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Scale Modeling Tips & Tools Monthly, Issue #037-- "This Scale Modeling Tip Is Almost Too Easy"
January 15, 2010
January 15, 2010

Put You Best Into 2010 Start-Up

Getting the most out of your scale modeling project or your website is more often than not a question of getting new tips, techniques and ideas than it is relying on your own experience. That is why I have found networking to be the most important concept of all.

Like any other experience in life, excellence is not something you are born with it is attained through understanding and interaction with other modelers or website owners. If you attempt this face-to-face, you will waste a lot of precious time and money.

For me, my experiences in modeling often mimicked my experiences in trying to build a moderately successful home business. Most often these involve an effective website. I learned the hard way.

In  < span>early experiences in trying to learn how to build a successful website, I partook in a pretty disaster. I was self taught and actually got to the point I could put together a pretty good looking website. But it never made a nickel and had very little traffic.
Being self taught I had no mentor, no one I could question and no one to show me how.

The difference is that I have about 3,000 mentors only too eager to help through the interactive learning provided by a concentrated forum of website owners. 

if you are looking for income boosters to begin 2010, you can learn and earn a lot with Site BuildIt ----->>

Site Build It!

Here are 10 points about networking that keep me coming back for more assistance and know-how:

1. Finding a way to replace the "job".
2. Getting help from colleagues in the same business.
3. Getting to know a group who can help you make money.
4. Attracting like-minded pajama workers for potential partnerships.
5. Immediate notice of changes that will impact your home business.
6. Up-To-Date help for problems you face now.
7. Learning about new trends and how to take advantage of them. Which ones to avoid.
8. Gaining more visibility and even potential customers.
9. Getting another perspective, new insights and new wisdom. 10. Security net for the unforeseen:

• When you are suddenly jobless
• When you have to much work and need help
• When your website stops generating income

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Facebook is currently the most popular free social networking website. It allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and video, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues.

Twitter is fast replacing conventional communcation  channels between business and their customers.

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Going Back To College for Scale Modeling?

Well, Sort Of...

So far, I haven’t even been able to find a workshop on scale modeling that offers any kind of course credit or a degree. It is unlikely I ever will.

But I’ve always been interested in better ways to build models, new panting and weathering techniques and unique ways to display the results.

So I set up my own college. The chief advantages of the DIY School of Higher Learning are FREE Enrollment, No tuition, No Books, No Dorm life, a diverse curriculum and no homework. The only price of admission (and not everyone pays) is to add some of your own learning experiences in a two-way swap.

This will provide visitors with a guide to the more effective forums for each of the scale modeling segments

In Pursuit of a Hobby Degree

Build Your Own Blue Ribbon Diorama

If you put all your effort into perfecting a smile for the judges, you probably won't see too many blue ribbons on your diorama at local modeling contests.

But a properly executed plan can do wonders when it comes to producing an award winner.

Here's a Blueprint for your success:

1. Pick your locale with care. Make it an area you enjoy, know something about or are willing to research. Suit your own tastes in scenery and military or civilian operations.

2. Now that you have learned all you can, limit the scope of your scene to be sure it fits within the ream of operational possibility.

3. Just like model railroading, the best plans fit the space available. Know the size of the display you intend to build and then plan the scene to fit the space. Now pick a scale that fits.

4. Detail, detail, detail. Dioramas are still life so details take the place of movement in attracting the eye. Visitors and judges are impressed with detail. Plan your details from the beginning.

5. Jam as much detail into a small scene as possible. If you feature a jeep or other open vehicle don’t forget gauges and knobs

6. Try to build in a portion of a river or a pond, even a beach that gives the viewer a sense of coming into the scene.

7. Design your diorama to include a frame, which controls the audience sight line and provides space to hide lighting gear. Many lighting techniques can be employed to focus patterns, colors and even moving effects in small spaces.

8. Consider using a turntable or a track, roadway or tank treads to provide alternate paths for your modeling subject. You can disguise these with vegetation.

9. Try audio to employ more of your audience’s senses. A speaker located beneath the layout can reproduce the sounds of your scene.

10. Add a “2nd story”. Plan to build your diorama in a “Shoebox” and provide a second level—upstairs snipers even a battle scene at ground level and a plane crash on the top level.

Keys To e-Commerce Success

Over the past three years building this website, I have learned a lot of imperative information from over 3,000 of my coleagues who have chosen to build businesses and not just websites.

You can't imagine the importance I place on these relationships with those who make the Site BuildIt forums part of their daily busines routine, not simply to learn, but to help.

Believe me, I've had late, late nights like this

Making daily decisions involving www.scale-modelers-handbook.com for the past 35 months has led to the creation of over 375 pages of articles on the various facets of scale modeling, this monthly e-zine and a host of modeling questions answered.

As we get ready to embark on our third year, I am hoping to open the site up to input from other scale modelers. You may have noticed the Navigation Bar has been sub-divided into the major hobbies covered.

Each of these sections now has one or two pages that invite participation with questions, tips and pictures regarding your various modeling endeavors.

We want to hear from you as do the other 25,000 modelers who log onto this site monthly.

As I get ready to roll into my 71st year, I can’t believe how much I have learned about hobby activities In the past two years. I have heard from other modelers with similar experiences.

To help me develop and maintain my website your comments on its content are essential. You can send me your comments by visiting the “Voice Your Opinion” feature at the top of the Navigation stack in the left column on each page.

It was never my intention to make this website a one way street as my knowledge is no where deep enough for me to be termed an “Authority”. I hunger for your feedback, comments, ideas, tutorials, plans, pictures and even your negative comments if considered constructive.

The Internet and that includes www.scale-modelers-handbook.com

work best when they are interactive and that is collaboration only you can provide. It has been a pleasure serving as your guide for these past two years and by no means am I throwing in the towel, for I honestly believe the building and maintaining of this website are instrumental in keeping my mind active.

I want to open up this site in the fast lane. That is your part of the two-way street.

Its In Your Best Interest

If you have been gicing some thought to launching your ownhome business in 2010, it is worth your time to take a look at what I found:

Steps To Success

Until Next Month

Make It Your Best Effort!

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