Modelhaus Offical Update/SA

[Richard Bartrop]

37 minutes ago, Oldmopars said:

OK, I stand corrected, $8,000 for a YUGO?

https://jalopnik.com/5368942/worlds-nicest-yugo-for-7999

Commercial failures becoming hot collectibles? When has that ever happened?

A look at Hemmings shows Tabants nudging the $10K mark, and those make Yugos look downright luxurious.

Here's a military version of the Trabant going for 13000 Euros, or not quite $15000 US  https://www.classic-trader.com/uk/cars/listing/trabant/601-kuebel/601-a/1967/90229

[Oldmopars]

I know this is getting off the subject, but I bought a 1986 Yugo GV when they were new, right from the Yugo dealer in Salem Or. I had that car for a few years and absolutely loved that car. It had 50K miles on it when I moved and sold it. I had customized with Fiat parts and some custom made stuff. It was a fun little car. The Alternators were junk, replaced 4 of those. I was young and I abused that little car and I wish I still had it. But I am odd that way.

[Snake45]

3 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

Scott, I have to agree with you about the changing of the hobby. I'm 57, so I remember VERY WELL those cars of the '50's and early '60's as cars with big fins and lots of chrome would have been the first cars I would have seen when I first knew what a car was.

Lets fast forward 20-30 years when many of us in reality will be in our 70's and 80's. First, we'd be very fortunate if we still have the ability to build anything at that point and then I've made this statement before-------how many of people will be around that will remember a '55-'57 Chevy, or '69 Camaro?

Time marches on, and there will come a point that the hobby will change drastically-------that's a big reality. Like you mentioned kids are building, just not the cars and trucks that most of us here are familiar with.

I dunno. Take a look at Model Airplane World. To this day, at least 50% of the interest, possibly much, much more, is World War II (which was over nearly 10 years before I was born). EVERYTHING else put together--pioneering aviation, WWI, Korea, Vietnam, modern military, ALL commercial and ALL private aviation from 1903 to 2018--together is the other 50% (or less). This includes kits, aftermarket, decals, reference books, etc. 

Dunno why, but there's just something special and magical about that era. It's sorta the same here in Model Car World--50% or more of the interest is in American cars of the '50s, '60s, and some of the '70s (including earlier American cars reworked in the styles of the '50s, '60s, and '70--i.e., hot rods of various genres). Everything else is the other 50% (or less) of the hobby. 

Or that's the way I see it, anyway. 

[stavanzer]

About this. One of my first thoughts is that Mr. Pivar, the author of the Letter, is going to have to keep a low profile in the Hobby for a while.  I would not want to be known as "That Guy" even if a few of my buddies agreed with me, in private. Not that he is going to advertise who he is, but in a world of Facebook and Social Media he could become far more well known than he expected in just a few days, if somebody wanted to ID him.  But in the end I blame SA, and the editor who made the final call. SA prints at most 15-20 letters a year (at 3-4 an issues). What made 'this' letter stand out to be the pick of those who were unhappy about the Modelhaus closing. I am reasonably certain that another letter sharing the same viewpoint in much less brutal language could have been picked. Lastly I doubt that Jim Haught would have run this.  The new editor's inexperience shows through badly this time. I hope he does better in the future. I'm sure more than a few canceled subscriptions, have been pointed in describing WHY they are canceling.  That will get attention fast.

[stitchdup]

I'm not so sure Snake, in the us your cars may be over 50% . Look how many trans kits there are for every ferrari and lamborghini, they must be selling and they are $80 plus each. Its the same with a lot of the tuners. They might not get posted here much but possibly thats due to how many comments start with "not my style but" which would put people off. If its not your style keep that to the end instead of starting with it, if you start with something positive people are more likelly to keep building. I know I've posted tuners here and no comments but post something US and you get comments. Hopefully this reads as constuctive criticism of the hobby in general.

[Richard Bartrop]

I tend to see the "Not my style but" comments as encouraging.   It means you managed to build something that impressed them despite their particular biases.

I like seeing a little variety here.  This group does a little, well, insular, and some people could use a little reminding that their interests aren't the alpha and omega of the hobby.

[bbowser]

On 12/5/2018 at 6:53 PM, Richard Bartrop said:

I tend to see the "Not my style but" comments as encouraging.   It means you managed to build something that impressed them despite their particular biases.

I like seeing a little variety here.  This group does a little, well, insular, and some people could use a little reminding that their interests aren't the alpha and omega of the hobby.

Amen!  I'm in the "grumpy old man" stage of my life and admit a bias towards NASCAR (what am I thinking?).  We need to encourage younger builders and more variety on here.  I love seeing Indycars, tuners, tractors, and all manner of trucks - even if they're "not my style".

[Snake45]

On 12/5/2018 at 6:53 PM, Richard Bartrop said:

I tend to see the "Not my style but" comments as encouraging.   It means you managed to build something that impressed them despite their particular biases.

Exactly!

