- Joined
- Oct 30, 2022
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- 43
Hello ... my name is Marc Mosko and I've never built a wood model ship before, nor a plastic model - nor any model.
So what am I doing here on your forum? I have good reason. I believe that wood ship model building hobby is a family. Many of us help each other by posting build logs, write articles about our work and create fine models that become legacies. This is the first time in 46 years I've posted on any forum. I figured it's about time. I've been a silent family member for too long.
Here's my story. In the early 1970's I worked and lived in Italy. Due to the strangest of circumstances, I invested and partnered with an Italian in Rome, Italy. We operated a small chain of toy and hobby shops. One day I was in our main store and short, smiling young red-headed man came in carrying a huge wood model kit of HMS Victory. He introduced himself as Sergio Fabrizi. He had just created a new business called Sergal. Passionately, he insisted that his was the world's finest wood model kit and that he selected our store for the introduction of his kit. I negotiated by offering him a place for his built model in our store window and an acceptable price. We agreed, the kits sold well and Sergal (now part of Mantua Model) was born. And I fell in love with model ship building.
Shortly after I took a kit of HMS Victory home with intent to build it. After spending hours over the weekend fitting bulkheads to false keel, working on alignment and finally realizing that if I continued I not only needed expert help but that I would have to sacrifice too much time away from my business. So I stopped. But then I saw that the hours spent were so focused on the building that I thought of nothing else ... not business, not even family, a total escape and a pleasant one. I got to thinking. Wow! What a terrific way for hassled employees, business men and others to eliminate stress. How many of us needed a hobby, I thought? Since I was a born salesman I started thinking as to how we could market wood ship model kits outside of our store.
I went to my partner, Guido (of course), and said, "Guido, let's start a business where we get money in the mail". He answered, "Italy is a land of small shops so no one buys through the mail". He was right so I started thinking America. We had no internet in the 1970's, not even credit cards for mail purchases. Customers had to send a check. No matter. I created an ad selling wood ship models and mailed it to a friend in advertising in New York. He put the ad into Yachting Magazine and then Smithsonian magazine. Yes, people sent checks to Italy, we mailed kits to America and Model Expo was born.
In 1976 Guido and I decided that Model Expo's new home had to be America and we set up shop in New Jersey. Like all small businesses it was rough and the competition did not welcome us. Companies like James Bliss, Boyd, Marine Model, Bluejacket, Scientific Model, Midwest and Model Shipways wanted us gone. We countered by looking for new (wanna-be) ship modelers. We invented simple kits with tools and good instructions in hopes of creating our own customers who had never build wood models before. We also stole some customers from our competitors because they refused to replace missing parts, so we did.
Obsessed with getting new people into the hobby we spent lots of money on advertising kits with tools (Example - Swift, by Artesania Latina) and sold tens of thousands. Many of those first time builders went on to become serious model ship builders. We were still at the outset of our company's growth and this leads me to the main reason I wrote all you've read above.
In the early 1980's I was approached by a New Jersey ship modeling club. Since the club collected no dues and needed to rent a place for their meetings they approached me and John Shedd, then owner of Model Shipways asking us to contribute $50 each so they could rent a location. I agreed and went to the meeting where I met John Shedd of Model Shipways for the first time. The meeting was fascinating, particularly the Show and Tell where various building techniques, shortcuts and tools were shown by members. I got excited about what I saw and heard and thought about the thousands of new first time ship modelers that Model Expo was creating. We had a large customer list and many of our customers lived within driving distance of the meeting place.
I couldn't resist. Towards the end of the meeting I stood up and asked, " Can I describe your club and meeting schedule in our next catalog so that local first-time model ship builders can attend and learn from all of you?" I was met with silence. After a few moments, the president of the club said, apologetically, "I don't think so. This really is not a school for ship model building."
Over the years, I've had numerous similar disappointing experiences, which I'm happy to say constitute a small minority among excellent ship modelers but were characteristic of a few who feel they are the most knowledgeable. I like to call them the high priests of ship model building who contribute no new passages to their bible. I believe in perpetuating the hobby. I like to think that Model Shipways Inc. dba Model Expo has made a serious contribution to expanding the wood ship model hobby. By our count we have started over 250,000 customers on wood ship model building. Of course, many of them are no longer with us and the majority gave up perhaps for the same reason I did when I started. But Model Expo is still seriously focused on creating new wood ship model hobbyists. I would hope that all of you reading this forum are passing on your acquired skills, and knowledge to all generations so that they too can enjoy what you love and leave a legacies of fine miniatures depicting our nautical heritage.
