[Pontiacivan]

Hello everyone! I joined OSW relatively recently (11/2015) and I was very nervous when I made my first post. I've been doing 1/6 stuff for a long time, but like any community you enter into, I knew my accomplishments meant nothing until I proved my self here. The general tone and response was positive and I immediately felt comfortable and allowed my personal sense of humor to show. I would come here to see the beautiful work, offer suggestions, laugh and try to make others laugh. Lately, though, there is less laughter. I have always tried to make positive comments on others works, even if the subject didn't truly interest me. I have never outright disrespected anyone's efforts and if a person's work just didn't work for me, I didn't comment. I would, however, speak my mind on products offered for sale if they just were'nt any good. Lately, I have been struggling to make positive remarks, even for some fantastic work, and have resorted to view and moving on. Some members don't seem to actually "do" anything 1/6 related, preferring to discuss figures they have purchased to sit in a box or in a glass case. To each their own, but I don't get it. I know the bills need to be paid, but the number of " look what we have for sale" posts, in the general section, has become annoying, especially when the product looks like twenty others out there
I'm a poor shlub and I spend most of my hobby time trying to make props for my figures. My skills are basic, but I try. I do this hobby on the cheap and look for ways to save money whenever possible.There are only a few others I see doing that and a good portion of those are SO good I am not in their league. I've come to the conclusion that OSW is not a good fit me anymore. Nothing I post seems to be interesting to anyone anymore and the Photobucket debacle has stripped all my previous efforts from view.
For these reasons, I wanted to say "goodbye". I have seen member's parting posts before and they sometimes leave mad. I am not mad. I love the good natured ( and even the NOT good natured) jabs I have received from members, I have a thick skin, but the lack of interest has become tiresome.
I want to thank a few members for their kindness, in no particular order, and the awesome Mods on this forum. If I missed your name, please know I appreciated you, there were just too many old posts to search when I made my list. Thank you all and best of EVERYTHING to everyone here.

PukingDog, El Paso Trooper, MoonBaseAlphaMale, Dadrab, PickleMunkey, Plastique, ReverendSpooky, Ephiane, OceanGirl24, ShovelChop81, Crusader1xxx, CobraTrooper11, CBRN, PeterthePainter, Crusader11, OneSixthWarrior, Naruto18, Karotte, 1911Williams, usmcrtop, tpaos, cdn_rhino, CineChild, Johnnye4, Mike45, Vapor1, BigDave, uramegak, Efbee, RussCal, Dario2739, Spitfire, Lynkhart, FirefighterUK, Henchman21, and ANYBODY who was part of Toilets.Toilets?Toilets! Please don't consider the position of your name on the list as an indicator of how much I liked your work, and again, if I missed your name I still appreciated your kindness.

My Best Regards,
Pontiacivan

 

[Pickle Munkey]

Aw man, it's a huge shame to see you go. Pretty confident I speak for a majority of folks when I say you're welcome back at anytime.
Do keep on doing what you do, especially if it's still fun for you. The more you do, the better you get. That's true of everything for everyone. You do some truly great stuff.

 

[Spitfire]

Damn! Sorry to see you go. It seems people are kind of leaving the hobby these days, or that it's morphing into something quite different. Different isn't necessarily good or bad, but I miss the glory days of DML, customizers like Boot25 and Weylen, and the focus on military bashes, especially WWII. I have to confess, my interest ebbs and flows, so I hope that one day you'll be back. I've always enjoyed your posts and your contributions to the discussions and community here. You will be missed, my friend!

 

[GubernatorFan]

I was hoping to find some sort of kitbash/custom of something Hitchhiker-related, but even more disappointed to see you go.

 

[spyder]

I've always enjoyed your posts and I'm sorry to see you go. We will all keep the light on for you should you decide to venture back.

 

[plastique]

Sorry to see you go matey... always sad when a fellow kitbasher and scratchbuilder leaves. I can understand why you feel the way you do... I hope you decide to come back.

 

[henchman21]

Sorry to see you go, and let me say when I first started my skills were on par with a chimp...
I certainly hope you'll be happy with whatever endeavors you do, and the porch light is always on here.

 

[oliver]

Aw, no. I for one have really enjoyed seeing your work even if I haven't posted any comments on it. It was always fun and - in my honest opinion - very skilled. You gotta do what you feel is right for you, but I think it's worth saying that OSW isn't just for master scratch builders, but for all 1/6th enthusiasts, whether you're simply a collector, kitbasher or scratch builder. I wish you nothing but success and enjoyment in your 1/6th endeavors regardless of how and where you choose to continue them. And I will miss your work. All the best!

