Atlantis Models has bought another lot of tooling/molds.....

[niteowl7710]

There's actually three sets of them on there, there's one also listed for $3,800 before shipping - which eBay claims it can't calculate because ya know the town my family has lived in for the past 100 years apparently doesn't exist.

This stuff only sells for as much as it does because it just passes from one wild eyed hoarder to the next.  I'd love to know if any of these guys have actually turned a profit on any of it that they actually paid for from another collector (as opposed to found in a garage, or at a flea market).  I see a lot of people SAY they want large scale stuff, but I never really see any of it get built - beyond the one forum section here.  I can probably count on one hand and half a foot how many large scale builds I've seen at a model contest in the past 5 years.  Even the Big Boy Scale section here which has been on going for years is about to be eclipsed by posts into the newly created "Other Racing" sub forum.  Model companies can't survive on the potential sales of the "Missed Out" and "I'd Buy a CASE!" guys.

[SfanGoch]

6 minutes ago, niteowl7710 said:

Model companies can't survive on the potential sales of the "Missed Out" and "I'd Buy a CASE!" guys.

Those are the usual suspects who end up balking on actually putting their money where their collective mouths are after they see what they'll actually pay for a kit. There are more than a few who think 30 bucks is too much for a 1/24-1/25 kit. Imagine trying to extract perhaps upwards of $150 out of their wallets for a new tool large scale model kit.

[Justin Porter]

Large scale has built a lot of steam on the military side of the aisle in my shop. 1/32nd scale aircraft, 1/16th scale armor, and Trumpeter's line of 1/200th scale ships have all been steady movers for me over the past few years. 

On the auto side, though, I have a handful of folks who gobble up anything 1/12th scale F1 that I can get my hands on and a few guys who've been devouring the R2 reissues of the older 1/16th scale stuff. For the most part, price-point seems to come up most often as the issue that causes more casual builders to balk at bigger boxes in auto.

[Daddyfink]

13 hours ago, tim boyd said:

Sadly....the Aurora Drag Parts Kits tools no longer exist.  This topic is briefly touched on in a new book that will be coming out in a few weeks....  TIM 

Well, I could always hope. I knew that it was a slim chance they would exist when Tom West showed me the busted up parts of the mold that made the engine blocks. 

But, he did tell me that, to his knowledge, the Tire Molds never came back from Canada. So makes me wonder what is out there somewhere. 

I look forward to your book! 

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Yikes.  Makes me glad I landed my little set years ago...

[GMP440]

  Wanted to ask if Atlantis is coming out with subject matter tailoring the Walmart builder or to us builders?  What market are they trying to target?

Edited August 5, 2020 by GMP440

[dbostream]

What is a Walmart builder?

[Rob Hall]

30 minutes ago, dbostream said:

What is a Walmart builder?

mainstream, casual modelers that might buy models at a non-hobby shop like a Walmart.  

I think Atlantis is targeting the older, nostalgia market w/ their older tooling. 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Rob Hall

[Dave Van]

24 minutes ago, dbostream said:

What is a Walmart builder?

Build scale models of their local WM?????

BTW Atlantis today showed a photo of some tooling on Instagram.....but not what it was....

[Rob Hall]

6 minutes ago, Dave Van said:

 

BTW Atlantis today showed a photo of some tooling on Instagram.....but not what it was....

They showed this pic on the FB..looks like some heavy metal objects.

[Danno]

1 hour ago, dbostream said:

What is a Walmart builder?

Those guys.

?

[GMP440]

1 hour ago, dbostream said:

What is a Walmart builder?

My bad.  I actually said it wrong.  What I meant to say was asking if Atlantis was focusing on those that buy kits at Walmart or any other large box retailer versus focusing on more nostaligic subjects for us

more dedicated model builders.

[Daddyfink]

12 minutes ago, GMP440 said:

My bad.  I actually said it wrong.  What I meant to say was asking if Atlantis was focusing on those that buy kits at Walmart or any other large box retailer versus focusing on more nostaligic subjects for us

more dedicated model builders.

I would say they are focusing on making a return on these investments. 

 

[GMP440]

45 minutes ago, Daddyfink said:

I would say they are focusing on making a return on these investments. 

 

Ultimately yes.  But, what market are they focusing on?

[Tom Geiger]

2 hours ago, GMP440 said:

Ultimately yes.  But, what market are they focusing on?

No doubt older nostalgic modelers and toy collectors, same as Round 2!   Most of the tooling is old and clunky, per the technology available when it was created. Today’s modelers are looking for Tamiya quality cut from 3D models.

[GMP440]

16 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

No doubt older nostalgic modelers and toy collectors, same as Round 2!   Most of the tooling is old and clunky, per the technology available when it was created. Today’s modelers are looking for Tamiya quality cut from 3D models.

Tom, thank you for making that more clear.

