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

[primera man]

After buying this model tank below for a friend, I'm at a loss for words.
Its been a few years since I bothered to look at one of these kits in detail.
The amount of parts and details that have gone into this kit is quite stunning. There is over 3 times the amount of parts molded in this kit compared to your normal basic car that is done by Tamiya or Fujumi etc.
My question is.......why do us car builders end up with very little new stuff to pick from?
All we seem to get is a re-molded kit from years ago or a new kit that gets slightly changed. Example being the Tamiya ENZO. Great kit, but we get a choice between it molded in red or a special "yellow version".....COME ON!!
Please dont hand me that "We have to build new molds for cars crap".....your doing it nearly every bloody month bringing out new stuff apart from cars.
Every month all I see is new Tanks etc being done for all those builders but what about us car builders....is the marked not big enough?
If you can spend this much time molding tanks/planes with so many parts, surely a car kit is so much more easy?
Only positive i can see from it all is the Tank kit set was almost twice as much to buy then a car.
Are "we" cars builders the "poor mans builder" who are not being looked after enough?

[proosen]

Yeah! I know and agree with you fully. It's strange that we don't get nearly as many new civilian vehicles compared to what the military guys get!? But if we look at the situation here in Sweden there seems to be a bigger market for the not so shiny stuff than we can bring up with our lovley cars and motorcycles. I only have to take a look at our main site here in Sweden to see that there is a wast majority that build tanks, planes, figures and naval stuff. Me and my car building associates are a little exclusive pack that hardly gets any attention at all from these guys when it comes to commenting our work. Feels a bit strange to see the amount of attention these guys give each others and hardly takes notice of us.

Niclas

[Bas Carwash]

I agree! We disserve more detail!!! We don't except cars with less then 200 parts anymore!!!

[Bobj]

Have to agree with ya pman the car modeller sure does get shortchanged but model companies are in buisiness for one thiing and thats to make money and military sells and sells and the aftermarket area is huge also, i started out modelling cars then brought one tank kit and was hooked now my car stash is half the size of my military kits and i'm still collecting. I try to build a car and military subject at the same time as i really like both. tamyia cars kits seem to be tied to their rc dept as this is where they make most of their coin and they seem to have slowed down on the military kits in 1/35 and are changing to 1/48 as dragon,trumpeter and afv club are killing them in 1/35 scale. So why not get in on the act and grab a tank kit it could be a refreshing change for you. Cheers Bob.

[RallyRaider]

Supply and demand. The market for armour and aviation subjects is much bigger than our automotive niche. We're just more exclusive I guess! Besides we don't do too badly, sure there haven't been many new kits that interest me lately and those that do like the Murcielago are very ordinary. However there are plenty of old kits that I still have to build. Most exciting is some of the reissures like the FIAT 131 and possibly Escort Mk II.

[Rtuned]

Agree with RallyRaider.
Car market is not small, but diecast market have slice 50% of scale model market. The profit on diecast is much better than scale model. Tamiya and some major plastic company are starting to jump into diecast market. Remember, Tamiya once release a pre-painted body models? Then complete finish models? 1/64 scale diecast JGTC and 1/12 diecast Ferrari? Now diecast under-chassis? What's next...I think you already know what will it be.
I have been pushing the car modeling to alot of young adult in my country, telling how interesting in building models. Modelers are not only build model, we do reference on real cars and bikes, knowlegde is way far than any of non-builders. But all I get were... "Doing models are waste of time." "Only kids do models, adult don't do kids stuff." "Why waste time sitting at home doing model rather I can buy a diecast and display. It's cheaper and it can fully open and is big, model can't open, small and don't have a weight..." That's sucks!
Here, is a big modeling family, if we can promote this car modeling to most young people, I think the market will grow bigger. Just hope and it's my

[freakmech]

I will tell you this. At my Hobby Shop i am the only regular customer that builds cars. the shop has an incredible stock. over 10,000 kits. only about 100 are cars. mostly old stock and a few newer Revells. I have to order everything but they get me what im looking for every time so i dont complain and if i didnt have to order kits i buy so many kits i didnt really want if they were in stock. Also they dont stock Tamiya Spray Cans which sucks bad but the military guys dont use them. Basically most of these military guys were in a war at some point so theyre personally attached to these kits. Us 30 years old or younger generally havent been in the service so cars are more appealling to us. but most hardcore modellers are over 30 and have served time with the military. also even though the body of the tank is different from one to the next most of alll those little goody parts like shovels, treads, wheels, turrets etc... are all very generic and not correct so in turn you get alot of pieces but most are inaccurate. so the car models are actually built much better and nothing can be used from one kit to the next like in military so it is much more expensive.

