Harry P.

You guys keep confusing what truck builders want with what the model buying public as a whole wants. Obviously guys that are into heavy equipment and trucks would want farm/construction kits. That's a no-brainer. But the point we're trying to make here is that the builders who are into those sorts of kits comprise too small a segment for the manufacturers to make a profit in the design, engineering, licensing and manufacture of kits like that. There just aren't enough potential customers out there to make these kits financially viable. Which goes back to what I said in the first place... if the manufacturers believed they could make a profit with kits like that, they would be making them! A kit manufacturer produces a given kit only if they have a reasonable expectation of making money in the deal. They do not produce kits that they do not feel will be profitable for them. That's how business works. You can argue all day long how you and all your friends would buy these kits... and I'm sure you would buy them. But there aren't enough of you out there to make the kits worthwhile to produce. And that is why these kits aren't being produced.

Do you you still have the orchestra?

How do you say "welcome aboard" in Canadian?

Yeah, aside from the contest scene, I guess you're right!

Many years ago there was a show on PBS called "Adventures in Scale Modeling," that featured model cars and other types of models, too. It was basically a "TV magazine" type of show, and one of the underwriters (sponsors) was a model car company (don't remember which one... Revell?).

Final vote: 37 REAL, 13 MODEL. And the answer is... REAL!

That makes perfect sense. That's what I was trying to say, but you said it better.

Not much info out there??? Have you done a google search? http://www.google.com/search?q=dodge+L700&safe=off&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=8f0fUo-DLKjUyQHpg4Aw&ved=0CDkQsAQ&biw=1229&bih=693

Casey nailed it. Compromise. The more people with input into a design, the more generic it will turn out. Many of the classic "swoopy"cars posted here were the work of one single man who had the free reign to bring his vision into production. Nowadays they have entire "design teams" that work on a car, from the external styling to the interior, dash, seats, etc. It's all "design by committee" these days.

Again, I have to ask the same question. How is it that you are able to see this incredible unmet demand, yet people who make their living manufacturing model kits missed it? Remember... when you and your truck-loving friends talk about this stuff, you're among a small, self-contained group of people who all share a common interest, but (and this is the important part) just because your particular group is into these things doesn't mean that everyone else is, too! Example: That's like me taking a poll of only people who like potato-flavored ice cream and asking them if they would like to see more potato-flavored ice cream on the market. Obviously I'd get a strong "heck, YES!" response. But for me to take that strong positive response of potato-flavored ice cream fans and assume that it must then follow that everyone would want potato-flavored ice cream would be a mistake. The enthusiasm of the group that already likes potato-flavored ice cream doesn't necessarily reflect the desires of everyone else out there, it only reflects the interests of that particular group. Remember... the kitmakers aren't catering only to people who want farm and construction kits. They have to cater to everyone out there and base their kit offerings on those they feel will have the widest appeal. The fact is, when you include the entire customer base, farm and construction guys just aren't that big a piece of the overall pie.

Ben, you're letting your emotions and your own personal desires cloud your judgement. Believe me, if the model companies thought they could make a profit on new farm/construction kits, they would be making them.

You actually think that model manufacturers do not listen to their customers? So apparently kit manufacturing companies are all run by morons with zero business sense? Moebius did bring out subjects that haven't been made before, true. But wasn't there another model company that just released a '50 Olds? And isn't there a new, never-before-done '57 Ford? Didn't Lindberg do a never-done-before Ford Victoria a few years ago? And a Dodge 440? Moebius isn't the only model company putting out subjects that have never been put out before.

I'm just asking a simple question. If there is such a huge market for these kits, with all of this incredible demand, as you insist there is, how is it that you are able to see that but the model kit manufacturers are not? Don't you think that the guys who manufacture model kits for a living would also have a pretty good handle on the market, and who wants what? The fact that these types of models are not being made in 1/25 scale would suggest that the manufacturers don't feel it's financially viable. If they felt it was, if they thought there was money to be made by manufacturing more of these kits, they'd be making them, right? Any company owner or CEO with even a basic understanding of his consumer base and what the demand for a particular product is would be all over these types of models if they figured they could make a profit doing so. That's basic marketing 101.

If there is such a huge market for these models, as you insist... where are all the new releases of farm and construction equipment?

Stuff like this will be mainstream very soon. Just you watch.

Maybe so, but it's still a multi-billion dollar business. Conventional advertiser sponsored TV programming isn't going away quite yet. There is still a huge chunk of the population that prefers watching conventional TV over alternative options.

Probably because the cost of buying TV ads is way beyond the budget of model car kit manufacturers.

It's true that the number of people here who are actually actively taking part is a tiny minority of the nearly 12,000 members we have. I'd guess that maybe less than 5% of that total are active here, at least semi-regularly. It would be interesting to compare forum memberships of several of the more common hobbies... crafts, stamps and coins, dolls, woodworking, military memorabilia... whatever... and how those membership totals compare to us. It wouldn't prove or disprove anything, of course... it would just be interesting to see how we "stack up" in the hobby forum universe.

Exactly. If there was a market for kits like that, somebody would be making them.

That statement isn't valid, you have absolutely no way of proving that. Just because a person is active on an online hobby forum doesn't necessarily correlate to that person spending more $$$ on the hobby than a "passive" modeler. In fact, a so-called "passive" modeler might be so involved in building (and buying) that he has no time or desire for online forums or entering contests. Like me, for example. I have never entered a contest, but I'll bet I spend many times more in a year on the hobby than most "active" modelers who enter contests. And I'm not the only one.

One man's speculation and bickering is another man's lively debate. It's what happens on online forums. It's what they are for.

Amen. What do I care what hobbies people are into after I'm gone? Heck, what do I care what hobbies other people are into now? Doesn't affect my life in the slightest, and I have absolutely no desire or feel any urgent "duty" to pass the torch to others. Let everyone pick their own interests, not rely on me to tell them what they should be interested in. Model cars will exist as long as there is enough of an interest in them to make their manufacture financially viable. It's as simple as that.

Good info, thanks.

Keep in mind that a large part of today's active car modelers are retired guys. Plenty of disposable income, and unemployment figures do not apply.