Why no Corvette C7 Z06 or Grand Sport model kit?

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 1/30/2018 at 4:21 PM, JeroenM3 said:

Revell has a C7 street kit...

https://www.revellspecialist.nl/bouwdozen-geschenkset/auto/2014-corvette-stingray.html

 

With the C7 available as a base to build on, anyone who really wants a ZO6 or a GS can build one with some applied effort.

Oh wait...NOW I see the problem...

Edited February 1, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[Rob Hall]

2 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

With the C7 available as a base to build on, anyone who really wants a ZO6 or a GS can build one with some applied effort.

Oh wait...NOW I see the problem...

That's just a curbside snap kit...

Edited February 1, 2018 by Rob Hall

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 minute ago, Rob Hall said:

That's just a curbside snap kit...

And with enough effort, it can be a full-detail model.

[Rob Hall]

Just now, Ace-Garageguy said:

And with enough effort, it can be a full-detail model.

You miss the point....Revell does plenty of full detail models of old subjects, why not of modern subjects???

[Ace-Garageguy]

11 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

You miss the point....Revell does plenty of full detail models of old subjects, why not of modern subjects???

And you miss MY point. Everybody seems to want everything handed to them.

The most difficult part of building a C7 anything is getting the body right. Well, it's there.

I've built full-detail cars from promos and curbsides and slammers. If I can do it...

A C7-R is also available.

PS. With Hobbico in bankruptcy, I wouldn't expect to see any new-tool kits real soon...

Edited February 1, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[Richard Bartrop]

40 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

Kids don't build models much anymore, so it doesn't matter.  We need full detail versions of the Corvette C7, new Mustang etc for adult builders....I couldn't care less about kids building models...by doing only snap kit versions of modern subjects, Revell is doing adult modelers a disservice...it's an insult to adults that like modern subjects.

Those Gundam kits flying off the shelves suggests otherwise.  Young people are willing spent money on model kits, but it has to be something that interests them.  Mind you those are snap kits, but some of those are still insanely complex.  Maybe Revel Germany's "easy-click" system is a step in the right direction for appealing to a new generation.

[Zoom Zoom]

1 hour ago, Richard Bartrop said:

Those Gundam kits flying off the shelves suggests otherwise.  Young people are willing spent money on model kits, but it has to be something that interests them.  Mind you those are snap kits, but some of those are still insanely complex.  Maybe Revel Germany's "easy-click" system is a step in the right direction for appealing to a new generation.

That's perhaps the biggest stumbling block; kids these days aren't car crazy at all compared to previous generations, especially from the baby boomer era. The few that are car crazy do enjoy a few models, but they also have access to a bunch of cool racing games. There's more to grab their short attention spans than the 60's-90's. Cars simply don't have the cool factor they had when most of us were young when modeling was THE cool thing to do at the time. Times change...but model companies today do cater to an older crowd, and Corvette buyers are more likely to be grayhairs than not...so one would think a mass-produced kit of a modern Corvette beyond the base model would have appeal. And I have plenty of models to build that I'd rather throw my talent at than taking a kraptastic Revell C7 semi-glue-kit and making a Z06 or Grand Sport or ZR1 out of it. Kind of annoyed that the Maisto Assembly Line version of the Z06 isn't exactly easy to find, because taking the built version apart is a pain, the wheels are welded to the axles. I'd love a Z06 or Grand Sport but won't invest "custom" time to get one.

[Richard Bartrop]

The fact that those games do exist shows that there are enough young people interested in cars to make it viable.  Would enough of them want to have a tangible version of the vehicles they enjoy in the game?  That's the question, but a question I think might be worth pursuing.

The Corvette does seem to have developed a reputation as an old person't car, which may work against it, but the carmakers have designed some pretty wild concept cars for those games.  Maybe some of those would be worth turning into styrene.

[Chuck Most]

5 hours ago, Zoom Zoom said:

Times change...but model companies today do cater to an older crowd, and Corvette buyers are more likely to be grayhairs than not...so one would think a mass-produced kit of a modern Corvette beyond the base model would have appeal. 

This very way of thinking is what always baffled me about the relative lack of modern 'Vette kits. The average 'Vette owner is in his late 50's/early 60's (and I say "his" because it's mostly guys buying "Vettes)... and it seems like a lot of modelers fit into that age bracket. But when it comes to the C7, all I seem to hear from guys in that age bracket are things like "The taillights are ugly" (probably because they aren't round), and "It looks foreign" (whatever the hell that means), never mind the fact that it's those same similarly-aged guys I see driving real C7's.

But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. It seems like the majority of modelers are "in it" more for the sake of recreating the past than replicating the present. In a hobby where nostalgia seems to be the driving factor, maybe this C7, with it's "pulled-straight-from-a-Forza-rendering" creases and bulges, sacrilegious non-round tail lamps, and heretofore nonexistent quarter windows, is just too alien to them. With a model it's really all about the looks, you don't need to deal with any of the 1:1 car's shortcomings. It just has to look pretty on a shelf. Would a big chunk of the market really want a Corvette that would look so out of place among their muscle cars and '60's drag machines, never mind that even a  base C7 would be a better performer than any of them in real life?  Combine that with the fact that just about any kit of a "modern" domestic vehicle usually ends up in the clearance bins within a few months of first release and... yeah. 

C7 Z06? Sure, it would find some buyers as a full detail kit. But I'd think that given the mindset of most modelers, a good full-detail kit of a 1963 Z06 would be a better business decision. 

[bobthehobbyguy]

Just curious round2 did a modern camaro full detail kit how were the sales for it? If the sales weren't good that might not be willing to do the new vette.

