Isn't it time....

[martinfan5]

18 minutes ago, Chuck Most said:

 

As far as having nothing but the Japanese manufacturers... I'd be perfectly happy building nothing but Fujimi and Aoshima kits for the next 80 years or so. But who knows? Even they might step in to fill out the void... prior to Revell's release of the '70 'Cuda, I seem to recall there being interest in a full detail 1:25 kit of that very subject.

 

Pretty much where I am at, and I know I am not the only one,  we dont really need Revell( US Revell) or Round 2 or Moebius for model kits, they dont care about us,  so speaking for myself, I return that favor for the most part( not counting the new NASCAR kits) , but you hit the nail on the head  Chuck.

Edited May 19, 2018 by martinfan5

[Chuck Most]

1 minute ago, martinfan5 said:

Pretty much where I am at, and I lot of builders my age, the under 50 crowd,  we dont really need Revell( US Revell) or Round 2 or Moebius for model kits, they dont care about us so speaking for myself, I return that favor for the most part( not counting the new NASCAR kits) , but you hit the nail on the head the Chuck.

And I'm probably pickier in that regard than you are- I prefer street vehicles that can be built at least close to USDM. I even snagged a couple of the Build And Play Mustangs and Raptors just to have something 21st-century to build. As much as I love the classics my shelves cry out for late model stuff. Even if it's laughably mundane. I'm still holding out hope that Academy will make a kit of a Veloster.

 

[martinfan5]

1 minute ago, Chuck Most said:

And I'm probably pickier in that regard than you are- I prefer street vehicles that can be built at least close to USDM. I even snagged a couple of the Build And Play Mustangs and Raptors just to have something 21st-century to build. As much as I love the classics my shelves cry out for late model stuff. Even if it's laughably mundane. I'm still holding out hope that Academy will make a kit of a Veloster.

 

I am all for mundane grocery getters from the 80's and up ,  late model stuff, yep,  all of it,  I would build a Veloster and do it with a smile.

[Chuck Most]

3 minutes ago, martinfan5 said:

I am all for mundane grocery getters from the 80's and up ,  late model stuff, yep,  all of it,  I would build a Veloster and do it with a smile.

Know what I'd love to have? I'd pay full retail for a first-gen Benz/Freightliner/Dodge Sprinter. That's right. I said it.  Resin/3D guys... you hear me???

[martinfan5]

7 minutes ago, Chuck Most said:

Know what I'd love to have? I'd pay full retail for a first-gen Benz/Freightliner/Dodge Sprinter. That's right. I said it.  Resin/3D guys... you hear me???

I would too,  we dont have enough vans , the building options opens so many doors.

[Art Anderson]

12 hours ago, khier said:

Art,

Do you really think Revell will have hard time selling '58 or `59 Ford? You can take the sales of the '59 Skyliner as a reference. If they can sell this ancient kit, why would it be difficult to sell a newely tooled '59? I am not talking about Mercury (although I think a '59 Mercury will sell as good), I am talking about Ford.

And you may add '54-'59 Continental to the list.

 

Revell AG sells 1/24 kits for about $25 in Germany, including 19% VAT. This includes the models produced with Revell US tools, like the '58 Corvette.  Revell US has been selling Revell AG kits for years at the usual price level as their own kits. Why would the Price jump to $35 when the same practice continues?

Walid

Walid, there's a great difference between "running" an old tool, such as the '59 Ford Skyliner, and the necessary expectations of upwards of 100,000 units of a newly tooled model car kit (about what it takes for a new-tool model car kit to pay for itself, put some money back into the bank account for tooling the next all-new model kit).  I rather doubt that any "reissue" production run of the old Revell '59 Skyliner has ever been more than perhaps 10,000 kits (if that) in any production run in recent memory.

Art

[niteowl7710]

15 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Funny, but whether your interested in the subject matter or not, the kit manufacturers in America are slowly becoming extinct.

If we have nothing left but the Japanese producers in the next decade, the hobby will be all but dead in the US, & that will be the beginning of the end for the rest of the world.

 

Steve

You just assumed my modeling tastes...

I'd be happy with a '58/'59 Ford, after all I have 2 '57 500s and the Del Rio Hidden Valley Ranch Wagon (pass the croutons). But to claim that only Moebius who's currently lining up a ho-hum Nova and a retooling of an existing kit line are "the ONLY thing that's new and exciting" is a wee bit disingenuous at best. For the record I have all the Hudsons, both Chryslers, both Plymouths, one of the Pontiacs, and all of the F-Series.

Just because YOU don't like it, doesn't mean it's invalid. Some of us have an appreciation for cars assembled after the year we graduated High School, or race cars that accelerate AND turn NOTHING directions.

