Dying art........Yes.

I think the hobby is still going strong. As others have said, it’s just a different age set and I think a higher level of build quality now. I built as a kid but then girls, high school, college, and adult/professional life got it the way. I’ve returned to the hobby for about 5-6 years now and certainly build when I can and hopefully to a higher level than I did as kid. In reading here and on YouTube, I do find the hobby is more popular in the northern climes (I’m sure because of the long, cold winters) and in the UK. Either way I enjoy seeing what other people build and I’ve picked up on some great tips and inspiration from fellow modelers. Regarding LHS, I certainly do miss them. There’s something about going look around and holding a kit that you are thinking on purchasing that a website just can’t replace. The closest hobby shops when I was younger were 2 hrs away and these are long gone. Another one I enjoyed was an old Ben Franklin that had tons of kits. This one became a Michaels and they're kits are limited. Now I only have a HL and the net but I make do with what’s available. I’m certainly enjoying the hobby again.

It seems to me that the idea of modeling dying because youth is not into it is buying into the idea that old dogs cannot learn new tricks.  I very much reject this aphorism.  I know a number of people who did not build models as a youth, but acquire the skills needed as an older adult when they take up modeling after retiring.  Look at the ages of category winners in national contests.  Predominately older folks.  There are also people who tried at when they were younger but never got really involved but returned later in life and also acquire excellent skills.  Model railroading has never been primarily a kids hobby- too expensive- but look at the beautiful layouts.

I have heard this worry about youth lack of interest for decades, but scale modeling today is a golden era, given the quality of kits today, the amount of aftermarket, the high technology of aftermarket, and a strong international organization.

My other hobby is philately, but discussions in various on-line stamp-collecting threads are virtually identical to this discussion. 

When I retired and moved to Vancouver in 2000, there were four stamp shops within walking distance, and three more if I was willing to take a 30- or 40-minute bus ride. Now there is just one, although I wouldn't darken the owner's door for any amount of money. There were also four stamp clubs, including the one I eventually became president of. Now there is just one that I'm aware of, and it's barely managing to stumble along with Zoom meetings.

My stamp club had only two young members in the 10 years that I was regularly attending meetings, but none of them lasted more than a year or two at the most. Our annual stamp show, VANPEX, struggled to attract young exhibitors or even visitors. The only Canadian children I ever saw there had parents or grandparents who were involved in the exhibition. One year we did have some 10 or 12 student-exhibitors arrive from India; stamp collecting does seem to be alive and well in Asia. There used to be a very active youth stamp club in Edmonton, but it shut down when its popular adult supervisor died of cancer. 

I was a public school teacher for 17 years, in northern BC. I sponsored stamps clubs in two of the schools I taught in, and had good attendance. The clubs attracted an interesting group of students: they were quiet kids who weren't involved in sports or other clubs, but they were very serious about stamp collecting once they learned what it was all about.

One of the members of my stamp club here in Vancouver was also a teacher, and tried to start a stamp club in his school. A large number of student arrived for the first meeting, and many bought stamps that the teacher donated (he was going to use the funds collected to buy more stamps for the kids). At the next meeting, students were disappointed that they couldn't sell their stamps at a big profit. The third and last meeting had no attendees at all. I have a feeling that I would have similar problems if I tried to start a school-based stamp club. Perhaps if I offered a free smart phone to every student who joined....

While the opportunities for engaging with other collectors here in Vancouver, and for buying stamps and collecting supplies locally, have almost disappeared, the virtual stmap clubs and stamp shops seem to be thriving on-line. One of the stamp shops that closed its doors here in Vancouver reopened virtual doors on-line, and has probably quintuppled its business. It has bi-weekly or montly auctions on-line that must bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars — I certainly can't afford to buy most of what they are offering! E-Bay and Delcampe (a French "E-bay") offer just about anything the average collector should ever want or need. And there are a dozen or so very active discussion boards. I don't have any trouble staying engaged with my stamp collecting, assuming that my model building doesn't take too much of my time!

Bob

stikpusher

Yes, World of Warships now has my son interested in ships.

