I'm with you.  I am more interested in civil aircraft- they are the kind I see at the airport, and I like to model what I see around me.  I do occasionally do some (Allied) military stuff but like the civil stuff later.  As someone who lived through WW2, I find it hard to build Nazi aircraft.

Also prefer commercial ships. I do build warships, but again my preference is on commercial ships, especially Great Lakes stuff.

Cars, of course are primarily civil anyway.

Seen in the broader context of modeling and hobbies like modeling, war plays a smaller part. For instance, it's a tiny subset of model railroading, a non-existent subset of R/C cars.

One reason might be that plastic modeling came onto the scene in the late 50's-early 60's.

Having grown up in the US during that time, the nation's consciousness was all about WW2. We played it, we read about it and watched TV shows based on it, we modeled it.

Unfortunately, I believe a lot of it has to do with interest. I greatly enjoy building civil aircraft, cars, motorcycles, space, but the selection isn't out there because the interest isn't there IMHO.

Personal, I don't have a whole lot of interest in war machines past say the early 60's, not really sure why, they just don'r do anything for me.

Don , I believe you had a similar post a few months back regarding aircraft.

I blame the cost of technology.

If ya want to look at fast aircraft, military is pretty much where it's at these days.

There was a time between the world wars when civilian aircraft were "cutting edge" fast and air racing was popular.

But that was before the jet engine appeared and safety concerns ended closed course racing at the Cleveland Air Races.

Wind powered ships are no longer the largest or fastest.

Fast ships no longer depend upon wind but a turbine powered by some form of fuel.

There's also a practical limit to the physical size of a wind powered ship.

Trains are still pretty popular and, aside from the American Civil War, haven't been exclusively military.

Automobiles are still popular and aren't military but technological costs keep the fastest out of the hands of most of us.

So far as I know, the only individuals these days who can afford  machines with "cutting edge " technology are the likes of Oprah, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.

As for the title of this thread:

I thought initially it was about the movie Gone With the Wind.

I believe the character Scarlet said something similar early in the film.

The quote was:

"Fiddle dee dee. War, war, war. This war talk is spoiling the fun at every party this spring. I get so bored I could scream."

Going with the "technology costs" line of thought, it would seem that opens up a great market for scale model manufacturers. As most of us will never be able to afford an automotive collection the like of Jay Leno, or a motorcycle collection on the scale of George Barber, imagine the sales potential to be tapped there. Of course, that has to be reconciled with the sales numbers generated by the industry versus the tooling costs of developing these products. As has been stated many times, it's not like this hobby is a major growth industry.

Face it, boys like things that go "BOOM!".

Simple answer, war sells. Why? I have no idea. From a personal view the current trends suits me perfectly. My main interest is WW2 German equipment. Ye, I know, not another one, but there it is.

I have been interested in all things military from as far back as I can remember. Why?. Again, I have no idea. But it was my interest in military history that got me into modelling was so strong that all I wanted to do was join up.

But I do feel sorry for those who would like to build other subjects. But we have to face it. The companies that make models are there to make money. They will produce what will sell.

If you go into most "general" hobby shops nowadays, the auto selection equals to all the military models: aircraft, armor, & ships combined. At least around here. Then of course you have your sci fi stuff, which may or may not be sci fi military related. Only at the scale model hobby shops locally do military models dominate, and at those the autos, both pre built die cast and kits, and sci fi stuff are making bigger and bigger inroads. I suppose the changing demographics of the customers has something to do with it. The younger modelers around here seem to be more into their cars and sci fi kits more than the military. Perhaps that goes with the general population overall. As mentioned above, the older guys here grew up in a military draft era, and were immersed in a living memory of WWII. Many served themselves in the post war, Cold War, Korean War, Vietnam war era, or had friends or family who did.  Nowadays, reportedly only 1% of the nation's population serves or has served in the volunteer military. The same interest seems to be taking hold in the hobby.

Model companies do produce those civil subjects in various categories- ships, aircraft, figures, etc., from time to time. But those subjects tend to languish on the shelves I have noticed and are often later sold on clearance. Not exactly the best way to generate a profit. Just like Hollywood keeps churning out movies of a particular type, so do the model companies keep producing kits of a particular genre. Why? That is what keeps them in business.

