Hobbico/Revellogram News

Did u use a mrecorder.com on Android for monitro somebody? Can u tell me how It is work? 

So, I'm working on my two P-51Bs and what to I notice? A Hobbico logo!

There's a good description of Quantum on Bloomberg if anyone is interested. Companies that buy the assets of others who are in financial distress or bankruptcy are common and their motive is strictly to make a decent return on their investment. More than likely they'll try to clean up Revell's financials and then find a buyer. None of us is privy to the inner workings of Hobbico so we don't know what it was that actually caused their failure but it was hinted that they took on too much debt that then couldn't be repaid. If that's the case and now that the new owners bought it for far less than the liabilities there's every reason to hope that Revell will continue. Based on the limited info available this doesn't seem like a bad outcome. 

If it is Revell Germany associates, I will feel very good. They were producing nice kits lately. it would be in good hands.

Big News! Revell Germany and Revell USA have been sold to an entity called "Blitz 18-313 Gmbh" for $3.9 million

I have to say that is an astonishingly low price considering the asking price was ~$10 million. My guess is that the purchaser is the current Revell Germany management team. And now we have the interesting situation where Revell USA is owned by it's German spin-off.

Here's a link to the purchase agreement:

http://upshotservices.s3.amazonaws.com/files/ff11e972-f6c7-458c-a00b-05e14958d7f7/5ed51134-635a-4fd4-882c-7cf95721ae59.pdf
 

Just in case Revell goes south, I bought one of each of a few a Revell 1/48 scale kits that I wanted and  that were still in a number of on-line inventories.  Six kits for under $100.  Monogram kits (Revell USA) have always been great, stress free builds and are working out well for me since I am cutting my teeth on more elaborate styles of airbrushing which I don't want to learn on with a $50 kit.  

Tanker - Builder

 As I said many of us have grown up , and old , with these companies around. Remember Lindberg ? Look who's making their stuff now . Molds came out that I had never even seen .( must've been while I was in the Military and not on home soil .)

 I guess the best thing we can do is hope for the best and play the game with the cards we are dealt .  T.B.      P.S. Hey , while we are on the subject , Who the heck is " Round 3 " ?

I wonder if the demise of Revell will lead to inflation in prices from remaining mfgs.  I assume Revell had a big following in US, and there must be a temptation for other kit mfgs to raise prices accordingly.

Yeah Rob ;

 I built the " Mossie ' when Revell ( U.S.A ) first brought it out many years ago .It was also the first time I used " Polly - S " paints . Good Bird , Good Paint .Where they now ( the Plane and the Paint ) ?

I'm not going to get too excited yet.  Companies change and grow and sometimes 'go along the lonely path'. History is good to keep in mind, personal and otherwise, when talking about such things, plus a red bottom line likely is not across all divisions. RoG seems to be a pretty steady concern, if their rate of new product delivery is any measure.  Nothing is perfect, but I still look at the old Monogram kits (of certain vintage) with glee, certainly when the latest Trumpy-Boss comes out with annoying shape issues (the Mono P-80 is still the best, IMO,...) which gives my 12-14 year old self renewed joy in the marvelous tooling skills that produced such as the Mono F-14A cockpit (completely accurate down to the triangular shaped control knobs on the consoles...)

So, we hope for the best and perhaps even pray for the day when the next 'surprise' can come from Mono/Revell's shops.  Who would have expected a state of the art Stearman or Spirit of St. Louis, anyway?  Now where did the new tool Revell Mossie go, anyway?!

Kind Regards, Robert

Jeffpez ;

 I didn't mean that to sound like a rant . Only a pretty well known fact . I see the same thing in construction sets . Cobi , Mega-Blox and Brik - Tech and others are competing for the dollars in the market dominated by LEGO . LEGO has Lost a 5% market share internationally . Maybe it's because they , unlike Cobi , for instance won't manufacture W.W.2 related bricksets . 

 They even closed a plant in Billund .That's the historic home of the company and it's founder . So you see every market has it's headaches . Now as to our hobby kit friends . I do hope this comes out okay in the wash .

 As I said many of us have grown up , and old , with these companies around. Remember Lindberg ? Look who's making their stuff now . Molds came out that I had never even seen .( must've been while I was in the Military and not on home soil .)

 I guess the best thing we can do is hope for the best and play the game with the cards we are dealt .  T.B.      P.S. Hey , while we are on the subject , Who the heck is " Round 3 " ?

I've read every post in this thread. Our hobby is getting grayer by the day. I noticed in the last years of riding motorcycles how gray the sport was getting. A lot of us old time riders and not a lot of new riders. But I think these things are cyclical. Today, three years after I sold my last motorcycle, I notice more younger riders on motorcycles and scooters. I think the same can be said about our hobby. Yes, there are a lot of us old timers who are model builders but occassionally I see a youngster with a parent at the hobby shop perusing the shelves. For those youngsters and for us old-timers just getting back into the hobby (and re-learning the fundamentals), kits from Revell and Monogram, etc. are necessary. I've been back in the hobby for just over a year, after a forty year absence. One of the first kits I bought back then was the Tamiya P-51D. Well, it's half built sitting in its box on the shelf. What have I built in the past year? A Monogram T-6G, an AMT Staggerwing, a Monogram SBD, an AMT P-40N, a Monogram F-82 Twin Mustang. I'm rebuilding my skills just as a new modeler would need to build those same skills. Building those skills is best done with an inexpensive, simple kit. Some of the new kits from today's manufacturers are so complex that a newbie or a retread like myself would just throw up their arms in frustration and walk away and not look back. Yes, hopefully, some how these older companies will survive in the marketplace today. We need them to keep our hobby moving and growing.

