Justin Porter

I absolutely could see sustained sales of model kits of a '64 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, of a '71 AMC Javelin, or a '68 Oldsmobile Toronado. The Cadillac is a car that will appeal hugely to the lowrider set. Why release a kit that isn't engineered with poseable suspension ala the Revell '64 Impala or the AMT '70 Monte Carlo? What's the point of having a Javelin kit on the market that doesn't even match the fit and detail of the now 35 year old Revell '69 Camaro, let alone their '71 Mustang or '68 Firebird. The Toronado is going to give the most appeal to factory stock builders. Why release a kit that isn't a good shelf match for AMT's '66 Riviera? The biggest sales potential for these subjects does not lie in reviving old tooling in order to scrape the bottom of a 50+ year old nostalgia barrel but in new tooling that will suit the tastes and expectations of modern builders.

The new-tool Revell '71 Mustangs have been tremendously successful on my shelf. I attribute this to several factors. #1 - Excellent "Buzz" - Revell has done a good job marketing the kit as "all new" and that helps move units, as well as other folks seeing the positive experience of other builders on various forms of social media. #2 - Strong Subject Matter - The Mustang is a popular car, and it's a popular car with an excellent media record ranging from Gone in Sixty Second to Diamonds Are Forever (which Revell smartly tied into) to even the Top Gear Patagonia Special. #3 - Price Point - The Revell Boss 351 wears an MSRP of $31.95. The Revell "Diamonds Are Forever" Mach 1 wears an MSRP of $25.95. AMT's 1971 Mustang Mach 1 (kit #1262) wears an MSRP of $34.99. So, in short, Revell delivered an excellent kit of a "name brand" subject that got a lot of good press and they undercut the old product sold by their biggest rival. That's how you make a sales success. The Round 2 "malaise era" reissues have been pretty spotty for success on my shelf. Of that group, the Gremlin sold best and primarily to slot car drag racers. Not awful but nothing to write home about.

Of that list, only the '66 Mercury has been a mild success on my shelf. The best selling of the classic tooling based full size 60's classics have been the '61 and '63 Galaxies. I brought in the '69 Galaxie but it hasn't moved yet. Likewise the '70 Wildcat. Truth be told, I've sold more of the Aoshima "Game Center" mobile arcade kei trucks than any three of the kits mentioned combined.

Several bits of feedback point to it. Firstly, a lot of the Mueller kits are fairly "everyone likes this" subjects like the '71 Duster. Secondly, the Craftsman Plus kits aren't priced at a discount compared to the "full" Mueller kits meaning unless someone specifically wants that subject, they're not as appealing. Thirdly, customers who are shopping for parts donors don't generally rob the clones and Craftsman Plus kits. For instance, the AMT pro street B bodies (either the Super Bee or GTX) are kits that are frequent sellers because their engines and chassis are going under other kits INCLUDING the aforementioned MPC '68 Coronet. I have high hopes for the reissue of the '57 Chevy Street Machine and the lowrider '70 Monte Carlo because of the high quality of those kits. Those kits are worth their pricetags AND I can completely see customers sliding the Chevy's frame under other Tri-Fives now that it'll be better marketed.

The '68 GTO does better than the Coronet. I'd say among the "clone" kits it's my third or fourth best performer behind the Nova wagon and the Mustang fastback, and doing about even with the Comet Caliente and the '64 Olds hardtop. Among Round 2 kits in general though, aside from the Nova wagon all of the clones get trounced in sales figures across my counter by Mueller era kit reissues like the '71 Duster and the '62 Bel Air.

Considering that the #1 volume seller at my shop is Tamiya kit #24090 which is a full detail Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R, I think you're vastly underestimating the number of builders from what I loosely term the "Gran Turismo" generation of car fans, whose tastes decidedly don't run towards American muscle cars. I have a pile of unsold '68 Coronet convertibles that tells me that old muscle car reissue hype doesn't always equate to sales.

Chassis and interior are all done on the Alfa and I am very thrilled with how this lovely little car is coming together. Even mocked up the body for a final check before glass and such go in and the chassis is in place permanently. I've done two coats of Gunze GX112 UV Cut Super Clear over the Cobra Motors Rosso Corsa and I am really happy with the results.

This is such a lovely, tidy build. Lots of thoughtful touches to elevate what's already a great kit.

The Campagnolo wheels most often found on the "Chairs n Flares" Dinos rate pretty high on my list. I'd also like a set of 365GTB/4 Daytona rear wheels with the proper rear dish. This is one of the few genuine let downs about the Fujimi Daytona.

