Thanks, not unexpected, sadly

Bummer to hear.....

…...but was little doubt this was coming.  At least the 2021 RPM should be there.  I am disappointed with the NMRA convention not being there and not close again for a while.   Thanks for the update.

Not sure why anything is being planned for 2021

Because according to all the "experts" who are being listened to, we need to wait until there is a vaccine before "social distancing" is even considered being discontinued and that won't be out until the END of 2021. And then of course should there be a COVID-21, so if I were any of these groups, don't plan anything until we know we can do anything at all in the future! 

Ken, let's just go all out, shall we?

Ken, let's at least make the wild speculation interesting, aye? What if a vaccine *never* gets developed? So then we all become lifetime hermits and humans all turn into Morlocks ...

Who's to say *this* version of the future isn't just as likely as yours? My crystal ball is just as good as yours!

P.S. Remember when all the oil wells were torched off in Iran during the Gulf War? The predictions of nuclear winter were rampant. Doomsday scenarios are a dime a dozen and don't take much real imagination.

With this being a GLOBAL pandemic, the best and the brightest minds on the entire globe are working on an effective treatment. With desperate times come radical breakthroughs -- before year's end, I expect some amazing new, never-before-imagined treatments will emerge. In fact, these breakthrough treatments will be so radical and revolutionary that they will usher in a new era of rapid counter treatments to any future pandemic.

Never underestimate the power of innovation when the life of the entire globe is at risk.

Plan for 2021....Some of us have faith...

Even faith in God, if I am permitted to say that on this forum.

I see your Morlocks

I see your Morlocks, I will raise that by a C.H.U.D.

We can not stay shut in forever,  Kids need to go to school, people need to work.  We might get to the point it is better to open up Las Vegas style,  When the wheel stops the wheels stops,  Normal people can not live like this.  If you want to go out, fine if you want to be a hermit fine.  either way the C.H.U.D. will get you if Randall Flagg does not get you 1st.

Yes in times like these

Yes, any hopeful perspective is welcome in times like these. For those who believe in a higher power, what if the insight to find the cure is being released to us just now by said higher power?

And for those with a more materialistic view, what if you realized you had just found the cure to Covid-19? What do you think the financial benefits of being the one with the cure could be?

There's so many reasons to be hopeful. There's never been a higher incentive by more people than the desire to whip this unseen enemy.

Dogmatic fatalism is a far more deadly virus than Covid-19 could ever be:

A merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones. --Proverbs 17:22, King Solomon

Virtual RPM

Virtual RPM meets have occurred since 2017 and you can get your fix with an April 2020 virtual RPM meet here. Perhaps St. Louis-area prototype modelers can offer something similar.

It would be interesting for Eric H. or someone else on MRH to start regular threads titled Prototype Modeling, just like the Weekly Photos and What's On Your Workbench. Those threads often have incredible RPM work, but it would be helpful to segregate those posts a little more.

Already on the forum

patentwriter, as you point out, we already have great threads each month with Weekly Photos and What's On Your Workbench. I already consider these to be Virtual RPM presentations. People are sharing their finished or in-process works. Many of those posts are inspirational, which is a main point of an RPM, to learn from the work shared by others. 

I feel a new V-RPM thread would reduce the number of presentations on those threads. YMMV.

Eric

Kinda Disagree

Eric- I think a RPM thread would generate a different "type" of photo than the workbench and weekly photos.  RPM meets tend to be specifically oriented to well done models of Locomotives and Rolling Stock, with a smattering of structures.  Well done photos of RPM level models would differ from a large portion of what's currently posted in those other two threads.  Just throwing it out there !

Craig

That would work.....IF

If everyone posting to an RPM thread would only post items which were models of real prototypes with the objective of reproducing the model as closely as possible to the source item.

Certainly some of what is currently posted in the two current threads meet that criteria, but not all.  When I use the word "possible" above, I make allowance there for differences in the skills of individuals, but emphasize "closely as possible" to be the ruling objective of each submission.

With that in mind, there might be value to an RPM thread, but, as Eric suggests, there might be a reduction in the other two threads.

So, it might be something worth trying, to see what transpires.  I'm OPEN to the idea, but not necessarily an advocate.

