UPDATE: Model Stash Manager Product ComparisonMy Hobby Info, Scalemates and KitBase

UPDATE

Ned Barnett

 Update:  First, I'm impressed. After writing this review, I was contacted by the creators of both My Hobby Info and Scalemates, and both indicated that they were upgrading their features in response to (among other things) this blog.  Bill Plunk at My Hobby Info weighed in first with a new feature, allowing users to list books and reference materials as well as models.  This feature is great, as I have thousands of reference works, including duplicates of several pilot manuals and books on the subjects of my modeling.

Tim Vereecke of Scalemates also weighed in with a number of Facebook and email messages regarding existing challenges, such as the search function.  He followed up by adding new sort features to reduce the results of searches - however, you still need to have a good grasp of Boolean searches to know the right terms to use, at least at first (always a challenge for me, as I'm aggressively non-tech).  He's also redesigned the menu and created a brief video tutorial.

I appreciate the responsiveness of both service owners.  These each add to the value of the various stash management services.  My findings remain as before - for ease of use and focus on stash management, My Hobby Info remains my choice.  However, Scalemates is moving in the right direction, especially if you're more computer-search savvy, though stash management seems to remain one part of an integrated modeling community, rather than purely a stash manager.

I use both - Scalemates for research and for my love of browsing galleries and chatting with other modelers - and My Hobby Info as my stash management service.  

Read my review and make your own choice.  There remain distinct differences between the two services, each likely to be more useful to some modelers, but not others.  Either way, make your choice based on your needs, computer ability and interests and you won't go far wrong.

Executive Summary:  This head-to-head comparison has grown in the telling (so to speak) – in it, I give you everything you’ll ever need to know to decide which of the two main online stash-management services is right for you.  After going through the entire process and actually using both systems, here are my choices.

For pure stash management, which is what I was looking for, hands-down for My Hobby Info.  However, if you’re looking for a comprehensive modeling social networking site – Facebook for Modelers – which also includes a stash manager, Scalemates has and is that social network.  My Hobby Info has a forum, but that’s not its purpose. Scalemates has a stash manager system, but that’s not its primary purpose.

My solution, for me, is simple.  I’m using My Hobby Info as my stash manager – I find it more user-friendly, and it has more of the features I want.  However, when I’m doing research or want to view endless galleries of great models, I’ll log into Scalemates and find more than I ever dreamed possible.

Why A Product Comparison?  I am a life-long modeler, a life member of  IPMS/USA, and a guy with a stash that has more kits than I care to count.  Currently, I’ve got my two-car garage set up with warehouse shelves, and at least two-thirds of those shelves are stacked floor-to-ceiling with un-built model kits.  As they say, “you do the math.”  But this may help explain why I wanted to do a head-to-head product review of stash managers – I’ve got a stash in desperate need of management.

I usually buy kits with the best intentions for building them, but occasionally I buy them to collect.  For instance, I have – I think – all of the available kits of several of my favorite subjects, from Cleveland-class light cruisers to PT-Boats, from P-39s to Fokker D.XXIs, from M3 Gun Motor Carriages to NX-01 Starship Enterprise kits.  There are just some subjects I can’t get enough of.

I buy most of my kits from a variety of locations: local hobby shops including RarePlane Detective (it’s local – otherwise I’d buy from them online), friends in online model groups, clicks-and-mortar online hobby dealers like Squadron, eBay and from vendors at hobby shows.  I also sometimes sell some of my excess kits in one of several locations – hobby shows, eBay, modeler’s lists and – perhaps sometime – RarePlane Detective.  That “excess kits” brings up the reason why I sometimes sell kits.

My big challenge is keeping up with what I have, especially when I’m away from my garage. That’s why I sometimes have excess (duplicate) kits to sell.  For instance, right now I have three copies of the Williams Brothers 1/72^nd Scale B-10 bomber – I discovered this when they reissued the kit with 15 new decal options (which I obviously want so I can build a colorful B-10).  But even without the new issue, I have two more B-10s than I’ll ever realistically build.  For that kit – from Williams Brothers, one is enough.

