>>I also believe that all club members should be offered every new piece before they are offered to the general public.<<

Is this really necessary? If one is truly a 'hobbyist' - particularly if you're active in these forums, you're aware of new models often before dealers are. Any piece you really want you can find a dealer who will reserve it for you long before it hits the shelves. Just be sure to buy it when it arrives.

It'll also just drive the price up with the cost of informing all Society members well ahead of time, then providing a means for taking orders. How many out of 4-6 new releases will each person commit to buy during the limited window of opportunity? Even those little Society Piece forms costs money.

I've never liked the notion that HL should somehow guarantee that anyone will get a particular model. Though my editiorial on the subject has long since landed in the bit bucket, I still maintain it was a bad idea to produce a Society version of Rose Island just to make sure folks who couldn't attend the 2nd Reunion would have a chance at one.

Rgds,
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/im [No food stamps at the FSB]