Where to post?

Craig,

Where would I post this image?

This is a progress photo of an HO scale Canadian Pacific single-sheathed automobile boxcar with the original 10-foot door opening. It's a Yarmouth Model Works resin kit.

Normally, I would post something like this to the current What's On the Workbench thread. But this is also what I see at RPM meets; in-process models that follow a prototype. Some would say to post it on both threads. Others would ask why it's on both threads.

Frankly, I'd only want to post it in one place so I can move on with other tasks.

Eric

Nothing stopping readers

Yes, Eric, I see your point. Sometimes I see the same photos on both the photo fun thread and the workbench thread, so it happens.

I say if the readers want to start hosting a regular RPM thread, then go for it. If it turns out to be popular, then we will know. So go for it, guys ... give an RPM thread a try if you want. Then we will know if it gets any traction or not.

I like what Google says ... "fail fast" ... in other words, don't be afraid to try new things, but don't waste a lot of time on those things that don't pan out. But it also means you don't know if you don't try ...

I'm in

Eric/Joe/Patentwriter - I'd be 100% supportive of a weekly virtual RPM thread, and I'd be happy to kick it off if no one else wants to.  I don't want to step on any toes though. 

I've long sought out prototype modeling here more than any other segment of the hobby, and I think this would be great way to showcase it.  I share the concerns that it'd flop, or that the originator of the thread would repeatedly be called to explain A) The potential dilution of the WPF content andb) The perceived "elitism" of starting our own thread and trying to keep the content in line with what you'd see at an RPM.  As Joe F. said, we don't know until we try.

With that said, I haven't yet been to an RPM meet, though I was just emailing Scott Thornton to try to make plans to meet up in St. Louis in 2021.  Do people display proto-freelance or fantasy works there at all? 

RPM meets

Prototype models with the reference photos are very popular at an RPM meet, of course.

But I've also seen solidly proto-based freelancing too, again often with references. Don't recall much pure fantasy without any proto reference, though.

I think I've probably been to a dozen or so RPM meets so far ...

Research, research, research

I find that the RPM crowd is more willing to discuss the background of the model; who, what, why, etc instead of just a 'hey this is what I made" type thing. This includes how someone built a model, painted, etc.

References

So I’ve been giving some thought as to a simple litmus test to help make the distinction between what would belong in a virtual RPM thread versus WPF.  What I keep coming back to is Joe F‘s mention of prototype references. Basically, can you display/post one or more proto pics with your model to show what it’s based on (as often seems to be done at RPM meets), or did it simply come from your imagination? The former could be applied to either proto or proto-freelance models.

Does that seem appealing to other prototype modelers here? Or are we so few in number that you’d rather just share through the WPF thread?

How accurate does RPM mean?

I model a short line railroad that wasn’t well documented. 
 

Prototype modeling

If you have built, or are building, a model that is following a specific prototype, please share it on the Virtual RPM thread. I started the thread and plan to post one or two models later today. 

Modeling a specific prototype can also include proto-freelanced models. I see that as a modeler who is following a prototype but using a different road name. A prototype is the focus of the work.

Structures can be a reduced or compressed version of a prototype. Sceniced scenes that reflect a prototype location would be welcome. Many Free-mo modules are built to reflect a specific location. Some dioramas also follow a prototype scene. 

Keep in mind a simple rule of thumb. If you work is inspired by and follows a prototype, then it's welcome at RPM events. Start posting your work on the Virtual RPM thread. 

Eric

St Louis RPM meet, 2021

The Exact answer for why planning 2021 in St Louis is that the Gateway Center in Collinsville, IL(right across the river from St Louis....where the meet has been held since 2004) books up very quickly up to 2 years out.   in fact, this is why the St Louis RPM meet dates have wandered a little bit over the recent years.(fyi.....I  live literally  5-10 minutes from the venue)

Of more earth-shaking news......Joe A down here in St Louis in 2021????     I'll believe it when I see it(tongue in cheek answer for Mr Atkinson... ) !!!!!!!!!!!     Of course, you would have to bring down the GP-8 so I can see it in person.    I won't judge  it too harshly....lol