I have no interest in some civil subjects, others a marginal interest, yet for some reason military models are a passion for me. Personally I have put comparatively equal amounts of my blood, sweat, toil, and tears in both certain items of military equipment and law enforcement equipment. Have I ever said, Oh I gotta have that Ford Crown Victoria or Chevy Caprice Classic patrol car kit? No. but when a M901 ITV kit came out, I HAD to buy that ASAP. I still dearly want the new  Tamiya Gamma Goat and when I squirrel away enough spare change I will buy one. I can not explain why, but maybe it's like GM said above, I like things that go BOOM.

I hear you about figures. I recently tried to locate some 1/87 figures representing Marines or Seabees for a train loaded with construction equipment diorama. Nobody produces anything close to a modern Seabee and as for Marines, nothing in a fatigue hat and each and every one looks like they're invading Fallujah. I finally found some German Bundeswehr figures walking and standing at ease that could serve as stand-ins with some minor surgery, and of course they're out of stock everywhere.

War stuff looks cooler.

.

I like everything that go BOOM!

I'm kind of in agreement with Stick, tojo, and BlackSheep. I build for nostalgia and for the engineering and historical aspects of the subjects that I model. I would also love to see more commercial and civilian subjects available. I love to build the kits that jump out at me and "speak" to me. There are tons of historical photos our there that pertain to non military events that I think would make an awesome dio or an individual build. Two that come to mind right away is this photo of a unique ferry on the Seattle water front and the worlds fair which gave use the Space Needle. But like others have said, it's a tooling issue and a profit issue. I'm sure some of the folks that work for the manufacturing companies that would love to see kits of other subject made, but it comes down to cost versus profit. I just saw an Ad in the latest issue of FSM about a new model company, so there is hope that maybe some of these new companies may begin producing new kits that are geared toward non military genre.

GAF

The quote was:

"Fiddle dee dee. War, war, war. This war talk is spoiling the fun at every party this spring. I get so bored I could scream."

LOL..

Bish

Simple answer, war sells. Why? I have no idea. From a personal view the current trends suits me perfectly. My main interest is WW2 German equipment. Ye, I know, not another one, but there it is.

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

It's a curious paradox for those of us who have been to war. After Iraq, I hated pretty much everything military and war-related, though I willingly signed up for another overseas tour. When I first got bit by the modeling bug, I thought I was only going to build cars and trucks (civilian type) because I still had a bad taste in my mouth from my service

I couldn't shake, however, that I deeply admired the works of the military modelers - many here at this site. I, like Stikpusher and others, have always loved the aesthetic and power of war weapons. I don't know why, I just do. It's not just that they are engineering marvels, lots of things are, but they just look cool to me in a way that civilian stuff doesn't

I also enjoy the history, and feel like I'm paying tribute to good and noble people

Strictly from a personal standpoint, the old addage that familiarity breeds contempt holds water. In fourty odd years of this hobby, I can count the number of cars I have built on one hand. There has never been much novelty in building cars for me because it was just as easy as heading out to the garage to work on one. After having lived in South Dakota and survived too many Sturgis rallies, I have had my fill of bikes for one lifetime. I grew up as a hangar rat because my family was very much into civil aviation, so there was no real novelty to building a Cessna or an airliner. However, building military subjects holds a level of appeal because it brings back memories of my days in service or those of other friends and family members. Where my kids are pretty familiar with Harley-Davidsons tearing down the interstate, they've only seen some of these machines of war in films, on television, or behind a rope at a museum, so it naturally invites questions from them about what I am building at the time. My wife never quite understood it until the first time she heard a P-51 Mustang fire up a Rolls-Royce built Merlin and got goosebumps. Different strokes, right?

Tojo72

War stuff looks cooler.

.

Speaking of that conjures up a question in my mind about the Batman movies.

In some ways, the the Batman gadgets would seem to fit into a military classification as those expensive devices are certainly out of reach for the average Gothamite.