Criteria For a Product Comparison:  I want a system that will allow me to keep track of my stash, and preferably one that is:

·      Free – since there are ad-supported free systems out there, I see no reason to divert kit-buying money into a database.

·      Easy to use – I’m not a “gear-head” when it comes to digital technology – I can sort-of-manage on Excel, but have never tried Access, and I have no idea about how to take Excel online (though I’ve heard it can be done).

·      User-friendly from a time perspective, as well as from a technology perspective.  Every minute I spend working on my inventory is a minute I can’t spend building or researching or lusting after models, writing on my WW-II never-ending-novel about the air war in the Pacific, 1941-42, playing Solitaire or watching war and aviation films on YouTube or Netflix.

·      Responsive.  No online kit database can have all models or after-market items. I want to be able to add in odd things I pick up, and I want the owner to add in kits I have that are not listed.

·      Available on the cloud – I want to be able to check it form my laptop, my phone, my pad or my desktop – but mostly from my portable devices when I’m away from home.

·      Geared to the needs of model kit builders – I don’t want to have to adapt one of the online inventory management systems that proliferate to my own particular needs.

Those are the basic criteria I’ve used in evaluating the model-specific stash-manager systems I’ve been able to find.

The Process:  In preparing for this review, I’ve posted to close on to 50 model group sites on Facebook, asking tens of thousands of group members for suggestions on stash management systems I could use. I was inundated with replies – far more than 100 modelers made specific or general recommendations, and some single-group online discussions involved 25 or more modelers on a single thread. 

This was very helpful in several ways:

·      It told me that my search conclusions might interest other modelers

·      It gave me an idea of what’s currently out there

·      It told me what I could do if I was a tech-head who didn’t mind doing what I call “programming” but which is probably something else

So I asked if the members were interested and if the groups would welcome this review, and got lots of encouragement from them to write this head-to-head product review.

Specifically, I was referred to three systems that are designed for model kits, plus lots of tech-head customization tools that would require more time than I want to invest.

From a new user perspective – and as someone with limited technical skills, and limited patience in learning more tech-skills – I decided to test out those three modeling-oriented versions of database inventory managers – in short, model stash organizers. These were My Hobby Info, Scalemates, and KitBase.

However, I quickly learned that KitBase:

·      Resides in my computer (instead of in the cloud), so it’s not easily accessible from hobby shops or the vendor rooms at model shows

·      Free version is just a trial version, and

·      The functional version requires a $44.99 USD/ 24.99 GBP license

I decided, “N’yet interested” in spending nearly $50 bucks when there seemed to be two perfectly good free solutions out there, so I chose to discontinue my evaluation of KitBase and focus on the two free online versions. 

First Conclusions:  Both My Hobby Info and Scalemates function as useful online stash managers – you won’t go very far wrong using either system. However, one is optimized for stash management, and one is optimized to becoming a comprehensive online social network for modelers, and includes a stash manager among many other features. 

Also, Scalemates is created and operated in Belgium, and it has a particular EU cast to it in terms of vendors, magazines, prices and other features. My Hobby Info comes from – as politicians say – the Great State of Texas, and it has an American focus with American prices and vendors.  However both sites appeal to a broad international market, and the “American” version has users in 61 countries at last count, while the EU-focused service has nearly 400 American users. 

Having done the evaluation, I know which one is for me, but to help you decide, I’m going to objectively lay out the comparative features and let you decide which one works best for you.

In making the evaluation, I created a head-to-head comparison table of features, which I’ve posted below.  I also created some lists of features, a few tables demonstrating how information is offered, and some other tools I hope you find useful in selecting the right system for you.  I think this will help interested modelers decide which of the two (if either of the two) makes more sense to them.

Right at the start, I noticed that there seems to be a strong philosophical difference between the two systems.

