Trumpeter reissues?

[peteski]

2 hours ago, Richard Bartrop said:

Well according to this https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/12/buick-set-new-sales-record-during-november-in-china/, not only are most Buick sales in China, most of those are sedans.

Well, I guess it is in USA only then.  I wonder if those sedans are still made in USA, but only sold abroad?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2019/12/18/discontinued-cars-trucks-ford-chevrolet-fiat-buick-cadillac-toyota/4298551002/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2019/12/04/buick-regal-discontinued-gm-general-motors/2607182001/
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/08/the-buick-regal-has-been-discontinued/

[Can-Con]

5 minutes ago, peteski said:

Well, I guess it is in USA only then.  I wonder if those sedans are still made in USA, but only sold abroad?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2019/12/18/discontinued-cars-trucks-ford-chevrolet-fiat-buick-cadillac-toyota/4298551002/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2019/12/04/buick-regal-discontinued-gm-general-motors/2607182001/
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/08/the-buick-regal-has-been-discontinued/

No, looks like only SUVs in Canada to.

I guess I'll not be buying a new Buick as I can't stand modern SUVs. 

[Richard Bartrop]

16 minutes ago, peteski said:

Well, I guess it is in USA only then.  I wonder if those sedans are still made in USA, but only sold abroad?

 

It looks like they're built in China.  It's actually not a bad looking machine.

https://gmauthority.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2022-Buick-Regal-GS-China-Exterior-001-front-three-quarter-720x340.jpg

https://gmauthority.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2022-Buick-Regal-GS-China-Exterior-002-front-three-quarter-720x480.jpg

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by Richard Bartrop

[64Comet404]

4 minutes ago, Can-Con said:

No, looks like only SUVs in Canada to.

I guess I'll not be buying a new Buick as I can't stand modern SUVs. 

Some Canadians may want sedans and wagons, but GM is a 'Murikan company, and 'Murikans want Fo'-bah-Fo's and Ess-You-Vees!!! 😜

Funnily enough, the reputation of Buick in China is based on the Canadian McLaughlin-Buicks driven by the leaders of pre-PRC China.  

I have had a few Trumpeter car kits (Pontiacs, Novas, and Falcons), and they have been workable models. The parts breakdown was definitely not like domestic kits, but they are workable. I think things would have been different if the designers had full access to the prototypes, so all the nuances of the real cars could be captured.

[Richard Bartrop]

57 minutes ago, 64Comet404 said:

Some Canadians may want sedans and wagons, but GM is a 'Murikan company, and 'Murikans want Fo'-bah-Fo's and Ess-You-Vees!!! 😜

 

It's really a numbers game.  Unfortunately, Canada doesn't have the numbers, while China does. 

What's also skewing the the numbers is that in the States, emissions and safety regs aren't as tight for trucks as they are for passenger cars, so they are a little more profitable to build.  It would be interesting to see what happens if they every harmonize the standards for both.

1 hour ago, 64Comet404 said:

Funnily enough, the reputation of Buick in China is based on the Canadian McLaughlin-Buicks driven by the leaders of pre-PRC China. 

McLaughlin-Buicks were also popular with British aristocracy who wanted an American car but who still wanted to be seen as "buying British"

 

[Dave Van]

5 hours ago, Snake45 said:

I forget what the Trump kit prices were, or what "regular" kits were going for at the time, but I thought they were ridiculously high. I eventually lucked into a pretty decent deal on the Nova convertible ($16, IIRC) and grabbed it. I have zero interest in ragtops but figgered I could bash it up with a Rat Packer and come up with a stock(-ish) hardtop of some kind. Later, I bought a MCW 2DS body for it--need to dig all that out and actually build it one of these days. 

IIRC the Trumpeter kits were MSRP about $40+ while RM and AMT were in the high $20 range. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I’ve not built any of the Trumpeter kits myself, but I do have a couple of them, and I’ve only built a couple Moebius kits, but here’s my opinion on what I do know of both manufacturers kits. 
I’ve seen multiple builds from both manufacturers over the years, and although some say that there are inaccuracies with some of Moebius’s kits, they usually look pretty nice built up.

Someone said the Moebius Ford truck kits have many accuracy issues, but the always appear to finish pretty nicely in my view.

On the other hand, the Trumpeter kits usually look “out of whack” when finished.

The ‘60 Bonneville convertible is pretty nice, but there is no debating the fact that the hardtop roof is way wonky!

The ‘63 Nova always looked fairly good to me, although it too appears a little “off” in areas.

The worst always seems to be the Falcon kits.

I don’t know what it is about them, but they just look way too boxy and weird to me.

 

 

 

Steve

Edited July 18, 2021 by StevenGuthmiller

[afx]

The Falcons are not very accurate.  I did a fair amount of modifications to improve the look, you can see my efforts here:

[Mr. Metallic]

Besides the odd engine parts breakdown, the Bonneville convertible is a highly under-rated kit. The body is very nice, especially all the delicately molded separate side trim. I didn't attempt the photoetch hood hinges, but they sure look like they'd be really nice. The suspension was really well done too. 

