25th Anniversary, right?

[Aurora-7]

Didn't Starship Modeler first appear in 1996? That was the year I discovered the website. Copyright on the page stated 1996-2008.

[Saturn]

Starfury Resource Page is how I discovered SM. (The Starfury page dates back to '98)

[Dr. Yo]

Seems like a thing to celebrate to me.

[irishtrek]

The owner of Aero Sports and Hobbies is how I discovered SSM.

[Kylwell]

Time for a Silver model contest?

[Madman Lighting]

I found it with a search engine back in 2008 I think...I was just amazed to find such a thing! Thanks for being here.

[Lonewolf]

I've been hanging around since November 2003.

[SCI-FI]

Pretty sure it started in 1996.... I seem to recall finding this place way back when I was a swinging bachelor in my apartment, which was 1996-1997.

-SF

[Thom]

Time for a Silver model contest?

Now that is a great idea!

[Saturn]

Time for a Silver model contest?

Now that is a great idea!

Don't make me dig out the chrome plated Enterprise set from the 1990s!


But seriously, an all silver or natural metal finish contest does sound cool.

[Zubie]

Wow...time flies. The earliest archived page from 98 has copyright 1997, but it does say since 1996
http://web.archive.org/web/199812120212 ... deler.com/

The question is (and this onezero would need to answer) is this indeed the first SM domain. As I recall, in the early days of the web, it wasn't always clear cut that people needed a domain to put up stuff and so some web sites started out nested inside other servers before getting their own domain name.

I know this was the case for Lunar Models at the time (c.96...possibly even 95). Even CultTVman started someplace else. Alas the archive doesn't have much before 97-98 in general although very little of anything outside of academia existed before 95.

[Pat Amaral]

The domain, Starshipmodeler.com was originally purchased in 1996. The discussion forums were started sometime after that. As I recall, Starshipmodeler.net was set up in 1997 and the forums were moved there about that time. There have been a couple renditions of the forums since then but they've remained on the .net domain. I don't remember when Onezero set up Starsthipmodeler.biz (The Store) but it's been around for a while as well.

That's what I remember anyway and I've been here since its inception.

[Stu Pidasso]

Gads I'm old. I was one of The First Ones...

[Zubie]

Thought I'd post the link to this one. I'm pretty sure all of these kits have been issued, but I can't find any other pick builds. I do recall there was a contest for the logo design, b̶u̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶n̶k̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶.̶
http://www.starshipmodeler.org/gallery1 ... goship.htm

found it
http://www.starshipmodeler.com/contest/logo_ship.htm

[Madman Lighting]

I first discovered SSM back around 2001 I think... I was googling for a model building site and found SSM, CTVM, and a few others. I was working as an IT guy and had recently rediscovered my passion for model building after being burned out from software. Some years later I became guilty of this little project: https://madmanlighting.com/

That lead to a series of MUCH better jobs, and a much happier life. Good old OneZero was kind enough to be my first retailer, before I had my own store, when I had just one general purpose kit with just 9 LEDs.

[Blappy]

The domain, Starshipmodeler.com was originally purchased in 1996. The discussion forums were started sometime after that. As I recall, Starshipmodeler.net was set up in 1997 and the forums were moved there about that time. There have been a couple renditions of the forums since then but they've remained on the .net domain. I don't remember when Onezero set up Starsthipmodeler.biz (The Store) but it's been around for a while as well.

That's what I remember anyway and I've been here since its inception.

I remember it had that same domain but the site was called "The Starshipmodelers Resource Site". John changed it at some point to help out Modeler's Resource magazine by preventing any confusion. They're long gone now but this site still sands.

I discovered it in 1996 when it first appeared thanks to an announcement on the HobbyTalk forums or perhaps the CultTVMan website. I was a member of the original forums way back then too.

[widget]

I popped in around '97-'98.
Surprised y'all put up with me for so long.

[psytce]

I found it with a search engine back in 2008 I think...I was just amazed to find such a thing! Thanks for being here.

On your information to the right of your post it states : Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2005 6:16 am Just so you know.

After I post this I'll find out when I found this great site ...

EDIT : Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:57 pm, you beat me by 3 years.

The earliest I can find in this post is for: Blappy, who Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 2:35 pm .... anyone earlier ???

Psytce

[Rogviler]

Keep in mind that at certain points in time this site was open to the internet so many of us were just lurkers. I know I was on here around 2000-2001, but didn't join until after it was members only.

[onezero]

Wow...time flies. The earliest archived page from 98 has copyright 1997, but it does say since 1996
http://web.archive.org/web/199812120212 ... deler.com/

The question is (and this onezero would need to answer) is this indeed the first SM domain. As I recall, in the early days of the web, it wasn't always clear cut that people needed a domain to put up stuff and so some web sites started out nested inside other servers before getting their own domain name.

I know this was the case for Lunar Models at the time (c.96...possibly even 95). Even CultTVman started someplace else. Alas the archive doesn't have much before 97-98 in general although very little of anything outside of academia existed before 95.

The first SSM "site" was a sub-page on my AOL account. I had one page for models and one for scuba. (I'll send a free bag of greeblies to the first anyone who can name that site).

I migrated to a sub-domain of my (then new) wife's business site as "starship modeler's resource site" in early 1997. I dropped "resource site" after Modeler's Resource got stuffy - I'd never heard of them, but they had a trademark and a magazine with paying subscribers and everything, and I was just some guy with a dial-up.

Linda (still my wife 25 years on) bought the starshipmodeler.com domain name as a Christmas present in in 1997.