Edited May 19, 2018 by niteowl7710

[BubbaBrown]

Re-issues would be fine by me if they wern't exact re-issues. What I mean is make the trans an option for stick or auto, console or no, different intakes and carbs. Something that other than paint the same model on the shelf. I think revell would do good just by doing this to the tri 5 chevy's.

[Luc Janssens]

9 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

Or worse---NSU and Borgward fanatics. 

Rob....you and others may not know this, but the Opel logo is a Blitz (lightning) therefore my comment

 

[disabled modeler]

Id love to see them bring out many vehicles that have not seen the light of day in over 30+ years that any company made once or ones that never were.

[Luc Janssens]

A few years ago, Revell Germany had a online wish list, wonder where that went, and if it was usefull or too manipulated, and therefore dumped.

[Rob Hall]

3 hours ago, Luc Janssens said:

Rob....you and others may not know this, but the Opel logo is a Blitz (lightning) therefore my comment

 

Ahh...clever.  I knew about the logo, didn't make the connection to the company name.   Opel models would be nice, esp. late model items like the Insignia wagon.. 

[1972coronet]

How about the Opal Kadett  models , as seen in The Seven-Ups ?

[Classicgas]

Any 60's to mid 70's Opel would be cool.

[fyreline]

Crazy thinking-out-loud suggestion: We would all be foolish not to acknowledge that the bottom line for any scale model producer, regardless of nation of operation, is, well . . . The bottom line. It's all about the money, as is usually the case regardless of topic. Bearing that in mind, what about a return to multi-piece bodies allowing for easier production of multiple body styles, but utilizing 21st-century production techniques for better fit?  This would allow more rapid amortization of tooling costs, increase potential for more sales at reduced investment cost, provide more versions of a given platform to increase appeal, and keep overall costs down (which the manufacturers would rather read as "keep potential profitability up.")  I have been building model cars since the late 1950s, and I well remember the terrible multi-piece body kits of that era. I have no wish to return to that frustration, but I'm willing to bet we could do better today. What say you?

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, fyreline said:

Crazy thinking-out-loud suggestion: We would all be foolish not to acknowledge that the bottom line for any scale model producer, regardless of nation of operation, is, well . . . The bottom line. It's all about the money, as is usually the case regardless of topic. Bearing that in mind, what about a return to multi-piece bodies allowing for easier production of multiple body styles, but utilizing 21st-century production techniques for better fit?  This would allow more rapid amortization of tooling costs, increase potential for more sales at reduced investment cost, provide more versions of a given platform to increase appeal, and keep overall costs down (which the manufacturers would rather read as "keep potential profitability up.")  I have been building model cars since the late 1950s, and I well remember the terrible multi-piece body kits of that era. I have no wish to return to that frustration, but I'm willing to bet we could do better today. What say you?

Agree completely, and I started a thread on this some time ago. Having built model airplanes most of my life, multipiece body construction doesn't bother me at all, providing at least a reasonably good fit to start with. 

That said, I can't believe that someone--Revell or Moebius or Lindberg or even Round 2 or Trumpeter--hasn't given us a new-tool '65 GTO by now. It's not even my favorite musclecar--probably wouldn't even make the top 20--but I do recognize how iconic and beloved it is. And I'd buy and build at least one (if it's better than the old AMT backbirth). 

[Force]

*Deleted*

Edited May 20, 2018 by Force

[StevenGuthmiller]

On 5/18/2018 at 9:16 PM, martinfan5 said:

Not very close to being  factual Steve, the hobby does not revolve around the USA, the hobby will not die if there is no "American" companies producing kits.  If you really think all those Japanese  companies are gonna close up shop because we are not producing kits, then I got some primo land I would like to sell you

If you think a bit about how many American modelers would basically quit the hobby, (I know that I would, & I doubt that I'm alone) if there were nothing available except exotics & other foreign built automobiles, and all of the old American cars were gone, that's a HUGE segment of the market.

If you reverse it & there were nothing but '57 Chevys & '32 Fords, how would that affect your segment of the market.

If you don't think that loosing half of your market overnight would affect the modeling economy overall, I have some swamp land in Nevada for you.

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

On 5/19/2018 at 1:52 AM, niteowl7710 said:

You just assumed my modeling tastes...

I'd be happy with a '58/'59 Ford, after all I have 2 '57 500s and the Del Rio Hidden Valley Ranch Wagon (pass the croutons). But to claim that only Moebius who's currently lining up a ho-hum Nova and a retooling of an existing kit line are "the ONLY thing that's new and exciting" is a wee bit disingenuous at best. For the record I have all the Hudsons, both Chryslers, both Plymouths, one of the Pontiacs, and all of the F-Series.

Just because YOU don't like it, doesn't mean it's invalid. Some of us have an appreciation for cars assembled after the year we graduated High School, or race cars that accelerate AND turn NOTHING directions.

It has nothing to do with my likes & dislikes.