[Rob Hall]

12 hours ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

Just curious round2 did a modern camaro full detail kit how were the sales for it? If the sales weren't good that might not be willing to do the new vette.

Sales must be good--- they've done 4 variations of it...

[Rob Hall]

On 2/1/2018 at 10:13 PM, Chuck Most said:

 

But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. It seems like the majority of modelers are "in it" more for the sake of recreating the past than replicating the present.  

I'm not interested in the nostalgia factor or what baby boomers want--- I like kits of modern subjects (but also  have a lot of kits of old subjects).    It's frustrating that the older subjects dominate the US domestic kit market and push out the modern subjects.   At some point, the baby boomers are going to retire, the US kit makers have no future unless they can make kits that will appeal to more people that aren't baby boomers....I'd like to see more balance of subjects between new and old.  And I don't mean snap kits with cheesy box art targeting kiddies.  I like what Round 2 has done with the 6th gen Camaro, but that's only one car and some variations. A step in the right direction. 

 The Japanese kit companies seem to achieve a better balance of old and modern subjects---- differences in modeler demographics or interests between here vs the rest of the world?  I don't know... 

Edited February 4, 2018 by Rob Hall

[Richard Bartrop]

59 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

I'm not interested in the nostalgia factor or what baby boomers want--- I like kits of modern subjects (but also  have a lot of kits of old subjects).    It's frustrating that the older subjects dominate the US domestic kit market and push out the modern subjects.   At some point, the baby boomers are going to retire, the US kit makers have no future unless they can make kits that will appeal to more people that aren't baby boomers....I'd like to see more balance of subjects between new and old. 

 The Japanese kit companies seem to achieve a better balance of old and modern subjects---- differences in modeler demographics or interests between here vs the rest of the world?  I don't know... 

Yes, despite the moans from certain corners, exciting cars are still being made.  Personally, I would be good with someone releasing a kit of the Mazda Vision concept.

[D. Battista]

40 minutes ago, Richard Bartrop said:

Yes, despite the moans from certain corners, exciting cars are still being made.  Personally, I would be good with someone releasing a kit of the Mazda Vision concept.

Cool Car...!!!   Mazda RX Vision Concept....

Edited February 4, 2018 by D. Battista

[Richard Bartrop]

4 minutes ago, D. Battista said:

Cool Car...!!!   Mazda Vision....

I was thinking of the Mazda Vision Coupe, but that's a really good choice too.

[D. Battista]

Very Cool car also...Like those lines ..and Cool wheels...!!!

Probabaly to obscure to see it in kit form...IDK....

[Bill J]

Consider this, years ago a Mustang or even a Corvette was a car most car buyers could buy. A Corvette by being a 2 seater is not all that practical, so not as many 1:1 Corvettes got sold. Mustangs, with seating for 4 and cheaper to buy, sold lots of cars back in the early days. Mustangs were everywhere. Same for Camaros, Firebirds, GTO's and so on, lots were sold, to average car buyers. Everywhere you went you'd see these cars and others like them.

Today, I seldom see a 2017 or 2018 Mustang or Camaro, I think I have seen two C7 Corvettes since they hit the showrooms and I live in the 6th largest city in the country. It is no wonder that fewer people are car aficionados today, the cars are only affordable to the more well to do. Before I retired I could have afforded a new Mustang GT or even a Corvette, I still had no desire to spend that much money for a car. Especially one with 2 seats and a pushrod V8. Most cars on the road today truly look alike, practical, 4-door cars that have little engines, get decent mileage and ride comfortably. Boring, yes, practical, absolutely.

When it comes to models, I think some of the same mentality plays a part. While we modelers always liked to build cool unaffordable car styles, it was always a small percentage. Most young car buyers consider a Corvette the same as an exotic foreign car, unobtainable mostly. They have less interest in something so unobtainable, even in scale. There will always be buyers but enough buyers to justify the tooling, hard to say.

I read somewhere that a few car companies are dropping more of the cars and producing more SUV's and light trucks. Mustang was mentioned as sales have decreased significantly in the past few years. Times are changing.

[Richard Bartrop]

2 hours ago, D. Battista said:

Very Cool car also...Like those lines ..and Cool wheels...!!!

Probabaly to obscure to see it in kit form...IDK....

Mazda isn't exactly an obscure company, and the Visions have been on every automotive website,   but in any case, it's a shape that gets people excited, which I think is the most important thing.   It's okay if people say "What is it?" if they go, "I want one!"

[Chuck Most]

On 2/4/2018 at 12:41 PM, Rob Hall said:

I'm not interested in the nostalgia factor or what baby boomers want--- I like kits of modern subjects (but also  have a lot of kits of old subjects).    It's frustrating that the older subjects dominate the US domestic kit market and push out the modern subjects.   At some point, the baby boomers are going to retire, the US kit makers have no future unless they can make kits that will appeal to more people that aren't baby boomers....I'd like to see more balance of subjects between new and old.  And I don't mean snap kits with cheesy box art targeting kiddies.  I like what Round 2 has done with the 6th gen Camaro, but that's only one car and some variations. A step in the right direction. 

 The Japanese kit companies seem to achieve a better balance of old and modern subjects---- differences in modeler demographics or interests between here vs the rest of the world?  I don't know... 

I'm with you 100% there, trouble is, seems like the majority of modelers want the classics. And, one more time, I have absolutely no problem with that. But for those of us who want something even a tad bit more modern, it's a never ending sore point. 

[Exotics_Builder]

2 hours ago, Chuck Most said:

I'm with you 100% there, trouble is, seems like the majority of modelers want the classics. And, one more time, I have absolutely no problem with that. But for those of us who want something even a tad bit more modern, it's a never ending sore point. 

X2