car model quality

Thanks!It is a great kit and one of those builds where everything seemed to go right!

That's a great looking 56. I am working on a Revell 55 Chevy that is also a great kit.

Mckay

Some of the newer Revell/Monogram releases are excellent.Such as my Revell '56 Nomad.However many kits are slightly modified tooling from the '60s and don't stack up to todays state of the art.  

There is one thing that has not been mentioned here and that is licensing fees.  For the most part, military models don't have to pay licensing fees because they're not a licensed property (although Tamiya opened the door for this).  Ford, Chevy, et al, charge so much a kit for the right to use their name and trademarked logos.  Why do you think there are no new NASCAR kits coming out?  It became prohibitive cost wise to pay the fee on the body shape (which is now owned by NASCAR), each individual logo, etc.  Fortunately, there is an active aftermarket to help deal with the shortcomings of some of these earlier kits.

dmk wrote:

...as long as modelers keep asking for and buying the old kits were not going to see very many new ones.  I'd be willing to bet that most model car kit buyers are casual builders who buy the cheaper kits. You can't blame the kit manufacturers for that. Cheaper to make and lower cost to sell better.

I am not sure there cheeper compaired to what they sold for several years ago with Model King, Revell, AMT and Lindburg pricing there kits $15.00 to $25.00 and more that ten years ago sold for $5.00.  But then everything has increased in price.

Mckay

 

...as long as modelers keep asking for and buying the old kits were not going to see very many new ones.

 I'd be willing to bet that most model car kit buyers are casual builders who buy the cheaper kits. You can't blame the kit manufacturers for that. Cheaper to make and lower cost to sell better.

There have been a fuew new kits in recent years by the manufacturers ( Revells 69 Nova, Revells new Mustang series GT, Hertz, Shelby and KR, Trumpters Novas and a few more) but as long as modelers keep asking for and buying the old kits were not going to see very many new ones.

Mckay

A lot of the issues with car models were discussed here.

/forums/1058403/ShowPost.aspx

 

uspsjuan wrote:

I guess i shoud have asked why the manufactures are leaving the auto world behind when it comes to new tool kits. Armor and aircraft modelers enjoy an almost weekly supply of quality new kits. I know this because its killing my hobby budget. I wuold love to see a high end 70 chevell w/pe seat belts and gagues. scale wires for the engine etc. you get the idea. If they can do it for a formula 1 car, why not a nascar?

Because Nascar (along with the car manufacturers) wants a large fortune in royalties. How dare a modeler want to build a scale model without throwing their dollars into the trough for big business to feed on! I refuse to watch any Nascar races as it's gone from a good'ol boys race to big business with no regards to the people who watch.

What else is it anymore? It's the new millenium mindset of maximum profit instantly. Obviously, it comes down to demographics, market research and current sales figures. If there isn't a guarantee of huge sales, forget it.

Ok, as a car builder I may be a little bitter. The past few years haven't been stellar, new stuff-wise. The quality has been up mostly but the quantity has been down. I've been impressed with new tooling from Revell and Lindberg but disappointed with the more expensive kits like the '60 Bonneville.

I guess i shoud have asked why the manufactures are leaving the auto world behind when it comes to new tool kits. Armor and aircraft modelers enjoy an almost weekly supply of quality new kits. I know this because its killing my hobby budget. I wuold love to see a high end 70 chevell w/pe seat belts and gagues. scale wires for the engine etc. you get the idea. If they can do it for a formula 1 car, why not a nascar?

uspsjuan wrote:

i dont think that expecting parts to fit correctly, or detail to be molded cleanly is beeing anal.

You are correct. But that is a symptom of older kits and worn out molds.

 Sometimes you can get cleaner details,better fit and less plastic flashing by buying an older release of a kit (made when the molds were newer) someplace like Ebay. That's a a crapshoot though.

dmk, you might be right. but i dont think that expecting parts to fit correctly, or detail to be molded cleanly is beeing anal. guess i got spoiled with the newer kits.

 Seems to me that most of the car kits out there on the shelves are NOS (new old stock), or re-pops, either way old kits with old tech molds. The fewer new tech kits seem to be mostly sport compacts, sports cars and occasionally new muscle/pony cars.

 Maybe car builders generally, as a group aren't as anal as aircraft and armor builders?

 

Some of the Tamiya and Hasegawa kits are pretty good, and some even rival the high prices that the high end armor and aircraft models boast. You'll not find too many 60s-70s kits, though Trumpeter make a small handful.