CultTVMan started on AOL. That's where I found him - and Scott VanAken at Modeling Madness as well. Don Matthys (of blessed memory) was on one of the "free" platforms then - I bought my first resin piece from him in 1997, a tinted resin deflector dish for the Monogram "Voyager" - from a post on rec.models.scale. I don't remember where I found Brett Green's Hyperscale ..... he may have just started with the domain name and skipped the free website you got with your eMail address back in the olde days.

Them was the days, a'ight.

[Saturn]

Linda (still my wife 25 years on)

CultTVMan started on AOL. That's where I found him - and Scott VanAken at Modeling Madness as well. Don Matthys (of blessed memory) was on one of the "free" platforms then - I bought my first resin piece from him in 1997, a tinted resin deflector dish for the Monogram "Voyager" - from a post on rec.models.scale. I don't remember where I found Brett Green's Hyperscale ..... he may have just started with the domain name and skipped the free website you got with your eMail address back in the olde days.

Them was the days, a'ight.

ARC, Modeling Madness, Hyperscale, CultTVMan, SM boards. Those were my daily bookmarks throughout the 2000s after discussion on r.m.s. dried up. I can't remember how those sites vanished from my dailies, but yours is the only one left.

[MillenniumFalsehood]

Ahhhhh, memories...

I remember being young and wanting to use Ask.com (before I started using The Goog) to look up sites of starship models. I remember trying to find inspiration and seeing a few suggestions pop up, one of which was the main SSM website. I clicked on it and started reading the articles in the Star Wars and Trek sections. They were so amazing! I'd never seen anyone really describe how to tackle these subjects in such detail. I discovered that many of the models I thought were accurate turned out to be not so accurate, and seeing people accurize them sparked a real desire in me to do the same with my builds.

I remember being afraid to go on the boards though. I was a kid, and these guys I saw on there were really talented and I didn't want to embarrass myself, but I also wanted to be a part of the group. I joined up and I remember my first post. It was about using an electromechanical system to light the Millennium Falcon's engines with a motorized system to pull a light bar closer to the exhaust to make it brighter... or something. Would never have worked, lol.

But everyone here has always inspired me to do better with my modelmaking.

[zaphod]

I was reading an article/showcase in Finescale about different Starfury paint jobs, circa 1999-2000. Went straight to the website, haven't looked back. I remember when my then wife was in the hospital, about Xmas 2007, and there was such kindness. John sent me an SSM Christmas ornament, and I kept that thing for a lot of years. We were Real Social Media before it had a name.

[sbaxter]

Wasn't there a forum migration/software change at some point that led to many of us who were here relatively early getting our join dates and post counts reset? Case in point -- I think Zaphod was here before me, but his join date displays as a day after mine. I think this is why so many of us long-time members show as having joined in July of 2002, including also Saturn and even onezero.

Qapla'

SSB

[Blappy]

Wasn't there a forum migration/software change at some point that led to many of us who were here relatively early getting our join dates and post counts reset? Case in point -- I think Zaphod was here before me, but his join date displays as a day after mine. I think this is why so many of us long-time members show as having joined in July of 2002, including also Saturn and even onezero.

Qapla'

SSB

That is correct!

[Ramsayman]

Thought I'd post the link to this one. I'm pretty sure all of these kits have been issued, but I can't find any other pick builds. I do recall there was a contest for the logo design, b̶u̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶n̶k̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶.̶
http://www.starshipmodeler.org/gallery1 ... goship.htm

found it
http://www.starshipmodeler.com/contest/logo_ship.htm

Love this! It wasn't long after I joined the site that this contest came out. I so wanted to enter it, but just couldn't find the time to scratch build something, especially something that could be broken down into a kit! I was always a bit disappointed that there weren't more entries, though the four that were were creative and fun. Still want to one day build my own version of the logo ship...

[Zubie]

... I do recall there was a contest for the logo design, b̶u̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶n̶k̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶.̶
http://www.starshipmodeler.org/gallery1 ... goship.htm

found it
http://www.starshipmodeler.com/contest/logo_ship.htm

Love this! It wasn't long after I joined the site that this contest came out. I so wanted to enter it, but just couldn't find the time to scratch build something, especially something that could be broken down into a kit! I was always a bit disappointed that there weren't more entries, though the four that were were creative and fun. Still want to one day build my own version of the logo ship...

Well, been working on this, but there have been technical difficulties and the IRS takes first priority

It's meant to be cardstock build and working on multiple parts to build it with different level of detail or difficulty.

[Ramsayman]

... I do recall there was a contest for the logo design, b̶u̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶n̶k̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶.̶
http://www.starshipmodeler.org/gallery1 ... goship.htm

found it
http://www.starshipmodeler.com/contest/logo_ship.htm

Love this! It wasn't long after I joined the site that this contest came out. I so wanted to enter it, but just couldn't find the time to scratch build something, especially something that could be broken down into a kit! I was always a bit disappointed that there weren't more entries, though the four that were were creative and fun. Still want to one day build my own version of the logo ship...

Well, been working on this, but there have been technical difficulties and the IRS takes first priority

It's meant to be cardstock build and working on multiple parts to build it with different level of detail or difficulty.

I'm secretly working on something as well. Shhhhh.... don't tell anyone....

[magnus1114]

Nice.

[trekkist]

A 1996 birthdate makes a Botany Bay/DY class(es) contest logical. Since that's too confining, how about "First starships"?

>using an electromechanical system to light the Millennium Falcon's engines with a motorized system to pull a light bar closer to the exhaust to make it brighter...

Has anyone motorized the six "doors" of the Lost in Space derelict? Is there an aftermarket kit for this?