Model Kits and the Recession.

[Kitboy]

Originally Posted by Pete Hill

Ha, ha! You are a very sad man! Just kidding. Just shows you can't trust a man with a big moustache.
Kind regards Pete

I think history shows men with very small moustaches are the ones which cannot be trusted

Cheers, Nico

[Pete Hill]

Hi Guys,
On a serious note, it is interesting (and something of a paradox) to note that there are arguably fewer people building plastic kits as a regular hobby than there were twenty to thirty years ago (due to the sharp decline in the number of young modellers) BUT there are more brands in production and more kits in circulation than ever before!!!!
One could be forgiven to assume that supply has risen despite demand declining, the exact opposite of the basic law of market economics. Perhaps the numerically fewer modellers are buying kits at a faster rate than in the past? Young model-builders in the 1970s and early 80s would buy kits one at a time and not buy another until the previous one was finished. And I am pretty sure that back then your average youngster had less income re: pocket-money than young folk today, possibly another factor which restricted the rate of sales of plastic kits in the 70s/80s.

Unlike us middle-aged folk today who stock-pile kits by the dozen even if deep-down we know in our hearts that we will never have the time to actually make all of them.
I once read a claim by a market-research expect who estimated that only 20-30% of plastic model kits purchased in the UK each year, over the last decade or so, were actually built. The remainder were either stock-piled into 'To Do' piles, were sold or exchanged by their owners or simply kept in mint NIB condition as collectibles or for investment.

Of course, paradoxes in society are not un-usual. Take Australia for example where the average salary is higher than ever before but the level of household debt is also higher than ever before. Another example is that Australians are spending more money on wedding ceremonies than ever before but the divorce rate is at its highest level ever (well at least it WAS, until real-estate prices went out of control and now disgruntled couples are staying together because divorce is financially impossible!)

A major factor in model-making becoming less popular with younger people is that (at least in Australia anyway) they generally have less leisure time. Remember when all stores closed each day at 5pm and were shut most of the weekend? Remember when it was considered normal and quite acceptable for an employee to go home at 5 or 5.30? When I hear an older person complaining how hard it is to get young people to join volunteer service clubs and organisations, I politely point out that most of them simply do not have the time. Despite our increased technology and income levels, people are generally working longer hours than previous generations and we have become a 7 days a week, 24-hr society where you are expected to work into the wee hours and on weekends. In fact, despite our worldwide reputation as being quite laid-back and slow-moving, Australians, on average, are clocking more hours at work than their counterparts in the UK and Europe. Only the USA, China and Japan are still ahead of us.
So, sadly, the slow-moving, leisurely Saturday afternoon all to yourself, is becoming a thing of the past to a lot of young people. A quiet, time-consuming hobby such as model-making is simply no longer possible for many people.
Which brings me to my point that model-manufacturers, even if they are not necessarily aware of it, must be very reliant on the middle-aged to older modellers, ie those who have the disposable time to devote to such a pursuit. As many of these people are probably more fiancially stable and more devoted to the hobby, most manufacturers should be able to ride out a temporary recession (depending on how long or how severe it is).
But if the industry is to have a long-term future, it MUST find ways to attract more young people. How they achieve that, I honestly don't know but it is a question that they will have to face sooner or later.
regards Pete

[JohnReid]

I hardly ever see a youngster in the few remaining hobby shops that I frequent and even a lot of those are more craft stores than hobby stores as we older folks knew it.
I think that the put-it-together yourself kits are in decline due to many factors such as time and the need for instant gratification.
I often feel that we too are our own worst enemy sometimes by discouraging a lot of newbies from joining our ranks by being too hyper critical ,too competition oriented,too serious,too protective of their own little niches etc...(this site thankfully is an exception) People face all those things in everyday life so the last thing most of us want is import this stuff into our hobbies.
However,on the positive side I do see more and more pre-built plastic and diecasts models out there.I know,I know some of you guys think that I am verging on heresy here but we must adapt with the times.There will always be those who are fascinated with models,it's in our blood going back to ancient times.What is missing today is the early introduction to modeling in childhood.I would bet that most of us who are in the hobby today are re-discovering the pleasures of modeling developed in the past.Because this is becoming no longer a source of new recruits modeling will have to adapt to new ways of looking at things.
One of the main reason that I got into dioramas for example is that they allow me a lot of freedom to cross artificial boundaries that would normally would be frowned upon.My dioramas are multimedia ,I use anything that will get the job done.Wood ,plastic ,diecast,modified figures etc...as long as they help to tell the story.I tend to shy away from areas of too many rules and regulations,getting colors exactly right or following precise military specs. etc...Why? because I tried modeling that way and would have long since lost interest and left the hobby.
I see a great future in adapting our modeling to the computer and photography.Taking creative pictures of our models,kit built,prebuilt,diecast etc.Using the computer to put ourselves in the picture standing beside or even in the cockpit of our own models.I have seen some very creative work where it is impossible to tell if you are looking at the real deal or not.
I think that the modeling community in general is now open to new ideas.
When I first started posting my diorama stuff years ago I did get some flak from some vested interests(I post to about 25 sites on a regular basis)who wanted to keep things as they had always been ,with little cross over of ideas or subject matter between sites, but I am happy to report that this is rapidly changing.
Cheers! John.

[Richard A.]

You all may already be aware but Lindberg is well on it's way to re-releasing their Gloster Gladiator, Fairey Flycatcher, Hawker Fury Mk. 1, Bristol Boxkite, and the AVRO triplane - these are all great kits, made originally by Inpact/Pyro/Life-Like.

A long, long time ago I bought Lindberg's original Curtiss Jenny, and the new version is better molded. Hopefully the new re-releases will be too. Follow this link to Lindberg's website -

The Official Website of Lindberg Models - Unassembled Plastic Model Kits of All Kinds! Vehicles, Airplanes, Cars, Trucks, Boats, Submarines, Military Vehicles, Dinosaurs, Aliens, UFOs, Transparent Man

Williams Brothers is also being resurrected and have released a number of their kits, with more to come - here is the link to their site -

Williams Brothers - HO Scale Model Aircraft & Cars - R/C & Railroad Accessories


The listed prices for the kits seem pretty reasonable to me.


Happy Modeling

[Pete Hill]

Hi Richard,

thanks for the heads up! I will definitely get my hands on the Gladiator and the Fury at least, I would love a chance to build them again. Pete