Share of the Model Market - One Shop's Perspective

[iBorg]

I think the Gundam builders aren't into contest put on by "traditional" modelers. Also, most Gundams I see are pretty much factory stock and might not be deemed contest worthy by the builders. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

13 minutes ago, iBorg said:

I think the Gundam builders aren't into contest put on by "traditional" modelers. Also, most Gundams I see are pretty much factory stock and might not be deemed contest worthy by the builders. 

I suppose.

But for a genre that proclaims to be growing by leaps and bounds, it certainly seams to be underrepresented on the show tables, at least as far as I’ve seen.

I sometimes wonder how much of it is going to end up being just another passing fad.

I know that statement will probably irritate some, but with all other genres there is some sort of historical reference.

With Gundam there’s really none of that.

 

 

 

Steve

[peteski]

2 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I suppose.

But for a genre that proclaims to be growing by leaps and bounds, it certainly seams to be underrepresented on the show tables, at least as far as I’ve seen.

I sometimes wonder how much of it is going to end up being just another passing fad.

I know that statement will probably irritate some, but with all other genres there is some sort of historical reference.

With Gundam there’s really none of that

Steve

It's big in Japan.

[StevenGuthmiller]

4 minutes ago, peteski said:

It's big in Japan.

I have no doubt! ?

 

 

 

Steve

[Carmak]

56 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I suppose.

But for a genre that proclaims to be growing by leaps and bounds, it certainly seams to be underrepresented on the show tables, at least as far as I’ve seen.

I sometimes wonder how much of it is going to end up being just another passing fad.

I know that statement will probably irritate some, but with all other genres there is some sort of historical reference.

With Gundam there’s really none of that.

 

 

 

Steve

One of my wife's co-workers builds Gundam and Warhammer. He modifies, kit bashes, fabricates, uses aftermarket components, paints, details and weathers his builds. The one I have seen is very impressive.

He has a small group of friends that I believe are of similar skill level and they basically show each other their builds and no-one else.

I mentioned a show in his area (he does not live in my area) and he has no interest in contests or shows.

I am involved with the shows put on by three local IMPS chapters and I attended the IMPS national this summer and I agree with you Steve that Gundam looks to be underrepresented at "all scale model type" shows.

[peteski]

7 minutes ago, Carmak said:

He has a small group of friends that I believe are of similar skill level and they basically show each other their builds and no-one else.

I wonder if they also have a larger audience on Facebook or other social media platforms where they share their builds with more than just small group of friends?

[StevenGuthmiller]

49 minutes ago, peteski said:

I wonder if they also have a larger audience on Facebook or other social media platforms where they share their builds with more than just small group of friends?

Probably very likely.

There are dozens of model car related Facebook groups.

I would imagine that it would be similar for every other genre.

 

 

 

Steve

[tim boyd]

5 hours ago, Justin Porter said:

I'd really have to conduct a bit of a census on builders to determine who was using what paints for what purpose given that the brands of paint I carry are GENERALLY pretty universal. I stock Tamiya, Gunze Mr Color & Mr Metallic, Army Painter Air, Citadel, Vallejo Model Air & Model Color, AK Interactive 3rd Gen, Xtreme Metal, & Real Color, and Alclad. The closest to a dedicated automotive paint brand I carry is that I'm ramping up to bring in the new Cobra Motors line of automotive paints from AMMO by Mig and have sold some jars of that individually before the rack has arrived. 

That being said, I'd say that my top paint consumers are probably first aircraft builders, then auto builders, and then Gundam. Casual aircraft guys buy the widest variety of paint, tend to hone in on a brand or two that they prefer, and generally need at least three or four new colors with each new project as they jump from air force to air force and from era to era. By comparison, casual auto builders consume a lot of paint but generally in a handful of colors (flat black, aluminum, silver, gloss red, etc) that they just have to restock every now and then. They do offset that a bit as auto builders buy rattle cans in the widest volume of any variety of builders. Generally, my military and Gundam builders only buy spray cans of primers and clear coats.

That's at least from informal counter observations. I can't say I have as "hard" data on end users.

Thanks Justin....that's just the info I was looking for, and mostly, not too much of a surprise. 

Thanks again for clueing us all in on the "real world" as it exists in your business and locale.  Best...TB 

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Carmak said:

One of my wife's co-workers builds Gundam and Warhammer. He modifies, kit bashes, fabricates, uses aftermarket components, paints, details and weathers his builds. The one I have seen is very impressive.

