Model Kits and the Recession.

[JohnReid]

Thank you Jay for your kind birthday wishes.Cheers! John.

[FOKKERJ]

Originally Posted by Rittersbach

Some of us have enough stashed that they will require a line item in our wills. I will continue to buy kits even in tough times to keep WWI modeling alive. Not to mention adding to the stash, or not to mention, aquiring kits can sometimes be almost as enjoyable as building them. Please note I said almost.
As long as I have a job I'll buy kits. If I lose my job, that's when my stash will come in handy.

I don't know if I can handle the excitement of building the kits, if it's more than the researching, ordering, receiving, and opening of the little surprises.
I consider the opening and study of the contents like reading a good book. That has nothing to do with the actual research and the "Decal Chase".

Originally Posted by mgtaylor

I agree with Ritter. Of course Since rejoining the Hobby as an adult too in late 99 I cant get enough Kits / Resin / PE / Tools PAints Decals and on and on. When I get in a LHS now I already have so much at home All I end up being able to get that i dont are bits of Wire and glue. I constantly shop for small diameter wire / sanding sticks etc.

Line Item in the Will ? Yep . me too Guilty as charged.

Don't get me started on decals! That's an entity all unto it's self! Almost a separate thread!

Music wire, electrical wire, wooden dowels, and yes even hard plastic "Clam Shell" containers that everything is packaged in become materials waiting to be transformed into a masterpiece. Yes, I even ran across a plastic piece of, only God knows what, that looks like it wants to be a rudder and fin (1/72").
I even thought of scratching a whole plane of my own design around it.
I'm still waiting to find out if it wants to be a bi-plane or a triplane!

Originally Posted by mgtaylor

Quote:
aquiring kits can sometimes be almost as enjoyable as building them

"Allllllllllmooooooost" Maybe. Yes When the Post man arrrives. In fact I like the UPS man for the very reason he throws my delvieres along my walkway and into bushes by my front door cause it gives me the Chance to FIND them Before "Wifey" has a chance to see them and then HIDE them IN Plain SIght mixed up with the ever growing stacks of other new kits in the garage ? Hee Hee Hee

JUst walking in to my garage (where my hobby has been banished to ) in to the Stacks of loosely organized deshelved Stacks and stacks of Kits I get a rush of excitment like i did when I was a little kid walkng thru the Stacks of Model Kits at the LHS, Only nobody is looking over my shoulder if I take on off the shelf and Open the box to poke around the pArts and read the Intruction Sheet !!!


BUt I'd rather build too. But until time/work/wifey/kids etc co-operate then I can imagine and make little grpous of kits Id like to build together ?

Yours MIkey

Originally Posted by AROTH

After reading some of these last comments, I do not feel so bad after all - my wife just shakes her head in disgust when I keep buying and keep hoarding. As mgtaylor said, sometimes I just enjoy opening the boxes and looking inside at the contents.

Anyway, she spends her money on her two horses and their needs, so who is she to talk? Ha-ha.

Hi Mikey and AROTH,

Can you say "MODEL POLICE"?

I know you can!

MODEL POLICE; noun, Anyone or number of people that find your receiving of postal goodies (smaller than a bread box or large enough to contain several WWI aircraft kits) to be bewildering, disgusting, or would cause grief on your parade (or in your CHEERIO bowl for that matter! ).

They are the Model Police and should be protected from anything that would cause harm to themselves (upset their world) at all cost.
Whether it's shoes, horses, or whatever, I don't think it matters and not even a dozen roses would make them understand how important modeling is to one's sanity!

UPS is pretty noisy!
Fed-ex likes to come late in the afternoon
and blow their horn to be sure that everyone is aware that a package has arrived AND IT'S NOT FOR THEM!
When I know my seller's shipping schedule and find it possible to plan ahead, I like my packages to arrive on "SHOPPING DAY"! I don't go shopping!
That works out best for all involved. My regular Postman's timing is like clockwork.

Originally Posted by mgtaylor

"the Chance to FIND them Before "Wifey" has a chance to see them and then HIDE them IN Plain SIght mixed up with the ever growing stacks of other new kits in the garage ? Hee Hee Hee

Kind of like a grain of sand in the desert!
That is why I always have a couple of kits and research literature handy by my favorite chair. Along with my wooden plank (my workbench is half of a solid oak table top from a portable precision shooting bench!), I can spend quality time with the family while they're watching T.V.
Always having kits handy, makes it easy to enjoy the new kits as they look pretty much the same to the untrained eye! The same holds true for WINDSOCK DATAFILES!

Originally Posted by JohnReid

Thank you Jay for your kind birthday wishes.Cheers! John.

My pleasure John, and thanks again for the entertaining thread, we need a good chuckle once in awhile.

Best Wishes, Jay

[NeilE]

Hi All

Models are a discretionary spend item and as the recession/depression continues to bite, and job losses increase, then it is likely that demand will drop. particularly in relation to high end items like Eduard Royal boxings. Manufacturers are still fulfilling pre-recession production schedules and it may be that as demand slows their production/release schedules may alter to suit the current situation. With the drop in the price of oil, it may be that models become somewhat cheaper as a result which could offset drops in demand, but this could be offset by exchange rate drops making kit more expensive to import.

Fluctuations and drops in currencies around the world will also make models and accessories more expensive in many countries, which will affect demand still further.

I would say that many smaller producers, particularly those of accessories and peripherals will find it hard to continue as their production methods mean that they will be unable to produce units at much lower costs, and could price themselves out of the market.

