I should add I'm surprised a dealer should care what anybody says as long as people are giving them money for Collectibles.

This next bit probably belongs in the Independance Day thread, but since the two threads are kinda related, its going here...

We should remember our roots (particularly my fellow Saints should know this) - this group is here because it left AOL, where there was no forum owner (other than the autocratic AOL) and no hint of allegiance to any particular brand or manufacturer being required to participate. If AOL hadn't banned sale items by individuals we might still be there. Back then there was no question of participation by anyone interested in any lighthouse model and no calls for loyalty oaths. Our flight from the AOL taxman shouldn't require taking a catechism.

A willingness to accept all folks interests is a mark of being independent and not tied to a manufacturer. It is the success and popularity of HL in the marketplace that has led to the considerable weighting of interest in these models. I seriously doubt someone else could develop as successful a line of lighthouse models, but this doesn't mean I'd discourage them from trying. And if a new set of super high-quality distinquishable models came on the market I would welcome discussion about them and the people who were interested in them, and I'd hope my fellow forum members would feel the same way. Particularly those who say they buy the models because they love lighthouses and appreciate the history these represent.

I won't go so far as comparing leaving AOL to colonists leaving Europe for the religious freedoms of America where all points of view are tolerated, but I'm tempted. :-)
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/im
[This message has been edited by JTimothyA (edited 12-19-99).]