P.S. - I sympathize with you on the Photobucket ordeal. Most of my old bashes and posts were archived when the forum migrated to the new server and aren't readily accessible, either. (Just as well in my personal case as I've improved my skills with time and have been tweaking my old bashes ... just need to find the time to dust off my camera and repost.)

 

[Johnnye4]

hate to see you go but I fully understand
I will miss your work

 

[Moonbase Alpha Male]

.
Sorry, sorry, sorry to see you go, but maybe -- and I hope I'm not trivializing your concerns when I say this -- you'll let a little time pass, count to ten, and reconsider. At least keep it open and maybe give us a comment or show us something in a rare once in a while. I get what you're saying, I share some of your concerns.

And I totally get it with respect to how the Photobucket mess is unrelated to any OSW concerns but it makes all of us think "is it really worth it to go through all this extra effort to set up a new host plus maybe the effort to re-link old posts if I'm a little frustrated with OSW to begin with." The counter-argument is, "Stay, don't let the idiots at Photobucket do even more damage than they already have."

If you stay, or eventually come back, I would say two things. First of all I've eventually learned to appreciate the good comments or the well-intentioned negative ones, without being dragged down by the occasional nonsense. The first are a good distraction to us in a tough world. I don't allow the nonsense to balance or cancel the useful comments, it's just "background noise." Secondly if you come back to OSW and encounter anything frustrating don't neglect the "pressure valve" benefit of maybe just venting by a private mail with some member(s) you feel in synch with. It could maybe overcome some some of the frustrations that are causing you to leave. I'm personally open to getting a PM about anything if you ever want to, I'm sure others would feel the same. Cheers and all the best whether you go or stay. May the Gods be between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk.

 

[Sean South]

When any member drops out, regardless of their contribution, the hobby becomes a little poorer. Like you, I once felt that my contribution was not receiving the feedback, that I believed was due or appropriate. Those beliefs, caused me to be absent for too long. In the end, it is not important enough to prevent me from enjoying and sharing, again. Chin up, my friend ... and keep 'bashing!

 

[mike45]

Sorry to see you go , i have been missing your post,s of late now i understand why. Mate it,s a real shame you have come to this decision but i do empathize with you." The old days is over Butch" Gonna miss all those props and good humour and all the best with what you get up to, i wont say goodbye, rather see you later. Drop in from time to time , do a reccy. Good luck Pontiacvan :goodluck

 

[Broadshore]

Man Pontiacvan!!!!

It's hard to see friends leave off the forum. Breaks my heart man.

Going to missing your pieces of work on the OSW dude. I wish you good luck and remember this? The door is always open when you want to come back. Because I don't believe in Goodbyes.

How about, we'll see you again.

 

[Delanie]

i for one though relatively new to this hobby and site have always found your posts interesting/fun/informative please rethink your decision and consider the bowl of petunias!

 

[Derrythedog]

Hey friend Pontiacivan, don't leave completely.
Do look in occasionally.
I am the laziest modeller in the world. I have seen clubs and magazines ebb and flow in quality, but some really do improve with time. Everything goes in cycles.
Me, I am new to 1/6th, but am too lazy (or embarrassed) to post my poor examples of my bashes and mods. However, I still enjoy this hobby, as well as others.
Don't give it up completely.
And whatever you decide, keep well!

 

[cdn_rhino]

Come on back any time.

I've been really slow the last 3 years in 1:6 stuff myself. There are a few reasons for that, and I won't annoy you all with that. We all come and go for different reasons. A few amazing modelers have outright vanished from the forums, completely gone except for their threads left behind. If you're leaving totally, hey, that's the way it goes, and I have enjoyed your threads and posts. If not, drop in any time, we'll be watching.

 

[russcal]

.
Pontiacvan, please reconsider. I've enjoyed your contributions and your spirit. YOU are just the type of person this forum needs, a "doer".

Please consider taking a breather, but the loss of a poster like yourself will make this a far, far worse place.
.

 

[Big_Dave]

Pontiacvan, I will miss you. I enjoy seeing the older stuff being used to make current customs. I don't post much any more but I am on here looking. I actually have some cool customs I need to share. Please consider sticking around just to see what everyone is up to.

 

[Johnnye4]

yes take a vacation... and come back recharged and refreshed

 

[onesixthwarrior]

This is disappointing news- I hate to see people leave the forum. Sometimes you just need a breather, some time to regroup. Hopefully you'll continue to enjoy the hobby, and check in when you feel like it.