My Hobby Info:  This is a system whose primary purpose is to help their users manage kit stashes. It was created by a modeler, based on the Excel system he’d set up to manage his own kit stash.   The features that tend away from kit-stash management and toward social networking – such as the forum – exist on another website – Modeler’s Social Club. In this way, My Hobby Info users who want to connect with one another can do so, but that connection doesn’t interfere with the prime focus, managing your stash. 

The system’s owner, Bill Plunk, has an easy system to add kit listings, which he does at no charge for any registered user. Finally, while international, this is a US-based system, which (as you’ll see below) has decided advantages for US-based modelers.

At this writing, My Hobby Info has 1,328 registered users, but it has grown by adding more than 40 users in the last month.  It has 26,458 models from 313 manufacturers in the areas of Aircraft, Armored Vehicles, Autos, Figures, Ships and Dioramas, with a matching catalog of 24,621 prices from online retailers.

While setting up an account is fast and free, you can use My Hobby Info without registering an account.  You also are offered the option of subscribing to the weekly update newsletter, which focuses on the new kits listed in the previous week, a helpful feature for keeping your stash up-to-date. However, neither the registration nor the subscription are conditions of use. I found that impressive.

My Hobby Info’s kit listing page has five categories that provide a clean presentation of the kit along with relevant information:

Kit Illustration	Date Added	Kit Details	Kit Title	Add To Wish List
Kit Illustration	Eduard 1/48 #8066	P-39L/N Profipack	P-39L/N Profipack	Add To Wish List (button)

My Hobby Info has a separate page grid for prices, with seven columns:

Kit Illustration	Date added	Kit Details	Kit Title	Retailer	Price	Price Check
Kit Illustration	Feb. 14, 2014	Dragon 1/35 #3548	M103A1 Heavy Tank	Sprue Brothers (hot link)	$65.49 USD	Price Check (button)

Scalemates:  Scalemates’ mission, on the other hand, is to be the Facebook of modeling – stash management is clearly an add-on.  If you want to be a part of a virtual modeling community – complete with many of the features that make Facebook so popular, this might be what you’re looking for.

The site claims a database of 121,000 kits, but this includes kits, aftermarket, decals, paint colors, books and other listed items.  A search can go into the following broad categories:

Main Sections ·       Products ·       Gallery

Market Place

Reference ·       Books ·       Walkarounds ·       Projects

All Profiles ·       Users ·       Sites ·       Shops

All Sections

To use Scalemates, you first have to register, then log in.  It’s free and easy, but that’s a minor difference between this site and My Hobby Info.

A challenge with the Scalemates search came up when I did a search for “F-15 Eagle” – I got 917 responses.  These obviously are not all model kits.  I limited the search to “product” and got 599 hits.  I thought I could narrow the search by choosing to hit the “edit” key, but there’s no way I could find to refine the search by product, scale or manufacturer.  In other words, this product search is not optimized for kit-stash management, but for an overall global search of available products. 

I had to figure out on my own that I needed to add 1/72 to the search parameters, which limited the search to 199 hits.  Still a lot, but a much more manageable number.  For something like the P-51, the initial search yields 1,147 hits, and by narrowing it to 1/72^nd scale, I still got 372 hits.  This helped me to understand why one user suggested to me that Scalemates is liking to take a drink from a fire hose – the water’s there, but in such an abundance that it’s really impractical.

Scalemates’ kit listing page has three categories, but in two of them, they cram a lot of information into a small space.  Actions can be taken from links in the Action Box.

Kit Illustration	Kit Listing	Actions
Kit Illustration	ENGLISH ELECTRIC LIGHTNING F.2A Airfix 1:72 A04054 2013 | New tool	Actions Stash Wall View related content: Topic Page | Search topic Edit: Edit product details Report: Double | Bad naming | Errors

Unfortunately, Scalemates also has an abundance of ads on its pages – including ads (I’m looking at one right now) of a woman in a swimsuit with symbols that make it clear the product is a sudden-weight-loss item for women – hardly an asset to a model site. 

