Revell Discontinuing NASCAR Model Kits

[larrygre]

Posted on Revell's web site, today, December 8, 2008:

ANNOUNCEMENT

December 8, 2008

To Our Loyal Customers:

Over the years we have been pleased to provide you with the finest NASCAR plastic model kits featuring the most popular drivers. Regrettably however, over the last several years we have faced increasing licensing costs that are greater than our increase in sales. Despite our best efforts to secure reasonable licensing terms for NASCAR model kits in general, and the Car of Tomorrow in particular, we have been unable to develop a program that allows us to market the product at a viable price point. Consequently, we will not be issuing a kit on the Car of Tomorrow and, in fact, will be exiting the NASCAR business altogether. We will discontinue all sales of NASCAR plastic kits by February 28, 2009.

This has been an extremely difficult decision to make as we are fully aware of the avid fan base of NASCAR model kit builders and truly appreciate your support over the years. We trust you will find other model kits in our line that will be of interest and that will provide you with the model building enjoyment you desire.

Please note that we still have inventory of selected models as shown below. Check with your favorite dealer to see if they are carrying any of the items. If they are out of stock, they can obtain any of these items for you very quickly through their distributor.

* 85 2029 0 0012 #20 Home Depot Monte Carlo ('04)

* 85 2030 0 0012 #48 Lowes Monte Carlo ('06)

* 85 2075 0 0012 #24 DuPont Monte Carlo ('07)

* 85 2078 0 0012 #20 Home Depot Monte Carlo ('04)

* 85 4206 0 0012 #11 FedEx Denny Hamlin

Sorry to bring bad news, folks.

[Modlguy]

So NASCAR would rather see no kits of their racers than receive smaller licensing fees. How does that enhance their product?

Bill Barrett

Tri-State Scale Model Car Club

[george 53]

I feel kinda sorry for all the NASCAR builders out there, But What was there to build? They ALL look the same! Just different decals. NASCAR QUIT bein NASCAR a LOOOONG time ago! I haven't seen what looks like a stock car in YEARS! I grew up watchin the old cars, and enjoyed them, but there haven't been ANY STOCK cars in decades. The junk the folks hafta watch now are just cookie cutter cars. ALL of them look the same.Just pick your favorite advertiser, instead of brand loyalty.I know this may start a big fuss, but as I said, there haven't been ANY stock cars in a LOOOOONG time!

[Harry P.]

So NASCAR would rather see no kits of their racers than receive smaller licensing fees. How does that enhance their product?

Bill Barrett

Tri-State Scale Model Car Club

The greed machine strikes again!

With the bazillions of dollars NASCAR already rakes in (after all, every car and every driver is nothing more than an advertising billboard), did they really have to squeeze the kitmakers for every last dime they possibly could?

I was never a fan of NASCAR and it's money-grubbing ways, but now I feel even more justified in ignoring their product entirely. NASCAR? What's that?

[gasman]

sadly every motorsport sanctioning body is doing this. new kits of race cars are few and far between.

This doesn't really effect me. I've gotten back into collecting diecasts. and they can be had for very little money right now. I picked up a motor sport authentics 1:24 2008 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota for $34 shipped on EBAY, that way cheaper then I could ever build it.

[Spike]

I feel kinda sorry for all the NASCAR builders out there, But What was there to build? They ALL look the same! Just different decals. NASCAR QUIT bein NASCAR a LOOOONG time ago! I haven't seen what looks like a stock car in YEARS! I grew up watchin the old cars, and enjoyed them, but there haven't been ANY STOCK cars in decades. The junk the folks hafta watch now are just cookie cutter cars. ALL of them look the same.Just pick your favorite advertiser, instead of brand loyalty.I know this may start a big fuss, but as I said, there haven't been ANY stock cars in a LOOOOONG time!

gotta agree with you on that. i STOPED watchin nascar all together

[Nick F40]

The greed machine strikes again!