I welcome your thoughts and comments,
Marc Mosko
Model Shipways Inc. dba Model Expo
So what am I doing here on your forum? I have good reason. I believe that wood ship model building hobby is a family. Many of us help each other by posting build logs, write articles about our work and create fine models that become legacies. This is the first time in 46 years I've posted on any forum. I figured it's about time. I've been a silent family member for too long.
Here's my story. In the early 1970's I worked and lived in Italy. Due to the strangest of circumstances, I invested and partnered with an Italian in Rome, Italy. We operated a small chain of toy and hobby shops. One day I was in our main store and short, smiling young red-headed man came in carrying a huge wood model kit of HMS Victory. He introduced himself as Sergio Fabrizi. He had just created a new business called Sergal. Passionately, he insisted that his was the world's finest wood model kit and that he selected our store for the introduction of his kit. I negotiated by offering him a place for his built model in our store window and an acceptable price. We agreed, the kits sold well and Sergal (now part of Mantua Model) was born. And I fell in love with model ship building.
Shortly after I took a kit of HMS Victory home with intent to build it. After spending hours over the weekend fitting bulkheads to false keel, working on alignment and finally realizing that if I continued I not only needed expert help but that I would have to sacrifice too much time away from my business. So I stopped. But then I saw that the hours spent were so focused on the building that I thought of nothing else ... not business, not even family, a total escape and a pleasant one. I got to thinking. Wow! What a terrific way for hassled employees, business men and others to eliminate stress. How many of us needed a hobby, I thought? Since I was a born salesman I started thinking as to how we could market wood ship model kits outside of our store.
I went to my partner, Guido (of course), and said, "Guido, let's start a business where we get money in the mail". He answered, "Italy is a land of small shops so no one buys through the mail". He was right so I started thinking America. We had no internet in the 1970's, not even credit cards for mail purchases. Customers had to send a check. No matter. I created an ad selling wood ship models and mailed it to a friend in advertising in New York. He put the ad into Yachting Magazine and then Smithsonian magazine. Yes, people sent checks to Italy, we mailed kits to America and Model Expo was born.
In 1976 Guido and I decided that Model Expo's new home had to be America and we set up shop in New Jersey. Like all small businesses it was rough and the competition did not welcome us. Companies like James Bliss, Boyd, Marine Model, Bluejacket, Scientific Model, Midwest and Model Shipways wanted us gone. We countered by looking for new (wanna-be) ship modelers. We invented simple kits with tools and good instructions in hopes of creating our own customers who had never build wood models before. We also stole some customers from our competitors because they refused to replace missing parts, so we did.
Obsessed with getting new people into the hobby we spent lots of money on advertising kits with tools (Example - Swift, by Artesania Latina) and sold tens of thousands. Many of those first time builders went on to become serious model ship builders. We were still at the outset of our company's growth and this leads me to the main reason I wrote all you've read above.
In the early 1980's I was approached by a New Jersey ship modeling club. Since the club collected no dues and needed to rent a place for their meetings they approached me and John Shedd, then owner of Model Shipways asking us to contribute $50 each so they could rent a location. I agreed and went to the meeting where I met John Shedd of Model Shipways for the first time. The meeting was fascinating, particularly the Show and Tell where various building techniques, shortcuts and tools were shown by members. I got excited about what I saw and heard and thought about the thousands of new first time ship modelers that Model Expo was creating. We had a large customer list and many of our customers lived within driving distance of the meeting place.
I couldn't resist. Towards the end of the meeting I stood up and asked, " Can I describe your club and meeting schedule in our next catalog so that local first-time model ship builders can attend and learn from all of you?" I was met with silence. After a few moments, the president of the club said, apologetically, "I don't think so. This really is not a school for ship model building."
Over the years, I've had numerous similar disappointing experiences, which I'm happy to say constitute a small minority among excellent ship modelers but were characteristic of a few who feel they are the most knowledgeable. I like to call them the high priests of ship model building who contribute no new passages to their bible. I believe in perpetuating the hobby. I like to think that Model Shipways Inc. dba Model Expo has made a serious contribution to expanding the wood ship model hobby. By our count we have started over 250,000 customers on wood ship model building. Of course, many of them are no longer with us and the majority gave up perhaps for the same reason I did when I started. But Model Expo is still seriously focused on creating new wood ship model hobbyists. I would hope that all of you reading this forum are passing on your acquired skills, and knowledge to all generations so that they too can enjoy what you love and leave a legacies of fine miniatures depicting our nautical heritage.
I welcome your thoughts and comments,
Marc Mosko
Model Shipways Inc. dba Model Expo
