12-13-2012, 06:39 PM
Looking back over 2012 it has been a busy year (aren't all modern industrialised, mass communication, informative years?).
The year began with the new leader in the DPRK and with the "changing of the guard" came a great fluctuation in the supplies of DPRK items. I took advantage of the wave of items hitting the market and bought up items by the bucket. So much so in fact, that storing them has become a concern. This took up quite a good bit of my attention as a buyer for the first part of the year. Many of the items acquired during this period can be found in the DPRK area Democratic People's Republic Of Korea - The Soviet Military Awards Page Forum.
Half way through the year my purchases were more focused towards Bulgaria, with the main focus on documented Badges. These items are common on the market, cheap and generally overlooked so I managed to harvest a great deal of them. Many of them can now be found here: Bulgarian Badges - The Soviet Military Awards Page Forum.
In the latter part of this year I have focused more towards the PMR, some of which have been posted in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic - The Soviet Military Awards Page Forum section.
Throughout the year I have also been very lucky in being able to acquire hundreds of items on the forum marketplace, most of which are yet to be presented to the forum but will be in due course (as will everything else not already presented).
There has also been the usual array of Russian Federation commemoratives (Ministerial and Organisational) that I have been snapping up as I've found them - Ministerial Awards - The Soviet Military Awards Page Forum.
For me the favourite item that has entered the collection in 2012 is Title Of Distinction "Honoured Worker Of Rail Transport".. Which was gifted to me for helping someone out of a very tight situation.
I can't complain about rising prices as not only have many prices levelled out but there are lots of bargains out there for those willing to look. Many of the items I have purchased this year have been so cheap as not to be believed so I won't bother going into details on prices of particular items. You can still get a lot of items for under $5 and as Tommy proves, you can start collecting even "this late in the game" and get a fine (almost "instant") collection.
2012 has seen a truly vast number of posts and many previously uncovered awards are now covered in great detail. It really has been a bumper year for the forum, even though it is still under "refurbishment". I have had dozens of complimentary messages about the new "Sleeker", "Tidy", "More Descriptive" subforums and threads. Work is far from over due to the fact that there are just so many posts, all user generated, to sort through. Threads should now look more "focused" and be easier to find and understand.
2012 saw the "Soviet Bloc" subforum really burst into life and the number of "hits" has soared even though the renovation is not yet complete.
The "Medals" and "Orders" sections have been arranged so now each award has only a single thread pertaining to it and not a sea of strangely titled threads that are confusing to navigate.
The "Researchers' Corner" has not only gained the heavily used "Researched Groups" section but the Researched Orders, Medals and Titles sections have all had their threads named uniformly as to ease navigation. The number of researched awards presented in 2012 is truly amazing. This is in no small part due to the gigantic efforts at Общедоступный электронный банк документов 'Подвиг народа' (Podvig Naroda). The Russian state site which is also far from complete in its own task. If you need help using the site - How to use Podvignaroda.ru..
As well as Military awards being researchable new avenues were opened on the research of Labour awards in 2012.
That's just a few "bits" of 2012.
As for 2013, As a collector I hope to continue hoarding items and presenting them to the forum. I have absolutely no idea what items or deals will present themselves to me but it is going to be fun finding out. I know that I will be posting a great number of previously unseen items, researched awards and groups, lots of takes on items already seen and many other things - maybe some more "how to" guides.
The forum will continue to be renovated (and hopefully come to completion) in 2013. Resulting in easier access for all and hopefully focussed discussion of all the items and topics presented. The renovations take a considerable amount of man hours and are often done in fragments so continue to hold steady as work is ongoing. The results will be worth the transition.
2013 is also looking like the greatest year for research ever!
There will be new members, there will be old members, we will all be travelling in the same direction, forward.
The year began with the new leader in the DPRK and with the "changing of the guard" came a great fluctuation in the supplies of DPRK items. I took advantage of the wave of items hitting the market and bought up items by the bucket. So much so in fact, that storing them has become a concern. This took up quite a good bit of my attention as a buyer for the first part of the year. Many of the items acquired during this period can be found in the DPRK area Democratic People's Republic Of Korea - The Soviet Military Awards Page Forum.
Half way through the year my purchases were more focused towards Bulgaria, with the main focus on documented Badges. These items are common on the market, cheap and generally overlooked so I managed to harvest a great deal of them. Many of them can now be found here: Bulgarian Badges - The Soviet Military Awards Page Forum.
In the latter part of this year I have focused more towards the PMR, some of which have been posted in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic - The Soviet Military Awards Page Forum section.
Throughout the year I have also been very lucky in being able to acquire hundreds of items on the forum marketplace, most of which are yet to be presented to the forum but will be in due course (as will everything else not already presented).
There has also been the usual array of Russian Federation commemoratives (Ministerial and Organisational) that I have been snapping up as I've found them - Ministerial Awards - The Soviet Military Awards Page Forum.
For me the favourite item that has entered the collection in 2012 is Title Of Distinction "Honoured Worker Of Rail Transport".. Which was gifted to me for helping someone out of a very tight situation.
I can't complain about rising prices as not only have many prices levelled out but there are lots of bargains out there for those willing to look. Many of the items I have purchased this year have been so cheap as not to be believed so I won't bother going into details on prices of particular items. You can still get a lot of items for under $5 and as Tommy proves, you can start collecting even "this late in the game" and get a fine (almost "instant") collection.
2012 has seen a truly vast number of posts and many previously uncovered awards are now covered in great detail. It really has been a bumper year for the forum, even though it is still under "refurbishment". I have had dozens of complimentary messages about the new "Sleeker", "Tidy", "More Descriptive" subforums and threads. Work is far from over due to the fact that there are just so many posts, all user generated, to sort through. Threads should now look more "focused" and be easier to find and understand.
2012 saw the "Soviet Bloc" subforum really burst into life and the number of "hits" has soared even though the renovation is not yet complete.
The "Medals" and "Orders" sections have been arranged so now each award has only a single thread pertaining to it and not a sea of strangely titled threads that are confusing to navigate.
The "Researchers' Corner" has not only gained the heavily used "Researched Groups" section but the Researched Orders, Medals and Titles sections have all had their threads named uniformly as to ease navigation. The number of researched awards presented in 2012 is truly amazing. This is in no small part due to the gigantic efforts at Общедоступный электронный банк документов 'Подвиг народа' (Podvig Naroda). The Russian state site which is also far from complete in its own task. If you need help using the site - How to use Podvignaroda.ru..
As well as Military awards being researchable new avenues were opened on the research of Labour awards in 2012.
That's just a few "bits" of 2012.
As for 2013, As a collector I hope to continue hoarding items and presenting them to the forum. I have absolutely no idea what items or deals will present themselves to me but it is going to be fun finding out. I know that I will be posting a great number of previously unseen items, researched awards and groups, lots of takes on items already seen and many other things - maybe some more "how to" guides.
The forum will continue to be renovated (and hopefully come to completion) in 2013. Resulting in easier access for all and hopefully focussed discussion of all the items and topics presented. The renovations take a considerable amount of man hours and are often done in fragments so continue to hold steady as work is ongoing. The results will be worth the transition.
2013 is also looking like the greatest year for research ever!
There will be new members, there will be old members, we will all be travelling in the same direction, forward.
"Signed with his own rubber stamp"
