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Why is it so hard for young people to get into modelling?


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49 minutes ago, peteski said:

Flip phone?  interested in history? This just reaffirms that you are not like the average person in your age group.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  While simplified, there is your answer why it is so hard to get younger people into building models.  There are few that will, but the rest have no interest.

While the way most new  cars look is underwhelming (compared to the cars from mid-20th Century for example, few unusual (and slick or eye-pleasing) do show up here and there. The modern sports/exotic cars also look quite interesting (but some are way crazy and outrageous). 

 

I have to totally disagree here. While today's cars are full of computers (making working on them close to impossible), they are also *MUCH* more reliable and rust-resistant than anything built in the 20th Century.  Back then you had to get a new car every few years because the mechanical parts wouldn't last, or rust would be eating the metalwork.  Remember, odometers in all those cars only went to 99,000 miles. Nobody was expecting them to go more than 100k miles.  Back then you would also see more broken down cars on the streets or highways.  Nowadays you almost never see a broken down car on the side of the highway.  The engines are also much more efficient.

Today's cars can easily last over 10 years, or even 20 years (of maintained properly), and they remain almost rust-free (even in areas with harsh winters, where lots of road salt is used). Odometers also have an extra digit, so the cars are expected to regularly go over 100k miles.  I don't think today's cars have any "planned obsolescence" built into them.  Quality of their assembly is also better than anything from mid-20th Century.

So while contemporary average cars are not very exciting (to build up some emotion attachment), they are much better than the the older cars. They are more like appliances that get you from point A to point B in relative comfort.

Sad but true..You will NEVER see a Prius or some other Jelly Bean type of car on the collectors market..Ever..They do rust fast like the others do and most of the electronic gizmos under the hood corrode so you have to spend an arm/leg to replace the part that you cannot do yourself..

 

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Personally, I find it easier to work on post-1996 cars, even the newest stuff with CAN systems than working on some of the garbage we got dumped on us in the late 1970s until the beginning of OBD-II. The GM offerings weren't as bad, but good grief I don't know what some of the other companies were thinking.

I used to know someone who has a small car collection of "interesting" cars that Faust would salivate over. One was a "Fuel Dejected" 1981 Imperial and another was an early 1980s Mercury Colony Park with EEC-III. Easily two of the worst examples of being impossible to diagnose drivability issues that I can think of.

I LIKE plugging in a scan tool and seeing what sensors and modules are doing from the comfort of the driver's seat. A scan tool that I can use on almost everything post 1996 on the road.

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1 hour ago, peteski said:

Flip phone?  interested in history? This just reaffirms that you are not like the average person in your age group.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  While simplified, there is your answer why it is so hard to get younger people into building models.  There are few that will, but the rest have no interest.

 

I do pride myself it trying to be different than my peers.

1 hour ago, peteski said:

I have to totally disagree here. While today's cars are full of computers (making working on them close to impossible), they are also *MUCH* more reliable and rust-resistant than anything built in the 20th Century.  Back then you had to get a new car every few years because the mechanical parts wouldn't last, or rust would be eating the metalwork.  Remember, odometers in all those cars only went to 99,000 miles. Nobody was expecting them to go more than 100k miles.  Back then you would also see more broken down cars on the streets or highways.  Nowadays you almost never see a broken down car on the side of the highway.  The engines are also much more efficient.

Today's cars can easily last over 10 years, or even 20 years (of maintained properly), and they remain almost rust-free (even in areas with harsh winters, where lots of road salt is used). Odometers also have an extra digit, so the cars are expected to regularly go over 100k miles.  I don't think today's cars have any "planned obsolescence" built into them.  Quality of their assembly is also better than anything from mid-20th Century.

So while contemporary average cars are not very exciting (to build up some emotion attachment), they are much better than the the older cars. They are more like appliances that get you from point A to point B in relative comfort.

You may be right about that point, I don't really deserve to be trying to make a point about it, as I am a brand new baby boy. 

However I totally and completely agree with them being "appliances". I do not really see the 2011 Ford Flex sitting on my driveway as a car. More of just a computer on wheels that carries a TON of stuff. A 1968 Dodge Dart is a car.

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3 hours ago, SSNJim said:

You mean the way carmakers would update trim and such every year, and totally redesign cars every 3 years in the 50s/60s/70s? Or the way carmakers make cars identically for 6-10 years nowadays with few, if any, changes? Our 2017 Escape was totalled after less than a year. We replaced it with an identical 2018 Escape - same equipment, same trim, same color. The 2018 is indistinguishable from the 2017. The only thing that changed was the year digit and sequential serial number in the VIN. Couldn't have done that in 1957, 1967 or probably even 1977.

