Model Manufacturers Don't Pay Attention (Rant)

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Count DeMoney - 24 Oct 2006 00:39 GMT

I just checked an ebay item I have been watching for the past week. It
is for the Revell 1/10 Allison Turbo Prop Engine Kit. It's up near
$100 with 2 hours to go. Needless to say, I will not be bidding.

I have to believe Revell still has the ability to release this kit
again and maybe even give it a minor update. There is obviously a
demand out there. I wonder if these guys ever look at Ebay or any of
the discussion groups to get a clue about what we want to buy? There
are lots of things that are in demand that don't require a new kit.
Just dust off the old tooling and get some instant sales (:>

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frank - 24 Oct 2006 01:09 GMT

I remember in the early '80s when the History Makers series was
released, they were retailing for just about what collectors' prices
were bringing back then. I think Monogram's re-release system back then
was similar as well. Why pay collectors' rates for a new one when you
could by the original for the same price?

> I just checked an ebay item I have been watching for the past week. It
> is for the Revell 1/10 Allison Turbo Prop Engine Kit. It's up near
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> are lots of things that are in demand that don't require a new kit.
> Just dust off the old tooling and get some instant sales (:>

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e - 24 Oct 2006 01:36 GMT

>I just checked an ebay item I have been watching for the past week. It
>is for the Revell 1/10 Allison Turbo Prop Engine Kit. It's up near
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>are lots of things that are in demand that don't require a new kit.
>Just dust off the old tooling and get some instant sales (:>

you really think a few guys in a modeling group in a prt of
the net no one has ever heard of have a voice?
or that revell actually looks at ebay.
the re-released all that historical sh.t....where?
in europe. can WE get american space vehicle kits?
the mofo's are clueless......

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robbelothe@aol.com - 24 Oct 2006 04:45 GMT

IIRC, it's been pretty well established that in the model business, the
big bucks are in the car market. Cut the molds for one kit of the
Lunch Bucket Car Company's Model 324 and then you buy 850 different
decal sets to put on it. Presto!! You now have 850 car kits for the
price of just one mold. Oh sure, you change the color of the plastic
now and then but molding kits is boring work. The plant workers need
variety too.

On the other hand, the Oh My God aircraft company produces the RS-87
Invisiplane. The US government buys 4 dozen. At most, you've got 48
different aircraft models that can be built.

It's all math and money. But mostly money.

Ed R.

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Chuck Ryan - 24 Oct 2006 08:50 GMT

Check in at Hobby Heavens message board or up coming releases from the Big 3
(yep 3, Lindberg is baaacckkkk!) in the auto kit department.

--
Chuck Ryan
Springfield OH

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Val Kraut - 25 Oct 2006 00:00 GMT

When they do release an oldie it disappears off the market in almost no
Time. I managed to get a 50th anniversary Revell Jupiter C - most of the
big mail order places didn't carry it, and the places that did sold out
really fast. Isn't the first time. The Old Monogram space taxi re-release
went the same way. There's a messge there but I'm afraid they don't get it.
Many of us tried through emails etc to get Revell to re-release the XSL-01
Moon rocket, and the early space station kit - never happened. I'd buy
multiples of each - not to mention a few more of the 50th anniversary kits
if they were still available.

Val Kraut

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z - 25 Oct 2006 17:10 GMT

> When they do release an oldie it disappears off the market in almost no
> Time. I managed to get a 50th anniversary Revell Jupiter C - most of the
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Val Kraut

And on top of that, speaking for the car modelers, when they rerelease
an oldie you get no idea what's in the kit; does the repop include the
custom options? which ones? weirdly enough, sometimes you get more than
what is described as being in the kit, which can't possibly make good
marketing sense. It seems as if sticking some illustrators airbrush
sketch of his impression of somebody's buldup on the box is supposed to
be enough to make us all go buy it, and when we don't that's just
evidence that the market for plastic is dead.

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Mad-Modeller - 26 Oct 2006 04:54 GMT

> > When they do release an oldie it disappears off the market in almost no
> > Time. I managed to get a 50th anniversary Revell Jupiter C - most of the
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> be enough to make us all go buy it, and when we don't that's just
> evidence that the market for plastic is dead.

I wouldn't gripe about getting more than is advertised. That's
preferable to getting less. Most of this seems to be because the
Chinese use the entire mould. They wouldn't necessarily know what parts
are truly needed to complete the model.
On the plus side you could get most of the original Ala Kart which seems
to have been better than the new kit. I've heard of people using both
kits to make something like the original model.

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.

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Model Forum / General / Models / October 2006

Model Manufacturers Don't Pay Attention (Rant)