Horrace had a VW bus !!!! I knew he was a hippie at heart.

It is sad to think that we might be the last generations that rub thier hads together and grin as we open a box of wood and imagine what it will be some day.

So maybe diversity is in the hands of the ARF manufactures now. I certainly dosee great diversity in ARF airplanes. Long EZ's, Mig's, every warbird, not so much civil, but some great golden age stuff like that stagger wing and Stearmans.

Its good and its bad. I am very happy to see that there is a demand and a market for the great historic planes of the golden age. I'm glad the market and , (that generation) can recognize the beauty of the classics.

I am, however a little disappointed that ,here in the US, building scale models kits is way down. It seems fairly healthy in Europe. The mags I get from there are amazing. They are as great, if not better than the mags we had here at one time.

Maybe, maybe, if I stop thinking of this hobby in terms of the US, and start thinking of in terms of the global village, things aren't so bad. Ex. I'm building a Sig Bonanza. The other 3 guys building ,or that just finished one are in Labanon, Australia, and Chille. Its pretty amazing that 4 guys from all corners of the earth can chat about a kit they are building. And although there may not be that much building taking place here, there is model building happening all around the world now. Many countries now have developed a middle class. And that middle class is generally involved in manufacturing a product. They use thier hands and they know the joys and satisfaction of doing so.

We are, dare I use the word, Craftsman. You can't force someone to be a craftsman. Its like a calling. It either happens for you or it doesn't. Its like having a musical gift. Americans don't seem to value skilled labor, craftsman, as much as they once did.

So, I'm back where I started. Diversity, ( in the US), is now a function of the ARF market place. A clever ( off shore) company looking for a niche market will introduce a new and better product. And the free market shall provide us with diversity. I'm not saying that is the way I would like for it to happen. I just think that is the way the world is now. Americans are much too busy blogging to build. What this country needs is a good EMP to get folks out of the house.