There's a really hot thread going here about what would and what wouldn't sell.I wonder . . .

[Junkman]

Oh, I forgot to add some of what I would love to see from the manufacturers (WARNING, it is eclectic):

• 1953 Buick Skylark or Riviera
  
• 1957 Oldsmobile Hardtop
  
• Retooled 1957 T-bird with detail to the level of the AMT 1956 T-bird
  
• New tool Jaguar XK-E roadster and coupe, the V-6 not V-12
  
• Retooled 289 Cobra
  
• Ferrari 250 GT Lusso
  
• New tool and accurate 1968 Z28 Camaro
  
• 71 Boat tail Riviera
  
• 2012 BMW 6-series
  
• 2012 BMW M5
  
• 2012 Audi S6
  
• 2012 Maserati Quartroporte
  
• 2012 Maserati GT
  
• Ferrari FF (preferably full detail)
  
• Ferrari F12 Berlinetta (preferably full detail)
  
• Any current Chevy or Ford super duty pickup with diesel engine (for hauler and other purposes)
  
• Airstream motorhome
  
• Newell or Monarch motorhome
  

I don't think this list would be too far off what the 'general public' would buy. I say we'll see at least part of it.

[jaydar]

What did Revell learn from the 1/12th '67 Corvette, '69 Camaro, '57 Chevy ?

I learned not enough detail in those. The GT500 is better on that score. I hope Revell learned there is a market for them.

[Qwit Pushin]

I'd just love to see an accurate '57 Nomad and/or '56 Chevy Hardtop. Current offerings are so ridiculously out of proportion as to appear 'cartoonish'.

[Guest Johnny]

I'd just love to see an accurate '57 Nomad and/or '56 Chevy Hardtop. Current offerings are so ridiculously out of proportion as to appear 'cartoonish'.

I totally agree on those two!

I'd rather build the old Revell Nomad with the opening doors that the newest issued Nomad. Too bad they can't use the 56 as a starting point for a new 57 and 55!

Same with the 56 Belair! I prefer the old warped issue with the opening doors to the later isue.

[Darin Bastedo]

Too bad they can't use the 56 as a starting point for a new 57 and 55!

Same with the 56 Belair!

They could very easily. the New Revell 57 Chevy kits are based on the same tooling. Here's one I did by mating the two...

[Art Anderson]

Go back and poke through SAE's annual 'most wanted new release' polls, then do a quick inventory of what has actually been introduced over the last couple of decades. In fact, I posted something about that a while back- http://www.modelcars...cs&fromsearch=1 Obviously, the kit manufacturers DO listen... they don't just pull subject matter out of thin air. And at least one kit manufacturer takes what online forum members have to say quite seriously (cough, cough, Moebius), as they have formed a habit of posting test shot photos and asking the forum members for their input. And quality is much improved- lack of tire lettering aside, the kits introduced the last decade or so pretty much blow away the stuff we were getting even in the late '90's as far as detail and accuracy go. That would never have happened if the manufacturers had not paid heed to the 'serious' adult modelers. I think the kit manufacturers deserve a great deal more credit for listening to what we have to say and following through than we may give them sometimes.

Well put, Chuck! To this I might add that While many post up on message boards/forums, send emails (or stamped and sealed snail mail letters) to manufacturers and even "buttonhole" model company reps at shows, bombarding them with requests for this or that. Time was, about 30 years ago, when that other model car magazine instituted an annual "Most Requested Kit Survey" that one or two subjects stood out, head and shoulders above the crowd--witness the almost immediate response from AMT/Ertl when in 1987, they introduced their '66 Chevy Nova SS hardtop. The results of the MRKS that sparked that product clearly pointed to a car subject long wanted, and long ignored; and the sales of that kit proved to confirm that.

Today, however, I see our hobby and the modelers inhabiting it to be quite fragmented. I dare say that if one were to gather, completely at random, 100 model car builders in a single large room, ask that each one write down their one most desired (but not yet ever produced) model car subject, there would likely be no real consensus pointing to one single subject--we've become, as a group much too large, much too varied for that to happen more than very occasionally. Not that it's a bad thing, no it isn't; but I think it does point out the dilemma often faced by people whose job it is to come up with new products.

I would submit that a good many, if not most, product planning in a model company, happens around what is happening in the world of real, 1:1 scale cars (or trucks). It gets said a lot that "art mirrors life", and if one thinks about it, model kits mirror the real thing, not only as scale depictions of real cars, but also reflect the interest (and sometimes the lack thereof) in the real world. If a real car turns heads en-mass, it's quite likely that a scale model (kit or diecast) will do the same thing among those who are scale model enthusiasts; if not, often then not also can rule.

