At my age (62) the cost is a non-issue. $75 for something that gives me 3-4 months of joy is cheep.
On a pure dollar per hour basis, a nice F-4 kit is about the least expensive thing I do except pickleball at the community park.
A round of golf is $50 and up and only lasts 5 hours.
Samphoto, I agree with you about scale modeling providing the most ābangā per hour for its cost. Plus when youāre done you have a beautiful piece to place on your shelf.
Still no modelers in the 21-25 and 31-35 age brackets I see.
Exactly right!
Plus, I get a lot of joy reading about kits, techniques, buying tools and solving issues.
And, surprisingly, I love the art of weathering, which is something I never did the first time around.
Maybe they are shy. Or are just lurking. They must be out there, I see them building stuff locally.
Our local modeling club has a 12-13 year old coming to our meetings and he builds armor &
aircraft. Then the next youngest would have to be a guy in his late twenties. The rest of us are either retired or very close to it.
There is a 13 year old kid who comes to the model club meetings who is intensely interested in 1/700 IJN warships! Okay, so he is probably an exception, but if there is a kid who specializes in 1/700 IJN warships, anything is possible.
One of my sisterās friendās son who is just starting college is an avid modeler who builds anything that catches his fancy. His latest completions include a Revell 1/32 UH-1 Huey and a Monogram 1/48 B-25. I gave him a Monogram 1/48 B-17 and offered to help him build it.
There is a monthly Gunpla workshop held at a Buddhist temple over here, and my guess is that the majority of them are in the 20-40 year old range. They meet in the adjacent building, not the temple itself!
So there is hope for our beloved hobby. Donāt worry, keep calm and build models.
Younger modelers are out there. I have met a few at work, and seen more at local shops. They are mostly building autos and/or anime/sci fi/gundam type stuff. And they tend not to be on these types of forum but on other forms of social media such as Facebook or Reddit.
Sooo, you are saying itās just FSM that is getting old, not the hobby. I guess that is good for the hobby, bad for FSM. They need to work on their outreach then.
I only do jet aircraft, which really has evolved over the last few years with the quality of great kits coming out, and FSM covers that subject really well. Maybe the younger Gen is interested in lesser supported topics?
When I was a kid, I would build anything, in any scale. Huge Saturn 5, rockets, visible V8, Lamborghini, B-52 just to name a few.
These days Iām locked into 1/48 and only aircraft, I wonder it itās just a lack of hobby shops to wonder through and spark my imagination? Or maybe, Iām old and stuck?
Not just FSM,all print forms of media are not doing like they used too,I mean who reads newspapers anymore,and as was mentioned many modelers have moved on to other forms of social media.
Iād say that FSM has done a good job of representing all of the different modeling genres over the years. When I was an elementary teacher, I always had copies of FSM in my classroomās library for my students to read and I usually brought in my latest completed build to share with my students to hopefully get some of them interested in this hobby. I do know that my personal tastes have changed as Iāve gotten older. Years ago Iād be the first in line at Barnes & Noble buying up all the new modeling magazines when they came out and now I subscribe to FSM and get all of my other modeling info off the internet. Iād say that this hobby is evolving in both kit technology and hobbyistsā interests.
Both the magazine and the group here are getting old/older, not the hobby. I think that I was 21 or 22 years old when I received my first issue of FSM. I just turned 60 last month. The hobby is evolving and changing.
Like you said, the kits now are incredible. But how many youngsters can walk into a store, if there is one near them that stocks plastic model kits, and purchase a new tool kit with pocket money? They canāt. Prices have skyrocketed for nearly all new tool kits. Not to mention that such kits are geared towards the experienced modeler who wants more from said kits, and has a bit of extra money to sink into that purchase.
Now I do see kits that are geared towards the novice/budding modeler, but itās mostly in the Autos and Anime/Sci Fi genres, and usually has marketing tie ins to some franchise. Frequently these kits are priced more affordably for the younger modeler that they are targeted who doesnāt have that extra amount of disposable income.
