BINGO! It is all relative. Those who love sports and are season ticket holders seem to come up with the cash to keep their seats. Just see how loyal Packer fans are…they’d rather sell off their children than surrender their tickets! A friend of mine once cmomplained about the cost of his block of season tickets…$7000.00. He paid and never groaned again…we didn’t want to hear it…I could live on that for months!
Just enjoy the hobby…if you can’t afford the new kits…build those in your stash. I figure I can build from now to the time I die and will still leave dozens for the grandkids. [;)]
Based on your above comments, I would suggest y’all check out my store when/if you are in the central Texas area. We just opened (August 1) in NW San Antonio. We are a true model shop; no R/C, no trains. My business background is in merchandise planning and inventory management (I worked at several large retailers in that capacity over the last 20+ years) so I understand how important it is to turn product. If something is in the store without selling over 90-120 days, I need to do something to get it gone. Even if I only break even (or even loose a few dollars) on those items, it frees the money up to stock something that does sell. Too many retailers focus too much on profit, when cash flow is just as important. An axium in retail planning is margin x turn should be greater than 1. (If you sell an item at 40% margin, but it took two years to sell it, that’s not good) Imagine what that money could have produced if it was invested on good-selling items. If your cash flow is good, you can stock newer items. The first thing you see when you walk in my store is a full rack of new releases. And that’s where a large portion of my sales come from. I also do lots of special orders. In the 3+ months we’ve been open, we’ve done over 150 special orders. We are also open seven days a week and have a full-service website. I’ve partnered with, and received very nice support from, the local IPMS and AMPS chapters. I’ve joined both clubs (I’m a modeler too) and I bring new releases to their meetings. Even though I don’t sell many items at the meetings, it plants the seed with those at the meetings that I do carry new items. We also do in-store demos (in fact just-elected IPMS President, Dick Montgomery, is doing one in my store this coming Saturday) and offer discounts to IPMS, military, and students. I also use a very robust inventory system, and we send out weekly newsletters via email with news and new releases.
Anyway…sorry to ramble, but I just wanted to point out that there are at least a few LHS owners out there that ARE adapting to the current business environment.
I’m an old geezer modeler and appreciate the information given in this thread by the businessmen who operate the shops. Very interesting, and it all makes sense. Thanks for your insight.
Three years ago, I lived in the Atlanta area near the largest Hobby Town store in the country, in Kennesaw, GA. I could find everything I needed there, anytime- tools, paint, kits, books, whatever, at any time. I have since moved to Colorado and can’t find s*** here. The local Hobby Town didn’t even have any solvent glue last time I went there! Tools and paint are hit and miss, and I don’t even look at the mess of old kits they have stewn about in the back of the store any more. Customer service is non-existant. Nobody there seems to know much about anything. So I have been ordering on-line from places like Squadron and Sprue Brothers with very good results.
I remember 40+ years ago when I could go to a small shop in a small town in Wisconsin and find things like Pocher car kits ($100 and up) on the shelf, classic wooden ship models, etc., and they were selling them, apparently regularly. Here’s one of those great old Pocher Alfa Romeo 1/8 scale kits I built…
I live in the San Antonio area and I will attest to the quality of Jim’s store. Not big by square footage but well stocked and staffed by knowlegeable and aimiable owner. The pug is even friendly!
If it exists, he will find it. He even takes consignments. Great store.
I bought the 1/24th Airfix Spit and Me-109 about 1984 for $8 each. They were leftover from Christmas, had not sold, and the store wanted to get them off the shelves. Found the Mustang after those two and paid $12 for it.
I got back into this hobby about 10 years ago after a 20 year hiatus. The internet has kept me in this hobby for many reasons. If you’re reading this, it is one very good reason. The items available to us model builders from around the world and in the USA are because of enterprising individuals who had the insight to realize the potential of the internet. I love the way I can access any item I want with the movement of a few key strokes. My Hobby Town is garbage compared to the internet. We have zero LHS’s in the area. Getting back to extreme value or gross overpricing, once again it’s all supply and demand. I really think the quality available today is worth the price…for the most part.