I would personally love to see a new '58 & '59 Ford kit.

I have examples of the old annuals already & I love them.

But what some of us may want is not necessarily a sound business decision for a kit maker.

These "I want this" & "I don't want that" threads have really become tedious & a basically pointless exercise.

There are a lot of kits that I would love to see that many others would not, & vice versa, & the kit manufacturers are going to give limited credence to some of our requests, but that's about the end of it.

We'll wind up with whatever they can sell.

 

Steve

 

[sfhess]

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 7:53 AM, fyreline said:

Crazy thinking-out-loud suggestion: We would all be foolish not to acknowledge that the bottom line for any scale model producer, regardless of nation of operation, is, well . . . The bottom line. It's all about the money, as is usually the case regardless of topic. Bearing that in mind, what about a return to multi-piece bodies allowing for easier production of multiple body styles, but utilizing 21st-century production techniques for better fit?  This would allow more rapid amortization of tooling costs, increase potential for more sales at reduced investment cost, provide more versions of a given platform to increase appeal, and keep overall costs down (which the manufacturers would rather read as "keep potential profitability up.")  I have been building model cars since the late 1950s, and I well remember the terrible multi-piece body kits of that era. I have no wish to return to that frustration, but I'm willing to bet we could do better today. What say you?

I heard that Revell was working on a tool for a very popular musclecar that was designed so it could easily represent two years of that particular car with minor styling differences.  That's all I will say.  It would have been an impressive kit, a replacement for another company's kit that has been reissued a number of times.

Edited May 21, 2018 by sfhess

[Richard Bartrop]

16 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

If you think a bit about how many American modelers would basically quit the hobby, (I know that I would, & I doubt that I'm alone) if there were nothing available except exotics & other foreign built automobiles, and all of the old American cars were gone, that's a HUGE segment of the market.

If you reverse it & there were nothing but '57 Chevys & '32 Fords, how would that affect your segment of the market.

If you don't think that loosing half of your market overnight would affect the modeling economy overall, I have some swamp land in Nevada for you.

 

Steve

Do you honestly think the folks at Revell aren't going to look at the pile of moulds they just acquired from Revell USA, look at the US market and think, "Y'know, we should really do something with these..."

Way back when, AMT was owned for a while by the English company Lesney, and universe  still kept going, and let's not forget that Round 2 and Moebius aren't dead yet.

We've seen the Japanese put out their share of American iron,  and what did Trumpeter make when it decided to get into model cars?  That's right, big ol' American cars.

If the American model companies shut their doors, don't be surprised if foreign companies fill the void.

[fyreline]

48 minutes ago, sfhess said:

I heard that Revell was working on a tool for a very popular musclecar that was designed so it could easily represent two years of that particular car with minor styling differences.  That's all I will say.  It would have been an impressive kit, a replacement for another company's kit that has been reissued a number of times.

That could easily work - as a very simple "for instance", offering a kit to build either a 1966 or 1967 GTO would involve very little beyond two grilles, an interchangeable tail panel, and two engine choices. 

[Luc Janssens]

10 minutes ago, fyreline said:

That could easily work - as a very simple "for instance", offering a kit to build either a 1966 or 1967 GTO would involve very little beyond two grilles, an interchangeable tail panel, and two engine choices. 

there's more to it, body wise...the trunklid is different too, and there's the matter of the rockerpanels.

Interior, I'm pretty sure the upholstery differs too.....

[fyreline]

2 hours ago, Luc Janssens said:

there's more to it, body wise...the trunklid is different too, and there's the matter of the rockerpanels.

Interior, I'm pretty sure the upholstery differs too.....

Yes, I figured someone would chime in, eager to point out the other differences - which is why my original post said that "very little" would need to be included to do either year . . . Not that "nothing else" would be needed. I have owned both 1966 and1967 GTOs and I am well aware of the many differences. The point of the post is still valid, though. Many kits would lend themselves to being built as multiple years and/or versions with a minimum of additional parts and tooling costs.

Edited May 21, 2018 by fyreline

[Luc Janssens]

27 minutes ago, fyreline said:

Yes, I figured someone would chime in, eager to point out the other differences - which is why my original post said that "very little" would need to be included to do either year . . . Not that "nothing else" would be needed. I have owned both 1966 and1967 GTOs and I am well aware of the many differences. The point of the post is still valid, though. Many kits would lend themselves to being built as multiple years and/or versions with a minimum of additional parts and tooling costs.

No....not eager, but sometimes people think much is the same, in your case a complete new body tool would be neccesary, but if both model years would've been co-designed then the costs would've been less.

But this kit is from before the Wally World retreat, when the money was still coming in by the truckloads....it's a whole new ball game now.

Moebius has shown that planned multiple siblings from one basic tool are very much possible, and I'm sure made them a good profit.

 

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by Luc Janssens