This was soon replaced by an ad with a demonic smiley face and the message: “Congratulations – THIS IS NOT A JOKE – YOU ARE THE 100,000^th VISITOR! Click Here” (I can only imagine what that is for, but I doubt that it’s modeling).  It’s a small annoyance, but one not found at, which only offers ads that are relevant to modeling. My Hobby Info

Features: – The table located at the end of this blog lists the listed Features to be found on each site, in the order presented by the site itself.  Scalemates has many more features, because it is primarily a social networking site, with forums and discussions, galleries and walkarounds, as well as a stash manager.  My Hobby Info focuses at least 85 percent of its site to managing stashes. 

The feature comparison is illustrated in an extensive table and has been moved to the end of the blog.  If you are interested in a direct comparison of features, do check it out.

Feature Conclusion:  As I noted, Scalemates has far more features than does My Hobby Info, but most of those features have nothing to do with stash management.  If you’re looking for a comprehensive modeling site – whether you want to manage your stash or not, Scalemates is for you.

However, if you really just want to manage your stash, My Hobby Info is, in my opinion, the better of the two sites, and for a lot of reasons. Easier use. More functionality. A responsive owner.  But mainly, I prefer it for my stash management because My Hobby Info is all about managing your stash, and that’s what I was looking for in the first place.

Head-To-Head: The following is my head-to-head description of the various features I found relevant to me as a modeler and as a stash-manager.  These all represent my personal opinions based on in-depth reviews of the sites in question, including playing around with their functionality.  I could write a book (but I’ll restrain myself) about this, but if you’re still not sure, I hope you’ll find the following table helpful to you.