Of course, if you're talking about being able to take the distributor cap off your 1957 Chevy V-8 and slap it on your 1976 Chevy V-8, that's a different matter. Unllke now, engines rarely changed then. You were able to walk in to K-Mart and pick up points, condensers, spark plugs and wires, distributor cap, air filter, oil filter and oil to do the way too often tune-up on your 65 Chevy and 69 Ford. That was actually kind of nice.

I guess planned obsolescence is where you find it.

Planned obsolescence is building in flaws or the ability to break at a certain point (for cars). But yes I do agree with the cars being the same for every year. I wish cars had more interchangeable parts. Another thing I really appreciate about classics/ older cars.

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i bought a 1979 Mustang in 1982 that had 25,000 miles on it. My parents had a fit because I bought a car with such high mileage. I got quite a few miles out of that, but not more than 50,000. I bought a used 30000 mile 1996 Ranger I put another 125,000 miles on, a 1997 Crown Vic that had 100,000 I took up to 150,000, a new 2007 Focus we put 160,000 on, and a new 2007 Honda Goldwing with 112,000 miles on it.

Just routine maintenance on most of them. the occasional alternator type failures. The Focus had a failed transmission solenoid that was fixed under the drivetrain warranty. None of them I would call a clunker or problem, not a lot of recalls. Cars today are much more reliable now than they have ever been. Almost every vehicle I or my wife have owned since the mid-90s has surpassed 100,000 miles with very few significant failures. Now 100,000 mile cars are common - in the 60's and 70's they were extremely rare. Is that planned obsolescence?

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5 minutes ago, SSNJim said:

i bought a 1979 Mustang in 1982 that had 25,000 miles on it. My parents had a fit because I bought a car with such high mileage. I got quite a few miles out of that, but not more than 50,000. I bought a used 30000 mile 1996 Ranger I put another 125,000 miles on, a 1997 Crown Vic that had 100,000 I took up to 150,000, a new 2007 Focus we put 160,000 on, and a new 2007 Honda Goldwing with 112,000 miles on it.

Just routine maintenance on most of them. the occasional alternator type failures. The Focus had a failed transmission solenoid that was fixed under the drivetrain warranty. None of them I would call a clunker or problem, not a lot of recalls. Cars today are much more reliable now than they have ever been. Almost every vehicle I or my wife have owned since the mid-90s has surpassed 100,000 miles with very few significant failures. Now 100,000 mile cars are common - in the 60's and 70's they were extremely rare. Is that planned obsolescence?

I get the point...

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12 hours ago, Rick L said:

My generation would build what they grew up with. Our fathers were our heroes and we built military models of their tanks, airplanes and ships. Later we built models of salt flat racers, hot rods and muscle cars. And my generation is still building those today. 
   Now, I can’t get too excited over building a model of my 2015 Ford Escape.

That list is telling. No plain vanilla contemporary cars in that list.   I don't blame you for not getting enthused over a Ford Escape, but few people got enthused about building a model of a stock Pinto back then either.  Exciting cars are still being built, and some are being modeled.

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My daily is a 2016 Mazda3 S Grand Touring 6MT that I bought new in January 2016. My daily commute (was) 30 miles each way until COVID has had my department working from home since March 2020. I just turned 81,000 miles last weekend, it would have well over 100k if I was still driving to the office every day. Oil is changed at 5k miles, except the last change was done at one year because of not driving it. Plugs at 75k. Still has original coolant. Battery in 2019. Original concrete Dunlops replaced at 65k. Rear pads and rotors at 70k. Nice Bose stereo, has Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It's kind of a hoot to drive, and I just put together the second front strut. Hopefully by the weekend the Koni Special Actives and Racing Beat springs will be installed. I totally love older cars, but "fun" appliances for daily use FTW. Keep the classic cars in the garage and drive them for fun! I think of the maintenance schedules of some of our revered cars and shudder to think of how that would translate into today's world.

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12 hours ago, Richard Bartrop said:

That list is telling. No plain vanilla contemporary cars in that list.   I don't blame you for not getting enthused over a Ford Escape, but few people got enthused about building a model of a stock Pinto back then either.  Exciting cars are still being built, and some are being modeled.

Oh yes! I agree. The Ferrari Laferrari, Pegasi Huayara, Pininfarina Batista, Bugatti Bolide, Aston Martin Valkyrie hybirid and other family cars of that such would make some great modeling.

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11 minutes ago, Ceaser_Salad said:

But who does that attract? Kids or veteran modellers?

I'd assume kits of modern supercars and hypercars would appeal to a broad range of modelers, skewing younger.    Certainly not going to attract younger adult builders or kids with old timer subjects like Model A hot rods and Tom Daniel show rods. 

