2016/2017 GB Season Schedule and Discussion

[zenrat]

As the GB name is FROG/NOVO then I feel the cut off date for all models should be 1976.

How much of the finished build has to be old model?
Or do all donor models have to qualify?

[Mossie]

What did people vote for?  I didn't vote for the Frog/Novo/old model kit GB but if I did I'd be a bit miffed to find I couldn't build any old model kit when I'd voted for that very reason.  I did vote for in the In The Navy, (I've got a few ideas and one of them is USMC but I didn't vote on this basis), again, what did people believe they were voting for?  I'm not pushing a point here, just asking the question.

On tightening down the GB's, I'd personally resist the idea to hammer them down as we only have three main ones a year.  I've always been more about inclusion, but I think it's particularly important with the small number we currently run.

[Weaver]

Sure nobody wants to reconsider and vote for the Spirit of '67 GB? 

[NARSES2]

Right I'm typing this in a hospital waiting room therefore it is "quick and dirty"

1) Thanks for the info on the USMC, cleared my brain. I knew about the RM's

2) In the Navy GB. I will set up a dedicated thread tomorrow about this with some draft rules. You can all then argue about them to your hearts content 

3) Frog/Novo old kits - the vote was specifically NOT just Frog/Novo. It included all old (definition to be decided) kits. I actually answered that very question in the discussion thread. Now we will not be running this GB until 2017 so lets discuss it much nearer that date please.

4) Should GB's be tightened up ? In my view no. We do this for fun and want to encourage as much participation as possible and that means being a little loose in the interpretation of the scope of the GB. That does not mean we drive a coach and horses through the rules but we keep within the spirit of the GB. In all honesty if GB's were to be tightened up considerably then I for one would have a problem with participation in them and the organisation of them.

5) I knew I couldn't go a day without checking this  So any farther explanations from me will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm off to see the Quack now

[Dizzyfugu]

Now we need to decide some things.

Initially we need to decide what we mean by In the Navy. My instinct is that it should include ships etc but also naval aircraft (perhaps make it carrier based rather than carrier and land based ?). As for Marines and Naval Infantry I don't have a strong view either way other than to think that any such forces should be an integral part of a Navy rather than a stand alone force ?

The second thing we need to decide is what actually constitutes an old kit. Some are obvious others are not. Do we define by maker/producer, date of original tooling or do we have arbitrary cut off date for the tooling - 1980 say ?

So discuss

Concerning "In the Navy": IMHO anything that has to do with naval operations. Ships, submarines, maybe navalized versions of typical land-based vehicles (not only aircraft), I guess we might see a lot of floatplane conversions? Then we have water planets to visit for the SF fans, there are some dedicated naval mecha around (e. g. from Gundam and Dougram), a wide field. And we have the Village People as further benchmark - maybe this way the Flower Power topic finds its vent... 

Concerning "Old kit": that's relative to the genre, I'd say. When it comes to aircraft kits, Novo/Frog, early Matchbox kits or the GDR-produced VEB Plasticart kits come to mind. On the other side, there are "old" anime/mecha kits like the 1st generation ARII Macross kits, which date back to the early 80ies but are - compared to later kits - rather primitive in detail and construction. I think what catches the overall spirit of this theme is the awkwardness of the respective kit. It has to be simple and primitive, if not even "wrong" when you benchmark it to the real thing (e. g. the Matchbox Alpha Jet, a premium candidate for the GB, IMHO)? Poor fit qualifies, too? Tough to draw a clear line, esp. when there are some really good relaitively old kits around (e. g. the 1:72 Monogram F-4 or F-105, as well as some ESCI aircraft kits like the F-104). I'd rather focus on the OOB clumsiness of the kit, whatever genre it belongs to?

[scooter]

Concerning "In the Navy": *snip* we have the Village People as further benchmark - maybe this way the Flower Power topic finds its vent... 

I'll just leave this here

[Old Wombat]

A sinking life-raft is the best place I could think of for the Village People.

[PR19_Kit]

Concerning "In the Navy": *snip* we have the Village People as further benchmark - maybe this way the Flower Power topic finds its vent... 

I'll just leave this here

As soon as I read this was the GB choice I just KNEW someone would link this vid. 

Note the Sea Gnat 'cat shot' at around 0:35 secs. 

[Old Wombat]

Note the Sea Gnat 'cat shot' at around 0:35 secs. 

I'm guessing it's a cut from Hots Shots.

[zenrat]

Concerning "In the Navy": *snip* we have the Village People as further benchmark - maybe this way the Flower Power topic finds its vent... 

I'll just leave this here

Dizz, if you think The Village People have anything to do with flower power and the spirit of '67 then your musical education has been seriously lacking.
Come visit and i'll edumacate you...



Peace out.

[zenrat]

Oh, and I meant to say that IMO GBs should be as loose or as tight as the subject seems to require.
The Battle of Britain GB had some tight guidelines but it worked well.
Others work because the rules are little more than the title.
It depends.
In the Navy I suspect will benefit from being pretty much anything goes while FROG/NOVO etc needs to be the other way.

Best of luck at the quacks Chris.  Don't take any sh*t and ask lots of questions.

[NARSES2]

Right I've set up a dedicated thread for the In The Navy GB rules

You can find it here http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,42192.0.html

So discussions now there please

[NARSES2]

Right I'm just about to PM the people who stuck their heads above the parapets in so far as moderation is concerned, so thank you lads 

[NARSES2]

Victims Guest moderators have all responded positively. Thank you gentlemen 

[NARSES2]

Right lads a small update.

Because I screwed it up  the next GB will be the Old Kit GB (we have dropped Frog/Novo from the title to avoid unnecessary confusion). Rules will be put up for discussion soon and we can then discuss what is a suitable date for calling something an "old kit". It will be based on the date the original mould was produced, we just need to decide a year. But please wait until I post the initial suggestion before kicking this off.


This means the old kit GB will run approximately end September through end December/early Jan with the inevitable extension  . Then the Soviet G.B. February through April.

2017's One Week G.B. - NO EXTENSION  - will run in May.

Poll for 2017/18 season will run during the end of the Soviet GB with an aim to starting end May.

Now I want to try and get back on track a little next year if I can so G.B.'s may well get a little shorter with the aim to get them done in 13 weeks, including extension. The alternative is 13 week GB's with no extension 

Chris