[Mike999]

On ‎12‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 3:28 PM, Snake45 said:

I dunno. Take a look at Model Airplane World. To this day, at least 50% of the interest, possibly much, much more, is World War II...Dunno why, but there's just something special and magical about that era.

The aircraft buff books like "Air Classics" magazine bear that out.  The vast majority of the aircraft on the cover are WWII.  As for "special and magical," I sure saw an example of that yesterday on TCM.  They showed the movie "Air Force."  It was filmed in 1943, in the middle of WWII when few aircraft could be spared for movie-making.  So we got a lot of awesome footage of early-model (and by then obsolete) B-17C's. Including the star of the show, the B-17 "Mary-Ann."  Also lots of P-400's - the P-39 Airacobra equipped with the 20mm cannon in the nose, not the Oldsmobile 37mm gun. A T-6 Texan fitted with the rear gun.  And a real rarity - some "Japanese" fighters were Republic P-43 Lancers! Only 272 of those were built, according to Mr. Google.  And those were only built to keep the Republic production lines open for the upcoming P-47 Thunderbolt.

[Oldcarfan27]

Can anybody help? I'd like to read the letter that this thread is talking about, but I don't have a sub to that magazine ( I haven't since the the current publisher bought it and ruined it!)

Can anyone post a copy so I can understand the point of the frustration?

[Richard Bartrop]

WWII was the biggest and bloodiest war humanity has ever seen,  and it's always been presented as an epic struggle between the forces of good, and the forces of evil.  It set in motion forces that are still impacting our lives today, so maybe it's not that surprising that it still figures large in the imagination of military modelers.

Compared to that, most automotive history looks like pretty small potatoes.

[Robberbaron]

On 12/5/2018 at 11:14 AM, MrObsessive said:

Scott, I was at a local car show a couple years ago and among all the nice and shiny '50's and '60's cars what had a crowd around it??

A 1978 Ford Fairmont! I kid you not! One of the plainest (read boring) cars of the '70's had a crowd of people around it admiring it. More than likely, probably because you just don't see them anymore and this car was clean as a whistle. Not a spot of rust on it and I don't remember the mileage, it was obviously well taken care of by its owner.

As you said, probably because you don't see them anymore especially in that condition.

I'd also wager that many of the people drawn to it had a personal connection to one of these cars in their past.  Fairmonts were ubiquitous around here back in the '80s.  If someone in you immediate family didn't own one, chances are that you knew a friend or co-worker with one.

My sister's first car was a well-used black 4-door Fairmont, 4-banger, no AC.  It smelled like an ashtray from the former owner (a chain smoking little old lady).  It truly was the 1970s equivalent to a Model T.

[Richard Bartrop]

Give it enough time, it all becomes collectible.   A '70s sedan in the '70s was just about the most boring thing ever.  Now, it's an artifact from a vanished age, and it stands out like a dinosaur in your back yard.  

[Ironman63]

4 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

Can anybody help? I'd like to read the letter that this thread is talking about, but I don't have a sub to that magazine ( I haven't since the the current publisher bought it and ruined it!)

Can anyone post a copy so I can understand the point of the frustration?

In the Shop Talk section Francis Pivar of New Kensington, PA writes:

"Farewell, Modelhaus

I think it was a slap in the face to the modeling community when Don and Carol Holthaus walked away from their Modelhaus enterprise, leaving us stranded.  Didn't they realize how important their services were to the hobby and all those who supported them over the years?  

I don't put them down for their wish to retire, but for them to fail to even offer to put the business up for sale is inconscionable.  I hate to think of what has happened to all of those irreplaceable molds and masters.

Every time I read an article in Scale Auto that mentions a modeler using Modelhaus resin parts or a Modelhaus resin body I do a slow burn!"

[Richard Bartrop]

If this clown thinks it feel like a slap in the face, then, good, because he could use one.

[The Junkman]

On 12/4/2018 at 3:49 PM, mikemodeler said:

If you see something in resin that you like, buy it now because it might not be available later.

Case in point: Fisher Models.  I've got a FEW of the ones he carried but never pulled the trigger on the Cunningham, Chaparral 2F,  long tailed Ferrari 512.  There appears to have been a successful crowdfund to help Paul Fisher carry on but who knows at this point.

[peteski]

On 12/8/2018 at 5:07 PM, Ironman63 said:

In the Shop Talk section Francis Pivar of New Kensington, PA writes:

"Farewell, Modelhaus

I think it was a slap in the face to the modeling community when Don and Carol Holthaus walked away from their Modelhaus enterprise, leaving us stranded.  Didn't they realize how important their services were to the hobby and all those who supported them over the years?  

I don't put them down for their wish to retire, but for them to fail to even offer to put the business up for sale is inconscionable.  I hate to think of what has happened to all of those irreplaceable molds and masters.

Every time I read an article in Scale Auto that mentions a modeler using Modelhaus resin parts or a Modelhaus resin body I do a slow burn!"

And how exactly does this A$$clown know that the Holthouses didn't offer the business for sale?  And how does he know that the molds were lost? Did he hear that directly from them?  That is such bull!

I agree that this letter should have never been published (at least not without verifying his claims).