Simple but quality Monogram and Revell military kits are available,especially when Hobby Lobby has their 40% sale
But yes the amount of auto to military is big in Hobby Lobby.
Hobby Lobbyās inventory has changed quite a bit over the past few years. Those R/M kits are from molds that are mostly 40-50 years old now, and showing their age fit wise. Bandaiās Star Wars, Gundam, and PokĆ©mon kits are taking a bigger and bigger portion of the shelf space at Hobby Lobby each time I go in to check out what they have for sale.
I think you are exactly right on all points. You and I are the same age (62) and I too had a FSM subscription about 30 years ago.
A teenage modeler still here and kickingā¦although I am studying abroad right now and none of my modeling supplies or models could come with me! Hence the inactivityā¦I will be back once I get reunited with my hobbies!
Iām in the 12-14 range and I donāt see any way I could stop. I do hope to meet more my age that do modeling
Funny thing, I actually found fsm by doing a copilot search on modeling forums
Well, there arenāt a lot of people in my bracket, ha!
No surprises, though. Itās a time consuming hobby. At 40, youāre stuck right in the middle of work, probably family life, with barely enough time for the hobby.
To think there are barely any store in Parisā¦ There used to be a BIG one, but it closed during Covid. That means less exposure to the hobby. Hard to know something exists when you canāt even see it!
As for prices, itās indeed an issue. I saw a Revell shelf in a kidās toy shop recently, itās still around 40euros. And itās Revell, which is both very nice for beginners and absolutely atrocious for beginners ( well, IMHO at least ). I remember being a kid and picking up a very small Santa Maria in a toys shop for like 10 Francs which was less than 2 euros.
Thatās the spirit ! I had to give up when I was barely older than you, because I went away for boarding school, then for college, then I was too far gone to take the hobby up.
If you ever have to leave like I had to, and canāt bring a project with you, try to at least keep one active at your parentās. Work on it when youāre back for holidays or other. Feed your flame!
Having just voted and breaking the tie for the top spot, Iād like to add my comments about what I just read in this post.
In most of what I see, yes, todayās generation is focused on instant gratification, yet they are also bombarded more then we were with so much other forms of stimuli that building a model for 3-4 days (or weeks) is boring for most of them due to loss of interest or, in their mind, something better came along. Letās face it, fun for most of us at some point was trying different ways of speeding up how long it took a rotary phone to complete a phone number being dialled.
Letās compare our generation, to change the channel on the tv, you had to stand up, go to the tv and turn the knob, Coleco was also a top video game console in the 80ās, research on a topic was done in a building called a Library or if your parents answered the door, the Encyclopedia Britannica. Microwave ovens were HUGE (as wide as a 1/32 scale B-17 box) and collecting stamps (as I did) was there but not like trading sports or Star Wars cards, then stealing your Momās clothes hanger pins to attach those same cards to your bike so they flickered in your spokes. The money I could have made with that Wayne Gretzky rookie cardā¦.. but I digress.
In the 70ās (1970ās not 1870ās) I built mostly 1/72 scale armour and WWII planes, that Saturn V, space shuttle, those Galactica, Buck Rogers and Star Wars models. The frustration came with that fracking Saturn V stage where the lunar module was stored and the those four doors kept opening up toppling the last stages breaking those thrusters, command module amongst other things. but wait! Thereās moreā¦.
Then we move to the 80ās, and I found this topic, tell my if youāve ever heard of/or researched this. The opposite sex. (Sorry politically correct)! I mean wow. Hobby shops were all over the area, and yes what income I had went to other things all the while modelling took a far backseat in my life.
I see it everyday with most of the new generations, my daughter included. Graduated with a degree and was upset she could only find jobs paying minimum wage in her field. When interviewing new candidates, their expectations are top end salaries with ZERO experience. They want the instant gratification mentioned earlier. Today, some donāt even know what a Philips, Robertson, torx or flat head are. My favourite quotes are āI fear that all that I have done is awoken a sleeping giant and filled him with a great resolveā, āask not what your Country can do for you but what you can do for your Countryā āFriends, Romans, Countrymen; lend me your earsā and finally āI picked the wrong day to quit drinkingā. The first is over their heads, the second āsounds familiarā the third and fourth one lost them completely.