That'll do it. The ship renderings in WoWs are extensivly researched and therefore very detailed and accurate. They can be a good refrence. The rest of the game is just silly. Several aspects of it are not even close to being realistic as well as some of the camo schemes. But what the heck, it's a game. One that I played for a while until I lost intrest.

Retired the first day of this month from a very demanding career. Pulled all my modeling tools out and spending more time with my 11 year old grandson. He's become a Star Wars expert. Just finsished a Millenium Falcon for him and gave him a Ban Dai Star Destroyer for Christmas. Will start it with him right after I get finished with the Dragon UH-D1 Huey I started a few weeks ago. His choice. 

I am VERY glad I loaded up over the past few years before retiring. My LHS shut down about six months ago here in SW FL. I believe Covid was the final nail. Most of the business was model trains, hence the name Metro Trains. Nice bunch of guys. My modeling club met there, not sure where they are now.

Sign of the times. As mentioned, clicking and getting a box on the doorstep in a few days is hard to beat. I was dismayed to find the limited supply, out of stock and backordered status of many many items online. Lockdowns I guess. Try finding some OD paint, anywhere. 

I don't know if my grandsons Star Wars interest will grow into model building. I have him assist whenever I can (if it's not TOO detailed). Prayng for patience and tolerance in life will give you a supercharged 11 year old full tilt boogie. Moral of the story: be careful what you pray for!

I would think a years worth of show cancelations would have an effect on the upper end of the building crowd, but not so much the casual builder. I struggled with the constant show readyness and competative focus of my local club. You were welcome at the meets, but if you were not competing, you were always on the "outside". I guess that's just human nature, we like a community with similar interests. Very talented group of guys.

I've learned to build for my own enjoyment. It's something my grandson and I can do with our hands together. That may all changed at 14, who knows. All I can do is try.

Yes, World of Warships now has my son interested in ships. Something that he never was before. When he was home on leave over the holidays he took a look at some of the ships in my stash and made a comment about recognizing some but not others. He already has a stash of Gundam kits and aircraft from the Air Combat video games. He has built Gundams for quite a few years now, and started making Warhammer stuff after he arrived at his first duty station in the Air Force along with some of his buddies there.

rev_barabbas

I think the hobby is merely shifting in focus for the next generation. I have only one traditional hobby shop in my area, the next one is 80+ miles away. There are five "game / comic / hobby" stores within 15 miles of me that have regular figure painting events and modeling workshops (when there isn't a pandemic)...the difference being that rather than mainly military subjects, it's all genre focused. Gundam, Star Wars, Fantasy figures, etc. These stores also cater to Dungeons and Dragons player groups, card and board gamers, etc  

 

I think the hobby is merely shifting in focus for the next generation. I have only one traditional hobby shop in my area, the next one is 80+ miles away. There are five "game / comic / hobby" stores within 15 miles of me that have regular figure painting events and modeling workshops (when there isn't a pandemic)...the difference being that rather than mainly military subjects, it's all genre focused. Gundam, Star Wars, Fantasy figures, etc. These stores also cater to Dungeons and Dragons player groups, card and board gamers, etc  

There will always be modelers, there will always be "the hobby", I think we're just seeing a shift away from the classic hobby store centric style into a more social "maker" style of modeling. Speaking with many of them, they do admit to building more traditional style models at home...one of my younger friends is actually a sci-fi scratch builder for indie films, he teaches a workshop at several of these "new style" stores. 

Of course, that's only my personal experience in my area...but it's a small east coast American city and I've noticed an abundance of these places in neighboring areas as well. 

As I remember it back in the fifties, modeling was an adult hobby.  I joined a model club as a teenager.   It was a large club, and I would estimate that the non-adult members were less than 10% of the membership.  Is that really any different than today?

Sure, lots of youth tried model airplanes, but didn't continue it as a real hobby.  I suspect that is still the situation, if you include model cars, model railroads, and other model genre.