A model kit of "Doc Hudson" would have generated sales, but only for as long as the Pixar cartoon car lasted on the silver screen; but a stock '53 Hudson Hornet goes a lot farther (longer legs) by being first and foremost a scale model of a real car, that can be produced in multiple variants, and as a bonus, brings a smile to faces when people hark back to the blockbuster cartoon movie--"Hey, there it is! Doc Hudson"! (even though the model lacks the smiling grille, and pupils in the headlight "eyes"). A very good example of this association was the white 1964 or thereabouts VW Beetle introduced by Matchbox about 1966. Painted white, with a black racing number on the doors, and Monte Carlo Rally logo's front and rear--young kids saw "Herbie" the Love Bug, the significance of the Monte Carlo Rally being totally lost on them (at least in the US), and several million of them were sold worldwide during that diecast toy's production life. (It wasn't until 2003 that Johnny Lightning produced the first accurately decorated VW Beetle as Herbie). A sort of "Success By Association" thing I think.

Licensing is a fact of life in model car kits, along with just about any toy that is a representation of an actual vehicle--and for good reason (like it or not!). I submit that most modelers are very much unaware as to how much input carmakers provide. For example, Ford Motor Company maintains a vast historical archive of not only photographs of their entire history of car making, but also drawings, CAD files from the time those came into use, technical information, which they do share with model companies working up model kits of Ford products. They are generally quite insistent that model kits of Ford products being developed be accurate representations of those cars or trucks. I remember being involved in the development of a series of 65-66 Mustangs at Johnny Lightning in 2002, shortly after I joined that company. Ford's licensing guy was insisting on the correct number of horizontal bars in the '66 grille insert, and had to be persuaded that once painted twice (first with the body color, then silver to represent chrome) exact scale grille bars would simply have disappeared--it took the company attorney to persuade the guy that such a result would have been a far poorer representation of that grille (and by association, the entire 1/64 scale model) than a lower number of more prominent grille bars--in this case, creating the illusion of realism won out over numerical scale accuracy (and who was going to count the grille bars to determine if they were the right number anyway?). Similarly, there are times when the exact turn of a sheet metal stamping on the real car simply cannot be reduced to scale in a one-piece plastic body shell, if the model company expects to have the body shell release from the tooling in production (the forward ends of say, the long, tall fins of a '57 Chrysler. But in the end, the assistance of the licensor in the development of any new model kit adds immeasurably to the accuracy and appearance of the final product that you and I buy at the hobby shop. All that costs money, and licensing helps to offset those costs. In addition, product liability enters into the picture. Have a child get injured by a model kit or a part from one, and in all likelihood a personal injury attorney will be knocking on the automaker's door, seeking compensation, along with naming the model kit manufacturer as a defendant as well. Defending such, and maintaining product liability insurance coverage, for the automaker is also an expense--licensing helps to pay for that as well.

Licensing fees and royalties are, as I have said, a fact of life in the scale model kit industry; but they add only a small part of the total costs of manufacture, even though they are big enough to be noticed. But if you or I were stockholders of say, Ford (fill in the name of any automaker here!) we'd have a vested interest in seeing to it that costs get covered, unless they are related to say, advertising or promotion. It's when licensors are in conflict with one another, something which happens quite often with secondary sponsor logo's on race cars, that it gets really troublesome. Nascar, for example, mandates a certain package of secondary sponsor logo's to be displayed on the sides of race cars--any participating team is required to carry that standard package. Nascar prefers that model kits of their stock cars have that very same package of secondary sponsor decals--but there have been, still are, and likely will always be companies that try to refuse the use of their logo's on a model car IF "so-and-so's" logo is also to be displayed. Just because they all appear to be "in bed together" on the Superspeedway does not translate into true love where model kits are concerned. I could go on further, but what I have said here does illustrate the point pretty well.

Art

[donkeypuncher76]

I just wish Revell would release the 80s Cutlass....they planned to release it and then scratched the whole thing.... Real dissapointing...

That would fly off the shelves! a nice 3n1, i have had 2 1 a bone stock v6 from an older lady from texas and a low-low w/ juice and 13x7's, i know here in az they would be on back order.

[The Creative Explorer]

• New tool Jaguar XK-E roadster and coupe, the V-6
  

There is no V6 E-type But you do have nice cars in that list.

Plus, I am basically sure that within a year, we will have a FF or F12 as a kit.

