Guest Johnny Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Sorry to burst the bubble, but each and every model kit ever produced is "awesome" to someone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAGNUM4342 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Sorry to burst the bubble, but each and every model kit ever produced is "awesome" to someone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Sorry to burst the bubble, but each and every model kit ever produced is "awesome" to someone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Sorry to burst the bubble, but each and every model kit ever produced is "awesome" to someone! What do you expect for 29¢??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 We'd all be scrapbooking... or pursuing some other dead/dying hobby like stamp collecting, coin collecting, trainspotting, collecting dust, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) or pursuing some other dead/dying hobby like stamp collecting, coin collecting, trainspotting, collecting dust, etc... From Wikipedia: "Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is one of the world's most popular hobbies, with the number of collectors in the United States alone estimated to be over 20 million" From The Wall Street Journal, Sept 2012: "About 7 million to 10 million people in the U.S. are serious coin collectors, experts estimate, and many regard their collections as investments in the same vein as antiques, fine art and wine." Further, model car kits represent only part of the output of companies like Revell, Airfix and Minicraft, who have substantial kit offerings in aircraft, military and ships, etc. It would be interesting to know figures about which segment is the most popular. I would assume (yes, I know) the product mix would have a lot to do with corporate decisions about where to allocate investments for new kits. Perhaps we car modelers tend to overestimate the importance of our interests in the scheme of things. Edited March 5, 2013 by sjordan2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 What do you expect for 29¢??? Something awesome ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Something awesome ? Well, that's what 29¢ worth of "awesome" looks like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 From Wikipedia: "Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is one of the world's most popular hobbies, with the number of collectors in the United States alone estimated to be over 20 million" From The Wall Street Journal, Sept 2012: "About 7 million to 10 million people in the U.S. are serious coin collectors, experts estimate, and many regard their collections as investments in the same vein as antiques, fine art and wine." However, Skip, just like model building, they are dying hobbies. I was involved in stamp collecting here in Arizona and can tell you the number of collectors, clubs and shows has dropped immensely over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 or pursuing some other dead/dying hobby like stamp collecting, coin collecting, trainspotting, collecting dust, etc... Stamp and coin collecting are hardly "dead or dying" hobbies. They're probably among the most popular hobbies in the world. Collecting dust, on the other hand... not a lot of people into that, but as far as cheap hobbies go, you can't beat it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) I don't think I've ever known anyone my age or younger that admitted to being into stamp collecting. In the modern era of electronic communication stamps just seem to be a quaint artifact of a past era. Edited March 5, 2013 by Rob Hall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fallonred Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) A lot of kits currently http://www.teenbar.net/showthread.php?1506-magazine-page-teen-homepage-health&p=3256#post3256 being sold are reissues, which means the molds were engineered and created many years ago, and the model companies are just reusing the old molds to crank out "new" kits to sell. These old kits were originally designed when the largest chunk of model car buyers was kids, who didn't really care all that much about accuracy and detail... they liked lots of chrome parts and decals. So we see a lot of sub-par models on the shelves today that were actually designed ages ago. We also see brand new model car kits that also leave something to be desired. Sometimes the manufacturer made a mistake, sometimes they cut corners. And some manufacturers just seem to care more about detail and accuracy than others do. It's a real mixed bag out there... you will find model car kits ranging from nearly perfect to barely more than junk. They're all out there. As far as why kits are so "expensive," that's a matter of personal opinion. I don't find the average car model kit to be all that expensive ($20-40). Some people might think that a model kit should still cost 5 bucks, but model kits, like everything else, have gone up in price over the years. For some reason, there are a lot of model car builders who are incredibly cheap and complain about price. Maybe those guys are today's adults that remember building model cars when they were kids, when the kits cost just a buck or two... and they can't understand why a model kit doesn't still cost only a buck or two. After all, the basics of manufacturing a kit haven't changed... you still need to cut the tooling, you still need injection molding machines, you still need packaging and distribution... if they could make kits for two bucks back then, why can't they do it today? But the fact is, nothing that sold in 1962 still sells for the 1962 price in 2013. People today make 2013 wages, not 1962 wages, and all related business costs have also risen accordingly. It would be unrealistic to expect a new refrigerator or a new car to cost what it did 40-50 years ago, and model kits are no different. Forgive me for been skeptical, but are you really positive about that ? thks Edited March 5, 2013 by fallonred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Not to mention their LoneStar kit, and the I am sure the ProStar will be just as nice as the LoneStar I won't doubt that- heck, the Great Dane trailer is a jaw-dropper, and as Tim Ahlborn said it's 'just a trailer'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 In the modern era of electronic communication stamps just seem to be a quaint artifact of a past era. But that has no bearing on whether collecting them is popular or not. Antiques are also quaint artifacts of a past era, but millions of people are into antiques. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Forgive me for been skeptical, but are you really positive about that ? thks Ok, that was a generalization. You might find something that sells for the same price today as it did in 1962 if you look long enough, but you get my point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luc Janssens Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 They keep re-issuing and re-re-issuing and re-re-re-re-issuing kits for two simple reasons. One, they're cheap to do. The tooling was paid for long ago, so the cost to put out a reissued kit is far less than to tool up a new kit. And two... people keep buying them! It's our own fault. If model kit buyers would stop buying the old reissues, the kit makers would stop reissuing them and put more effort into creating new kits. But as long as people keep buying all the old kits being cranked out, the model companies have less incentive to invest in new kits. By continuing to buy all of these old, lousy kits, we are causing the problem of the never-ending parade of old kits in new boxes. The first which came into my mind, when reading you post Harry, is the Revell '56 Ford Pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 The first which came into my mind, when reading you post Harry, is the Revell '56 Ford Pickup. Yeah, that one...a couple other ancient kits that have been reissued over and over that deserve a modern-tooled version IMO are the AMT '66 Mustang (maybe as a '65 instead) and the AMT '65 GTO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 So why has Ed Roth's Tweedy Pie been reissued for the umpteenth time? To begin with, the prior versions have sold over 11 million copies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pa3de8 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Have not experienced a Moebius kit as of yet. They have a limited selection and they are a bit steep price wise. Unfortunately I will stick with Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and AC Moore's and their same old same old as I can get 2 to 3 kits for the price of one Moebius with the coupons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 So why has Ed Roth's Tweedy Pie been reissued for the umpteenth time? To begin with, the prior versions have sold over 11 million copies. Apparently it's popular...strange stuff. I wouldn't buy one of those, but a lot of people must like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 But that has no bearing on whether collecting them is popular or not. Antiques are also quaint artifacts of a past era, but millions of people are into antiques. See comment #31 for facts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 See comment #31 for facts. See comment #47 agreeing with you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 See comment #47 agreeing with you! Just backing you up, Harry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) see topic #34, I can personally vouch for the fact that stamp collecting is a dying hobby. http://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/abblog/blog.pl?/pl/2012/12/1354639290.html and : http://www.vnews.com/lifetimes/4294006-95/stamps-stamp-collectors-collecting safe , for awhile : http://voices.yahoo.com/five-dying-hobbies-10725317.html Edited March 5, 2013 by Greg Myers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Well the quick and dirty answer is the main demographic of automotive modeling at the moment is old, cranky, and above all else cheap. We could've locked this after James' reply. Round2, Revell, etc. know what they can sell, and at what price points their kits will and won't sell, so why add more expense and produce a product your target consumer won't buy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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