This week we heard that the Sprue Cutters Union podcast would be indefinitely halted after a number of years, a bunch of episodes, and some truly remarkable insights, ideas, and interviews.

I posted a few “I’m sad” comments of support on the various social channels, but I had a deeper sense of loss (and joy) that I wanted to express in a few more words. So here we go.

Community and Connection
SCU was more than just a podcast. I listen to plenty of podcasts, effectively none of them have prompted as much action and connection as SCU did. Listening to Will Pattison, Tracy Hancock, and Chris Meddings ramble, rant, joke, and support reminded me of one of the core reasons I love scale modeling: community. I was inspired by their camaraderie to reach out to people I wanted to be friends with and learn from. I felt a sense of connect to Will, Tracy, and Chris that allowed me to overcome some social anxiety and just reach out to them. I made Will be friends with me whether he likes it or not … and I’m working on Chris and Tracy too!

But through the platform of SCU, I was able to see a part of the hobby that my local club or random things online didn’t provide: a community of people like me. I’ve been scale modeling for the better part of 40 years. From my earliest days seriously modeling in high school until the last few years my social connections in the hobby have largely been people much older than me. Thanks to SCU (and also the Facebook group Scale Modelers Critique Group), I saw that there was a community of people like me in interest, personality, and nerdiness.

I remember clearly the first time I heard the guys talking about 3D modeling and thinking “Hey I could do that!”. I remember clearly the first time I heard the guys talking about paint chemistry and being inspired to think more about how my chemicals work when I use them. I have a lot of memories of really great moments that they brought into my AirPods once a week. I really started to look forward to Fridays for more than just the weekend.

And of course, all of this was happening as the world was coming out of the craziness and loneliness of COVID. It helped me not only emerge from that hobbit house of fear and isolation but helped inspire me to connect to my community more than I had before, finding “my people” inside the hobby.

Ideas, Inspiration, and Learning
The content that SCU brought forth was fantastic. From interviews to discussions to sharing what’s on their bench to the discussion of mental health to deep dives into various topics it was all wonderful. It introduced me to new ideas and tools and methods that I’m still learning about it. It prompted me to take on a much bigger project than I’d ever done before with confidence that I can get through it. After all, if these badasses had struggles and fuckups, maybe my fuckups are just part of the process. Their discussions prompted me to think differently about my storytelling and my attention to detail (#fixThatShit) and that having a limited amount of Give-A-Fucks is perfectly acceptable.

Comfort in experimentation
I am experimenting much more than I have at any point in my modeling experience. Hearing the guys talk about how they hacked away on a problem, or started over when they got stuck, or how they worked around problems was great inspiration to not just try new techniques on paint mules over and over until I’m so bored I put the actual model on the shelf. I’m trying new things in real time on the model with confidence that if I fuck it up, I can always fix it… but that I mostly end up not having to fix anything.

Growth of the hobby and hobby podcasting
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say something that might be historically false but was absolutely accurate for me. I believe the SCU kicked off a scale modeling podcast revolution. I understand there were scale model podcasts before SCU came around, but I think there was something different, magical about the dynamic of the SCU team that was net new in the hobby. And it seemed to spark interest from others in creating great content too. Thanks to the guys for that… those bastards caused me to have hours and hours of modeling podcast backlog!

I deeply appreciate the guys for their impact on me and on the hobby overall.

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While I hate to see the SCU go away (and deeply hope they’ll be back some day with a renewed enthusiasm) I’m also really proud of the guys for calling it when it got to be too much. I’m excited to continue to see the guys in SMCG and hoping to finally meet Chris and Tracy in person soon.

I’m a big believer that TV shows should only a maximum of 3 seasons. If they are marvelous, they get an extra 2 seasons, but then they have to be done. I hate when wonderful things have the life drained out of them by pushing past when it was at its best. End on a high note.

And knowing Will, ending on a high note is exactly how he’s ending the Sprue Cutters Union.