My Hobby Info (MHI) http://www.myhobbyinfo.com	Scalemates (SM) http://www.Scalemates.com	Comments (my personal opinions)
Design and core mission
Site laid out intuitively – designed by a non-technical modeler who based it on his own stash management needs	Site is not laid out intuitively – designed by someone who’s very technical, who has ability to create social media site.	MHI wins hands down over SM in this feature.
Core mission – create the best Stash Manager available. If you want an integrated modeling social networking experience, this one is not for you.  If you want a stash-manager ability, that’s what this is all about.	Core mission – create a modeling version of Facebook.  If you want an integrated modeling social networking, this is the one for you. If you want a stash-manager ability, not so much.	This is where the modeler must choose – what is he most interested in – if you want to manage your stash, MHI is the way to go – if you want social networking, SM is for you
Features
Stash Management features ARE the basic design	Stash Management features seem shoehorned into basic social networking design – searches especially are cluttered by the “noise” of social networking	This again is a choice box – if you want pure stash management, MHI is far superior to SM, because SM searches are cluttered with unrelated material
You can create multiple stash lists	You can create only one stash list	This gives primacy to MHI for modelers who sort their stashes by model types (armor, aircraft, etc.).  I like this feature, since I model it all.
Easy learning curve	Long learning curve – unless you’re a tech-head	As a non-tech-head, a short learning curve is welcome – I was using MHI within five minutes, and that’s impressive to me
Navigation is intuitive	Navigation is complex, not intuitive	This has to do with SM’s super-abundance of features. It especially hinders focused searches.
Navigation stays in same place on page	Navigation moves around on page	This just makes it easier to navigate – the same nav-guides are in the same place on all MHI pages – for SM, not so much.  Not a biggie, but a feature.
If you search for something, adding what you find to your stash requires one click	If you search for something, it’s hard to add into the stash	This is a major benefit to MHI for me, since I want an easy-to-use stash manager.  However, if you have different goals than managing a stash, SM might prove more helpful.
Can customize stash list	Can’t customize stash list	This MHI feature was hugely important to me – but would be irrelevant to someone who wants a single generic stash list.
Hot kits are featured prominently	Hot lists are available in a wide variety of topics, including kits	This is a toss-up from a stash management point of view – if you want the whole social networking, you’ll love all the hot lists and other lists – but there goes your modeling time.
Stash manager laid out in simple, logical placement, with features optimized for stash management	Stash manager not optimized for stash management, but it has a huge database (which is good and bad)	Again, it depends on what you want.  I like the elegant simplicity of MHI, but the abundance of SM features is impressive, if a bit confusing
Price Spy gives useful pricing info	If SM has a price list, I couldn’t find it. They do, however, provide price information via the marketplace and in search results.	This is a key MHI advantage for kit collectors and those wanting to know the value of their stashes.  MHI’s inventory is useful for insurance purposes.
Off-site forum for modelers	On-site forum for modelers, with links to other forums	If you want a zillion forums, you’ll find them on SM – but their results clutter the site and skew the metrics (important for advertisers). That last item about skewed metrics is only relevant to advertisers, but since I have an advertising background, I thought it might prove helpful to them.
A simple and site-focused “community” with blog and “friends,” but not much more	An over-abundance of “community” – that’s what SM is really all about	For me, I’ll go to SM if/when I want to search out galleries, but the off-site MHI forum is clean and useful, as are its blogs and insights – all focused on kit stash management.
Tech Features
Optimized for export into Excel – CSV feature is designed to open in Excel	Exporting is difficult if you’ve added details (new features) – that added info doesn’t export out.  You can export in multiple formats – PDF, CSV, Excel, Tab-Separated (for Access Database)	This isn’t something I need or want, but it’s important to Excel power users.  Make the most of what you see here.
No bulk uploads at this time	No bulk upload from an Excel file	Because bulk uploads are a tech-head feature, I don’t miss the absence of a bulk-upload feature.  However, I mention this for those who currently use Excel, as many DIY stash-manager modelers do
No ability to go to eBay at this time.	Ability to go to eBay (using eBay search term) – but it’s just a shortcut, not a live link to  an eBay auction	Because it doesn’t link to an actual auction, its value is limited – if you use eBay, you already know how to search it.
Currently primarily but not exclusively featuring US-based vendors – but the site is currently reaching out to credible hobby vendors across the globe	Only one US vendor – Sprue Brothers (all others European) – not particularly heavy in Japanese/Asian vendors	This reflects the national origins of the two services, as well as their purposes. Obviously a social networking site will be more international.
Will add new kits on request, in short time	Add kits using a Wiki Approach – People can propose a change	I prefer to ask a human person to do this for me, rather than to master some online service, so this is a MHI win.  For those not intimidated or who like learning new tech-head techniques, this is an SM advantage.
Searches
Search engine is flexible	Search Engine is picky about what it searches – for instance, doesn’t easily search by kit numbers as listed on kit box	This is huge.  I was overwhelmed with the content of the search engine searches.  TMI to the max – like trying to find one on-sale kit at a new Squadron 5,000-kit sale.
Searches intuitive and clearly spelled out	Search capabilities are explained at start, but they’re designed for technical approaches, not intuitive approaches
Search focuses on kits in stash manager	Searches produce prodigious content – not just including stash management (F-15 example – 917 “hits”)
If you search for something, adding what you find to your stash requires one click	If you search for something, it’s hard to add into the stash	This is a major benefit to MHI for me, since I want an easy-to-use stash manager.  If you want more or different than a stash manager, SM might be more appropriate for you
Wide variety of search filter parameters	Only use their very specific, limited filters – scale, kit/AM, military/Civilian -	I don’t want to keep harping, but this is a critical MHI benefit.  The SM searches are cluttered with social networking feature hits, and it’s hard (or impossible) to customize the searches beyond a given point,
Not a social network – Forum is on another modeling forum site	To turn off social networking, you have to know to do it and do it manually – and it’s not easy (he wants you to use social media)
Aftermarket, Accessories and	Reference Materials
You can keep track of books on MHI – a new “My Book” feature was added this week – you can also treat books, reference materials or paints like unassigned aftermarket items	You can keep track of books and paint	This is a plus for SM, but if you’re listing unassigned aftermarket items in MHI, doing the same for books or paints is no problem.
Does not catalog aftermarket product – you can add, but not cataloged	Catalogs aftermarket products – information includes kit builds, reviews, lots of discussion

Bottom Line:  there are several major differentiators between My Hobby Info and Scalemates that I, as a modeler looking for a stash manager, found compelling.

