Question About Discontinued Models

Last november I bought their FB-111 that was presented as an Australian F-111g. Back then it just came in, but I don't know about their availability in the US. Where I bought it, it's still available, together with the EF-111. You could check out their site, they deliver worldwide. Check at www.lhshop.nl

Good luck!

One word.

eBay

A lot of times, kits will go off the shelves, then some time later, you'll see what appears to be a different version of the same aircraft... ie: different box art, markings, but it's the same plastic.

I wouldn't think they'd destroy the molds (way too expensive to create), unless there was some type of copywrite issues, but it's likely the former. Try writing to Hasegawa, sometimes these modeling companies can surprise you. example: Clear parts and decals missing from Revell 1/72 B-17... contacted Revell, they sent me a whole new kit!

Take care,
Frank

Hasegawa regularly makes a run of kits and when done they retire the mold for a year or two or three and then reissue the kit, usually with new box art and decals, but same plastic. The F-111 kits were never big sellers, so the wait may be on the long side, but rest assured they will return eventually. Also, don't overlook the Italeri F-111 which should still be available and many prefer it to the Hasegawa kit.

Phil;
The molds for kits are seldom "retired". Since considerable set-up is required to produce a model, most manufacturers decide on an annual release schedule of a few dozen subjects and concentrate on those molds. Other molds will be typically be used in future release schedules. Molds can also be leased by other companies for release under their own label. Then, there are the blatant knock-offs of popular subjects. So ... kit seldom stay out of production for extremely long periods.
There are a few exceptions, however. Some tools are modified (AMT's Maxwell being re-tooled into "My Mother the Car" and Revell's Lockheed Electra being retooled into a P-3 Orion come to mind) which means the original subject can never be reproduced. Sometimes molds are actually destroyed. There is a rumor that many of Aurora's molds were destroyed in (take your pick of a train wreck, tractor-trailor mishap, barge capsized, etc.). What I am pretty sure happened is that Monogram purchased Aurora's assets, then recycled many of the molds of odd subjects, subjects alien to Monogram's corporate philosophy and that sort of thing. Aurora used high-quality steel, and the recycling recouped some of the purchase costs.
But, some companies will actually go to the effort of re-engineering or reverse engineering lost molds to reproduce a replica of the original, lost subject (can you say Polar LIghts?)

Be patient, and/or be a savy e-Bay shopper. Just about everything you could want will eventually come your way.

'nother Phil (Schenfeld, in this case)

Rick summed it up. Most kits are not in continuous production. The manufacturers takes out the molds and does a production run, which may take several years to work its way through the distribution channels. Even if the mfr no longer lists the kit in its catalog or on its website as "current," you may find plenty of them still in local stores or available from web e-tailers.

Hi Phil and welcome to the forum. i agree with all of the above but would like to add that there are some companies that specialise in old and out of production kits. the two that i use are www.kingkit.co.uk and www.kitkrazy.com (both based in the UK) i am sure there will be some that are more local to you and some of the other forum members will know of others. have a look through a copy of FSM, there are plenty of adverts from kit supliers that do mail order and some of them may have the kits that you are after.
hope this helps.
Greg

Thank You All for Your replys

The Links That Were Supplied Are Saved To Favorites And The information You all Have Is Very Helpful.

I Was just Curious As To In The Past,,I Went To My Local Hobby Shop In Northridge Calif,,And They usually Had Boxes Upon Boxes Of Hasegawa,,Fujimi And other Imports.
Recently I went and The Pickings Were Slim.

Was thinking "Either Inventory (Tax) Time Was Near Or Else something Else Was The reason.

Thanks Too For the E-Bay Tip,,I`m A Daily Visitor.

Happy Modeling and Glad to be In The Forum
Phil

Speaking of E-Bay..................

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1189&item=3177772366

Frank