I think those manufacturers who can produce kits at lower costs and keep their unit prices cheap will do well while those who insist on staying in the high end of the market will suffer.

Local hobby shops may suffer while larger retailers - retail or online will continue to do well - depending on their debt exposure also. Debt exposure will also affect manufacturers with those with high exposure to debt financing their operations finding themselves on shaky ground going forward.

Personally, while I am secure in work, I'll be buying less models and working on my substantial stash instead until conditions improve.

[MerlinV]

They are the Model Police and should be protected from anything that would cause harm to themselves (upset their world) at all cost.
Whether it's shoes, horses, or whatever, I don't think it matters and not even a dozen roses would make them understand how important modeling is to one's sanity!

My wife and I both have horses. Hers has a much more extensive Rug collection that mine (she has rugs for arctic conditions, rugs for rain, rugs for nice spring days, rugs for hot days...). I don't complain about the new rugs that arrive by mail and she doesn't complain about the models that arrive.

And she is also very supportive of this hobby.

I am very lucky.

Cheers,

Hugh

[bobs_buckles]

Originally Posted by MerlinV

My wife and I both have horses. Hers has a much more extensive Rug collection that mine (she has rugs for arctic conditions, rugs for rain, rugs for nice spring days, rugs for hot days...). I don't complain about the new rugs that arrive by mail and she doesn't complain about the models that arrive.

And she is also very supportive of this hobby.

I am very lucky.

Cheers,

Hugh

Hugh,
Does you wife have a sister?
Put in a good word for me cos you don't find many a woman as understanding as your good lady... haha

Mr Buckle

[MerlinV]

Does you wife have a sister?

Nope. Sorry.
She has a brother, but I think that might be just a bit too wierd

Cheers,

Hugh

[FOKKERJ]

Hello MerlinV,

I was just having fun with the "Model Police", my wife is a sweetheart and has most always been very supportive of my endeavors, as wide and varied as they are. Many of them she has even shared an interest in, but not this one. Yet!

Hello all,

NeilE sounds right on the money.
To answer John's original question of this thread.... Yes the economy affects my buying decisions on anything. The experts say that it will get worse before it gets better. As I said, "It's a good time to build and a good time to buy" or something like that! Obviously if one does not have expendable funds after meeting one's needs, it's just not the best of times. This economy affects each of us differently. If we saved enough food, water, gold, and dry powder as well as we have models and building supplies, we should be just fine!

HAPPY TRAILS, FOKKERJ

[Tom L.]

So far, this recession hasn't effected me.
A "benefit" of being poor, perhaps, having nothing to be wiped out by troubled markets. Who'd have ever thought that living paycheck to paycheck could possibly be seen as having any benefits?

The past couple months have seen me aquiring kits, supplies, and references at a better pace than at any time in the past six years; go figure.

[dak66]

I've been experiencing a recession for almost a year now LOL ...
You guys just caught up and figured it out !
But seriously i have cut back alot, i purchase more wisely and have been for at least the last 8 months i buy tools or kits that i know i will build or use at least sometime in the near future and are within my main frame of interest.
In times like these there has to be a reality check it's a fact of life it doesn't mean i give up something i love ( Yes i said Love just don't tell anybody! ) I think it's setting priorities something i should do without the prompting of a financial meltdown.
Hopefully this ends soon and we all come out the other side better for it
My wife supports me in this hobby and i love her for it i'm a lucky Man .

[Pete Hill]

Hi guys,

I have a good friend who runs a hobbystore and I have recently chatted with a couple of other such owners and they are saying they have noticed a decline in sales (but then again so have most kinds of retail shops in Australia over the past few months).
However they also say that their 'regular' customers are still coming in and supplying custom. There is immense solace to be found in a beloved hobby during times of stress.
I work long and irregular hours as a nurse and I have a marriage where my wife and I do equal share of child-rearing and housework so I have extremely limited time for hobbies. I admit that I do devote some late nights to those hobbies which I know is not healthy but I find I need that dose of personal space and relaxation that they provide.
I primarily paint pictures but model aircraft (1/72) is my secondary hobby and I build both WW1 & WW2 subjects. Three years ago, I went to the trouble and expense of getting all of the old Revell 1/72 series of WW1 aircraft by purchasing them second-hand either off eBay or oldmodelkits.com only to see Revell re-release most of them this year! I stood in a hobbystore in Melbourne last weekend and gazed with a mixture of good-natured bitterness and bemusement at the lovely brand-new editions of them all, all priced considerably less than what I had to spend buying the older editions! Oh well, such is life!
As a frequent eBay user, I will say this. Since the recession has begun to bite, I have noticed a sharp drop in many of the auction prices for plastic kits during the past few months. Last year (2007), I bought a 1980s edition of a Hasegawa 1/72 Nakajima 'Kate' and it cost me $22. Last month, that same kit went for $1.40.
Two years ago, you couldn't hope to get an Airfix 1/72 Fairey Battle kit for less than $30. Recently, I saw four of them up for bidding at once from local sellers and none of them fetched more than $10.
I sell a fair amount of stuff on eBay and regular communicate with other sellers and they all report a drop in prices achieved at the closing of bidding. Of course, the truly rare kits are still getting the good prices but the less rare ones seem to be more affordable these days.
One drawback is the recent increases in international postage rates which have sometimes reached ridiculous levels, both sending and receiving. Admittedly, this is sometimes caused by some sellers who increase their profits by inflating postage costs but when I have mailed out-going parcels overseas I have noticed a definite increase in costs.
Regards Pete