martinfan5 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 1 minute ago, Rob Hall said: It's funny...I had posted that, then thought about it a bit more.. oh well, we live in interesting times, right? Spoken as the truth, for sure we do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Smith Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Boy, reading the article makes it sound pretty dire. They are hoping to stay in business during the restructure and sale - they’ve been bleeding money for two years now...I fear for the employees. When they sell, I’m sure we will see some big changes - maybe losing some big parts of not just our hobby, but RC and related as well. $10-50 million in assets - $100-500 million in liabilities? While there are enough models in circulation for most of us to build our lifetimes, the energy of new kits and such is as much a part of model enjoyment in a way... Hoping for the best outcome here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinfan5 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 36 minutes ago, Art Anderson said: OK, time for a quick "tutorial"here! In bankruptcy, as in this story, there are two types: Chapter 7, which is "liquidation", meaning that it all shuts down, and ultimately all assets of the company are sold off, to the highest bidder. The other is Chapter 11 (which is what the news story clearly states!) which means "re-organization". In Chapter 11, the petitioning bankrupt seeks protection from collection agency activities, while they are reorganized. That can mean many things, including layoffs, selling off non-performing assets, mitigation of outstanding debts and so on. Chapter 11 is by far the best alternative here--pretty much everyone gets something, very few get nothing. But in the end, either way, bankruptcy will affect all suppliers to such as Hobbico, to some degree or another. I was a creditor, in a minor way, when Lesney went bankrupt back in 1981--I was left holding on to over $3500 in charges for doing trade show and box art models for Lesney-AMT. I received, very quickly, from the bankruptcy court in Detroit MI, a list of all the assets of Lesney AMT, and all their liabilities (monies owed), and then sat there, pretty much writing my $3500+ off. Then, in late August or thereabouts, a certified letter from the bankruptcy court came, informing me that all had been settled, and a couple of weeks afterward, a check came in the amount of what I was owed. It quickly turned out that all the AMT assets had been sold to the Ertl Company--no matter to me at the time, I'd been paid in full. So, in the bottom line, all is not lost, there will be an end, and likely it will be reasonably positive. Its a shame the customers of AAM never were able to get a " reasonably positive " outcome for orders they paid for and never received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darin Bastedo Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 (edited) Holy carp! the sky is falling again? seems to happen about every ten years. Edited January 11, 2018 by Darin Bastedo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niteowl7710 Posted January 11, 2018 Author Share Posted January 11, 2018 They filed Chapter 11 because it grants in automatic stay against their creditors - and gives them 4 months to figure out a reorganization plan. I'm sure the people in charge would love to keep it together and not get tossed out on their ears. But not every 11 case is puppies and rainbows. We're taking about a 20 millionish asset company here with a 10:1 debt ratio, not Delta Airlines or GM. Between the patent lawsuit and the Department of Labor being stuffed in their sideways who's gonna prop them up when there's untold amounts of fines, penalties and settlements pending? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbill Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Well, let’s start a fund me page and buy revell/monogram portion of the company. On a serious note, I can’t help but think of many lost jobs and other financial losses facing current and former employees, that’ll be the worst part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Smith Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 8 minutes ago, niteowl7710 said: They filed Chapter 11 because it grants in automatic stay against their creditors - and gives them 4 months to figure out a reorganization plan. I'm sure the people in charge would love to keep it together and not get tossed out on their ears. But not every 11 case is puppies and rainbows. We're taking about a 20 millionish asset company here with a 10:1 debt ratio, not Delta Airlines or GM. Between the patent lawsuit and the Department of Labor being stuffed in their sideways who's gonna prop them up when there's untold amounts of fines, penalties and settlements pending? Yeah, sounds like wishful thinking that they can stay open in the process. Hope I’m wrong, and I probably am since I know next to nothing - just my feeling from reading the article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymcminn Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Oof. Not good. I would be very surprised if Revell-Monogram went completely away, but any money for new tools and releases is going to be tough to come by for a while. In addition, distribution of many products is going to be adversely affected, especially since a lot of local hobby shops use Hobbico as a one-stop source for all of the brands listed. This might hurt them too... if I can't get Tamiya paint at my LHS, I'll have to order it online as opposed to giving them my money. Less income for them, more aggravation for me. There could be a real ripple effect here, especially with the R/C stuff, where hobby shops make most of their money. 