He has a small group of friends that I believe are of similar skill level and they basically show each other their builds and no-one else.

I mentioned a show in his area (he does not live in my area) and he has no interest in contests or shows.

I am involved with the shows put on by three local IMPS chapters and I attended the IMPS national this summer and I agree with you Steve that Gundam looks to be underrepresented at "all scale model type" shows.

That’s understandable.

Just as there are probably vastly more model car builders that don’t do shows than those that do, I would imagine that the same sort of ratios would apply to Gundam as well.

My only point is that if the ratio is any where near similar to other genres, you would certainly think that you would see many more examples at shows with such a seemingly fast growing segment of the hobby.

 

 

Steve

[peteski]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

My only point is that if the ratio is any where near similar to other genres, you would certainly think that you would see many more examples at shows with such a seemingly fast growing segment of the hobby.

Not sure about that. I suspect that a majority of Gundam builders are under 30.  It might be that the generation which builds those models doesn't think attending contests is something they are interested in, since there are many other online ways to share their work. Younger generations seem to prefer remote interactions to in-person ones.

[Muncie]

just an observation, the local hobby shop moves much more Gundam than model cars.  Basically, half of what used to be the model car kit area is now Gundam.  The model car area stays pretty full with not much turnover.  However, it's not unusual to see half the Gundam area sold out from one visit to the next.  Yet I never see many people in that area.  It is a different group, different buying habits, different hours and a younger group that isn't into model cars.  I tease the owners about the Gundam, but I also now it helps keeps the doors open so I still have a local hobby shop to find model cars I like on the shelf.

[Lownslow]

Gundams are popular here too, i build gundam from time to time and always tell my friends to build those first before tackling cars. Gundams are beginner friendly, affordable, and most dont need paint. Theres gundams for all skills and budgets and a high amount of variants based on which lore youre into. As much as i love model cars im also a realistic person when it comes to recommending them over model car or traditional "glue" kits

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, peteski said:

Not sure about that. I suspect that a majority of Gundam builders are under 30.  It might be that the generation which builds those models doesn't think attending contests is something they are interested in, since there are many other online ways to share their work. Younger generations seem to prefer remote interactions to in-person ones.

That is certainly true.

 

 

 

Steve

[Justin Porter]

15 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I suppose.

But for a genre that proclaims to be growing by leaps and bounds, it certainly seams to be underrepresented on the show tables, at least as far as I’ve seen.

I sometimes wonder how much of it is going to end up being just another passing fad.

I know that statement will probably irritate some, but with all other genres there is some sort of historical reference.

With Gundam there’s really none of that.

 

 

 

Steve

Gundam as a multi-media phenomenon actually has a 20+ history in the USA with the series Gundam Wing first airing on Cartoon Network in the year 2000 where it was a smash hit. Bandai followed up their partnership with Cartoon Network's Toonami and Adult Swim blocks by airing the series Gundam 08th MS Team, Gundam 0083: Stardust Memories, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, G Gundam, and ultimately the original Mobile Suit Gundam series from 1979 and the "Universal Century" timeline's climactic movie "Char's Counterattack." This media blitz was paired with Gundam model kits being widely available in major toy and department stores - particularly Toys R Us - as well as a huge marketing campaign with television advertising for the model kits including tie-ins to music videos by popular nu-metal band Linkin Park. 
 

In short, Bandai has been working their marketing machine HARD for two decades in the USA and elsewhere, marketing to children and young adults alike on their terms and creating a fanbase that's interested in Gundam first and the model kits as an adjunct to the fandom. There's no parallel to it anywhere else in the modeling world.

[Bill Eh?]

18 hours ago, peteski said:

It's big in Japan.

Big In Japan... wasn't that an album by Cheap Trick? LOL "Album", my age is showing.

[peteski]

51 minutes ago, Bill Eh? said:

Big In Japan... wasn't that an album by Cheap Trick? LOL "Album", my age is showing.

Well yes, my choice of that phrase wasn't just random.

[Richard Bartrop]

The Rocky Mountain Model Club is a little over half Gundam builders now,  and they happily coexist with some of the best military modelers on the continent.  I know at least one Gundam builder who is going to be hitting the big six-oh soon.  Invariably, some jackass will decide they have to pronounce what is or isn't "real" modeling, but I think we should be really careful about that.   There's the hard core IPMS-heads, who consider us car modelers to be a lower form of life, and we know how wrong they are.

