Chuck Most

Personally, if there were never another new kit introduced of a Formula 1 car, '57 Chevy, Corvette, or Ferrari, I couldn't care less. I know those are all hot sellers, but you won't find any on my workbench, unless they're being used as parts donors. I would also like to see more modern cars- the thing is, which ones do you kit? Seems like 40 years ago, kitting a compact (Pinto, Vega, Gremlin, etc.) was fairly popular, but for some reason I can't see a kit of a modern-day Kia Rio or Chevy Cobalt selling nearly as well. The luxury and performance cars would be a safe bet- but all three of the American Ponycars are available in kit form (or will be once the Revell Camaro comes out) and just about every variaton of the Corvette has been kitted. And I'm only reffering to American manufacurers here to simplify things. There's a huge untapped market for CURRENT light truck kits that isn't being filled, and I'm personally not buying the 'not enough demand' thing. If there is demand for oddball stuff like a base model Chevy sedan with no backseat, there's a market for 1/2 ton pickups.

I didn't overtly mention that, but that was one of what I consider to be one of the side-effects of the mainstream retailers dropping hobby kits. The 'hardcore' guys have been embracing it for years, and I know of quite a few guys who started going to hobby shops and online sources for kits and supplies after the big box stores dropped them and discovered model car aftermarket parts there. There is more resin, photoetch, and aftermarket details out now than any other time in history. That is another aspect of the hobby that has grown and improved as the hobby has become, shall we say, more 'specialized'. Even if you discount new styrene kits, there is a huge array of kits and subjects available from the aftermarket concerns.

Gorgeous! Man, I've got to stop raiding these kits for parts and build one some day!

Made a finned cylinder head for a 308 six- the engine may well end up sprouting a Paxton blower or twin turbos in the (hopefully) not-too-distant future.

Oh, I did get a couple of kits today, but I'm sworn to secrecy on that. You'll find out shortly what it was I got, though!

The thought of filling the tank is what sends shivers up my spine! Mostly because it would need topped off every five minutes.

I stumbled across a website a couple years ago that was filled with all kinds of abandoned Trabants. Evidently, after communism fell apart, a lot of Trabant owners simply abandoned the cars wherever they pleased. Seems a little odd to just abandon a car you waited ten years to get, even it it was a total junker!

Yeah... I'm talking as far as 'Revell kits of said go'....

Christian, not to completely disregard everything else you said in your post (which I really enjoyed reading, by the way), but I think that last paragraph there absolutely nailed it as far as the current situation with the model car hobby goes. The market has changed. That has already happened in the world of Military, aircraft, and shipping modeling, and guess what happened? Those three genres are much more diverse, and the quality of the models built even to out of box standards, are leaps and bounds above what they were when those kits were geared to 'kids'. It just seemed it took longer for that shift to happen in the auto modeling arena than in other areas of scale modeling. Someone mentioned the big box stores turning their backs, for the most part, on model car kits being a factor. I agree with that- while I won't argue that a great many of us purchased kits at Mallwart and other such locations, we always went to the hobby shops because they had the GOOD stuff. Now the hobby shops do the lions share of the sales, and the lunatics are running the asylum. Yeah, prices have increased, but quality and selection is better than ever, and improving all the time. Everyone refers to the late '80's/early '90's period as 'The Second Golden Age of Modeling'. I think we're well poised to see the beginning of the third.

I'd have to second the motion on the new tool Revell Willys kits- both the drag and street rod versions. They assemble so easily its almost like they assemble themselves, and you're just kind of guiding things along. The old AMT kits with the one-piece undercarriage and metal axles fore and aft have never given me any fits, either.

Doug- have you ever checked out Dean's Hobby Stop? When he gets them in, the sealed ones sell for 35-40.

I think the Buick will be the first one I start working on

Not even this guy can save the patient-

Roger... you just HAD to remind me of the existence of that Torino kit, didn't ya?

That's a killer price for the '53 Pace Car and off road 4x4 (I'm assuming that's the '97, '98 F-150 Flareside if memory serves). Still way too much for that '48 Lincoln, but those are some screamin' deals!

Very, very nice!

Oh, I know, just didn't see a pic! I'm actually thinking of picking up one of those terrible Lindberg Gremlin kits just for fun.

Hadn't thought of trying THAT with a Trabant!

I'd love to see that too, but if it isn't exactly backwards-compatible with Revell's other Deuce kits, I think I'm brave enough to try making a kitbash work.

Love that hearse... you even included the obligatory 'dead guy'!

No, that happened back around '97 or so. Still a way to go on this one!

I was hoping somebody would jump in with a Pacer. Now somebody grab a Gremlin and we'll be officially underway.

I was wondering about that. Now, if it had said 'Sent from a phone hog tied and stuffed in the trunk of a Chrysler Newport' I'd have wondered, 'So... why's the guy thinking of van kits being reissued?'

Wow. If you fed Plowboy's coupe after midnight- THIS would be what happened.

I did think of one decent kit that seemed to have been geared more toward kids- the AMT Resuce 911 van. It was the old MPC Dodge van kit, but with a toyish 'don't sue us for copyright infringement' generic grille slapped on.