The engine out of the Novas is pretty well done. I adapted it to my 65 malibu custom

 

I agree with most, for the price the commanded at the time, coupled with the inaccuracies kinda doomed them. The ones I have purchased (except the Bonne convertible) were all purchased at deep discounts from people looking to unload them. If you can look past (or fix) their issues, they are nice kits.

[Luc Janssens]

It's a pity things didn't work out as hoped, the timing was right, etc....

[Mike999]

On 7/17/2021 at 10:38 PM, Plowboy said:

Another kit I was shocked by the price it went for was the Meng F-350. I put one on my watch list when I saw it and it was approaching $100. It sold for $189.99 and it was an open kit!  

I'll have to keep that in mind.  Last year I had a "Buy It Now" only eBay sale.  No auctions.  I priced a Trumpeter Nova convertible at $99.99 and a MENG F-350 (shrink-wrapped) at $109.99. 

Both kits sold very quickly, within a couple hours of the sale going up.

[RichCostello]

I built the Trumpeter Falcon(street machine)kit, and really liked it. Even though the sides are a little on the flat side, it went together great, and built up into a very good looking model. I guess I'm not as picky as others. I'd love to have a Ranchero, or convertible to go with my hardtop.

I have the 60 Pontiac Convertible, and it looks really nice too.

[fumi]

On 7/18/2021 at 7:23 AM, Richard Bartrop said:

It may be that China just didn't have much of a car culture, though this could be changing.

There is a very healthy car culture in China, it just has nothing to do with American cars.

I also don't think Trumpeter charged an outrageous price for their car kits, I got my Nova and Bonneville for less than US $20 each and the Falcon for less than $30, and I still saw the Falcons on clearance at $20 just last month.  How they cost so much in foreign market is beyond me.

It is very simple why Trumpeter got out of the car kit market.  When they make their umpteenth T-80 variant with 1000 parts and selling for over $50 (could be way over that on your side of the world) armour modellers just thank them and snap them up.  When they make a car kit and sell for half that car modellers ridiculed them and not buying any.  Coupled with their choice of American cars that no one outside of the US buys and it is easy to see they were doomed from the start, and there is just no point for them to make any more, new or reissue.

Edited July 25, 2021 by fumi

[Mike999]

1 hour ago, fumi said:

It is very simple why Trumpeter got out of the car kit market.  When they make their umpteenth T-80 variant with 1000 parts and selling for over $50 (could be way over that on your side of the world) armour modellers just thank them and snap them up.

Other kit-makers could take a lesson from Trumpeter about doing all those variants.  Trumpeter often releases kits of oddball, non-mainstream military vehicles. Which for some of us, is a relief from the umpteenth Tiger or Sherman tank.  One of my favorite Trumpeter oddballs is the BTM-3 High Speed Trench Digger, and I plan to build it one of these centuries.  It's a variant of another Trumpeter kit, the AT-T artillery tractor.

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, fumi said:

It is very simple why Trumpeter got out of the car kit market.  When they make their umpteenth T-80 variant with 1000 parts and selling for over $50 (could be way over that on your side of the world) armour modellers just thank them and snap them up.  When they make a car kit and sell for half that car modellers ridiculed them and not buying any.

That may be the case, but Trumpeter themselves carry the brunt of the responsibility for the sales issues. 
 

If the models are goofed up and inaccurate, that’s on them, not the buyer.

Who among us wouldn’t return a defective product.

And furthermore, who among us wouldn’t warn his friends if they happened upon a product that was consistently defective, and tell them to steer clear.

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Richard Bartrop]

3 hours ago, fumi said:

There is a very healthy car culture in China, it just has nothing to do with American cars.

I also don't think Trumpeter charged an outrageous price for their car kits, I got my Nova and Bonneville for less than US $20 each and the Falcon for less than $30, and I still saw the Falcons on clearance at $20 just last month.  How they cost so much in foreign market is beyond me.

It is very simple why Trumpeter got out of the car kit market.  When they make their umpteenth T-80 variant with 1000 parts and selling for over $50 (could be way over that on your side of the world) armour modellers just thank them and snap them up.  When they make a car kit and sell for half that car modellers ridiculed them and not buying any.  Coupled with their choice of American cars that no one outside of the US buys and it is easy to see they were doomed from the start, and there is just no point for them to make any more, new or reissue.

Thanks for clarifying.   It's good to have some input from someone who's actually there.

So what is the car culture in China like?  What gets a Chinese gearhead's heart racing?  What makes a Chinese car modeler go, "I have GOT to get one of those!"

Japanese car kits tend to be pricey here as well, and I'm told American model kits are pretty expensive in overseas markets.   On the other hand, people do buy Japanese kits here, and Trumpeter does seem to do a healthy business here with its other kits.