[malsheem]

My observations ...

The majority of scale model builders I come in contact with outside of AF are military modelers. Local LHS's are heavy into military with cars as an afterthought. Many military builders are older, meaning more disposeable income. I see many of them as detail freaks, so that makes for a healthy accessories market for military as well.

Car modelers tend to be a younger audience, less disposeable income. Plus auto enthusiasts who get into a car-related hobby have choices; go diecast, the collecting method, or for the ones that like to work on things, go R/C, where after the building, you can do things with the finish product. My auto enthusiast friends fall into either one of these buckets. None in scale modeling.

We car modelers just don't have the numbers, and sadly, I feel our numbers are shrinking, and we can't completely shake the "kiddie/toy" image of car modeling that many outside the hobby associate to us.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Don't even get me started about how lame the US-based model companies have become. They spit out an occasional winner and they're endlessly pulling out reissues, but it's like pulling teeth waiting endlessly for them to do something new and get it on the shelves, and they're teasing us with new announcements and then killing many of them off because they can't sell firewood to Eskimos or water in the Sahara without having it all presold.

A successful business has to take calculated risks, and the US-based companies are too timid to take any real risks anymore. They focus so much on past failures they lack any vision for success.

[DJPaul]

My father introduced me to modeling. He bought me my first airplane and tank. I was so happy and I cound't wait for him to come home to show me how to biuld it. He tought me how to build it, paint it, make my own glue. Memories are priceless.
Then when I moved to USA, my dad moved to another coast of USA, and I lost interest in planes and tanks mainly cause of cost $$$$$.

Now I realy would like to build another plane, but I don't have extra $100+.

[Turbo Monster]

I've seen people go in and spend hundreds on 1/35 scale tanks and stuff. Usually it's just a tank, with some paints and a photo-etch set that costs an exorbant amount of money. I'd like to build one someday though, but some of those modellers could attack you for building it "out of date" or "wrong color" or "wrong armament" "wrong place" yada yada yada.

I've heard the T55 is a good and fun kit to build though.

[ImolaEK]

Im pretty new to this whole scale modeling thing. To tell you guys the truth i started out collecting die-cast models and right about now my collection goes of around 23 1:18 scale and 10 1:24 scale, then around 12 1:43 scale. Most of my friends also collect die cast models. I think the reason why most of them don't build scale models is either because they were not satisfied with their first model or the cars shown to them in local walmart weren't what they wanted. I don't blame them for that. Companies need to bring out new cars and work on their parts to try to make them more detailed! Put better things in these kits! Create a wider selection!!!

[blueboost]

w are definately being punished.. Just browsing any hobby shops or walmarts modeling section should be punishment enough. Hell, I've actually lowered my standards so far that my current project is one of those AMT '88 foxbody mustangs, just cause at least it has engine detail and a decent price tag.

seems like right now, for every kit there is, theres a kit that I sorely wish was available.

and whats with all the die casts and models coming pre-riced lately?

[willimo]

I'm pretty much happy with my collection as it is, there aren't many cars I desperately seek anymore. And much less that isn't available. So there.

But I do think the market for model cars is far smaller. One of the things I've noticed is I think model cars aren't as well respected as others because there isn't the sort of nitpicking that Turbo Monster pointed out. Very few modellers try to make an accurate representation of a specific car, at a specific time, doing a specific thing. I think a lot of military/aircraft/railroad/ship modellers pick their subjects because of research - they paint the tank as it would have looked in April of 1945 instead of how the same tank looked in December of 44. And they have pictures or paperwork to back it up.

Nerds.

[Rtuned]

Also...I must say this too.
Car and bike models are the hardest among all modeling field, the eaisest must be military(except modern aircraft). You know when you drybrushing your tanks and armor and accidentaly broke some parts, you will put it as "battle-damage", but for cars and bikes, can you said the same thing? No of course, most modeler whose fell into the car modeling usually will not last more than 3 months, then they will drift off to either die-cast or R/C. To master the techique of automobile is not a easy thing to say. We invest on good tools, search for reference, look for detail and etching parts(not alot company do etching and is quite limited, not like military...there's plenty of them.) and also we have to earn the experience in building by mistake and discussion in AF or any modeling forums. Most people will think it takes too long to master a car modeling skill.
Sad to said, I owned a hobby shop and I do find that not alot of people in these days build scale car models. Mainly are those whose watch some FnF or Initial D and want to have one that they like but they had been putting their expertation way too high. When standard is not what they expect they give up and something they cursed on the hobby shop owner for lying them. I think they have too many choice in find their hobbies. Only left "Us" to secure this hobby for the rest of our life. I try to promote it but not effect as like what 'malsheem' had said....haiz!
Rtuned