I did recently buy a "modern" kit. I took delivery of a MENG 1/48 scale F-35A two weeks ago. Whoa! I sure am glad I didn't buy this kit a year ago. If I had, it would probably be sitting on the shelf next to that Tamiya P-51D. The kit is way out of my comfort range. Way out. The reason I bought the kit is that it will be a tribute to my youngest brother. Gerry (Buzz, as the family called him. He was named after my dad) passed away March 1, at age 52, after suffering a massive stroke two weeks before that left him in a coma. Buzz was a systems engineer on the F-35 program at the Lockheed facility in Ft. Worth. He got to watch F-35's fly away every day. He was very proud to be involved with the F-35 and was excited when the airplane was named the Lightning II, a name he submitted in a company naming contest. Anyway, after a year back in the hobby, I think I am ready for a challenge like this MENG F-35A kit. Not so if I hadn't built those older kits first.

The pharmaceutical industry rant is significantly inaccurate not to mention well off topic.

Just because someone didn’t submit a sealed bid doesn’t mean the assets won’t be sold. If the company is eventually to be liquidated then this is only the first step, not the last. If there’s any value then someone will try to scoop up portions of it for a bargain price. This certainly isn’t a welcome development but there may still be chapters yet to be written.

EdGrune

  One of these parties is Round3 LLC.   I don't know who they are - perhaps a joint venture of Round2 and someone else.

I think assuming Round3 is tied in to Round2 is reasonable and would be welcome, I think. Revell USA was not available for bids as a separate entity so we have to assume that this bidder is going after Revell Germany as well. This might be good for increasing their sales presence in the EU.

Hmmm;

 I bemoan the fact that this has happened .Why ? Well , like many Americans I teethed in models from the likes of Revell , Monogram , Estes , Comet , Guillows and the list goes on . 

 I figured they would be gone a long time ago .Why ? interests change and so on . Cox ? I think I flew everything out of the box of theirs that I could . Revell and Monogram were for those Northern darker months wher you would get lost in Lake Erie's " Lake Effect " snowstorms . Curled up in my room building those fascinating little and big plastic thingys of all sorts .

 These companies do have a deep history with many in my generation . Well , It has happened . Did you see the list of royalties on Revell ? My Gosh ! Even Lockheed after all these years .

 You see the average person buying a kit does NOT realize what it takes to bring a kit to market . First the market studies that would support such a venture .Then Marketing and advertising plans . Okay , Done . Let"s see how much tooling is going to cost , get the engineers together and see what they say .

 The tooling company has to have input at this time .Type of tool  etc . Now next , will our present machines handle these tools or do we need to consider hiring outside tooling and die folks for this and how about the Extruders ? are they up to the task or do we need more sophisticated computer controlled units to produce and control the product .

 Now , that's done , Let's see about modeling world input .We'll wait till the trade show and see what the buyers say . If it doesn't grab well , we tried . Can we amortize the cost of this failure with an upgrade of say Model C over in the warehouse ?

   See there;s a lot that goes on that we don't see .We see the box in the hobby shop and maybe say OOH I gotta have that ! Or we pass in favor of Company z's new model of the same thing in a different scale . Every pass is a zing into the negative sales column .

 This may be oversimplification , but I believe it tells at least part of what goes on in the corporate world of models .

 I do know it was that way in my world of custom Homes , Civil Engineering projects and Long Haul Specialty Trucking . You had to spend to beat the other competition and be better in Customer service etc . It can eventually bite you , if , you Bit Off more than you could chew .

 These chances are taken every day in the world of business .That's why there so many Insurance companies , Hospitals and stuff in health care . It's the most Lucrative business out there . Research notwithstanding . Have you ever wondered why the ads for medicines carry all those warnings ? They've only marginally been approved by F.D.A . These pharmaceutical Companies can't by law experiment on animals or humans anymore .

 The public demands medicines that work , well here's a way of getting it to you . BUT , be careful please , It May even Kill You ! ! Such is the world . I said before , I bemoan the loss of these companies . But If I was a couple of decades younger I would scan the product into my handy dandy do it all 3-d printer and make as many B.F. 109s as I want .

 Or American merchant ships .  Nuff Said . T.B.

You can read the transcript of the auction  at

http://upshotservices.s3.amazonaws.com/files/ff11e972-f6c7-458c-a00b-05e14958d7f7/b984a95a-ce71-42e4-8cc0-f7a25db1058c.pdf 

In addition to the  RC business Estes rockets was also sold.There were no successful bidders for Revell USA or the distribution arm (i.e. Hasegawa or Italieri to the US).  Revell Germany was not addressed, perhaps due to the international nature.