Knight,

My fiance was the same way until a couple of years ago when we went to an air show at Nellis, and she got to hear first hand the all of the birds starting their engines and coming to life and seeing them straining against their break as they want to climb into the sky.

I think there's something to the 'hot rod' theory- I like building military aircraft. I know some modelers who do jumbo jets and small private planes but they bore me to death. By the same token if I build an auto it will be something like a Trans Am or Ferrari and not the Chevette or Escort.

And as someone who never served military hardware has a certain mystique to it. We have a couple of vets in our modeling club that build military subjects too. Only one as far as I know who saw combat (in Vietnam) who builds all kinds of stuff including recently a Viking longboat.  

I guess for me it's historical significance and sometimes looks.

I like the look of an F-100 or 106 so I build one. The historical significance of the Indianapolis, and Sherman, so I built one. I like the looks of the Boeing 727 and Macchi 202, so I'm going to build one. The history of the Apollo rocket or U-boat so I will build one

I wish there were more civil subjects, but I echo what was said earlier, there's no money in it, and guys like things that go boom, as well as some women. My wife's favorite machines are the F-14 and P-51.

I just saw a post on my facebook from a company called Reedoak out of France about new rubber composite figures. They offer figures from WWII to modern including civilian figures, they draw back: they want about $20 a figure. Which like we all have been saying about money being in the market. Maybe when they bring down their prices but until then they are just to cost prohibitive for use in dioramas or other large projects.

Ok, this is off topic, PaintsWithBrush, you mention you are a motorcycle enthusiast, you also mention George Barber, and have a quote from Kenny Roberts, was your enthusiasm directed at motorcycle racing?  Just curious.

Back on topic, for me, the allure of war machines and why I'm mostly interested is due to 1 their history, and 2 their technology. But, I will say, the two LHS's in my area carry more civilian automobile models than military models. 

I started building back in the mid to late 50s when we were not so far removed from WWII and even less from Korea.  The T.V. was showing shows like Combat, Gallant men, Silent service, Victory at Sea and so on.  I knew my Father was in the war, although I didn't know what he did in the Air Corps until many years later with the most amazing parts coming out just before he died. I tried to get copies of his military records but only managed to get copies of his medical records.  These were the only ones that had barely managed to survive the great fire on 1973.

I would build the military kits but also cars, and the Aurora people kits.  Later when I got drafted and went into the Air Force I started building mostly A.F. models of aircraft Ihat I had been around and vehicles that I drove (mostly armor).  It's a sort of family and personal history

I've noticed the same thing as the original poster.

In my youth I was one of those that  built lots of war machines, specially WW2. Now that I'm a father and grandfather and have been around the block a few times I have no interest in machines of war. I hope my kids and grandkids never have to experience them.

Don't get me wrong I'm not a tree hugging pacifist.

I think it has something to do with age! When you are young you want to go out and be a hero and slay the enemy. As you get older you could care less about killing the dragon and would rather peacefully enjoy those you care about and let others do the same.

Unfortunately I realize this thought is much easier said thn done.

For me at the moment, I am working on planes that I passed gas to. Maybe that will change, but everything on my bench right now is stuff I have worked with.

Escorts and Chevelles were indeed pretty boring cars.  But the Golden Age of Aviation- mid 20s through 30s, saw some outstanding civil aircraft.  The Beech Staggerwing, Stinson Reliant, and several classics were among the most beautiful aircraft ever.  There were also civil aircraft that were as fast and high flying as anything the military had in the era.

Don Stauffer

Escorts and Chevelles were indeed pretty boring cars.

Ah, perhaps you've not ridden in a Chevelle SS396?  Hard to be bored in one of those Don. 

Gary

Let's not forget the historical aspect of these so-called "war machines" whether it's by land, air, or sea of all eras in the history of war. By no means I'm glorifying war but this is history. History of what they flew, drove or sailed. I see nothing wrong with building a kit - allies or axis. Let us remind you there are not many surviving war machine around. So it's nice to be able to build them in "many birds of feather." The OP like motorcycles - I have no problem with that. I just don't find them appealing. I will do automobiles though because I can build them in any way I want; be it stock or muscle cars. Motorcycles? Not so much.