Maybe it was the subject matter.   Tamiya sells racing cars and expensive exotics here.  The kind of cars that get people excited, no matter what part of the world they live in.  There are American cars that capture people's imagination as well, but I can seen where sixty year old plain vanilla compacts might not be it.

 

[fumi]

On 7/26/2021 at 5:16 AM, Richard Bartrop said:

Thanks for clarifying.   It's good to have some input from someone who's actually there.

So what is the car culture in China like?  What gets a Chinese gearhead's heart racing?  What makes a Chinese car modeler go, "I have GOT to get one of those!"

Japanese car kits tend to be pricey here as well, and I'm told American model kits are pretty expensive in overseas markets.   On the other hand, people do buy Japanese kits here, and Trumpeter does seem to do a healthy business here with its other kits.

Maybe it was the subject matter.   Tamiya sells racing cars and expensive exotics here.  The kind of cars that get people excited, no matter what part of the world they live in.  There are American cars that capture people's imagination as well, but I can seen where sixty year old plain vanilla compacts might not be it.

Well technically I am looking from outside across the border, but my car loving friends and coworkers in the Mainland, as well as the Internet forums both in here and across the border, give me some insight about the happenings over there.

Some background on modelling in China: it started to become popular in the early 90's as the middle class grown and people were looking for new hobbies.  It was around that time when Dragon put up a branch in Shanghai, while in the south Trumpeter had started to put out cheap, toy like military kits and Lee began doing Tamiya knock offs.   AutoArt also started a new factory to make diecast cars.  That was how it started and it had come a long way, with Trumpeter releasing some of the best military kits in the market and new companies popping up almost every year.

I would say most car modellers nowadays are in their 30's and 40's growing up building Tamiya kits and reading translated car magazines about Porsches, Ferraris and Lamborghinis during the 90's, so naturally super cars are the hottest subject matters.  I have heard the McLaren Senna sold very well and the genre is also what Hobby Design is mainly focused in.  JDM subjects are also popular, again these are what people see in magazines and videos, kits are abundant and there is a huge aftermarket for them.  Motorcycles round out the rest of the market.  American cars are an extremely niche market, there is simply no connection to them for most people, other than from the Transformers movies.

Just like the rest of the modelling world car modellers are in the minority around here, with Gundam having the biggest market share and growth followed by military.  The post-2000 generation are also not into cars as much as the earlier generations, though car related video games do have an impact on them, which again drives interest in super cars and JDM kits.

Kit price is in the range of US $20-25 for Japanese re-release and $30 around for new kits here.  I have been increasingly buying kit from TaoBao (sort of a Chinese version of Amazon), it saves from the hassle of going to the shop only to have the kit sold out or not in stock yet, and with Hasegawa kits it is usually cheaper even with shipping factored in.  While we can get the Revell Germany version of American car kits here, I have never seen a Round2 kit for sale even when they are molded right in the same province I buy my kits from.  They are probably all for export.  

[espo]

17 minutes ago, fumi said:

Well technically I am looking from outside across the border, but my car loving friends and coworkers in the Mainland, as well as the Internet forums both in here and across the border, give me some insight about the happenings over there.

Some background on modelling in China: it started to become popular in the early 90's as the middle class grown and people were looking for new hobbies.  It was around that time when Dragon put up a branch in Shanghai, while in the south Trumpeter had started to put out cheap, toy like military kits and Lee began doing Tamiya knock offs.   AutoArt also started a new factory to make diecast cars.  That was how it started and it had come a long way, with Trumpeter releasing some of the best military kits in the market and new companies popping up almost every year.

I would say most car modellers nowadays are in their 30's and 40's growing up building Tamiya kits and reading translated car magazines about Porsches, Ferraris and Lamborghinis during the 90's, so naturally super cars are the hottest subject matters.  I have heard the McLaren Senna sold very well and the genre is also what Hobby Design is mainly focused in.  JDM subjects are also popular, again these are what people see in magazines and videos, kits are abundant and there is a huge aftermarket for them.  Motorcycles round out the rest of the market.  American cars are an extremely niche market, there is simply no connection to them for most people, other than from the Transformers movies.

Just like the rest of the modelling world car modellers are in the minority around here, with Gundam having the biggest market share and growth followed by military.  The post-2000 generation are also not into cars as much as the earlier generations, though car related video games do have an impact on them, which again drives interest in super cars and JDM kits.

Kit price is in the range of US $20-25 for Japanese re-release and $30 around for new kits here.  I have been increasingly buying kit from TaoBao (sort of a Chinese version of Amazon), it saves from the hassle of going to the shop only to have the kit sold out or not in stock yet, and with Hasegawa kits it is usually cheaper even with shipping factored in.  While we can get the Revell Germany version of American car kits here, I have never seen a Round2 kit for sale even when they are molded right in the same province I buy my kits from.  They are probably all for export.  

Thank you for the information and a better understanding of the market and interests in your part of the world.