I have been ‘away’ from the hobby for apprx 2 years and am wondering how it is doing. It seems that LHS’s do not keep the WW2 kits.paint,and other supplies stocked as well as a few years ago. Tamiya,Hasegawa to name a few don’t seem to be coming out with new WW2 aircraft kits. I guess they have made about all these kits they can. Is it too expensive for these companies to produce a new B-17G,B-24, in 1/48 scale? I know we’d all love for new mold production on those 2. Let me know what you folks think the direction this hobby is taking.
I must say, I am a bit confused at the original post. not sure where your info is coming from, but the model companies are putting kits out there like no tomorrow.
Hasegawa has a beaufighter, lancaster, and a japanese/american fighter and bomber combination coming out in 1/72 next month. They also have a Zero fighter, plus the Japanese J7W2 ShindenKai jet fighter, plus a Kate bomber coming out in 1/48. Then they have a 1/32 Bf109G coming as well. Thats just February 2009 releases…in March, they have a japanese Peggy bomber, another B-24, and an A6M3 Zero in 1/72–but the one I want to see is the 1/48 arado Ar-234 jet bomber.
The kits are certainly still coming out. And while I dont see anyone tooling up to release a new 48 scale P-61 yet, there are still plenty of choices. I know that where I live, there is only one good hobby shop to be found, and its an hour from me…I think thats the bigger problem than the manufacturers.
Actually, in recent years, Hasegawa has released quite a few “significant” WW2 aircraft. Lancaster, He111, Ju88, B24, B25, B26 to name a few.
Yes, these had been done before, but as far as I can recall, even the newest of the alternatives to the big H 's offerings is at least two decades old. So Hasegawa brought these to the table using 21st century tooling. Revell has since released a 1/72 Lancaster which is considered comparable to Hasegawa’s offering.
I am sure there are many modellers out there who would love a “new tooled” B17 or 24, but how many would be prepared to pay a triple-figure price tag for one? Are you prepared to pay $150 for the new tool kit or settle for $25 for the ancient RM offering beside it on the shelf?
I think what he was trying to say was ‘new’ and not the same old re-release of a worn out kit with a different set of decals. That is not new. The Eduard F6F and Fw 190 are new(ish); any Hasegawa Zero or Bf 109 is not. The original poster singled out B-17s and B-24s. Those are 40 year old molds. No matter how Revell/Monogram boxes them they are not new. Other manufacturers act like Revell/Monogram owns the copyrights to all 1/48 scale B-17s and B-24s so they are afraid to build them. At least that’s what I think. Yes, it is very expensive to come up with new molds and templates. But for only one company to produce one of the most famous bombers for forty stinking years is just incredible.
I would pay it. Because I have two 1/48 B-17s now in my basement with both boxes stuffed with resin and p-e aftermarket engines, interiors, wheels, decals, exterior detail pieces, you name it, to help make that kit ‘better’ that have probably driven the cost of that $25 forty year old kit well over the century mark.
Well,I gather from the replies that the ‘hobby’ is growing or at least holding its own. If i were to ask the same question again i would have stated that I build 1/48 only. Also,i would have asked if the die cast airplane is replacing the plastic model?
To another subject. What ,in your opinions, has added the most realism to the model? IMOH it is PANEL LINES. What say you?
Thank for your replies. By the way…i would seriously consider paying 150 or so for a new 1/48 B17 or B24. I am SERIOUSLY thinking about the Trumpter C47 at 150.
Holding it’s own, yah, maybe. My LHS closed in 2008 because of a lack of sales of not only plastic models but trains, die cast, etc, as well. Several other shops around me curtailed their plastic model inventory due to poor sales. In a never ending cycle, I don’t need to go to those places any more and they will say ‘no one comes into my shop, I wonder why.’ I don’t come in because you don’t have what I want and your stock selection stinks. That’s why.
I don’t have any die-cast planes. Die-cast cars, yes, but those were bought years ago. I’ve moved on from that period in my life. Unfortunately the market was glutted and those are worth nothing near what I paid for them. I refuse to go near any die-cast again.
The hobby shops I go to seem to have mostly WWII model kits and frankly that is all that interests me. As for new kits coming out, i profess to not knowing much about that but right now there seems to be plenty of existing one’s to keep me busy.
My LHS is Hobby Lobby. Of the two Mom&Pop’s, one folded and the other is now exclusively RC having dumped it’s plastic inventory. Like the motorcycle shop (My former forte), the LHS suffers mightily against the on-line onslaught. You have no idea how frustrating it is to listen to the complaints like “This shop doesn’t stock everything under the sun” then in the next breath complaining that you won’t match the mail order price. The modeler faces a dilemma. Do you expect the shop of your particular hobby to stock every possible item in every catalog so they can have what we want when we show up? Can you imagine the capital investment it would take to cover the broad range of scales desired? What about the aftermarket accessories? Is there a local club in your area? How many members? Enough to keep the bills paid at the LHS? The internet has a huge advantage because their customer base is the world. Your LHS depends on the people living within a small area for their lively hood. And it’s not like they at least hold a trump card of your needing the services of a mechanic to do installation of your internet purchases. Looking at the inventories across the internet, it seems to me that WWII is more than amply represented in multiple scales and genres, be it aircraft or armor. Sorry if this sounds a little angry, Just outletting against all the years of being used as a “dressing room” so “internet guy” doesn’t order the wrong size helmet or riding britches and have to pay return shipping costs. For full disclosure, I have to use Sduadron, RollModels, and SprueBrothers too, but at least I do so without wasting the time of the local dealer (since there isn’t one) before I screw him out of a sale.
Anyhow, to the original point of your question. Like I said before, WWII is plenty well represented, including 1/48 (my preferred scale as well, by the way).
I too would pay the high prce for a new 1/48 B-17. But don’t pay $150 for the Trumpeter C-47, you can get it for $90 on Great Models website, and I haven’t checked the other sites yet.
The online hobby sites can be a good alternative to the LHS, though it’s very sad to see the LHS’s dwindling as they are. I live and work in Germany and there are even fewer good LHSs here, in fact I haven’t found one yet, though have heard there’s a good onein Nurnberg, I have to check it out.
So, I get 98% of my kits, paints, supplies, tools and resources via the online shops.
I’m happy with the Monogram multi-engine kits, and I wouldn’t shell out $150 for a new one by Dragon, etc. That’s too much, for my taste. I’m tracking down the Monogram C-47, too, the boxing with the paratrooper figures in it. I’d rather build that one again, than to pay for the new kit.