Technical Design

My Hobby Info was created with the stash management user in mind, by an active modeler who’s a stash-management user himself.   He created solutions designed first to be user friendly, then tested with actual modelers.  New stash-management features and refinements have been added at a rate of several times per month – a new one was incorporated this week – and almost all of them so far have been recommended by actual users. MHI is nothing if not responsive to requests for useful technical enhancements.

Scalemates was apparently created by someone with excellent technical skills.  He seems to have provided technical solutions that are functional, but – at least to me – not always user-friendly.

Design Philosophy

MHI is a comprehensive stash management system, with a few social networking features added on to give end-users a way of interacting with the owner and other modelers, and “improving the breed.”

SM is a comprehensive social networking system that works very well indeed in that role.  IT has incorporated a technically-sound but not always intuitive or user-friendly stash management system that in some areas (searches) gets bogged down by the wealth of integrated social networking information in the system.

Searches

MHI searches are easy to refine – the refinement is literally built into the search. Each search is provided with a number of fields – scale, type of model, kit manufacturer, etc. – that allows directs users to focus their searches.

To me, this is SM’s weakest feature and, for me, a literal “deal-killer” when it comes to using the stash manager. Each search I’ve done has been like that online user’s comment about “trying to take a drink from a fire hose.” 

I’m not great when it comes to searches on Google or YouTube – I have to keep refining the search terms until I get it right. MHI makes this both possible and easy for non-techies like me.  SM doesn’t offer any good solution I could find.

Upgrades 

SM notes that some features on the site are still “beta,” and the site invites user input.  However, when it comes to adding new kits, it’s strictly DYI.

MHI is operational, and adding new features based on user recommendations.  New kits are added by the owner, within a day or two of user requests for those new kits.  Each user can check in the system to see how many of his recommendations and requests have been used.

Since I’m not a DIY tech-head, I like the MHI hands-on approach. Others, more technically oriented, may prefer the DIY approach.

Bottom line:

I like both sites for different reasons.   If I want to see model galleries, and I often do, or if I want to seek out what other modelers are saying about a kit, I’ll go to Scalemates.  However, for my stash manager needs, I’ve already selected My Hobby Info as my sole source for keeping track of my stash.  Now all I’ve got to do is carry my laptop down to my two-car garage/slash/model kit warehouse and start entering all those kits.

End-Note

The “Features” section, originally found in the middle of this blog, is so extensive that I decided to move it to the end, so only those who really care about Features will be forced to wade through the comprehensive list.

Features: – The following table lists the listed Features to be found on each site, in the order presented by the site itself.  Scalemates has many more features, because it is primarily a social networking site, with forums and discussions, galleries and walkarounds, as well as a stash manager.  My Hobby Info focuses at least 85 percent of its site to managing stashes.

My Hobby Info http://www.myhobbyinfo.com

Scalemates http://modelerssocialclub.proboards.com/

·       Home Page o   Hot 20 Latest Kits o   New Prices o   About o   Tools: Info & Search o   Tools: Stash Manager o   Tools: Price Spy o   FAQ & Trouble-shooter o   Terms of Use o   Contact My Hobby Info o   Advertise ·       Main Desk o   My Latest Info o   Wish List §  My Wish List §  Quick Kit Finder §  Search & Filter o   Kit Search o   Catalog Browser (search by kit mfg) ·       Stash Manager o   My Stash List o   Add Stash Kits o   Search Stash Kits o   My A-to-Z Kit List o   My Completed Kits §  Add Completed Kit §  Completed List o   Aftermarket Items §  Add Aftermarket §  Assigned Aftermarket §  Unassigned Aftermarket (adding in otherwise not listed AM items to your stash) §  A-to-Z Full List o   My Books §  Book List §  Add Book ·       Price Spy o   Price Search ·       Community o   MHI Insights o   MHI Blog o   Advertise o   Brand Directory o   Forum (hosted at Modeler’s Social Club) o   My Friends §  Current Friends §  Add Friends §  Pending Requests o   My Accepted Kits o   Suggest Kits

