Do you ever contact/email long lost modelers befriended long, long ago?

General Discussions
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Here is a topic that I don’t see posted often…

I don’t want to start a flame-war here, and I’m not going to name names, but I am wondering if any modeler ever contacted “online model buddies” from long, long ago that no longer post, email, or communicate.

I’ve many modelers’ emails that I have faded away over the years/decades as work, life, family, chores, and other things got in the way of daily and weekly email and message communications. The time to reply used to be hours, then days, then weeks, then months, then years until total ghosting, some on my part too.

Some dropped out due to taboo topics we’ve discussed that I know people shouldn’t in email: religion, politics, bad news, spouse, and bad rants about life, money, success, and health. I’ve never personally met these modelers, or even called them, but some of them were very wise, seemingly nice, and friendly. However, who really knows how they REALLY are? Some I’ve assumed were not good people outside of the hobby.

A lot of modeling contacts dropped out due to having a family before the pandemic.

Some modelers really succeeded and started huge model companies, especially overseas. Others floundered in their companies.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge, I’m sure, and many people these days don’t want to share bad news so I am wary of opening up a box of demons and stress with contacts from long ago. I figured if they wanted to reach out to talk, they would have done so by now. I no longer see posts online asking, “Has anyone seen so-and-so lately?”

Much younger, we used to talk about anything hobby and life and it was pretty neat learning how life was on the other side of the nation and the world. It was a great learning experience even sitting in front of a computer. Yet with natural disasters, stock markets, cryptocurrency, closed businesses, moving out of failed cities, unemployment, etc., who knows what one can discover now. Would I want these people “back” into my email inbox?

So…anyone care to share their story…or should I let sleeping hobby contacts lie hidden and undisturbed? As the world is changing, and even post-COVID, I do wonder how these modelers turned out in the 2020s and yet we’re all older so more of the taboo topics might crop up.

Admins, feel free to delete this thread if it gets too nasty and hostile.

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I can’t say that I have, but likely that is because what contact I have goes through the messages here rather than email so I don’t always have the contact info to reach out in other ways.

But then again, I lost contact with most of the people I worked with in the WTC as many of us had to leave the city/state to find work after 9/11, and it has been over 20 years now. I feel weird calling up out of the blue and asking, ‘So, do you still have nightmares?’

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I’m one of those who tend to drift away and loose contact. And at my age I suspect I could only regain contact via a Ouija Board…

Cheers,

M

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I only communicate with other modelers through this forum.
Some leave, some new come in, some return and some just disappear for ever.
Changing interests, changing life situation, changing vitality status

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I do have a handful of friends who are modelers and have joined the forums,but outside of meeting some members at shows I would have to say no.

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I reconnected with my intepreter after 21 years. And I’ve reconnected with others far more than that. Anything is possible. The key is not trying to find people who don’t want to be found - by you.
There are a few names I’d like to reconnect with from rec.models.scale. The only reason I don’t attempt to is my fear that they’re gone. I mean gone gone. I looked up my best friend from Berlin. My best friend ever actually. I found him ten years ago. We made promises to get together, My military career was at a high op-tempo at the time, I tucked away his number, only to find it no longer valid when I tried it two months ago, I did a search and found his ex wife - I was the best man at their wedding in Berlin, (I’ve mentioned his wife in another thread recently - the one about the gal with Hangebusen) I called her. He died shortly after I reconnected with him ten years ago, At age fifty.

If there’s anyone you think you might want to contact - do it while you still can.

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Pretty much my wife will inform y’all that I went off to the eternal dirt nap. Other than that…I’m here for the duration.

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No because before joining this forum, I was never active on a plastic model forum for more than a brief or occasional visit.

In regards, to real life modelers, sadly the majority of my close model building friends were older and have died. With that in mind, as 18bravo suggested, if I feel compelled, I reach out, my time & their time is very finite. What’s the worst that happens? No reply?

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There are three guys I remember from my childhood ( I am 56 now ) .
Two of them are not into scale modelling now , but we meet again in the local military vehicle group ten years ago , everyone with a complete different car , and we all three organizer separate meetings in the area , funny fact .

And in the local Modell club I meet another friend one year before , last contact was in 1980 .

So I took both groups together in a nice Sunday meeting last winter , the scale group and the 1:1 drivers , which was no problem!

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I started the AMPS ISRAEL FACEBOOK Group a long time ago and made many “friends”
I quit Facebook due to issues dealing with getting sent the Abu Zuckerberg prison for posting the truth a few too many times plus grabbing a few extra 30 days bans for stuff I posted years prior when what was said in the posts were within community standards but all of a sudden what was cool 10 years ago became hate speech? Well to get back on track I quit Facebook left the group in good hands hopefully people knew my email and phone numbers along with WhatsApp and signal yet it’s been crickets… emails unread then blocked… and the chats on other apps just went unread. Only after Oct 7 th did anyone from the group contact me. And that was that.
That revolving door of “friendship” seems to be stuck on exit only .
But I no longer care…

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I am lucky enough to be head of an AMPS chapter that is celebrating it’s 25th year. We have 50 members, but there’s a core group of 10 of us that come to every meeting and are best friends in addition to being club members. I have known some of these guys for 25 years and we are close. We do stuff together outside of modeling, too. Then there’s guys from the club who have moved and joined other clubs, I don’t hear from them anymore but that’s okay; they have seperate lives now. Then I have the whole community here; there’s a core group of guys I hear from every day, and I read every post every morning. If someone drifts away from the site they have a reason and I don’t chase anybody down. I’ve got plenty of modeling friends and I value every one.

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Thats a great idea. I still remember my club in Tacoma Washington. And a great modeler whos work was published and his techniques in Fine Scale Modeler. The late great Les Sundt. Gods speed my friend.

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