Hawkeye’s Squawkbox

Sitting here this Sunday morning reading through postings on my favorite modeling forums, I noticed that I haven’t posted anything to my blog for quite awhile. It’s not that I don’t have a lot to share; I do. Unfortunately it doesn’t have much to do with my model workshop or my workbench. Instead, I have been at the desk in my office, which is both good and bad. The bad part is this keeps me away from the workbench. On the other hand it means I’m working on something really important…anything that puts food on the table can’t be too bad.

What has kept me distracted me and away from time in the workshop? Well, several things…the biggest and most time consuming, we (my wife and I) have opened a new full-service marketing company…Zero To Sixty Marketing LLC, which already has taken on new customers and their projects. (One such client/project is the Hobby Manufacturer’s Association’s consumer website makeover, which will be unveiled in just a few weeks at this years iHobby Expo in Chicago.) So, needless to say, the process of forming our new company, securing its initial clientelle, building its infrastructure and creating its own branding is a time consuming process.

Speaking of HMA, I sit as a Council Member on the HMA’s General Division and am a member of the Associations Marketing Committee. Serving in these positions gives me the opportunity to use my voice to help direct this industry on to a viable and prosperous course.

Xuron and I have been working on a new Sprue Cutter design since late last year. I’m in the process of reviewing the pre-production units that were recently delivered to me. I’ll be inspecting and testing them to see if they match my design criteria and are ready to be produced, then delivered to your eager and awaiting hands. As soon as I get the word that they are in production I’ll be sure to let you know.

My “To Do” list seems to run from the top of my desk, onto the floor and out into the next room there are so many items on it. In the modeling workshop, my list includes:

• vacform new blister canopies for my Tinkle Bug Project
• Eastern Airlines DC-3
• Battle Damage How-To
• New Product Application & Tip Videos
• Several ongoing What-If Projects
• Clean the Workshop!

… not to mention to actually find the time to build something…hence the reason there are twenty plus projects in various stages of completion on the In-Progress section of the workshop. This doesn’t include the projects in the garage, like overhauling my son’s snow thrower that crapped out last winter when it was needed most.

We, that is Zero To Sixty Marketing (our new company) and Hawkeye’s Hobbies are preparing to share with you another great announcement that many of you in this hobby will be excited to hear and see! Keep an eye on your email for a special announcement from this blog! You will not be disappointed! To use a familiar quote from Paul Harvey…“STAND BY FOR NEWS!”

Contributors Needed

Within our project to complete the Hobby Manufacturer’s Association’s website, we are creating some supporting informational blogs to help direct folks to the MyHobbyFun.com website.

One such blog is http://educationalhobbiesblog.com/ We have also created blogs that are directed towards RC, Model Railroad as well as others. More on those later. What we need is content from folks like you. Share your favorite or most interesting experiences with us so we can incorporate them into these blogs. Our goal with these blogs is to drive folks not just to the MyHobbyFun website but to bring people into the various hobbies that this industry supports. Help us get people, adults and kids alike, off the couch and out from in front of the television and computers! Help share your hobbies with others!

If you can help by providing articles relating to various hobbies we all enjoy, drop me a note at hawkeye@hawkeyeshobbies.com and we’ll discuss how you can submit your contributions.

Other Distractions (FUN)

New bicycles…a much needed addition around here to help keep our bodies healthy and our minds clear. We try to ride everyday, even if it is a quick lunch time jaunt around the neighborhood. Or a longer one to do some of the errands such as checking the Post Office box for mail. Sometimes the wife and I ride along the many trails in our community to discuss and brainstorm projects away from the distractions in the office…phone calls and emails. It has done both the waistline and mind good.

I’ve been keeping my new camera handy, snapping pictures of nature and the environment around me. We have a great number of birds and animals in our backyard that are at times more entertaining than what is on television. They make great subjects to photograph. I’ve also been taking pictures that have business and marketing applications. Needless to say, it is a fun hobby all on its own!

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