·       Home Page o   Reference Search Engine o   Stash Management o   Events Calendar o   Hobby Shop Locator o   Social Networking o   Recent Posts – Knowledge Engine o   New on the Web – Latest Articles Added to Our Search Engine o   Hot Products – New or future releases seen on many wishlists o   Login §  Notifications §  My Profile §  My Albums §  My Projects §  My Topics §  My Stash §  My Books §  My Wishlist §  My Tradelist §  My Colors §  Contribute ·       Add Product ·       Add Book §  Members Currently Online §  Mobile Setting o   Links §  Scale Modeling Clubs ·       Newest Clubs ·       All Scale Modeling Clubs §  Online Magazines §  Forums §  Press §  Other §  Shops o   Facts §  Products ·       Most Wanted Kits ·       Most Bought Kits ·       Most Built Kits ·       Most Tradeable Kits §  Topics ·       Most Favorite Topics ·       Most Built Topics ·       Most Released Topics §  Scale ·       Most Built Scales ·       Most Released Scales §  Companies ·       Biggest Kit Producers ·       Biggest Aftermarket Companies §  Modelers ·       Largest Stash ·       Largest Wishlist ·       Most Productive Mates ·       Most Productive Modelers §  Scale Modeling Magazines ·       Most Popular Magazines §  Contributors ·       Top Contributors This Week ·       Top Contributors §  Scale Modeling Websites ·       Most Gallery Articles ·       Most Reviews ·       Most Walkarounds ·       Most Popular Online Magazines ·       Most Popular Forums §  Paint Ranges ·       Most Popular Paint Ranges §  Scale Modeling Shops ·       Most Popular Shops o   FAQ o   Contact ·       News Feed (this is an onsite discussion forum) o   Post a new message o   Popular Posts ·       Updates o   New Articles (about kit builds) o   New Products o   New Books o   New Walkarounds ·       Kit Database o   Find a kit o   New Kit News o   Hot kits ·       Topics o   Aircraft §  Helicopters §  Gliders §  Jets §  Airships §  Propeller o   Vehicles §  Tanks §  Armoured cars §  Trucks §  Busses §  Tank destroyers §  Artillery §  Cars §  Utility §  APC/IFVs §  Missiles §  Motorcycles §  Trains o   Ships §  Motorships §  Sailing ships o   Science Fiction §  Superheros §  Space Western §  Star Trek §  Fantasy §  Battlestar Galactica §  Star Wars §  Space Opera §  Maschinen Krieger o   Comics §  Anime §  Comics §  Manga o   Other §  Figures §  Music §  TV Series §  Food §  Science §  Expositions §  Movies Space o   Accessories §  Animals §  Fortifications §  Plants §  Fire Weapons & Arms §  Buildings Other o   Hobby Material §  Tools §  Bits & Pieces o   To be classified §  Unknown ·       Shops o   Hobby Shop Locator o   Scale Model Shops o   Your Hobby Shop is missing? ·       Events o   Upcoming Events o   Hobby Event Locator o   Is your event missing? o    News Feed (forum posts about upcoming events) ·       Contribute (Contributor Area) o   Add Missing Data §  New Products §  New Book §  New Company §  New Event §  New Shop §  New Color §  Add Club/Website/Forum o   Status (your status as a contributor) o   Health Checks (data correction) §  Missing Decal Info §  Empty Product Types §  Latest Additions Without a Topic (kits without a topic field) §  Uncategorized topics o   New Additions §  Companies §  Sites §  Shops

Feature Conclusion:  As I noted, Scalemates has far more features than does My Hobby Info, but most of those features have nothing to do with stash management.  If you’re looking for a comprehensive modeling site – whether you want to manage your stash or not, Scalemates is for you.

However, if you really just want to manage your stash, My Hobby Info is, in my opinion, the better of the two sites, and for a lot of reasons. Easier use. More functionality. A responsive owner.  But mainly, I prefer it for my stash management because My Hobby Info is all about managing your stash, and that’s what I was looking for in the first place.