As for me, married 34 years ago (yes Iām still with her though she keeps leaving every morning and still comes home every night and I donāt know why). Since then my parents have passed and when I went to help clean up the house, I found my 1977 MPC X wing still sealed, my enterprise from the original movie still sealed, my shuttle and 747 half built and yes, all those pieces of broken cannons, planes and sci-fi models that either could not stand the test of time or the lady fingers we used to blow them upā¦. So if youāre looking for that tie fighter window, Saturn V or shuttle engines, I have plentyā¦
Today, I have a 30 year old daughter and a 24 year old son. My enjoyment at the time was scaring the living crap out of her boyfriends just by looking at them, now itās back to the hobby. My extra HobbyZone modules, I put on a desk for my son, bought him a tank which he built a 10 minutes then he discovered planes though his gaming. For him itās all about the jets; F16, 18, 22, 35 and so on. Brought him to an air show and he found a love for the P-51. The time he spends is less everyday but I found itās because I havenāt had the time these last 6-8 months. We build at the same time and share the experience together though he doesnāt understand my love for the Corsair and I his with the P-51; he hates me for introducing him to PE and aftermarket resin parts.
As for FSM losing share? I donāt think they did, though Tim did say once that the Editors thought this Gundam thing wouldnāt last. Thank goodness acid wash jeans, New Coke and those sock warmers didnāt last. FSM evolved to be more inclusive to other varieties in modelling topics. Itās called FineScale Modelling, not FineScale Tanks, planes, Boats and yes I have the first issue somewhere. Look at how comic book characters, beasts, villains have grown. Heck, we all love that Phantom that was recently built! A thousand time better than the movie āKISS meets the Phantom of the Parkā I might add!
In ā93 I was in Seattle at the RCA Distribution Convention. We were introduced to artists like Dave Matthews, Christina Aguilera, the Backstreet Boys and there I met and spoke with Waylon. Incredible memories, but the point is, the President of RCA told everyone that this new thing called the internet would make the record companies stronger, boy was he wrong, Google, Napster and see for yourself.
FSM has changed, yes, but I feel the internet has strengthen our medium. We have access to more ideas, research, tools, retailers, options, communities like this, videos of builds and reviews and so much more allowing us to evolve our techniques and imaginations. Far be it from me to tell FSM what to do, but yes, we need to expose our hobby more, not to the converted, but to the younger generation. There was a time when going to a Star Trek convention was a real geeky thing to do, why to you think people dressed up? They were hiding themselves! Geez even that great Canadian William Shatner told them all to move out of their parents basements and āGet a Life,ā. Today, OMG, some conventions are sold out for the following year and, if you pay $1200.00 CND, you can meet Ewan McGregor and have him sign 1 item. Ah remember the good old days when Motley Crew signed breasts for free.
So what can we do? How many of you post on TikTok? Itās not as ridiculous of an idea as those videos the one snoring beside me watches to pick which dress everyone likes, or the accessories or makeup application, though Iām a strong believer that less make up is better. The reality is, like train modelling or those individuals who have the final battle of 1812 (which BTW we won and have the bragging rights to say we are the only army to defeat the American army and burn the White House) set up on 4x8 sheets in their basements, I think in NA, we donāt assist enough in developing our hobby. Iām guilty of this as well, though I do have all my purchases sent to my work address and the employees are all excited to see what I got, or do I do it to hide my purchases from the wife? 
Like those first conventions, I feel we need to be more involved to spread the benefits of our hobby to those new generations coming behind us. Like multiple posts listed above, start with your basic needs to build that one project, from there evolve your requirements and most of all, Donāt Stop Believing.
This post was generated using non AI toolsā¦.
