

Campaignaholic - no way.!

I enter campaigns that I only have kits for. So far I've finished all I've joined. Just completed my entry for Dive Dive Dive, the next one scheduled for me is Dreadnaught, and I'm kinda starting to chomp at the bit for it and it doesn't start until August. Right now I'm working on a couple of kits for me. An open air HUMV and an early M-60a1 with the engine compartment open and pack removed (Verlinden kit). I might go trolling for an interim campaign until the dreadnaught

I am addicted to campaigns I think I bit off more than I can chew this year Past campaigns are
Barbarossa
Move It
Project X
1 of our tanks
Campaigns now
MS&G
Seeing Red
Twilight 2000
Remember Korea
Burn Baby Burn
A Portugese/Brazil build-can't remember that exact name
Op Canadian Steel
Hopefully I can finish them all

I am guilty as charged too. I had been joining every campaign that caught my attention. I am now trying to limit myself to one at a time. I am sure that won't work for too long.

I'm I a campaign junkie..yes. 3 campaign completed and over a dozen enlisted in. Why..why not, now I build more and kits that i'd never would have. So..thank you to all those Campaign leaders, including myself

Howdy All,

After coming back to this thread and reading through the posts here I felt I wanted to add something else to the issue of Campaigns in general, with any luck it will make sense to more than just myself.....

The original tag of the thread was about becoming a Campaign aholic. Something that apparently is becoming a discriptive term in regards to those who join a large number of Campaigns.
First, I will state up front that I was (and still am) one of the original purveyors and supporters of many ongoing Campaigns. My reasoning for this is that we have an increasingly large membership here at Armorama and thinking that a small handful (4-6 @ year) of Campaigns would quench the thirst and pleasingly varied interest of such a large crowd would be impotent at best

This Campaign ' issue'. needs to maintain it's own clarity. Meaning, If we really look at our Campaign commitments, it's not that there are too many Campaigns going on, it's that, because of our genuinely honest enthusiasm about a certain Campaign, we commit to the build from our heart and not our head.
Having twenty, or twenty-thousand Campaigns to choose from is a GOOD thing ladies and gentlemen! Where the real ' issue' comes in is, in fact, how many Campaigns we choose to participate in.
Again, I will state up front that I am as guilty as anyone else here of joining a Campaign because of my interest in either the subject matter, or the desire to work side-by-side with some of the folks I've grown to admire here at the big 'A', and by proxy hopefully become another friend of the people I'm working beside on the Campaign, but maybe not finishing the build.
That said, unless I am a fortune teller or have some innate ability to foretell the future, I cannot predict what my future (time) will hold as far as available time to commit to each Campaign I am involved in. This does not mean that my original enthusiasm has waned, it just simply means that more important 'issues' have moved to the forefront of LIFE....that is all.
So, this is the reason behind my earlier statement of "...Oh, one last little point. I really commend ALL of the Campaign managers in regards to having an understanding, and a compassion for the participants.
I don't doubt for a second that the vast majority of us all feel bad about not completing a Campaign...."
I think that we all need to remember that this is a hobby, and is supposed to be enjoyable. I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed watching, reading, learning and even participating in ALL the Campaigns that have flowed through this site. And at the same time, I can't tell you how much my modeling abilities have been elevated because of that time spent cruising through all of your build experiences.

O.K., now that I've bored you all to tears, I will end with a closing remark.
I see Campaign involvement as simply a generous conduit.
I don't know about you guys and gals, but for me participating (whether enlisted or not) in the interchange of a Campaign with it's constantly interesting ebbs and flows, is comparable to having the pleasure of sittin' around a table and modeling beside people I've come to respect and admire all over the world. And, if kept in perspective, sitting around that table amoungst you all, and sharing the techniques, experiences, and warm comaraderie is well worth the time......whether I finish my buildit/takeit project or not......

Tread.

Don't you know we dock your pay for every campaign you enter but do not complete?

There is one very distinct advantage to campaigns and that's the end date! How many of us are not procrastinators, who work best when confronted by a deadline?? I don't know about the rest of you, but having that deadline makes it MUCH easier to push that kit to completion rather than get it 90% done and then move on to the next one.

What I LOVE is the fact that there ARE so many campaigns, and in most cases, they match very closely the kinds of kits I already have and want to build anyway. Having a campaign creates a specific focus to actually start (and complete!) it. And that's a VERY good thing.

The BAD thing is that like most of you, I have several areas of interest, and when it comes to campaigns it's VERY difficult to keep "my eyes from being bigger than my stomach" as the saying goes.

(BTW for those of you for whom english is not your first language, it would be interesting to know if you have a similar expression in your native language!)

I just have to pick and choose, because the number of campaigns I'd love to do is more than I know I can do to the level I like to build.

So I say, "Keep the campaigns coming!" and at the same time I say "You guys are KILLING ME! :-) :-) "

Tom

To me that pretty much sums it up. It is hard to have too many choices...the problem is trying to take advantage of too many. As someone said- Having eyes bigger than your appetite.

I am not good at completing Campaigns...not even close to good. But I have had fun, learned a lot and gotten to "know" a lot of good people!

I am probably over extended in the Campaign department, but I'll do my best, have fun, contribute as I can and the bottomline- HAVE FUN!

Jim