I just turned 50 and I can't say I know anybody in my age group who builds models (other than people on forums like this of course).  A lot of the people I know are fascinated by it though.  One is even talking about commissioning me to build a Bell Airacuda for him...not sure he realizes just how many hours go into it though, its definitely a labor of love.

stikpusher

Just curious, but how many of your peers in your school or other social circles build models?

Hello;

     Well, you have to remember, modeling, as mentioned goes back to ancient times. Now it was really strong in the 15-18 hundreds. Why? Have you ever heard of an Admiralty Model? Yes, rather than paper plans( Which didn't exist) Vendors built accurate scale models to show Kings and Governments what they were buying.Then the actual ship was built by sight of eye. That's why no two ships ever looked in every detail the same -Ship to Ship!

     Now today"s situation. Surprise! Everyone comes down on the Child playing Video Games. Well, I was showing an 82 year old man and very dear friend, who had never built a model, some of mine at his home at his request. When I was explaining things to him the Grandson stops the V.G. and comes up and asks me " Could I build That?"

      So you see there comes the time when the shift is made, maybe out of sheer curiosity. The hobby is evolving, if it didn't, it would surely die. I build in all venues and materials. I have R.C. Ships in Plastic, Wood, And Lexan sheet, some even in very carefully treated Paper! I have many Static Models on display, all over the place and a ridiculously large Stash. I fit in the category of "he's a consumate modeler."

    Notice, I did not allude to Commercial or Museum jobs, Nor those back in the day when we didn't have Computer Graphics so real a jury would accept them. 3-D models was the only way to make believers out of them. Modeling is here to stay.The Sales and Marketing venues will change even more. But the " Hobby " is here to stay.

Welcome S&C and I'm not one to trash the youngans LOL. My grandson is intrested but not in plastics. He was big into LEGO's and has moved on to Technics. He has an engineering mind and likes to create. I can't get him intrested in modeling exsisting things but he likes making them up. One day there may be a model of something he created.
Anyway, old thread but I'm glad you brought up the subject again and I'm always happy to see young blood on the forums. I for one am willing to answer any question you may have. I'm not as good as most of the guys on here but it doesn't matter. I have learned so much from being here the last 7 years.

In 2020, scale modeling/static modeling got a good bit of a boost from COVID. How many folks did we see come on here and say that they were returning to the hobby after being away for many years, or trying out the hobby for the first time, due to being on lockdown and wanted something to help pass the time?

Nope, six years later and I would say this hobby is in a growth spurt.  There are so many specialized paints, kits, tools, and aftermarket parts coming available that my head spins.  Some old brands are fading away but are being replaced with new brands for paints and kits.

A dying art is building RC models. The market for that hobby is all ready to fly models made from foam.  There are only a handful of kits left on the market and us who like to build are finding we are going back to the days of getting plans, purchasing a "short kit " of a few intricate lazer cut parts, sourcing and milling our own wood, and fabricating our own parts, including parts for our engines. Which isn't bad, expect I learned how to build from kits, and if there are no kits, it means there is no interest of future builders. 

I look at it this way.

They've found model birds...or maybe they're airplanes, if you believe in all that 'ancient astronaut' stuff...in ancient Egyptian tombs.

The urge to make model representations of things is as old as the human psyche, and it isn't going to go away. It'll grow and change...possibly in ways we can't imagine...but it will be with us, always.

scared and confused

 

the original steelrudi

and kids, just don't want the "hassle" of taking time to put something together. I-phones, and video games, have taken their toll or our beloved hobby, 

I think you couldnt be more wrong, I am still a "kid" still in highschool and what brought me to modelling was in fact, video games. I got so interested in the history that I wanted to make them and then I got into the hobby. I think that you underestimate the amount of time that students nowadays have to spend at school and studying for various tests and exams due to the more intense education system now compared to 50-60 years ago. I think another factor leading to the supposed reduction in the number modelers is due to the older, more experienced modelers posting things ragging on the "kids these days" instead of offering an open community. I am not saying that there arent very helpful members of the community it is just that post like these turn kids that are getting into the hobby away. 

Welcome to the forum, S&C!  Yes, there are some crabby people in the hobby, and yes, they can deter and demoralize the new modeler, be he young or old.

