No More Revell NASCAR

Fromt other model forum:

"To Our Loyal Customers:

Over the years we have been pleased to provide you with the finest NASCAR plastic model kits featuring the most popular drivers. Regrettably however, over the last several years we have faced increasing licensing costs that are greater than our increase in sales. Despite our best efforts to secure reasonable licensing terms for NASCAR model kits in general, and the Car of Tomorrow in particular, we have been unable to develop a program that allows us to market the product at a viable price point. Consequently, we will not be issuing a kit on the Car of Tomorrow and, in fact, will be exiting the NASCAR business altogether. We will discontinue all sales of NASCAR plastic kits by February 28, 2009.
This has been an extremely difficult decision to make as we are fully aware of the avid fan base of NASCAR model kit builders and truly appreciate your support over the years. We trust you will find other model kits in our line that will be of interest and that will provide you with the model building enjoyment you desire.

Please note that we still have inventory of selected models as shown below. Check with your favorite dealer to see if they are carrying any of the items. If they are out of stock, they can obtain any of these items for you very quickly through their distributor.

85 2029 0 0012 #20 Home Depot Monte Carlo ('04)
85 2030 0 0012 #48 Lowes Monte Carlo ('06)
85 2075 0 0012 #24 DuPont Monte Carlo ('07)
85 2078 0 0012 #20 Home Depot Monte Carlo ('04)
85 4206 0 0012 #11 FedEx Denny Hamlin
Cordially,

Revell, Inc."

That's interesting. I suspect our hobby is going (if it already hasn't) take a big hit with this recession, and new releases are going to be rarer.

My LHS has a few of those. I should snatch them up!

Knew this was coming. Actually, I've been rather surprised that Revell has managed as long as it has with NASCAR kits- Tamiya issued it's last F1 and WRC kits, what, three or four years ago now?

Everyone wants licensing fees now, and there simply isn't any money left for the kit manufacturers. For those of you who would boycott Red Bull et all for their dastardly anti-modeling ways, you may as well add NASCAR to the list. :rolleyes:

But as Revell rightly points out, there are still plenty of other kits out there.

I never thought about buying one, but it is stil a said news for the modeler community.

It's a knee jerk reaction from NASCAR's part and it just shows how bad their marketing people are, they rather get o money than getting less money. How stupid can they get? Every time I think they hit an absolute low they manage to surprise me again.

I'll support "underground" garage factory.

BTW being VS this business oriented vision of things, I can't also don't think that Revell, that sell Nascar kits at less than 20 eur, will have any margin to improove their tools at Jap's level and sell superb Nascar for 50 eur (like SuperGT Tamy/last Fuji Ferrari isuues) with full satisfaction of sponsor's rights.

Revell Should look at Real Racing and build us some dirt track cars

I figure this may hit the decal manufacturers too. I've read that JWTBM is shutting down production, so without new kits, particularly the CoT, (and I can't see builders forking out $35 for resin bodies each time) I guess others will suffer too. I understand Revell wishing to keep the cost of kits low, but this in turn has meant that quality has not been great.
I agree with Gionic, put the price up and give modellers an accurate kit that goes together well.

It's a shame.:shakehead

Being a pretty build Nascar builder, this is definitely going to hurt. And whats going to hurt even more is the increase in price the kits are going to start fetching b/c they are now OOP. There was a hobby shop here that had a whole wall of OOP kits, and they all started at 20 bucks, and went up from there. I'd imagine these would find there way to that wall now.

Next will be the licensing fees for paints and the like.
You don't think Guard's Red, or Ermine White, Hugger Orange, or SubLime Green aren't going to have to pay licensing to the companies that own the names before long.

Actually, paints are already frequently licensed (take a look at the Model Master Lacquer line) when they're specific corporate colors.

Honestly, though, NASCAR kit sales were down before the COT came out and the licensing costs were astronomical then for NASCAR kits. Slippery slope. Revell can't/won't/shouldn't put up the money to do all the licensing to produce a COT kit because existing NASCAR kit sales are in the tank because the kits represent out-of-date cars because Revell can't afford the licensing.

Hopefully, this means a redirection of money that was tied up in licensing into new/modified tooling.

And all of the aftermarket producers for NASCAR kits will feel this too. Revell's not the only one that'll lose sales (JWTBM was mentioned before, as an example).

Well, just think back to Slixx. Up till the end of 2003, they were huge in Nascar decals, but they stopped b/c the licensing fee's were getting too much.