Does it have to be something real?  I see a lot of builders in the forum make rods and customs that have never existed in real life, and it's great to see them all the same.   Nothing wrong with exercising a little creativity.

In the end, it's all plastic, and it all involves the same issues, and the same techniques.  It's all good

 

 

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, Richard Bartrop said:

The Rocky Mountain Model Club is a little over half Gundam builders now,  and they happily coexist with some of the best military modelers on the continent.  I know at least one Gundam builder who is going to be hitting the big six-oh soon.  Invariably, some jackass will decide they have to pronounce what is or isn't "real" modeling, but I think we should be really careful about that.   There's the hard core IPMS-heads, who consider us car modelers to be a lower form of life, and we know how wrong they are.

Does it have to be something real?  I see a lot of builders in the forum make rods and customs that have never existed in real life, and it's great to see them all the same.   Nothing wrong with exercising a little creativity.

In the end, it's all plastic, and it all involves the same issues, and the same techniques.  It's all good

 

 

 

I don’t recall anyone in this discussion stating that Gundam modeling is not “real modeling”, and I agree that model building can encompass just about any subject that you can imagine.

When I brought up the idea of “real”, I was merely referring to things that have actually existed in the real world, whether that be a car, a plane, a tank, a building, or whatever.

Modelers generally strive for realism in whatever their particular genre may be, and that’s possible through reference to actual items that they see  in real life.

whether a builder is building a factory stock or an all out custom vehicle, they’re still using references that they have gained through observations of things that they have seen in actuality.

With a Gundam subject, there is no reference to reality other than what someone has dreamed up in their imagination.

Is there anything wrong with that?

Of course not.

But it seems to me to be an entirely different concept than trying to “replicate” something that has a basis in reality and has to follow certain parameters in order to be considered a “scale model” of a subject that truly exists.

That’s all that I’m saying.
 

 

Steve

[Richard Bartrop]

3 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

With a Gundam subject, there is no reference to reality other than what someone has dreamed up in their imagination.

 

Giant human controlled robots is something, people have been seriously exploring for quite a while now.

Granted it's a bit of a stretch between this and a Gundam, but all the American kitmakers have put out car kits that bear just as much relation to real automobiles.

[Dave Ambrose]

On 10/10/2024 at 1:38 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

I suppose.

But for a genre that proclaims to be growing by leaps and bounds, it certainly seams to be underrepresented on the show tables, at least as far as I’ve seen.

I sometimes wonder how much of it is going to end up being just another passing fad.

I know that statement will probably irritate some, but with all other genres there is some sort of historical reference.

With Gundam there’s really none of that.

Steve

Two of my kids build Gundams and allied subjects.

I don't know about other parts of the country, but here in SoCal, the IPMS' initial reaction to Gundams wasn't very friendly. My experience has been that some IPMS people resist seeing them as a legitimate genre. There have been similar problems with cars. We have a large and separate Gundam contest. It is very well attended and growing.

As for reference, science fiction has a similar concern and that doesn't cause any problems, even with the IPMS. For Gundams, there are the animes, but for the most part, they treat them the same way we treat model cars, and that is paint them however you want. I gotta say, I've seen some seriously good paint at the contest.

And yes, the builders are generally younger. I go to the Gundam contest and I'm the old guy in the room. My experience has been that the Gundam builders are very nice. We have a lot in common for tools, techniques, and the frustrations of glossy paint. ? 

Anecdotally, we're observing some evolution from Gundams to cars. Primarily Japanese cars, but sometimes other subjects as well.

[bobthehobbyguy]

I see Lego and Gundam as something positive.  Those are making something rather than play video games Unfortunately there are those who are not that open minded and have the attitude that if you don't build models the way I do then it's not acceptable.

[Daddyfink]

On 10/11/2024 at 8:28 AM, Bill Eh? said:

Big In Japan... wasn't that an album by Cheap Trick? LOL "Album", my age is showing.

I know it is a song by Alphaville ?

 

[Richard Bartrop]

There is a car connection with Gundam, however tenuous.  Some of the robots and vehicles in the series were designed by Syd Mead, who's more well known in our circles for his futuristic auto renderings, and for his work on the Ford Gyron.

[TonyW]

Thanks for posting a very informative article. It's also really good to hear from a Hobby outlet that is doing well.

 

Tony