[niteowl7710]

Unless there's much stuff from the U.S. based Revell tooling that would be appealing to a wider automotive builder (considering all of the legacy Lindberg owned tooling they bought off Round2 recently didn't sound like it had much if any car/truck stuff in it) Atlantis is definitely plumbing the back end of the nostalgia market, along with people who like weird and wacky off scale stuff. Someone sitting at home going what I really wish I had was a 60yr old 1/126th airplane model. Which of course repeats the question I asked earlier when the sale of the Round2 stuff was announced. Are there enough customers still around/able to want some of this stuff. 

I have a certain sense of appreciation of the Atlantis folks that they want to be seen as stewards and caretakers of all of this historic tooling, but I also look at em a little funny because we're talking about stuff that Round2 - the professors of tugging old modelers heart strings - had that tooling and was all "Yeah, no, yeah, even we can't use it."

[SfanGoch]

1 hour ago, niteowl7710 said:

Atlantis is definitely plumbing the back end of the nostalgia market, along with people who like weird and wacky off scale stuff.

The modeling hobby universe, nostalgic or modern, doesn't revolve around cars. Automotive kits, when viewed in the bigger picture, are more of a small time niche than any of them "weird and wacky" kits Atlantis produces. There is a large market for these kits; otherwise, Atlantis wouldn't spend its money obtaining the molds. Check out the prices that those original kits are sold for.

1 hour ago, niteowl7710 said:

Someone sitting at home going what I really wish I had was a 60yr old 1/126th airplane model.

That's pretty much what members here say in every "I wish Round2 would reissue (fill the blank space with your favorite 60+ year old SMP/AMT car kit)" thread. 

[niteowl7710]

3 hours ago, SfanGoch said:

The modeling hobby universe, nostalgic or modern, doesn't revolve around cars. Automotive kits, when viewed in the bigger picture, are more of a small time niche than any of them "weird and wacky" kits Atlantis produces. There is a large market for these kits; otherwise, Atlantis wouldn't spend its money obtaining the molds. Check out the prices that those original kits are sold for.

I don't disagree with your premise, but within the confines of this forum, which last I checked wasn't Fine Scale Modeler, automotive does reign supreme even if the tastes of the membership extends beyond that niche in some cases.

[doorsovdoon]

In the UK I would say model planes of WWII and trains are far more popular than cars. Probably why it's so hard to find certain model cars that seem to be everywhere in the states.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, doorsovdoon said:

In the UK I would say model planes of WWII and trains are far more popular than cars. 

Probably because the USA has always been more of a "car culture" than the UK. Or just about anyplace else on Earth I can think of.

[Shon Wittenbarger]

20 hours ago, SfanGoch said:

The modeling hobby universe, nostalgic or modern, doesn't revolve around cars. Automotive kits, when viewed in the bigger picture, are more of a small time niche than any of them "weird and wacky" kits Atlantis produces. There is a large market for these kits; otherwise, Atlantis wouldn't spend its money obtaining the molds. Check out the prices that those original kits are sold for.

That's pretty much what members here say in every "I wish Round2 would reissue (fill the blank space with your favorite 60+ year old SMP/AMT car kit)" thread. 

I agree 100%. It's a big world out there, and when we go to shows the plane and ship builders hold their own. I would say the powers to be at Atlantis know what they are doing or they wouldn't be doing it. Yes the automotive builders on this board ( I am just one of many ) is supreme but we are talking little fish in a BIG pond. With all the complaints and whining that goes on amazes me. We need new kits the old ones are dated and no good any more. I remember when all we had in a nova kit was the AMT Old Pro and how we need a new tooled nova. Well Revell stepped up to the plate and gave us one. All the crying about the fender opening were wrong and one thing after another. Its a model kit kit for crying out loud, not a life or death situation. You get what you want and still never satisfied, worse than a bunch of women talking  about another ones home made dress. I tell you what needs to happen is all the arm chair warriors need to pool their money together and start their own model company and see how long they stay in business. 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Shon Wittenbarger
spelling

[stavanzer]

7 minutes ago, Shon Wittenbarger said:

You get what you want and still never satisfied, worse than a bunch of women talking  about another ones home made dress. I tell you what needs to happen is all the arm chair warriors need to pull their money together and start their own model company and see how long they stay in business. 

Some folks on this Forum would Carp if they was Hung with a New Rope, I tells Ya!

[Tom Geiger]

27 minutes ago, alexis said:

Some folks on this Forum would Carp if they was Hung with a New Rope, I tells Ya!

It's like the guy forever whining that we need a new (insert any model here) and he'd buy a case or two!

Model actually gets done... now he's whining that he can't get one for $10 at Ollies!

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Shon Wittenbarger said:

I remember when all we had in a nova kit was the AMT Old Pro and how we need a new tooled nova. Well Revell stepped up to the plate and gave us one. All the crying about the fender opening were wrong and one thing after another. Its a model kit kit for crying out loud, not a life or death situation. 

An inaccurate, wrong, or badly fitting model is still inaccurate, wrong, or badly fitting whether it's new or old. Revell's Nova wasn't a huge improvement over AMT's in some ways, in fact to get an accurate Nova you have to kitbash the two of them together. And remember Revellogram's first two attempts at the '70 AAR Cuda? They certainly didn't do us any favors with either of those kits.