With the bazillions of dollars NASCAR already rakes in (after all, every car and every driver is nothing more than an advertising billboard), did they really have to squeeze the kitmakers for every last dime they possibly could?

I was never a fan of NASCAR and it's money-grubbing ways, but now I feel even more justified in ignoring their product entirely. NASCAR? What's that?

[Roadkill2525]

Seeing that the current kits are all based off the Chevy Lumina from '89-94 with different bodies and engines its no big loss for me.

I started watching it '89 or '90 so I build cars with names like Richard and Kyle Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Davey Allison, Ricky Rudd, Darrell and Michael Waltrip, Derrick Cope, Mark Martin and Alan Kulwicki. I have a abundance of '90 to '93 Monogram kits so Im set with NASCAR for now.

[Zoom Zoom]

Well, I can continue in my anti-NASCAR support and continue to not watch nor build their models

I heartily support Revell in their decision. Enough is enough, the backlash has to start somewhere. Hopefully their letter lands square in the laps of everyone on the greed train. With such a soft market and advertising dollars drying up everywhere, you'd think the brilliant minds behind the licensing gouge would take a small something rather than nothing. Nothing as in no free advertising, either.

[Harry P.]

Gee, with the loss of kitmaker licensing revenues, I hope NASCAR doesn't need a government bailout now!!! :angry:

[RyanSilva]

Maybe just maybe, without nascar licenses, revell will put the funding towards faster kit tooling, or drag racing (granted drag racing has been a long while, since being produced '03?!) or just more kits being issued in general. (i am happy with whats come and has come out by revell)

[RyanSilva]

Gee, with the loss of kitmaker licensing revenues, I hope NASCAR doesn't need a government bailout now!!! :angry:

Now thats funny!

[RatRod]

Oh darn....... Now what do we do? LOL, I gave on Nascar long ago.

[Art Anderson]

So NASCAR would rather see no kits of their racers than receive smaller licensing fees. How does that enhance their product?

Bill Barrett

Tri-State Scale Model Car Club

Nascar today isn't the Nascar of old, frankly. I still remember stopping in Atlanta, after going to Daytona in 1965 for the '500'--for a late night supper. The waitress, seeing our sunburnt faces, instead of asking immediately for a beverage order, blurted out: "What won today, a Ford or a Plymouth?"

Within 10 yrs, Nascar had openly shifted their focus to the driver, rather than the make of car, which of course, made the series more "fan friendly"--easier to go after the autograph, for example, of one's favorite driver than say, some memorabilia of a particular favorite car. This was something that coincided with the shift of race car sponsorship in Nascar to billboard advertising of a nationwide scope, rather than some car dealership, a southeastern US "association" of car dealers, or some chicken farm in North Carolina, all part of a long range plan to make Nascar a household word all across the US, to gain major network TV coverage. Obviously, it worked. Not only did companies nationwide get in line to become the major sponsor of a Cup car, but the drivers themselves became spokespersons for their major sponsors as well (USAC had successfully marketed this concept through the 60's with Indy cars, CART took it to "the next level", and IRL enjoys some success with this concept to this day). Accessory suppliers (those whose small logo's appear on the front fenders of Cup cars) jockeyed for position to become "Official Nascar" suppliers.

Several years ago, however, one of the product development guys at Revell-Monogram, told a group of us some of the hassles involved: While Nascar requires all cars to bear a particular set of "Official Nascar" supplier decals on their front fenders, away from the race car, that mandate goes away--toy and model companies had to negotiate individually with each and every one of them. AND, believe it or not, there were companies who, away from the big advertising venue that Nascar had become, would REFUSE to allow their logo to be used, if "__________" (you fill in the blank) was going to have their logo there! Apparently, advertising with Nascar, like politics, makes for some strange bedfellows, huh?

