Remembering Gene Simko

Hello my dear Hobby Zoners...


It has taken nearly two weeks to fully process but I am typing this on my laptop tonight, I am remembering a Hobby Hero of mine. Someone who I only knew through Facebook (FB).

I would often check those Hobby related FB Groups for inspiration. There were many talented kit builders on a couple of those Groups. One night I received a FB friend request from a Chap called Gene Simko. It made me grin when I got the notification as I had been following his work on various FB Groups. This incredible man was a kit building genius. He would often build 1/35 military model kits then cut away parts of them and custom build interior detail. His skill was astounding and I could see he had a real love for what he was doing in his work.


For almost 2 years I was able to follow Gene and his journey through Life. He was a Scholar and an ex-military man. (Gene attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, received a BBA in Economics from Temple University, an MBA in Management Science from Temple University, and a PhD in Strategic Management from Baruch College of the City University of New York. Simko held a commission in the United States Army Reserve, Adjutant General's Corps, 1/309 78DIV(TNG). His retirement dreams included returning to his beloved West Point to teach for a semester (and don't you forget: GO ARMY, BEAT NAVY!). 


(Gene Simko had been an avid scale military historic modeler since he first wandered at the age of 10 into his neighborhood Marsh Hobby Shop in his hometown of Trenton. He amassed an extensive collection of both built and unbuilt model kits and enjoyed scratch building armored cutaways. His first model kit was the Aurora Panther Tank in 1963. When he wasn't teaching or out to eat at his favorite restaurants, you could find him lurking the aisles at Red Bank's Hobbymasters, chatting with his dear friend Steve. Some of his model builds were featured in Scale Model Builders Book in Black and White. In the book, he described his model-building avocation.)



He was also a family man and loved dearly by his Son and Daughter and his Wife Patricia. 

Seeing Gene's FB posts was always a privilege and a great joy to me. He would often visit eateries and ordered pizza many many times, and sometimes bars where he would often have a photograph taken with his signature drink, a Bloody Mary. Gene really lived Life to the full and all could see his sincerity and kindness. People loved him and he seemed to make fast friends easily.

I often left messages in comments on his posts and interacted with him like that for almost 2 years.
The saddest thing for me is we did not actually sit and talk online ever. Though he passed away suddenly on June 12th 2018, the echoes of his Life linger on and I can still see his sincere smile in my minds eye. 


It was the love of kit building that allowed our paths to cross and for that I am truly grateful. 
I now will no longer see his vibrant and cheerful posts on my Facebook feed.
I now will no longer see his progress on various complex kit projects he was working on. 
His Hobby space is empty of his presence. Such is the way of Life, things end as all things must.


In my own way I want to honour Gene, so I am going to start the build on a military kit I had picked up several years ago. I will take plenty of progress photos as the build goes along. It will be my farewell to a Legend among kit builders.


One of Genes quotes really stuck with me, so here it is.


"Building a model for me is a return to my carefree, halcyon days of my boyhood. It is an errant wish that sometime, somewhere on a summer night as I build, that I may not have to grow old. And I smile, even for a moment, as I finish the kit and relive the sheer joy of holding history in my hands. Of course I will grow old, but I will have a lot of fun as I journey along." Gene Simko.

Eugene Stephen "Gene" Simko


In closing I will say this. Live like you only have a day left. Hug the people you love and make it clear you care. Dont be afraid to reach out to someone. You never know how long they will be around.

It is the things you dont do that you regret the most. 

Till next time Hobby Zoners... Farewell!

Hello Hobby Zoners!

This is another update for those of you who follow the Netrunner Game by FFG.
I saw a post tonight which made me think about the current situation regards to Netrunner. 

FFG owns all related themes connected with the Android Universe. The setting and all of the ideas and concepts that make up that as well as the characters therein. 

This means going forwards FFG could release a game not unlike "Netrunner" but perhaps under another guise also removing any reliance on the aspects of the game which were used under license from Wizards of the Coast, namely certain mechanics and operations. 

This would free FFG to develop a game from the ground up which could be similar yet different enough from the old Netrunner to have its own identity.

I do feel this could be a good thing and though I love the old FFG version of Netrunner a whole new game set in this Universe would be something I really would want to see.

This is just a theory but I hope that FFG are working on something using the Android Universe themes.

#alwaysberunning

Check back for my updates soon!

Hello Hobby Zoners! 

I have some news for the Netrunner Players who read my Blog. 
Sadly FFG announced on the 8th of June that their flagship LCG format card game Netrunner would no longer be supported after October 2018 due to the licensing terms with Wizards of the Coast (WotC) not being renewed. 

jacking out

state of LCG

This leaves all of us players in a position where the game we love and have played since 2012 will no longer have any new releases by the original Netrunner Design Team at FFG. Also this means official Tournament support ceases too. 

It is quite heartbreaking to hear this news as all of us felt the game would be around for a long time. The news was sudden and not expected at all. Whatever the circumstances of the failure to renew the license are, well they probably will not be known. 

The game holds a special place in my heart, the Android Universe with its Cyber Punk Noir themes gave it a unique look and feel. The asymmetric play style and very original mechanics and the rich diversity in playable Factions from both the Corp. side and the Runner meant you could build a deck and play how you wanted.

Netrunner proved to be very skill intensive and had deep strategy making it a very satisfying game to play. As well as this there was just such a huge choice in how you could build a deck for your chosen Faction ID. 

NetrunnerDB proved a frequent port of call for me to look at new builds and get ideas for my own deck builds. The resource has been invaluable to Netrunner players for over half a decade. 

netrunnerDB

We had just had a release of the revised Core Set version 2.0 and Cycles 1 and 2 were rotated out to make way for new updated cards to take their place. This did happen with the last Cycle to be released. Now also a Deluxe expansion is out soon  to round out our Netrunner collections. 

This will be the last release for the game. Retailers are already listing much of the previous Netrunner Data Packs and Deluxe Expansion as out of stock as people panic buy to complete their collections. Additionally I have seen quite a few Netrunner collections pop up on Ebay.

In closing all I can say is though this is terrible news, Netrunner has had a large and varied amount of releases since inception back in 2012. So to end the games Life after having so much released makes it easier to live with as a player. The game, if you looked at all that is available is pretty much complete. 

There have been 8 Cycles released with the latest Kitara Cycle being the final one. Also there is one more Deluxe Expansion (Reign and Reverie) which is out very soon, this rounds out the game. 

Personally though frustrated and saddened by the news I also will say this. I will not quit the game or sell off my collection. I intend to keep playing and carry on enjoying this amazing card game with my friends for the foreseeable future.

With this sort of thing it is best to be pragmatic. Not everything lasts. Not everything stands the test of Time. The game ends on a high note. The Community is alive and well. 

I hope to see some of you in the future to play Netrunner in the London area. 

Netrunner is dead... Long Live Netrunner...

*click* x 3, credit, credit, credit, *click* run...


till next time Hobby Zoners!