Is this hobby dying?

So I went around today scanning some local hobby shops and to my absolute dismay, the amount of RC models totally bogs down static models. :( Static models are almost non-existent in my local hobby shops.

What has happened in the 6 years that i have been away from model building? I also heard a rumor that Revell has completely closed up shop. Is this shocking news true? Is it old news? :(

Whats has happened?? :eek:

So I went around today scanning some local hobby shops and to my absolute dismay, the amount of RC models totally bogs down static models. :( Static models are almost non-existent in my local hobby shops.

What has happened in the 6 years that i have been away from model building? I also heard a rumor that Revell has completely closed up shop. Is this shocking news true? Is it old news? :(

Whats has happened?? :eek:
Nah, RC is the money maker. My LHS did the same thing and also added slot cars. No surprise. Actually, a lot of the kit makers are making *more* kits than they did 6-8 years ago. See Fujimi and Tamiya's racing car releases...

So is it true about Revell?

So is it true about Revell?
They've (Revell Germany) has been putting out a lot of kits this year (3 F1 and 4 DTM cars), so I'd say yes. The situation is a lot better now than it was in the recent past...

So Revell is still going then....good :) I was worried there.

I also heard a rumor that Revell has completely closed up shop. Is this shocking news true? Is it old news? :(

Whats has happened?? :eek:

I have no idea where you got that rumor but it is completely false. Revell AG and Revell USA are both doing quite well. The hobby has shrunk, but it's not going away any time soon.

absolutly not true. I heard this rumor about a year ago and asked the vendor at my local hobby shop. He told me that Revell is doing very well and is THE biggest model maker in the world(that's what he said). This rumor started at a hobby show. A vendor at this show told people that Revell was going out of business, so he could sell more products.

Lesley

I thought it's not possible to be more dead than dead.:icon16:

I thought it's not possible to be more dead than dead.:icon16:not sure I understand you :P

Sorry, I was just being sarcastic :tongue:

In my opinion, modeling is never a popular hobby and therefore I don't worry about its popularity dying out.

This hobby isn't dying out, alot of people are now going on-line to buy kits like E-Bay,HLJ,Mediamix Hobby etc. IMO & it's pinching the LHS.

This hobby isn't dying out, alot of people are now going on-line to buy kits like E-Bay,HLJ,Mediamix Hobby etc. IMO & it's pinching the LHS.
Yh, the LHS aren't carrying much stock and I got such a scare when I noticed that they were ALL like that. :(

The reality in South Africa (as in most other places, I imagine) is that we have distributors that need to satisfy both their shareholders and the consumer. The consumer in most cases wants instant gratification (don't we all? :-)) so items like RC and die-casts sell far better than kits. We have a couple of bigger hobby shops in Johannesburg, and I've seen the same kits unsold on their shelves for years (either too expensive or uninteresting).

Many of the guys at the club import their stuff direct from online stores, and use the LHS only for things like glue, tape, basic paint, etc. Even factoring in the cost of shipping (I usually use couriers, because our Postal Service seems to be a halfway house for kleptomaniacs) the stuff usually arrives here cheaper.

The hobby isn't dead though. It's just become more focused (fewer people, and building only the subjects they really like) and sophisticated (the standards nowadays are absolutely unreal - many modelers are creating work that would have been considered master builds before).

And finally, if you need real proof that modeling isn't dead - just work your way through this forum.

Cool. A Fellow South African :)

Everybody PANIC! :-)