[sjordan2]

There is no V6 E-type But you do have nice cars in that list.

Plus, I am basically sure that within a year, we will have a FF or F12 as a kit.

A little clarification may be needed here: I assume Erik's point is that the 3.8 Series 1 was an inline 6, not a V6.

Edited May 7, 2012 by sjordan2

[Eshaver]

Very well put comments folks ................. Ed Shaver

[The Creative Explorer]

A little clarification may be needed here: I assume Erik's point is that the 3.8 Series 1 was an inline 6, not a V6.

Jup, that I meant. Sorry, should've been more clear.

The 4.2 was also a straight six, but it is basically a 3.8 with bigger bore.

[High octane]

While some guys would like to see this car issued, or that model kit produced, or this model car kit re-issued, I personally don't care what ends up on the hobby shop shelves if anything at all as I have enough kits to keep me busy without having to buy any more ever !

[Greg Myers]

You da man, I bet you got more than any of us, after all, He who dies with the most toys wins.

[Jeff Johnston]

i saw the 53 Skylark on one page of the Revell list at NNL East at least 3 times before I wrote it down for a 4th time...and I imaging 4 more times it appeared after that. Definitely a missing link.

Of course I added the 67 Galaxie that I continue to wish for LOL

Also I'd buy and build 90% of whats on Gary's list. I'd love to see a nice E-type.

[Craig Irwin]

No company, large or small, ever became successful by forcing an unwanted product down the throats of their customers.

[martinfan5]

No company, large or small, ever became successful by forcing an unwanted product down the throats of their customers.

Very true, but I dont think the model company's are forcing anything down anyones throats

[Exotics_Builder]

A little clarification may be needed here: I assume Erik's point is that the 3.8 Series 1 was an inline 6, not a V6.

Yep a typo. I meant I6. not V6. I also forgot to add the ZL1 Camaro. I do think an F12 will come, but not sure on the FF. Maisto is doing an FF diecast, but in a radio control version. Not sure what that will be like. That is all I've heard for sure.

I don't know if many of you saw Fujimi is doing a McLaren MP4 race version:

Likely a curbside like their others.

[martinfan5]

I did see that, I know I will be ordering one of them

[Craig Irwin]

Very true, but I dont think the model company's are forcing anything down anyones throats

I agree, I'm sure every new tool is well researched. It may not be what you wanted, but others do.

[Jodah]

I would absolutely KILL for newer pickups (Mainly the 05 and up Dodge rams) maybe not with all the different options, but at least a diesel!

Not only that, some newer VW models would be cool too. I know a ton of VW entusiast that would lvoe to have a model fo their show cars and daily rides. Mk3 Jettas and golfs, Mk4's, mk5's, etc.

[sjordan2]

I would absolutely KILL for newer pickups (Mainly the 05 and up Dodge rams) maybe not with all the different options, but at least a diesel!

Not only that, some newer VW models would be cool too. I know a ton of VW entusiast that would lvoe to have a model fo their show cars and daily rides. Mk3 Jettas and golfs, Mk4's, mk5's, etc.

If the kit manufacturers follow the 1:1 marketplace for potential successes, I wonder why there isn't a more recent Ford F-series pickup. It's been the best-selling vehicle of any type in America for many years, and the latest kit I can find is a 1997 F-150 in different versions. The Chevy Silverado is #2.

Edited May 9, 2012 by sjordan2

[martinfan5]

If the kit manufacturers follow the 1:1 marketplace for potential successes, I wonder why there isn't a more recent Ford F-series pickup. It's been the best-selling vehicle of any type in America for many years, and the latest kit I can find is a 1997 F-150 in different versions. The Chevy Silverado is #2.

I would be happy with some promo version of some new pickups

[Rob Hall]

If the kit manufacturers follow the 1:1 marketplace for potential successes, I wonder why there isn't a more recent Ford F-series pickup. It's been the best-selling vehicle of any type in America for many years, and the latest kit I can find is a 1997 F-150 in different versions. The Chevy Silverado is #2.

Yes, and the newest Silverado kit is the Revell '99...even worse is Dodge--the only kits out there are long out of production '93-95 vintage. I'd love to see some current trucks kitted, like the Ford Raptor or the current Ram. Some current SUVs also would be great.

Edited May 9, 2012 by Rob Hall

[Modelmartin]

Shakespeare said it many years ago. First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers!

How about we kill the plaintiffs first! A lawyer without a plaintiff is like a gun with no bullets!

Edited May 9, 2012 by Modelmartin