When Nascar, along with each and every sponsor, supplier, along with the driver, wants their individual cut of the pie, the expenses for a toy or model company easily can go way over the top, beyond what makes any sense considering that those expenses have to be factored in to the price the manufacturer has to charge, just to get back to square one. Already, most of the major diecast makers have gotten out of offering new 1/64 scale Cup cars, and the price point of those had to rise to the point that their backing out of Nascar as a product line in that small scale became moot: The mass merchandisers (the Big Box store chains) simply decreased the peg space they were willing to alot, due to unacceptable pricepoints (not many $5 blister-carded diecasts at Walmart, for example).

However, things could get very interesting over the next couple of years, given the economic climate: One should start wondering if Nascar will even be able to fill the fields for much of the series this next year, will there truly be that many sponsorships for the full season, or will we see an awful lot of "one race" deals, certainly for the major events, Daytona, Charlotte etc, the lesser events wondering if they will have full fields to face the green flag? This alone may well make a difference in the long run, IMO. Will Nascar be able to be the big dog in racing marketing even this next year that they have been for perhaps the last 25yrs? I, for one, wonder.

Art

[locoengr]

NASCAR is being run by idiots. Look at the lock they had from the late 90's to early 00's. Their fan base was growing enormously. The merchandise sales were unreal. Then they startde raising prices trying to cut deeper into a fat hog. That started to lock out the true NASCAR fan. Then came the Toyota issue. I personally will never forgive them for that. That is also the last I watched. This deal with Revell is just one more straw on the camels back. It keeps on and "they" are too greedy to see whats going on. Now, throw in the economy and the big 3 in trouble....... It was nice knowing you old NASCAR. I had tons of fun but you went to the well once to often.

Just my cents.......

[Zoom Zoom]

Gee, with the loss of kitmaker licensing revenues, I hope NASCAR doesn't need a government bailout now!!!

Shhhh, don't give those crooks any ideas

[1972 Satellite]

Here is to Revell for staying in it as long as they did. NASCAR might someday get wise and a little less greedy. Maybe someday in the future a driver might even dare to step out of line again and say a bad word or throw a punch and not get a $30,000 fine.

[Rob Hall]

Meh.

I enjoyed NA$CAR when the cars looked kind of like real cars, and built a number of the excellent Monogram kits ias a kid n the early-mid '80s. I lost interest in NA$CAR when they started doing the fake nonsense--i.e. RWD race cars w/ the names of FWD production cars.

[Harry P.]

Meh.

I enjoyed NA$CAR when the cars looked kind of like real cars, and built a number of the excellent Monogram kits ias a kid n the early-mid '80s. I lost interest in NA$CAR when they started doing the fake nonsense--i.e. RWD race cars w/ the names of FWD production cars.

Absolutely. Today's NASCAR has absolutely no connection to "real" cars in any way. The whole thing has morphed into an unrecognizable version of what NASCAR was in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Today it's just a blatant, in-your-face money making corporation. They might as well be "racing" mechanical rabbits around a track!

Now every car looks the same (if you can actually see it under the dozens of advertising logos plastered on every square inch of the body!), all the drivers are interchangeable, etc. Borrrrrrrrrring!

NASCAR was cool back when you could cheer for a Ford, a Chevy, a Mercury, A Dodge or Plymouth, or even a Hudson to win the race. And the cars you cheered for actually were Fords, Chevies, Plymouths, etc., for the most part. Who the heck do you root for now? "Go, 'car of tomorrow""???

Bleccchh...

[Andy Wyatt]

I haven't built any NA$###### in some time now...I have kits and decals to do a couple dozen different Terry Labonte cars and no real desire to do any of them. As far as the C.O.T. is concerned...buy a Fast and Furious Mitsubishi tuner kit, slap some fluorescent #24's on it, add a window net...and there ya have it...C.O.T. I think Revell did the right thing...it sucks for the guys who still think todays NA$CAR is worthwhile, but enough is enough.

