ACTIVITIES
One of the greatest benefits of membership in Flash Force is the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of individuals who have similar interests. The benefits however, certainly do not stop there. While the interaction would be reason enough to join, it would be a disservice not to consider the many types of activities that members may enjoy.
What follows are brief descriptions of our more popular activities.
DISCUSSIONS
Perhaps our most popular and enjoyable activity is the participation in discussions and communications that occur between members on a daily basis.
The majority of these communications are conducted either by e-mail or through the reading and posting of messages through our primary group website at Yahoogroups!
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Image Credit:
Flash Force Public
Affairs Office
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enlargement)
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PHOTOGRAPHY
In conjunction with our discussion group, members take and share a variety of photographs of their current projects and operations. Many of our members are highly skilled in this aspect of the hobby and their outstanding efforts never fail to entertain, educate, and inspire others.
For examples of group photographs, please be sure to visit the "Galleries" section of our website. The Command Showcase features a wide variety of unit images, as does the Executive Director's Showcase.
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Image Credit:
Flash Force Public
Affairs Office
(Click image for
enlargement)
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CUSTOMIZING
Many members are deeply involved in "customizing" their figures, equipment, and vehicles. This simply means that commercially-available figures, equipment, and vehicles are modified and improved to meet member needs or desires.
Custom work, for example, might include painting, sculpting, and constructing a uniform for a scale figure. It might also include painting, creating custom parts for, or otherwise modifying a stock scale vehicle for added realism or utility. Some custom work even involves the complete fabrication of figures, uniforms, equipment or vehicles--where the finished product is built entirely by hand.
In the Command Headquarters (Member's Only) section of our website, we have a complete photo gallery and "Custom Tips" section that are dedicated to customization. There are many photographs and tutorials there to help inspire and assist members in developing their own custom projects.
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Image Credit:
Patrick Kelly, 191st SOC
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enlargement)
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KITBASHING
"Kitbashing" is a term used to describe the practice of combining figures, equipment, and uniform components from different stock sets to fulfill an individual need.
If a member wishes to add a another member to his "RECON" team, for example, he might take a basic figure from one manufacturer and add uniform components from another. The equipment needed might come from a third, entirely different set. The finished product would then be considered a "kitbashed" figure.
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Image Credit:
John Bersalona, 212th SOC
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enlargement)
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DIORAMA CONSTRUCTION
One of the more involved activities that members enjoy is in the creation of diorama sets and scale facilities.
A diorama scene may be simple and created in just a few minutes (using a small backdrop with a few plants to create a jungle scene, for example) or it may be as complex and time-consuming as the "Thunder Bay Inn" (our base pub).
No matter what their involvement or skill level, constructing and photographing diorama scenes is a fulfilling and entertaining activity for nearly any member.
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Image Credit:
Flash Force Public
Affairs Office
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enlargement)
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TRADING
Members trade regularly for needed items. Every Saturday is the unit "Trade Day" and all members are encouraged to submit lists of needed or surplus sixth-scale items to the group. Members then make private arrangements for the exchange of scale equipment, uniforms, and/or personnel.
Besides being an enjoyable activity, trading strengthens unit camaraderie and helps members develop needed assets for their individual commands.
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Image Credit:
Flash Force Public
Affairs Office
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enlargement)
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SPECIAL EVENTS
Members are always encouraged to host and/or participate in special events. Members may get together locally for meetings, hobby shows and conventions, scale airborne operations, field trips, or other enjoyable and entertaining activities.
They may also participate in a number of online activities, including:
- Missions;
- Chats;
- Project collaborations; and,
- Contests
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Image Credit:
Andy Bauer, 7th SOC
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enlargement)
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SPECIAL PROGRAMS/OPERATIONS
Members may participate in a variety of entertaining, educational, and worthwhile programs.
Examples of our special programs include:
- Operation: Team Spirit (units host a scale representative from Command Headquarters);
- Operation: Bright Candle (annual holiday gift exchange);
- Special Unit Program (special unit training and development); and,
- Rank Advancement Program (promotional training)
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Image Credit:
Flash Force Public
Affairs Office
(Click image for
enlargement)
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ROLE-PLAYING GAMES
There are a number of Role-Playing Games (RPGs) in which members may become involved. Most of these are conducted in online venues, although provisions do exist for "real-world" games and simulations where members may actually join one another for fun and entertainment.
Some of these RPG-style activities include:
- Collaborative computer gaming (Rainbow 6 and Ghost Recon, for example);
- Online e-mail or Internet Relay Chat (IRC) missions;
- Scale airborne operations;
- Paintball or "Airsoft" combat simulations; and,
- Scale operation photoshoots.
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Image Credit:
Flash Force Public
Affairs Office
(Click image for
enlargement)
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