I look forward to your builds!

Best regards,

Brad

we all have our own reasons for modeling. My own interests are history and a desire to visualize what I read about are a big part of why I like to build subjects.

I read some of that in your thoughts and I'd encourage you to expand that as much as you like.

and I'd point out that the post you are reacting to is 7 years old, so perhaps Rudi's attitude is not common.

Bill

It’s good to see new blood in the hobby such as yourself S and C. Let’s face it, many of the older guys are dying off, and we need somebody to carry on. And yes, us older modelers need to be friendly to younger modelers and not be so crotchety to drive them away.

Just curious, but how many of your peers in your school or other social circles build models? When I was your age, pretty much every boy did. But most walked away sometime in their teens when sports, girls, cars, weed, or some other diversion took their focus. 

the original steelrudi

and kids, just don't want the "hassle" of taking time to put something together. I-phones, and video games, have taken their toll or our beloved hobby,

I think you couldnt be more wrong, I am still a "kid" still in highschool and what brought me to modelling was in fact, video games. I got so interested in the history that I wanted to make them and then I got into the hobby. I think that you underestimate the amount of time that students nowadays have to spend at school and studying for various tests and exams due to the more intense education system now compared to 50-60 years ago. I think another factor leading to the supposed reduction in the number modelers is due to the older, more experienced modelers posting things ragging on the "kids these days" instead of offering an open community. I am not saying that there arent very helpful members of the community it is just that post like these turn kids that are getting into the hobby away.

    I don't see the art form dying off per se, but the hobby has definately failed to attract new members. When I was a kid, I could get the old 1/72 Airfix kits for around a buck. The Monograms and Revells for not much more. Hobby shops were common. we would all run home and slap the kit together in a couple of hours. Not only did it entertain and develop skills, it required us to use our imaginations. I agree with you, the toys today almost play themselves. Time consuming model building has no appeal in this day of instant gratification.

    Today however, we are at the pinnacle of the hobby, never before have we had so many manufacturers and subjects, so much after market and technology to help us complete the perfect model.  But what happens to this industry in 30-40 years when there are no new hobbyists to fill our shoes?

TarnShip

I started with a "too small" 1/72 prop fighter, and two bottles of paint, one brush, and a single edge razor blade.

Razor blade?  I used to twist the pieces off the sprues.   A kit, a tube of Duco Household Cement, and I was all set! 

TarnShip, I would agree, but only to a point. It doesnt have to be expensive, even to start. But I'm thinking more about a kid trying to get into the hobby vs. an adult. 25-30 dollars for a kid is a much more significant amout of money to a 12-13 year old than it is to a 30 year old.

Don, I agree with you.  Perhaps some feel that closing of LHS = the hobby dying.  Which is of course not true as many have pointed out.

I suppose when you put it that way...

"Dying art?" No, quite contrary, VERY talented builders still at it but their numbers may be in question.

As far as the LHS future, if price is the issue, then I would encourage you to ask if they would at least lower the retail to not match the online guys but get you in the ballpark.  I know my LHS will do that and will order any kit/paint/tool they can for me.......at a discounted price.

Something gets forgotten each time someone says this hobby is "too expensive"

That is the fact (not opinion) that to model the same way we did when we started is not really expensive.

I started with a "too small" 1/72 prop fighter, and two bottles of paint, one brush, and a single edge razor blade. And that can be done today, at a price that matches the inflation rate. Just at an online spot like MegaHobby, you can sort it for 1/72, price lowest to highest, and get model aircraft for less than $5. ($5 is 2/3 of minimum wage today, 69 cents was 69/95 of minimum wage in the early sixties, so $5 today is LESS than back then)

Now, sure, if a person says they have to start with a knife handle, 10 blades, 3 brushes, a 1/48 Tomcat, 2 cans of spray paint, and 10 different detail colors,,,,,,,,,then it costs more to start today.  But, that is not where any of us started back in the day. (yeah, there might be the rare guy that jumped in at 35, and started with an airbrush and compressor, but, that is not what we consider most beginners to be)

Rex