[WARNING! - the following is a pre-coffee, unedited, early AM response, so apologies if I'm less amiable than usual. No offense intended]
Re: Arkmodel cylinders:
Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Since we're mildly criticizing, the community is here to help, and that includes advice on what to get and why. A quick question to the forum, on the DiveTribe that you're a member of, or to me directly would have netted you the right answer up front and saved you time, money and hassles. We have resources to help people in this crazy, frustrating hobby. Use them!
Re: Hobby Frustrations:
This is not a hobby for the timid, the untalented or the inexperienced. Many, including myself, consider this a hobby for the elite. That's not pride or snobbishness, it's a simple statement of fact. Part of the reason for the exclusivity is the difficulty of building these things and the lack of information and resources. I agree with that. But, don't blame the few vendors who are trying to keep this hobby afloat (or patrolling at depth, as the case may be). The issue is that the hobby is so darned small. We're talking, at most, a few thousand people in the entire world with working boats. The superb and easy to assemble tank, plane and car kits you mentioned earlier are the result of decades of R&D and hundreds of thousands of products supported by hundreds of vendors worldwide. How many vendors support subs? I bet you could count them on your fingers and have a lot of digits left over.
I agree that a simple and easy to assemble kit is a must, and I and a few others are currently working on project to bring this into reality. No, I don't have an ETA. I won't commit to one for exactly the reason that you highlighted above. Things happen. Dates get pushed back. Potential customers get mad.
Re: "Mild criticism"
I've always tried to be forthcoming with my efforts to put a new cylinder to market, my progress, or my lack thereof. I've always been up front about the challenges with workload at the shop and my struggles with implementing a new cylinder design. I'm sorry that the timeline didn't fit into your schedule. I'm doing the best I can. Bear in mind that everything that is put out there is shoehorned in between customer builds, R&D, advertising, website updates, accounting, inventory ordering and control, packing and shipping. It's just me and one other guy.
All I can say is that the wait will be worth it.
Bob
Re: Arkmodel cylinders:
Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Since we're mildly criticizing, the community is here to help, and that includes advice on what to get and why. A quick question to the forum, on the DiveTribe that you're a member of, or to me directly would have netted you the right answer up front and saved you time, money and hassles. We have resources to help people in this crazy, frustrating hobby. Use them!
Re: Hobby Frustrations:
What really ticks me off about this hobby is what you mentioned: The many bad products out there. You don't get that when you build a tank, racecar, plane, ship. Those kits are all straight forward for the most part whereas with subs the good kits are the exception. Sucks. Somebody should fill that niche. We don't need a RTR sub but something that doesn't need a mechanics and engineering degree in the assembly.
I agree that a simple and easy to assemble kit is a must, and I and a few others are currently working on project to bring this into reality. No, I don't have an ETA. I won't commit to one for exactly the reason that you highlighted above. Things happen. Dates get pushed back. Potential customers get mad.
Re: "Mild criticism"
I googled the videos online but since Bob Martin put in his own WTC they won't really help me in this case and quite frankly I would have ordered a WTC from him if they were available, but no (and yes, that's a mild criticism to the shifting release date).
All I can say is that the wait will be worth it.
Bob
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