2018 is not off to a good start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Well I've done my best to help keep them alive. I bought another Revell kit tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Wrench Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 I'm pretty sure the reason this is happening is that the management of Hobbico and Revell got tired of people criticizing Revell's products and decided it would be best to just go out of business. If only we had heeded the warnings ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinfan5 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 9 minutes ago, Allen Wrench said: I'm pretty sure the reason this is happening is that the management of Hobbico and Revell got tired of people criticizing Revell's products and decided it would be best to just go out of business. If only we had heeded the warnings ... well darn, looks like those people were right after all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lownslow Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Hobbico had it coming thinking they could steal Traxxas designs for their RC lines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugatti Fan Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 (edited) Reading the posts, were Hobbico actually full owners of Revell Monogram, or just signed up as their sole distribution agents in the USA? I ask this as Revell GMBH is a separately registered company with its own European distribution network it would appear. Edited January 11, 2018 by Bugatti Fan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classicgas Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 5 hours ago, unclescott58 said: Well I've done my best to help keep them alive. I bought another Revell kit tonight. Where did you pick it up at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugatti Fan Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 (edited) Allen, the reason that Revell gets criticism every now and again must be because of the regular re pops of kits from tired old moulds that were made a long time ago in a galaxy far far away (Whoops! Wrong crowd!). But to be fair their new stuff is really good. Particularly their auto kits from Germany that I think are on a par with Tamiya (and a lot less expensive). The hobby industry in all its forms regardless is a fickle business to be in. Hobbico will not be the first or the last to go into bankruptcy. Unfortunately there is no sentiment in business. Edited January 11, 2018 by Bugatti Fan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niteowl7710 Posted January 11, 2018 Author Share Posted January 11, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said: Reading the posts, were Hobbico actually full owners of Revell Monogram, or just signed up as their sole distribution agents in the USA? I ask this as Revell GMBH is a separately registered company with its own European distribution network it would appear. Hobbico bought Revell-Monogram lock, stock, and two sliding molds in May 2007. They bought Revell of Germany in 2012 and started Hobbico Europe to distribute them. It's all controlled out of Champaign. I will plead complete ignorance to European laws in regards to what happens to a company that's a division of a U.S. company when the U.S. parent goes under and dissolves. I'd also argue we've seen a slow, but continuous backsliding with RevellAG Hobbico owned offerings once they ran through what the former German ownership had in the pipelines. The loss of the Ferrari licensing - which instantly froze a pile of tooling and vaporwared an entire kit series, the cost cutting measures - when Europe actually has a growing hobby market, the quality of kit tooling and parts count declining - nobody can compare the Panamera and all is sink marks and half-engraved nonsense to the DTM cars or Mini Cooper, etc. Edited January 11, 2018 by niteowl7710 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim boyd Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Commenting on some of the points raised above..... * From what I understand, the Revell part of Hobbico is a profitable and successful business Enterprise. * Further, Revell has a number of newly tooled kits (not yet announced) underway and in various states of completion. Several are (I would guess) debuts that would be announced this year. * Finally, the issues with the Model A tool were (to be best of my understanding) not associated with a Hobbico bankruptcy filing. ************ None of the above is too dismiss the implications of the Hobbico Chapter 11 filing. This is a serious development and, as many of you have already stated, it will have an effect on the hobby we love in one way or another, and probably not in a positive way. TIM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 OMG, if Revellogram goes OOB, what will I do? I have a certain number of them in my stash, but I'm afraid it's not quite enough to last my great-great-grandchildren their whole lives.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 5 hours ago, Classicgas said: Where did you pick it up at? We got a guy who sells kits and goes to our local model car club, the MCCM (Model Car Club of Minnesota). And latest meeting was last night, the second Wednesday of the month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddyfink Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Does this mean we are not getting another new Charger, 57 Chevy or '32 Ford kit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Just now, Daddyfink said: Does this mean we are not getting another new Charger, 57 Chevy or '32 Ford kit? Probably not any time soon, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Handley Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 6 hours ago, Lownslow said: Hobbico had it coming thinking they could steal Traxxas designs for their RC lines I've recently seen people accuse Traxxas of "patent trolling", but in the case of the Arrma Nero vs Traxxas E-Revo, it's kinda like Volkswagen Beetle vs Tatra 97. While not a direct copy (although the Bug and 97 had less in common than the Nero and E-Revo), it's still infringing on the patented designs of the original manufacturer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Barrow Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Revell is profitable, Hobbico as a whole is profitable. The Traxxas lawsuit probably hit them hard, Traxxas is king in R/C and Hobbico/Great Planes is the biggest distributor of R/C stuff. They're also under investigation buy the Labor Dept for improper ESOP/Profit Sharing payouts, there are several lawsuits pending related to that. This has been coming for a while Great Planes has been out of everything for months so I suspect any shops using GP as a main source have found an alternative. I don't work directly in distribution anymore but I'm literally on the other side of a wall from one of their competitors and I've noticed them picking up a lot of the slack from GP over the past couple months. I don't want anyone to think this is on Revell, or a sign of the times in the industry as a whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 (edited) Working on helping them a little more. Just purchased one of these on eBay. Edited January 11, 2018 by unclescott58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoopdog Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 I'm disappointed I won't finally be getting a Daytona kit any time soon but now I am just feeling bad for any employees that will or have been affected by this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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