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Just now, Rob Hall said:

I'd assume kits of modern supercars and hypercars would appeal to a broad range of modelers, skewing younger.    Certainly not going to attract younger adult builders or kids with old timer subjects like Model A hot rods and Tom Daniel show rods. 

Fair point.

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3 hours ago, Rick L said:

Oh yes! I agree. The Ferrari Laferrari, Pegasi Huayara, Pininfarina Batista, Bugatti Bolide, Aston Martin Valkyrie hybirid and other family cars of that such would make some great modeling.

Referring to these cars as family cars was made in jest.

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On 8/8/2021 at 7:19 PM, Foghorn Leghorn said:

Video games. They're designed to be addictive.

Playing with models can't compete.

Yes, this is sad but true... in fact, not only the games, but everything about the internet is to blame for the loss of attention and patience in my opinion. Yes, instant gratification ... but I don’t think they realize that it’s not really that gratifying. If only they could get into a model build and really see their own creative potential come to fulfillment, then they would realize it.

Its sort of funny though... I told my uncle who is very much into building 1:1 cars that are drivable that he should consider building models. I told him it was just as rewarding. Maybe even more since you can build the whole thing in the comfort of your cozy carpeted home while wearing slippers. And (in my case) when you feel like driving one, you just turn on Gran Turismo and pick the same car and drive it to limits you’d never dream of driving your “real” one. You get the whole experience. Lol!

The first time I remember seeing built model cars was when I was about 7 and one of the first ones was a ‘55 or ‘57 Chevy set up kind of gasser style and it had a clear hood scoop. One of my uncles built it and had it on a shelf. I thought it was cool. But when I really got hooked was when I was about 10 and I met a neighbor kid across the street named John who was a few years older than me. The first time I went into his house he showed me the models in his bedroom and I was blown away! Most were military tanks, jeeps, airplanes, infantry, and transport vehicles. I couldn’t believe how real they looked with airbrushed camo and such. That was the first time I learned about Tamiya, because that’s what many of those kits were. So, in the beginning I was really into military models at a young age. He and I would sit at a big table together at his house every couple of days and work on our models, sometimes hardly even talking at all, but we were in the zone and that’s all that mattered. Said in Sean Connery’s voice... “Good times, good times.”

PS, I’m still rockin’ a flip phone too bro👍

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22 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

I'd assume kits of modern supercars and hypercars would appeal to a broad range of modelers, skewing younger.    Certainly not going to attract younger adult builders or kids with old timer subjects like Model A hot rods and Tom Daniel show rods. 

I think of this idea every time I see what new releases are coming out and how the majority of them seem to be re-releases of subject matter that is by no means new.  Not sure how many versions of a 1970s van or oddly customized Toronado the next generation of modelers is looking for.

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I find it interesting (and I am in no way surprised) that the majority of this conversation has been about cars. The rather prickly answers regarding youth interest in supercars still doesn't answer the question about sci fi, armour, maritime or railroad modelling. Sure SOME younger people might be into the ridiculous modern supercars. But is every modeller a car modeller?

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1 hour ago, Beans said:

I think of this idea every time I see what new releases are coming out and how the majority of them seem to be re-releases of subject matter that is by no means new.  Not sure how many versions of a 1970s van or oddly customized Toronado the next generation of modelers is looking for.

Round 2 in particular, isn't targeting the next generation or younger adults...it's market is pretty clearly the Baby Boomers and to a lesser degree Gen X (my generation, grew up building in the 80s).    Revell seems to be more generalist, but also skews older w/ a lot of subject matter.   Atlantis seems to be squarely aiming at Baby Boomers. 

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24 minutes ago, Ceaser_Salad said:

I find it interesting (and I am in no way surprised) that the majority of this conversation has been about cars. The rather prickly answers regarding youth interest in supercars still doesn't answer the question about sci fi, armour, maritime or railroad modelling. Sure SOME younger people might be into the ridiculous modern supercars. But is every modeller a car modeller?

You'd have to check with modelers on a sci-fi, armor, etc modeling forum.  Since this is a car modeling forum, what goes on in other genres isn't exactly a major topic here.

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2 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

 

Round 2 in particular, isn't targeting at the next generation or younger adults...it's market is pretty clearly the Baby Boomers and to a lesser degree Gen X (my generation, grew up building in the 80s).    Revell seems to be more generalist, but also skews older w/ a lot of subject matter.   Atlantis seems to be squarely aiming at Baby Boomers. 

I am sure a lot of it comes from the business question of, do we create products targeted at a younger new audience, who aren't currently buying, in the hopes of getting them to buy?  OR  do we target the older consistent audience, who is currently buying?   There is risk in both scenarios. 