The best value for those 1/24 Airfix kits is whn EasyMike purchased them for $8-$12 each. I’ve had or seen them all, and they just don’t cut it. The tires in the 109 were just fat washers. The “glass” was scratched and scuffed because they weren’t using seperate bags. I’ve also had a 1/72 Mustang by them that had raised panel lines on the front of the fuselage, and large, engraved panel lines on the rear. I’ve TRIED to build many Airfix kits, and two have been completed. They usually end up in the trash. Bad. The best kit I have seen by them is the 1/20 Wallace and Grommet Anti-Pesto van (to go with my Polar Lights Mystery Machine. I also build cars). Monty’s Humber is OK, too. I know there are people out there who can make silk purses out of these sow’s ears, but I don’t have that much Advil or sanding sticks. I CAN say that you can trust Dragon or the newer Tamiya stuff. Even some of the older Tamiya is OK. All I can say is read reviews on whatever you are looking for, as many as you can find. And choose Dragon over Trumpeter. Dragon does much more homework.
I could rant all day, but I think I’ve said enough for now.
Cadet Chuck, I don’t know where you are in Colorado, but if you are near Aurora/Denver, go to Colpar Hobbies on S. Havanna. Full MSRP, but great selection. And they have lots of glue choices.
This is a little unfair. True, there are many Airfix kits which are not very good, and where there are alternatives, they usually have better fit, detail and, especially, decals, and are often also cheaper. However, to dismiss all Airfix kits out of hand would be a mistake.
Most of their 1/48 kits of prop-driven subjects ae excellent, especally if you take into account the fact that the tools are now mostly over 25 years ild. Many of their 1/72 aircraft can be worked on, and are often the only game in town. Who else does a 1/72 Short Stirling, Short Skyvan, or De Havilland Heron? Their 1/72 Flanker is generally held to be the most accurate, in terms of outline. And their 1/72 Spitfires, with the noteable exception of the old Spitfire IX, are the most accurate, in terms of outline, kits of the type available.
Yes. they need to be worked on, and you don’t get the ease of build or fit that you get with Tamiya. But then you’re not paying Tamiya prices either. With a little bit of effort, and application of modelling skills, you can often achieve very pleasing results. Here are just a few from the last couple of years:
I will make a concession to 1/48 scale. The kits of theirs that I have seen and owned were not in 1/48. But I will stand by the statement that the kits I have seen by them are bad. I agree that sometimes they ARE the only game out there. I skip the subject if it comes down to Airfix.
And I went and got my Skyvan. I’ve checked it out. It is full of sink marks, and the decals are not in-register. I have yet to come across a set of theirs that ARE in register. I wonder why there are so many sink marks in these kits, with modern technology. I understand the molds are old. But couldn’t upping the psi push the plastic into all the nooks? And, can’t they match the mold halves, top and bottom? The Skyvan is pretty good, but the 1/24 kits weren’t that good.
And AModel kits are the only game in town for many subjects, and I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone. They require even more work than Airfix kits. I’m almost finished with the IS-1. It has taken a year to get this far, because getting very far takes more patience than I have for a kit. MPM kits are limited run, and they are much better than AModel.
I guess overall, I’m saying that for ME, Airfix kits, which are NOT limited run, are not worth the effort necessary to make a decent build.
I’d concede that there are a lot of Airfix turkeys, but there is still some good stuff to be had. In 1/24, the Hurricane and Stuka are excellent, and the P-51D, though limited as far as detail is concerned, still has better outline accuracy than the much more expensive Trumpeter kit.
I’d also agree that the sink marks are annoying, but they’re not that hard to fix. And I agree with you about the decals - there was a time when, if you were thinking about buying an Airfix kit, you had to factor the cost of a sheet of aftermarket decals into the equation, and this often made it more expensive than the competition. Airifx decals are still by no means perfect - check out how few of the Airfix kits in my earlier post have the kit decals but they’re getting there. The decals on the new 1/72 BAe, Hawk 100, especially the company demonstrator for the Hawk 120 - are superb.
You’re never going to get an Airfix kit of Tamiya quality - though a few, such as the late-mark 1/48 Spitfires and Seafires, and the 1/48 English Electric Lightnings, come close, but some are surprisingly good. For a long time, for example, the Airfix 1/72 Lancaster was the best available in the scale, and it’s still the second-best behind the modern Revell kits. And with a bit of effort, the Skyvan can turn out OK:
Thanks for the compliment! The decals are made by Two Six Decals, who produce a set of British Airways Scottish Airways division ‘Speejack’ markings for the Skyvan (actually the Skyliner passenger version), and also for Gulf Air and Hunting Aviation’s company hack:
