Harry P.

Fabulous Thunderbirds, Tough Enough

It's Ford vs Chevy. Mopar is way above those two...

This is just speculation on my part, but it seems to make sense. It seems to me that the model kit industry these days (model cars, specifically) is a tough business to be in. Sales are down, there are fewer people in the hobby (smaller consumer base), and kit prices have increased greatly. Not exactly three facts that would bode well for the industry. After reading Dave M's description of how things operate at Moebius, it's obvious to me that employees there (and probably at the other model manufacturers as well) are overworked and tasked with way too many responsibilities per person. Whenever a person is overworked, no matter what the business, that's when mistakes tend to happen and the number of mistakes tends to increase. Trying to do more with fewer resources and a smaller budget is never a recipe for success, but things being what they are today, that's how the kit manufacturers have to operate. They are putting out kits that will sell far fewer copies than they would have years ago, when the model car hobby was much stronger. Since each kit they produce will probably sell far fewer units than it would have years ago, and since they still need to make a profit in order to stay in business, the only option available is to cut unit costs. There's simply no other way. And how do you cut costs? Well, one way companies cut costs is to place more responsibilities on fewer employees. If the company can make 5 people do the work that used to take 8 people, and lay off the "extra" 3 employees... that's a cost savings, bottom line. But relying on 5 people to do the work that really should take 8 people to do might not be the best way to go if your ultimate goal is quality, not cost, because you now have 5 overworked, stressed-out employees that are going to be more prone to make mistakes than if the work were spread out among the previous 8 people. But let's be real... every company's number one goal, regardless of the product they sell, is to increase their bottom line. Some companies do it better than others, but they all are looking for the same result: more $$$. And that's not an evil thing... it's just good business. No company can stay in business unless they're making a profit. So in the world of model car kits, the business atmosphere is much different today than it was 20-30-40 years ago. It's much tougher to be a profitable model car company today than it was in 1969. And in order to be profitable under difficult circumstances, certain steps need to be taken... steps to cut costs. The problem is that those steps can sometimes result in problems like mistakes creeping into the process, or mistakes making it way too far into the manufacturing process before they are caught... if they are caught at all. This isn't meant to be my excuse for companies to screw up, just my attempt at putting the issue of "why are there so many mistakes in newly tooled kits?" into perspective.

See you in 2015!

Rolling Stones, Wild Horses.

One of my all-time favorite bands.

The instructions say to paint the insides of the fenders red. I think it looks cool and sort of flamboyant, and this car is nothing if not flamboyant! But the accent color on the body won't be red (although the interior will be)...

You're probably going to be disappointed by my "secret"... I just take the parts out to the garage and spray them. Unheated garage, so I go out, spray, and come right back in ASAP. Simple as that... no secret technique or special tricks. I keep things very simple when building models.

I love it! Nice attention to detail.

Got the fenders painted...

I still don't see why you can't simply not pay attention to Mr. Pig Greedy's listings. I guess I just see ebay in a different way. I want to see all the listings, ridiculous prices or not. I want to see evereything that's on sale so that I don't potentially miss a good deal. What if I had blocked Mr. Pig Greedy, and one day he puts up a kit I have been looking for at a great price? I miss it, that's what happens. No thanks... I don't want to block anyone.

It's not complete until the mirrors are installed!

I know. But I don't see why some people get so upset with what someone else is charging. It's a free country. They can charge whatever they want to charge. And you have the right to not buy it if you think the price is too high. All this talk of "blocking" certain sellers is nonsense. All you need to do is not buy stuff that you think is too expensive. It's so simple... I don't see why all the fuss about blocking certain sellers whose prices you may not like.

Thornton's large coffee is 99¢ and every sixth one is free.

Every McDonalds has rules for coffee. It can only sit for so long before they have to make a fresh pot.

All you have to do is "sort by price, lowest first." Then when you get to your price limit, stop looking, Geez, you guys are making a huge issue out of a complete non-issue. If you don't want to pay more than a certain price for a certain item, you don't have to! There's no need to "block" anyone. Isn't every seller free to charge whatever they want to charge, just as you are free to pay whatever you want to pay?

Don't you have to be a senior citizen to get the senior coffee??

Sounds good to me. I'd also like to see brass foil.

McD's coffee is good. So is Thornton's.

Today the local McDonalds raised the price of a large coffee from a buck to $1.29. I know, big deal, right? But still... 29% increase. Oh well... the local Thornton's is still at 99¢...

Well, I for one am impressed with the fact that a top guy at a model manufacturing company would come on this forum and lay it all out for us, warts and all. Congratulations, Dave, for giving all of us an insider's view of how the industry works. Your honesty and candor are commendable. Just another reason why I think that Moebius is a company that "gets it." Just one suggestion: Since there are always unseen delays and snags in production, why not stop giving out "expected" kit release dates? Wait until you KNOW when the kit will be released before announcing the release. Just a suggestion.

A drunk is staggering along a country road when he comes upon a preacher baptizing several people near the riverbank. Puzzled, the drunk walks up to the small crowd. The preacher notices the drunk and asks him "Are you ready to find Jesus?" The drunk shrugs his shoulders, "Uh, yeah, well I guess so," he says uncertainly. "Ok then, step into the water and come to me," replies the preacher. The drunk does so, and the preacher again asks the drunk, "Brother, are you ready to find Jesus?" "OK," replies the drunk, so the preacher grabs the drunk's head and holds it iunder the water for a few seconds before he lets him up. "My brother, have you found Jesus?," the preacher asks. "No, not yet," replies the drunk. Surprised, the preacher again pushes the drunk's head into the water and holds it down for a few seconds longer before letting the drunk back up. "Have you found Jesus yet?" Gasping and coughing, the drunk answers, "No, I still haven't found him!" Shocked, the preacher decides to try it one last time, only this time he holds the drunk's head under water for almost a minute before letting him back up. "Well? Now have you found Jesus?" The drunk is sputtering and coughing and gasping for breath as he asks the preacher "Are you sure this is where he fell in?"

What a boat! Nice color, I like the contrast with the side trim. But what this baby needs is a set of fender skirts...

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just take the wheels from the right side of the car and put them on the left side, and vice versa? Why bother taking the tires off the rims?

"There's the progress we have found, a way to talk around the problem. Building towers, Foresight isn't anything at all." Watching the Detectives, Elvis Costello.