[gregbbear]

Harry, I am with you 100%!!! Hopefully, this will free up some of Revell's money for other things. Hopefully, the new AMT will stay away from them too. They (nascar) have certainly forgotten what original fan base got them where they are. I think that the economy is going to be very bad for them. Unfortunately, it will probably be so for the kit manufacturers too. Seeing the gobs of nascar kits, and decals that go unsold on ebay everyday doesn't say much to me about their ability to sell well. Vintage drag on the other hand, that seems to be selling some kits. On ebay anyways.

Revell's anouncement is something that they should have done a few years ago. I hope that they continue with their "special edition" kits. They seem to be on to something. The little extras go a long way! I hope that some of the nascar money can go to adding to this line.

Just my two cents.

Regards,

Greg

[Peter Lombardo]

Hey guys, I think this is just the first of many disappointments with sports as we enter this new age of unjustified corporate greed and revenue failure. First, I have to state that I will NEVER pay any money to see millionaires play baseball, football, golf or auto racing. I will watch little league, Pop Warner football, high school, etc…. but the professional sporting world is out of control and I will not support it.

I live just west of NY City, so I see and hear the New York sports teams and what the Jets, Giants, Yankees and Mets have done to their fans is just criminal. Why do the greedy Yankees need a stadium when they had the most hollowed ground in the baseball world with Yankee Stadium? The Mets, well, maybe Shea Stadium was warn down, but please do we really need a new multi billion dollar affair? You, all of you guys, and me, own our little part of Citibank, now that our tax dollars have bailed them out. Citibank signed on to have the naming rights to the new Mets Stadium, to be called Citipark Field, real catchy name. That deal pays the greedy Mets 400 million dollars over the next 10 years. Do you hear me, 400 million dollars of our tax dollars being used to put the name of this basically bankrupt bank on the side of a baseball park where over paid millionaire elitist athletes will run around and chase a small ball. The Yankees and the Giants are charging upwards of a 20 thousand dollar “vig†to idiot fans so they can have the pleasure of paying over 2 thousand dollars to watch other over paid millionaires run around a different stadium across town. The NJ Devils and Nets had a perfectly fine arena in the Meadowlands to play in but the corrupt (yes he was found guilty, so I can say Corrupt politician) Mayor of Newark New Jersey used his political muscle to have an arena built in downtown Newark NJ so that he and his “connected†friends could sell the town the land for the arena, land that they purchased a few years ago for “dirt cheap prices†and sold for major league, no actually it was more like Intergalactic profit, to the city. This is all so sick in these times of job cuts, and recession. Many of us are concerned about our jobs, and family costs, and sports has been getting more and more out of control every year. The Super Bowl advertising revenue is going to be off this coming game (2009)…estimates are as much as 15% to 20% off of recent highs and many of the regular advertisers are sitting this one out.

Ok, it is not just the professional ball teams. Honda announced that they are dropping out of F1. Sure, F1 teams come and go as everyone wants a piece of that pie, but even Bernie said that if they don’t begin to lower the costs (they can’t and won’t) the sport is in major trouble. No kidding…all of the sports that rely on corporate sponsorship are going to get hurt. Look, Buick had to cut Tiger Woods loose for lack of capital. Cadillac will no longer sponsor the Masters Tournament, and if you are a golf fan, that is the Holy Grail. Golf in general is going to be hurt…they can not keep supporting the huge purses each week for the players if the corporations can’t pony up the cash and many can’t in this economic climate.

Toyota said they are still in but, they will keep a careful eye on cost and if it continues to escalate, there will be cut backs. Ford, GM and Chrysler, with the government breathing down their necks, will have to watch every penny they spend on advertising…you know the cuts are coming. The major sponsors are all cutting back. Nascar will be hurt tremendously because there are so many teams and so many races. The cost to field a Nascar team is crazy…F1 is ten times as crazy. So in an effort to help the France family Great Great Great Grand Children’s trust funds, they slap a licensing fee on the plastic kit manufacturers because they use the “likeness†of their race cars. Give me a break!!!