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18 minutes ago, Beans said:

I am sure a lot of it comes from the business question of, do we create products targeted at a younger new audience, who aren't currently buying, in the hopes of getting them to buy?  OR  do we target the older consistent audience, who is currently buying?   There is risk in both scenarios. 

The older builders are a guaranteed sale for the time being.  Eventually people are going to age out, and will younger modelers be interested in the same old, same old? 

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15 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

 

Round 2 in particular, isn't targeting at the next generation or younger adults...it's market is pretty clearly the Baby Boomers and to a lesser degree Gen X (my generation, grew up building in the 80s).    Revell seems to be more generalist, but also skews older w/ a lot of subject matter.   Atlantis seems to be squarely aiming at Baby Boomers. 

And I'm fine with that for purely selfish reasons.   There are young people who are interested in older subjects, and that's great.  That you should only be interested in the things that happened within, your lifetime is a dull and stunted worldview.  When I was a kid, the prewar classics were the subjects that got me to spend my allowance.  At the time, most of them were only 40-50 years old,  so they were newer than most of the subjects we're clamouring for.

57 minutes ago, Ceaser_Salad said:

I find it interesting (and I am in no way surprised) that the majority of this conversation has been about cars. The rather prickly answers regarding youth interest in supercars still doesn't answer the question about sci fi, armour, maritime or railroad modelling. Sure SOME younger people might be into the ridiculous modern supercars. But is every modeller a car modeller?

Really, are the modern exotics more ridiculous than some of the things we were supposed to like as kids?
177441-12074-pristine.jpg

From what I've seen, young people love sci fi, and Bandai seems to be doing a pretty healthy business selling their giant robot kits.   The Japanese kitmakers put out a steady stream of foreign exotics, and people seem to keep buying them.

It has been pointed out that is group is a little insular,  so I'd say the interest is there, but it's happening outside our rather limited focus.

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1 hour ago, Beans said:

I am sure a lot of it comes from the business question of, do we create products targeted at a younger new audience, who aren't currently buying, in the hopes of getting them to buy?  OR  do we target the older consistent audience, who is currently buying?   There is risk in both scenarios. 

Also, I think that a profound mentality shift has occurred with much of the younger generation. Cars used to carry the allure of being fast, cool, picking up chicks, etc. Cruising up and down the strip every Friday and Saturday night to find parties and get stupid was the social life for many. Now days why waste time driving up and down a road when when you can get even more social interaction via the digital “super highway”? There’s also a movement of younger people who are concerned with the environment who are demanding serious change because they feel their future is in imminent danger. That mentality likely does’nt jive well with noisy, gas guzzling cars. The new trend in cars that they are more likely to be interested in is fuel economy, cuteness, reliability, electric, and a dashboard that has a lot of tech features built in that are compatable with their devices.

Honestly, I have no interest in horse drawn stage coaches because they got replaced with something better, but now that “something better” has been replaced by something better yet .... but as for me, im still stuck in my old school mentality, at least when it comes to scale model interests.

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3 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

You'd have to check with modelers on a sci-fi, armor, etc modeling forum.  Since this is a car modeling forum, what goes on in other genres isn't exactly a major topic here.

That's exactly what I was going to say.  This is an automotive-themed forum with very little of other genres of models being posted here.

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6 hours ago, Ceaser_Salad said:

The rather prickly answers regarding youth interest in supercars still doesn't answer the question about sci fi, armour, maritime or railroad modelling. Sure SOME younger people might be into the ridiculous modern supercars. But is every modeller a car modeller?


Gunpla or Gundam’ is as old as Star Wars. There is currently a cool 40 year anniversary with limited release kits etc. the kits can be moulded in any colour you can think of, glow in the dark, clear with glitter, gloss, flat, fluorescent colour. These are all press for or snap kits with pretty much mould line and zero flash. The most recent TV series has a theme like Pokémon or Yu-go-oh or Beyblades. All of those can attract a youths attention.

 

The Games Workshop and Citadel line of miniatures appeal to a different audience. They have a range of books for the lore behind each faction and the story telling side of the fantasy universe. Then there’s the fact you can play the game with your models, it’s basically a faint board game. 
 

So you can see these 2 genres appeal the completely different audiences or to the open minded builder.

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3 hours ago, peteski said:

That's exactly what I was going to say.  This is an automotive-themed forum with very little of other genres of models being posted here.


Pretty sure there’s lots of different build section of this forum not just the cars as a majority of the comments come back to. There is Trucks, Racing, Sci-fi and Dioramas 

 

The majority of participating forum members are into cars. The other builders don’t seem to frequent threads posted in the general area, only what’s in the WIP or under glass sections. Well at least that’s what I’ve noticed in the conversations on here.

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