Bit of a "eye-opener" for me today.........

[Amazon]

In Sweden you could buy modelkits in the toy-store just a few years ago. Today there is "paint-and-brush-included"-kits of crappy quality in the corner furthest away from the door..

[mickbench]

I think this simply comes down to, as already stated supply and demand and also the licensing of certain products. Military products always seem to be popular simply because they attract to the biggest want in the human mind. This being the most infectious and almost wanton act the human mind can conjure, and this is destructiveness. I mean how many times do we watch the news to be horrified about the use of military power, but still look in awe at battleships, aircraft carriers and tanks performing bombardments. Apache helicopters launching missiles, tanks trundling along in a line. It all looks so fantastic, and hence we, well lets face it, most want to recreate them fuelling their (dare I say) fetish towards these fantastic machines, so they build models of them.

I know I sometimes look in awe of fighter planes, tanks etc.. But they still mean destruction. Even if the person building them is creative, they still appeal to that destructive side of all of us. Maybe this is the cynical side of me coming out, or maybe I’m talking codswallop. It could also be a total pretence that military models are popular, I doubt it. There are so many of them.

I will also agree that military models are easy to build. Not simplistic enough so that anyone can build military models. They still require skill, in some case lots of expertise, as camouflage painting, detailing of battle damage, full blown dioramas can be painfully slow going, however with a model car, time has to be spent getting the finish showroom quality but not always achievable, whereas the time invested in a tank still could yield good results even if a mistake is made. A challenger tank from the British Army will not display a showroom finish, not even new. So recreating this main battle tank involves more attention to detail (hence a larger market for detail up parts) then actual finish.

Military battleships are almost the same. The matt finish colours and dull finish are more suitable, and more detailing is required. Don’t get me wrong a car can be just as detailed, but that final body finish has to be pristine, therefore the compulsion to keep building model cars can wither a little after a few failures, whereas with a model tank if the finish is not up to scratch, most of the time, as long as the detail is there and model proportions are correct, it will look nice in that display case.

I was in a model shop only today. I took the time to look at military models. I too was overwhelmed with the amount of military models on display. Some great kits, whereas the bikes and car stand was well stocked, no where near the same amount of cars, bikes etc to the amount of tanks, plane, ships etc..

[mike united]

Originally Posted by Amazon

In Sweden you could buy modelkits in the toy-store just a few years ago. Today there is "paint-and-brush-included"-kits of crappy quality in the corner furthest away from the door..

Tell me about it, Airfix, Heller etc .......... drives me frigging !!!

Thank god we've the Internet.

Mike.

[Raceman]

it is pretty sad when you buy a kit that you like such as Fujimi kit,you look at the box and think wow great photo you then open the box and fall into tears,only 20 or so parts and those kits are not cheap.

[Sticky Fingers]

Sorry but I don't think there's anything wrong with the motor market. The only time I notice the military kits is if I venture into my lhs (which isn't that often as they don't supply anything I need).

There are thousands of kits out there in the world wide web and also enormous amounts of aftermarket detail. If you're willing to pay that little bit extra for the postage then you're spoiled for choice.

Granted, the detail in car kits won't reach that of the military but why should it. When I look at kits which Hiroboy, Rallyraider et al produce, are you not astounded by the finish and detail? For me, I would be quite happy to get to their standard & once I get there, will I still have the same appreciation for car kits or will they be too easy at that point?

Besides, what extra detail can be added to the kits we have which aren't already available? If something isn't available I'd be more proud if I was able to scratchbuild it anyway.

[Amazon]

Originally Posted by Sticky Fingers

Besides, what extra detail can be added to the kits we have which aren't already available? .

I still haven`t seen decals for the smallprint on carwindows. You know, the small ones with manufacturer name,usually at the very bottom of the sidewindow..

[travis712]

Hey I have too just like that. Are they worth anything?

[SteveK2003]

My few cents:
- One reason military models are so plentiful is that, until recently anyway, nobody had to pay licensing fees on them. That is changing with the plane market, and will probably change with the land vehicles as well. Licensing fees and manfuacturer approval are becoming big factors in making cars, and will probably affect 'armor' modelers as well.

- Not everybody has the skills to super-detail a model kit. I don't demand to have an insane level of detail included in the box, and I'm not a stickler for 100% accuracy unless it's major (I don't care if the upholstry pattern in the front seats of a Camaro run vertically and not horizontally) but I would like to see an effort to improve the fit and design of the kits. Revell has taken some great steps lately in this department, their Tuner series cars especially, but it seems like AMT has taken a step back: Their new-tool Monster Jam trucks look worse then their 4 decade old re-releases. In short, I don't mind adding extra details, but I don't like correcting assembly flaws like excess flashing or warped or mis-aligned parts.

- Are car modelers willing to pay the price for added detail and quality? Part of the cost of the Japanese kits is in the yen versus the dollar, and the cost of importing them, but the superior tooling and design doesn't come cheap either. If you only want to pay $12-15 for a typical kit, the manufacturers will have to take some shortcuts. If you don't mind paying $20-25 for a kit, I'm sure the companies would oblige with a better product.