Personally, I am looking forward to the day that all sports goes the way of the greedy corrupt boxing industry. Let it all go to “Pay per viewâ€. Let the crazies who are willing to spend half a weeks pay to watch a bunch of arrogant millionaires run or drive around in circles. Look, I am not a fan of Nascar, so my opinion on the sport most likely holds no water with you guys that like the sport…all right, I’m ok with that…but think about it, they don’t care about you. All of these professional sports are the same, they constantly forget that without the fan, they have nothing. NOTHING!!!! Without the fans, the ballplayers would be playing in weekend pickup games. Without the fans, the touring golf professionals would be hustling members at the local private golf course. With out Nascar fans, most of the drivers would be banging nails or selling insurance during the day, and driving their own race car on the dirt tracks at night. These ruling authorities always stick it to the fan, the guy that supports and bleeds the team colors.

I’ll give you an example of what I am talking about. A few years ago, my brother and I volunteered at a Senior (now called the Champions Tour) Golf Tournament that was held at Upper Montclair Country Club in cooperation with the NFL. NFL players played with the Professional golfers. My brother, his wife and I were Marshals on the eleventh hole, which means we gave up $60 dollars (for two shirts and a hat to wear) and 3 or 4 days of our time (vacation days for me) so that these guys could play golf. We would help locate wayward shots, handle the ropes, deal with “crowd†control and basically spend the whole day on our feet. I watched, time after time, the NFL guys refuse to give autographs to the kids in the gallery (and I mean on the practice day rounds, not in the heat of the battle days), the arrogant golf professionals turn their nose up to the fans as they would applaud a good shot, and a general dislike of the people being there. The players acted like they wished they were a million miles away. I could not understand the blatant dislike of the guys who make it all possible, the fan.

If they are too important for the fans love, money and devotion then Screw Nascar. Well, that’s my take on it.

[LVZ2881]

I just started building NASCAR kits in dec of last year, and while I have a few of the cars from the later 90's till now to build, my focus has always been on the 80's and early 90's cars, because they look like real cars.........

nothing looks meaner than an '82 Buick Regal with flared fenders to cover the racing slicks, when guys like Bobby Allison and Ricky Rudd drove them.

the annoucement from Revell really doesnt bother me..there enough of the older kits out there (except the Monte Carlo AeroCoupes, they are getting harder to find)...and the decal makers will start catering more towards the 80's cars because of the abundance of kits, which suits me just fine.

I have enough NASCAR kits and decals to last 5 years of building....

I enjoy watchind NASCAR on TV on Sundays...only because there is nothing else on tv then...

[Harry P.]

I enjoy watchind NASCAR on TV on Sundays...only because there is nothing else on tv then...

So... I assume you don't like football???

[Rob Hall]

I just started building NASCAR kits in dec of last year, and while I have a few of the cars from the later 90's till now to build, my focus has always been on the 80's and early 90's cars, because they look like real cars.........

nothing looks meaner than an '82 Buick Regal with flared fenders to cover the racing slicks, when guys like Bobby Allison and Ricky Rudd drove them.

the annoucement from Revell really doesnt bother me..there enough of the older kits out there (except the Monte Carlo AeroCoupes, they are getting harder to find)...and the decal makers will start catering more towards the 80's cars because of the abundance of kits, which suits me just fine.

I have enough NASCAR kits and decals to last 5 years of building....

I enjoy watchind NASCAR on TV on Sundays...only because there is nothing else on tv then...

Ah yes..I started watching NASCAR in '79, definitely remember the early '80s cars...they looked so good....very stock looking but also quite the racing machines...they lost me when they started using the names from the FWD GMs but with RWD race cars in the late '80s.

A description of NASCAR today I saw on another board was great---drop a box of Skittles in a toilet and flush it...