Are model kits toys. ?

[Richard Bartrop]

Why am I dragging this up again?  Yesterday, the Canadian removed the GST on the number of items, including toys.  I know, the government is trying to bribe us with our own money, but a little extra pocket chacnge is always welcom. right.

Now I brought this up because we lo swear up and down that these aren't toys, but now that there there money n the line, will Canandian modelers change their tune?

[Bugatti Fan]

Models?  Toys?    Does it matter what they are cslled if a tax is being dropped on them ?

[peter31a]

One of the Toronto Model Shops is waiting to find out how they will be classified. I'm sure they will be considered toys but we will have to wait and see.

[iamsuperdan]

Wheels & Wings Hobbies posted that they are awaiting clarification on this.

Two month tax break would be a good time to grab some extra kits, save a few bucks.

[Falcon Ranchero]

Even so, around here ( the soo ) there are no model kits in the local Michaels crafts store, not even in Sudbury either I don’t think. Mainly been going stateside to get them and so the tax break obviously doesn’t apply there.

[JollySipper]

I can't wait to find out, so I'll know whether or not I can roll mine around on the floor while making engine noises!

[Phirewriter]

16 minutes ago, JollySipper said:

I can't wait to find out, so I'll know whether or not I can roll mine around on the floor while making engine noises!

Oh, go ahead and do it anyway. You'll feel better! Besides that's what screw bottom kits are for, right?😁

Edited November 24, 2024 by Phirewriter

[jokar124]

2 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

Even so, around here ( the soo ) there are no model kits in the local Michaels crafts store, not even in Sudbury either I don’t think. Mainly been going stateside to get them and so the tax break obviously doesn’t apply there.

Don't forget you can order model kits from Michael's online. They have a dozen of recent Revell releases on their website right now at $39.99 and with the current 40% off coupon deal that comes to only $23.99 (plus tax??). You can even have them delivered to your local store and pick them up there, avoiding shipping charges. That's like buying kits at an equivalent price of $16.99 US. 

[Brian Austin]

You could buy them in toy stores, so why not?

I think they were considered toys for years until we grew older and more serious about building.

The term has been debated for years, as some take it as an insult.

[Bugatti Fan]

I think that classifying model kits as toys causes some model builders to consider it as being insulting.  Why ?

Is it because there may be a perception by a great many people outside model making thinking that the hobby is still not a grown up activity?

Same old story. Same old question.  When asked what your hobby being pursued is and answering 'Plastic model car kit building', the response is often 'Oh, I used to stick together Airfix kits when I was a kid.'

I'm afraid that stigma will not go away.  Best ignore the perceptions and just get on with enjoying what you enjoy doing in your spare time. People outside the hobby will never understand it unless you go into great detail to explain it to them, and on the other hand there are those that you will just be wasting your time trying to explain it to anyway !

 

[peter31a]

17 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Wheels & Wings Hobbies posted that they are awaiting clarification on this.

Two month tax break would be a good time to grab some extra kits, save a few bucks.

Yes, that's the store I was referring to. I'm used to Spotlight Hobbies board where we don't mention competitors. So far I don't think they know for sure yet.

[Brudda]

On 11/24/2024 at 2:24 AM, Bugatti Fan said:

I think that classifying model kits as toys causes some model builders to consider it as being insulting.  Why ?

Is it because there may be a perception by a great many people outside model making thinking that the hobby is still not a grown up activity?

Same old story. Same old question.  When asked what your hobby being pursued is and answering 'Plastic model car kit building', the response is often 'Oh, I used to stick together Airfix kits when I was a kid.'

I'm afraid that stigma will not go away.  Best ignore the perceptions and just get on with enjoying what you enjoy doing in your spare time. People outside the hobby will never understand it unless you go into great detail to explain it to them, and on the other hand there are those that you will just be wasting your time trying to explain it to anyway !

 

This is also my toy. All in definition. I love toys, all kinds. I could care less what people think. 

[iamsuperdan]

Would be pretty sweet if the tax break extended to supplies too. I mean, we use hobby paints. And they're sold in toy & hobby stores alongside products from Crayola and whatnot. 

So it stands to reason that paints and brushes and glues and whatnot might benefit too. 

Ready to stock up when the word comes down!

 

[webestang]

I just had too..............Google AI says...........

While plastic model kits can be considered a form of toy, they are generally categorized more as a hobbyist item due to the assembly process required, which involves cutting, gluing, painting, and detailed building, rather than simple play with a pre-built toy; most model kits are designed primarily for display once completed. 

