So I've been giving some thought to Statue Marvels as a whole, and what seems to be a dwindling of conversation on new material since I started collecting (~Feb 2015). While I'm not an old schooler like most of the current actives, after being helped by many of the Marvels forums folk and meeting others at the sculpting seminar, I know how good a group it is. That said, I wanted to put forth some ideas for a minor redesign / revitalization of the forums.
1.) Forum Layout:
This is potentially the biggest one. Right now, it is a very big list that likely made a lot of sense when Randy was plowing them out, but atm it is definitely a bit overwhelming. Considering the last post 1/3 of the threads was > 6 months...I'll let you infer what you will.
Suggestion 1:
Condense and re-layout the forums in a manner more conducive to actual click traffic. My assumption (without knowing the numbers, just looking at last activity) is that this is an 80/20 type idea. 80% of the clicks are 20% of the pages.
Suggestion 2:
Re-Layout the forum to have options for Type / Scale / Vendor. Right now, if I'm a guy who knows he likes 1/6 scale statues, I have no way easily to click something and see what is new in the market. I have to know that Koto produces 1/6 scale, Sideshow does sometimes, then I have to know what their schedule is. Similarly, if I like Mini-Busts, I would have no idea that Troy McDevitt is producing some ridiculously bad ass MB's at $40 a pop on a monthly basis.
I'm assuming it would be possible to have clickable links or a layout that slugs you into a certain field by Type (Comics / Horror / Sci-Fi / movies) Scale (1/6, 1/4, MB, other) then Vendor/MFG (Bowen, Sideshow, Koto). I know personally I'd be interested in seeing that there are other Mini Bust, 1/6 Scale, 1/4 Scale available without having to actually know what I was looking for before I was looking for it.
3.) Bowen/Vendor Stories:
Right now, this site is more or less a Bowen/Comic oriented Statue Forum. Again, oversimplification, but it's basically what it is.
Suggestion:
Create a separate thread for people to put stories regarding specific statues / people / MFGs. When I did the sculpting seminar in NJ, one thing that stood out was that many of the old school SM folks seemed to know a lot of "tribal knowledge" regarding statues and releases. Similarly, many of you long timers have had a lot of contact / commissioned work from the current sculpting community. These are the interesting tidbits that generate conversation / interest. Sure they might be buried in the archives somewhere, but how the f*** would you even know what you were looking for?
This point is even more driven home by the fact that out of the sculptors I've dealt with, they're generally really neat people. The stories behind the sculptors would make for some pretty good reading material. Again, for those that attended NJ sculpting seminar, Randy told a lot of personal stories that were pretty interesting, and shed him in a new light.
3.) "If you like that, then maybe try this" Thread/Forum:
So I looked around and couldn't really find anything similar since all the vendors were sub-divided.
Suggestion:
Create a thread so people "in the know" can share items / points of interest. Going back to the mini-bust above. If you like Bowen Mini-Bust stylistically, then those McDevitt ones, are pretty damn slick. That situation plays itself out 9000 times over in the statue world, especially with all the 1 off commissions I see get done. For example, I think Sosa it was did a pretty sick Sabertooth kit in 1/6 scale.
End of the day, the above are just suggestions to start a dialogue. I like SM, and the gang has been very helpful, so I wanted to toss out some thoughts. I've got more, but the above was just a quick plug out.
Your mouth to Al & Gene's ears, Q-Man.
Lots of great suggestions.
Only problem I see is the fact that Gene has been hella busy at his "real" job as of late. He's the IT wiz who would be responsible for implementing those changes and there are only so many hours in a day.
Since Randy Bowen was such a major influence on the site, I could understand if Al would be a bit hesitant to any make sweeping changes until we know more about what Randy's plans are for the future in more detail.
It's nice to have a few suggestions rolling around for future consideration if and when Al and Gene decide what's next for SM, though.
The idea is to still leave it more Bowen focused, but adjust it to something that can still live / thrive in the interim. By picking up some of those holes in other site's offerings, we can differentiate beyond BD.
My two cents anyway, but would rather do something than watch it wither while praying for something big.
The idea is to still leave it more Bowen focused, but adjust it to something that can still live / thrive in the interim. By picking up some of those holes in other site's offerings, we can differentiate beyond BD.
My two cents anyway, but would rather do something than watch it wither while praying for something big.
I agree! Let me just get through Christmas and then I'm on it!
I agree! Let me just get through Christmas and then I'm on it!
Awesome.
I didn't want to come off as Debbie Downer, but more to come at it from a "What sets SM apart?" standpoint. The idea of being able to come here, and read some of those legacy BD / sculptor stories, and also be able to find what "kit" type statue offerings are out there is quite exciting (for me at least). Again, understanding kit stuff has to fly below the licensing radar, there's gotta be some happy medium.
Also, frankly, something I didn't mention before, but thought of in retrospect, just doing sculptor interviews. Many of the SM legacies seem to have some kind of report with many sculptors. It'd be interesting to read an interview with some of them. Hell, I'd be willing to try reaching out to a few.
Lastly, I have a friend who runs a comic oriented website. Might be able to do a link trade. I.E. We put one on ours, he puts one on his. This might help add some foot traffic as well. Generally speaking, most people don't even know Comic Statues is a "thing", let alone as big and storied as it is.
Statue Marvels: Forums Suggestions/Input Request
. I think the site does need some updating given the current situation. I'm excited to see where this goes.
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