Small update on the Alfa. I chose AK Interactive Real Color Ochre for the carpeting and Gunze Mr Color Brown for the leather. A little bit of foil went onto the side panels plus picking out details in Mr Color Silver.

Strangely enough, the NRHSA's monthly magazine - Hobby Merchandiser - did a very interesting article discussing Lego as a sales avenue for hobby shops. The article focused heavily on the benefits not only of sustained sales, but also the SEO benefits because customers who quite likely won't be searching for products you currently carry will definitely be searching for a brand name as big as Lego. For me personally, it's an intriguing opportunity but I'd have to learn more about distribution and deals and at the moment I already have taken on the challenge of promoting the new wargaming lines. Gotta grow one thing at a time to the point of sustainability before jumping into another project.

Really cool to see such a nice replica of such a specific Morgan! Always good to see other folks enjoying this really fantastic kit.

Fortunately my Point of Sale does a solid breakdown on this. The best comparison actually to give is to use the gross revenue of my top ten categories. Wargaming isn't in here because it's a very new addition to my shop (literally got our first Games Workshop rack last month) but this shows basically what pays 90% of the freight at Haven Hobby. This time the unnamed slice is "Scenic Materials" which is primarily Woodland Scenics brand merchandise. I categorize it separately from railroading because effectively all of my customers make use of it.

That slice is NuNu. The pains of using an online pie chart generator. lol Atlantis is one I wish I could explain but they just don't seem to be generating much traction. Case in point, as much as I personally love the old Miss Deal kit, the "Skorpion" reissue of it is a dust collector. I also figured the Swamp Rat XXX release would create some buzz given how long its been since a reasonably modern top fueler of any stripe was readily available. Again, no such luck. This is based purely on automotive kits but my shop handles all genres pretty extensively including air, armor, Gundam (by far our biggest chunk of model kit sales), plus wargaming and model railroading.

Yes. This is based solely on number of kits sold.

This is purely on volume and not on gross revenue.

So, I was playing around with data from my point of sale system and I thought this would be an interesting talking point. Currently, these thirteen brands represent all of the model kit companies that I have made sales with over the counter or at shows in 2024. This does represent all scales so the 1/20th and big scale releases count towards this along with the typical bi-scale 1/24th and 1/25th releases. To me, it represents a great glimpse of where the trends are shifting. Naturally, Revell's combination of product and price-point is a dominant one. Round 2's brands also represent a healthy chunk. However, at least from what my data tells me, any shop that's not committing to stocking a healthy amount of imported kits is leaving a lot of money on the table. Side note. Those two tiniest slivers are Atlantis and Meng.

That would be fantastic if the AM Grand Sport has been revived. Hopefully the kit will be available in normal distribution channels because I'd gladly put it on my shelves.

The Aoshima Paganis in some ways feel like spiritual successors to the Fujimi Enthusiast series. Daunting, challenging, frustrating, but jaw-dropping if properly realized just like yours!

A brief break while clear coats dry to work on the lovely little Twin Spark twin cam in the Alfa. The finish is mostly AK Interactive Xtreme Metal paints. I used an Iceman 8 cylinder distributor in place of the kit distributor and Gofer wire and boot material, while the wire ties are just crimped 0.3mm solder.

Thank you very kindly for the order and glad you received it! I look forward to seeing it built because Tamiya really packed that one full of good stuff.

It is an acrylic which made it that much more impressive to me. I chose to spray over gray specifically as a test of how good the paint's coverage would be, figuring that white or pink primer would be giving it too much of a head start to impress me. lol

And we're live and in color! After a quick spray of Mr Surfacer 1200 my airbrush was cleaned and without so much as a pressure change I dumped the Cobra Motors Rosso Corsa into my airbrush and sprayed away. I am IMMENSELY pleased because it worked just as it said on the bottle. Absolutely airbrush ready, giving a really great tone over gray primer, shooting with no odor compared to my typically preferred Mr Color paints, and self leveling nicely to give a good base coat. I plan on using GX112 clear over the base coat and I think it's going to make for a very classy little Alfa.

This is the new reissue. I had earmarked one of my initial shipment as MINE for the moment I could bring them in at my shop. ?

Amazing thing is that this was an actual race car by the Mooncraft racing team that took part in races at the Fuji Speedway in the predecessor to the Japanese Sports Prototype Championship. It was powered first by a BMW four cylinder and then later by a Mazda rotary. It wasn't hugely successful but it was wild looking. Mooncraft would also later rebody a Riley Daytona Prototype and run it as an entrant in the Super GT series.