Unsaleable?

Sounds like they're thinning the stash, and consider then expendable.

And many of those older R/M kits are now being re popped by new companies so some folks by the new tooled kits and dump the older ones.

There is some difficulty in doing that as the molds are older, and the quality of plastic in some cases are not as good as the originals. I bought a 87 Tbird kit that was molded a few years ago, and the plastic is horrible, nothing like the original releases.

It's not the plastic, it's sometimes the molds. After decades they've worn down and no longer match up. Mold slip happens and the models will never be the same unless they are retooled or repaired.

Some of the Monogram molds are holding up just fine. I have an old Goshawk and the new one from Starfighter,,,,there is no difference in the quality of those two shots, so I would say that 1970's mold is okay today. Has anyone noticed any difference in the multiple Monogram releases, the Hasegawa releases or the Accurate Miniatures releases of the 1/72 Phantom. Granted, there are two sets of toolings sharing the work load, but, that kit has been released and re-released for decades now.

Since I want some of the ancient Monograms when I go to the shows, the only one I could buy today was the F4B-4 from a dealer, he bought it at the show and then sold it to me when I asked if he had seen any this morning.

The old kits I mostly see are Airfix, Testors,  and Hasegawa at the shows I go to,,,,,I think folks have snapped up all the Revell early boxes for kit collections. Some of the more desirable Monograms went that way as well, I think.

out of all the vendors I saw today, I only brought 5 kits home with me, one old White Box Monogram, one old Airfix-72, one old Hasegawa Armor, one new Hobbyboss Panther, and the new Airfix Airborne Jeep.

Today's tables were about equally split between new kit/new supplies vendors and "stash disposers".

ps Hasegawa Hornets are practically stocking stuffers this year, some I saw are cheaper than Hobbycraft 1/72 "anythings"

Rex

Yes, the older releases of kits do tend to be more crisp than the current re issues due to the mold conditions mentioned by Rob. But then the decals are often questionable.

Speaking of Accurate Miniatures repop of Monogram's Phantoms, the windscreen on AM's are mismolded. Someone here had that issue, and I told him that I didn't have that issue, because the one I was building at the same time fit (I was building the original Monogram release, not thinking that it could be much different than the AM's.). Next kit I  built was the AM, and then I saw what he was talking about.

TarnShip

...................

The old kits I mostly see are Airfix, Testors,  and Hasegawa at the shows I go to,,,,,I think folks have snapped up all the Revell early boxes for kit collections. Some of the more desirable Monograms went that way as well, I think.

out of all the vendors I saw today, I only brought 5 kits home with me, one old White Box Monogram, one old Airfix-72, one old Hasegawa Armor, one new Hobbyboss Panther, and the new Airfix Airborne Jeep.

......................

Rex

I hope you build that TBD, you will enjoy it. Even die hard 1/72 guys like me have that kit in our past. (I've built 40-50 in that scale, mostly to give to other people)

I hope to build it , as well.

Most of what I will be building will be restricted to 1/72 due to space limitations.

Only intend to build the Monogram kit OOB, however, and in differing paint schemes.

Now I need to check who has the Yellow Wings decals in stock for the movie Dive Bomber.

That Monogram TBD kit is a good example of mold deterioration over the years. The most recent issue had serious issues with the wing corrugations. The mold has popped so many kits over the last 40 years or so that the corrugations have gotten indistinct and are sometimes all but running together. If you want a Monogram TBD, you are better off with an old issue, and taking your chances with the decals.

Just as well I bought that 1970s issue.