model kit production question

[jphillips1970]

we always hear the tern "by popular demand" or "most requested kit" from the manufactures of model kits - Mainly Round2/AMT - who do these companies actually talk to? - I have a good idea, but I will reframe from that - So who makes these calls and how do they base their findings on? 

Just a simple question and that's all

thank you for your time

[Tim W. SoCal]

For one thing, they browse and participate in our Model Car Builder forums and I know of several people who have emailed manufacturers directly with requests.

[stavanzer]

I'll guess that for Round2 & Moebius (at least) they have several means of finding out what folks want. Comments to Chad's Monthly Update Videos (for Round2 only), Email feedback to the Company, the very rare written letter, in person comments at the Shows where they have booths set up, and then I am sure some body at both places monitors both this board and the Spotlight Hobbies board, to see what Is Being said.

If you want to be heard, these are some of the ways you can do it.

[bobss396]

I had grabbed the ear of one of the Atlantis guys at the NNL East. I have a vision of a stock car series, short track stuff. I ran it by him and he flatly said they would not be interested.

[peteski]

What I think would be helpful to estimate whether to reissue some older kits would be for them to monitor sold eBay listings of the original models.  If they fetch high prices or show bidding wars, there is a good chance that a new run would sell well.  Not to use that as a sole reason for reissue, but use those numbers along with other request they get for reissues to estimate whether a new run is justified.

[Mike 1017]

Revell goes thru past sales records and then decides if it is worth to re-release the kit.

Mike

 

[Mark]

We're a relatively small percentage of the model car kit buying public.  The manufacturers go by what sells in order to determine what to reissue, and when.  Some items are consistent sellers and just get new packaging every couple of years.  For new stuff, the manufacturers do set up displays at IPMS conventions and shows like NNL East, and do use some of the information they pick up at those places.

Someone mentioned Atlantis not wanting to do short track cars.  They are a different case from other companies as they do only reissues of items offered by other companies in the past.  They're concentrating on things they already have.

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Mark said:

Someone mentioned Atlantis not wanting to do short track cars.  They are a different case from other companies as they do only reissues of items offered by other companies in the past.  They're concentrating on things they already have.

That's mostly the case with Round-2 as well.

It's much less expensive to modify and re-pop an old kit than it is to tool an all new one.

With the labor and expense that is involved with the development and production of an all new tooling, you d*mn well better have your ducks in a row and have a good indication that it's going to sell a whole bunch of units, or you're going to lose your *ss!

Kit manufacturers can no longer be frivolous with their ideas in today's market if they want to remain in business.

Everybody has their "pet" subject that they would like to see, but it's going to have to have pretty wide appeal, and the ability to be reissued in several different forms, if it's going to have a chance to ever see the light of day.

I've seen these discussions floated around on every forum and social media platform for many years, and there's always those that "can't understand why" Round-2 didn't produce an all new tool for their latest 1964 Chevelle kit, for example. (There are many other examples)

It's quite obvious that these people have virtually no idea of how a business such as this needs to make extremely smart and careful choices just to keep the doors open.

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

[Bainford]

4 hours ago, peteski said:

What I think would be helpful to estimate whether to reissue some older kits would be for them to monitor sold eBay listings of the original models.  If they fetch high prices or show bidding wars, there is a good chance that a new run would sell well.  Not to use that as a sole reason for reissue, but use those numbers along with other request they get for reissues to estimate whether a new run is justified.

I have heard this argument before, but I don't think it is a valid method of choosing kits to reissue. It is purely a supply & demand thing. If supply consists of one (or very few) items and demand consists of a very small number of keen bidders, the selling price will be very high. However, a re-issue run of a dozen kits might completely fill that demand. This makes it a poor metric for choosing a kit to produce. Furthermore, I would estimate that at least half of those paying the big bucks only do so because the kit is very rare. They aren't buying a [Jo-Han 1970 Rebel Machine], they are collectors buying a rare kit. As soon as the kit is re-issued and becomes commonly available, The luster is gone and they no longer desire it.

[Dave G.]

I guess that's why nobody makes a 1956 Buick hardtop, or better yet a 38 Buick sedan. Nobody ever did it before.  Those cars have been missing since I first started modeling cars around 1958. So Moebius comes out with a 55 and 56 Chrysler. I emailed them once about a Buick, no reply.

[peteski]

On 7/11/2024 at 1:13 PM, Bainford said:

I have heard this argument before, but I don't think it is a valid method of choosing kits to reissue. It is purely a supply & demand thing. If supply consists of one (or very few) items and demand consists of a very small number of keen bidders, the selling price will be very high. However, a re-issue run of a dozen kits might completely fill that demand. This makes it a poor metric for choosing a kit to produce. Furthermore, I would estimate that at least half of those paying the big bucks only do so because the kit is very rare. They aren't buying a [Jo-Han 1970 Rebel Machine], they are collectors buying a rare kit. As soon as the kit is re-issued and becomes commonly available, The luster is gone and they no longer desire it.

That's why I mentioned that the eBay thing should be just one of several sources of model desirability research.  I was not suggesting looking for outrageously high selling prices, just the general volume of kit's eBay sales.

The other methods mentioned earlier were getting feedback from show visitors, and of course online forums.  But both of those are also very small sample of potential kit buyers out there.   Manufacturer has to produce tens of thousands of kits to make some profit.  The more data is available about potential sales, the better informed decision the manufacturer can make.

Edited July 12 by peteski

[Mark]

eBay is only an indicator that two or three fanatics will beat each others' brains out fighting over an offbeat kit.  And one of those bidders is probably a shill trying to max one of the other two out.

Back when eBay was a bigger thing, you'd see something out of the ordinary pop up, a couple of guys would bid the thing way up, then the following week three or four more of the same item would appear.  With the top knucklehead now having one, and with one less bidder to fight over the newly listed ones, prices came back down to earth.

[Carmak]

I have been with a small medical device company for over 30 years. Our end customers are doctors. Every doctor thinks their need for a new product is universally shared by all doctors in their field. Sometimes they are correct and sometimes they are wrong. Often the most insistent doctors have the most individual need. All of this is fairly similar to the model car hobby.

My company spends a great deal of time determining what products to release. I would consider the totality of methods we use to be a trade secret. I suspect the same is true for all model kit companies.

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi!

As an aside to this question: a friend who owns a local hobby shop told me last year that tne "new" Revell (post-reorganization) requires retailers to buy a minimum of ten (10) units of any new kit they want to retail. He told me it gave him pause, because he needs more space to store them, and a bad call can be expensive.

Oh well...

CT