From my reading, bids were received but were deemed too low to be in response to the 'stalking horse' valuation placed on these pieces.   One of these parties is Round3 LLC.   I don't know who they are - perhaps a joint venture of Round2 and someone else.   There are supposed to be meetings to address the sale of the other pieces and will be completed before the bankruptcy court hearing Monday morning.   (The lawyers don't get Easter/Passover with their families).

From what I read doesn' sound like they sold anything and there' conflict between horizon hobby and hobbico . Horizon got informaton that was confidental . They frozen all bids.

Hmmm. I happy to know their RC side is taken care of at least.

Recent news.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2018-03-31/horizon-the-sole-bidder-hobbicos-rc-business.html

Gary

The only bad thing about Revell new tool releases is that they are not very frequent. At least not Revell USA. Revell Germany churns then out at a good rate and across many subject areas.

Sorry Don, I was referring to their older molds, my mistake I should have said that.

I find their newer kits very nice, especially ROG. I am very impressed with their 1/72 U-boats and their 1/72 armor is extremely detailed IMO. I haven't had the pleasure of looking at the new 1/32 offerings, but I've heard good things. I want to get that Stearman eventually.

modelcrazy

 

Revell USA defiantly has a place in the marketplace IMO. ....

All of us have teethed our skills on Revell and Monogram kits. Accurate? not really. Detailed? moderately. Does my grandson care? NO, he wants something to build and play with. And that will bring another builder into the fold, maybe later in life after all his other interest’s wains, he will return to his first love like we did.

Steve

 

I would like folks to tell me of the inaccuracies and lack of detail of some recent Revell USA kits, like the ones I mentioned, the KK midget race car and the PT-17 Stearman, for instance.  While the Stearman is now also sold by RoG, I believe it was designed by Revell USA.  These inexpensive kits are better than any other kits of those subjects, regardless of who made them and offered them at any price.  The Etzel Speedclassics kit of the KK midget was an excellent kit, but no engine nor internal structure- the hood was not even removable.  Other than those two kits, all others that I am aware of were junk.  I also do not know of any better PT-17 kit. 

Okay, they are not fighter or bomber planes, but I applaud Revell for trying something different, even at the risk of a flop (the KK midget was indeed a flop in the market).

BarrettDuke

It will be a shame to lose Revell models if that is what actually happens. I think Revell models and similar products are the entrypoint for most people who become serious about scale modeling. How many of you built a Revell model as a young boy? Even Tamiya models are too complex for most 9 or 10 year olds. Without Revell, there will be fewer entry level kit makers, which means there will ultimately be fewer experienced modelers who can one day talk about Revell in dismissive tones. And as the experienced modelers disappear, the expert level kit makers will also start to disappear because there won't be enough buyers for all their expensive kits and ancillary products. Right now, we're living in this unique moment when baby boomers who are returning to their love of scale models have the health, time, and money to spend $100 on a kit and even more on paints, washes, and tools. The generations coming up behind us will not have all this disposable wealth. If we have fewer 9 and 10 year old modelers, it will become even harder to maintain the upper end modeling business that we can afford in the future. The loss of Revell's distribution network alone could have a devastating impact on the future of our hobby. If we lose Revell, I hope someone else will have the courage to risk the ire of our snobbery and keep supplying kids with simple, inexact, and, therefore, inexpensive scale models. Those kids are the future of the hobby we love.

 

Very well said!

I'll agree on the latest offerings from RoG, have the 1/32 FW190F-8, and though I've looked it over, have not started it yet, so can't talk to fit, but the detail is somewhat amazing in a $35.00 kit of that size.

I find ROG excellent. Their 1/72 armor is highly detailed with multiple parts and for the most part very accurate. Their 1/72 type VII and type IX U-boats are very enjoyable kits and make magnificent builds. I have heard good responses from builders from their new kits as well.

Revell USA defiantly has a place in the marketplace IMO. I have taken my grandson down to the local HS many times and he goes straight for the Revell/Monogram products. As was said before Revell is a good entry level kit, of all genres. I was even looking at their Constitution just yesterday with fond memories and was thinking of pulling the trigger and getting it.

All of us have teethed our skills on Revell and Monogram kits. Accurate? not really. Detailed? moderately. Does my grandson care? NO, he wants something to build and play with. And that will bring another builder into the fold, maybe later in life after all his other interest’s wains, he will return to his first love like we did.

One last thought, Shep Paine sure made good use of these “inferior” kits.

Steve

Bish

I do hope RoG are able to keep going. Despite whats been said above, which seems to be aimed at Revell USA but seems to lump both labels in the same pot, RoG have certainly been producing stunning kits in the last few years. And those kits are often priced a lot lower than other brands but without loseing quality.

RoG is still a big brand this side of the pond, so ifs its true that its up for 8 million, hopefully someone in Europe wil snap it up.

 

Agreed!  Their recent 1/32 offerings have been a tremendous bang for the buck.  Plus those blue boxes are very unique to RoG and really stand out on store shelves.  I really hope they weather the storm or someone can pick up this line and continue to provide great quality at low costs.