 

Key points about plastic model kits:

• Assembly needed:

  Unlike most toys, plastic model kits come in parts that need to be assembled by the user, often requiring tools and skill. 

   
• Hobbyist focus:

  The primary audience for model kits are hobbyists who enjoy the process of building and detailing the model. 

   
• Display purpose:

  Most model kits are built with the intention of being displayed as a finished product, not for active play. 

However, some exceptions exist:

• "Build 'N Play" kits:

  Certain model kits, especially those marketed towards younger children, are designed to be more playable with features like rolling wheels or moving parts. 

   
• Action figures:

  Some plastic model kits can be built into action figures that can be played with after assembly. 

[Bugatti Fan]

I think we all know that models built from kits are meant to be displayed, not played with.

Despite Google's description, it is the perception by people outside the hobby that will not change unfortunately.

[Brian Austin]

11 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

I think we all know that models built from kits are meant to be displayed, not played with.

Despite Google's description, it is the perception by people outside the hobby that will not change unfortunately.

I don't know...many metal-axle kits roll very nicely.  Some years ago some clubs built gravity racing tracks to race plastic models.  I tried to get my club into it for our annual show, but they confused it with Pinewood Derby racing, which was not what I was describing to them, and there just wasn't any interest.  Does anyone still do it?

It seems to me early on that models kits, along with promo models were intended for a younger audience.  I think there was an attempt to align them with educational toys.

The funny thing about us adults is we'll buy toys that are fully intended to be played with but will keep them on a shelf for display, or worse, locked up in their packaging in a closet or attic.

[Brian Austin]

Interesting circular from 1974.

 

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiuo.ark:/13960/t6252mk6h&seq=5&q1=model+kits

 

 

Edited November 28, 2024 by Brian Austin

[Brian Austin]

For fun here's a publication from 1959 relating to the toy/hobby/craft industry.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435016560005&seq=1

[stitchdup]

yes model kits are toys, but its what we do to them that changes them into more than toys

[Bugatti Fan]

One has to ask the question why it is that most manufacturers initially market their model kits at International Toy Fairs?

It's a perception thing and always will be, so whether model kits are reckoned to be toys is not worth getting hung up about guys.   Just get on and enjoy your builds !

Funny thing is that serious ship modelles who build models from 'kits' consisting of boxes of wooden strips are viewed differently.

 

[Big John]

Why I remember back in the day's of my youth, 50s/60s, when there weren't hobby shops per say, least wise in So Cal, but there were toy stores and the Five & Dime stores that were my source for model cars and paint, and within walking distance from home. There was a train shop halfway across town but they didn't sell other models just HO stuff. So that may be where the association with toys come from.  It's tradition.

[Mothersworry]

Of course Model kits are toys...all my life when I went to a store like Kmart, Topps, Kresges, Woolworth's, Korvettes, Ben Franklin's, Hudson's, Sears etc. and now Hobby Lobby, where would I find the model kits...in the toy department...Toys!

They're toys, I know, I play with them everyday. I play by collecting them, I play by building them, and I play by admiring them after I've built them thinkin I did a pretty good job no matter how bad it really is. Yeah, I don't push em around the floor anymore makin vroom, vroom sounds, but in my head I'm runnin up revs and dumpin the clutch on the Johan Pro Stock Maverick I've been workin on. 

I truly enjoy playin with my toys (model kits), been doing it all my life (I'm 65 now), so over the years I've gotten a little better at playin with my model kits..so the finished product looks a little bit better then when I wuz a kid.

I have never taken myself so seriously to think that my assembling a plastic model kit in a really clean or precise or detailed way makes me sum kinda Craftsman or Artisan...it just makes me someone who's gotten a little bit better at playing with his toys.

 

Edited December 2, 2024 by Mothersworry

[restoman]

My wife refers to them as my '' Little toy cars'', and since she's always right, they must be GST exempt.

[JollySipper]

People are being manipulated, man........ Once they see they might can save some money, they're gonna buy up a bunch of stuff...... and it's the Holiday buying season, too?

[iamsuperdan]

4 hours ago, JollySipper said:

People are being manipulated, man........ Once they see they might can save some money, they're gonna buy up a bunch of stuff...... and it's the Holiday buying season, too?

Without venturing into politics...you're right.

There's a reason this is going into effect now.

And that's all we'll say about that.

 

And I for one hope that those in charge think these are toys.