Attack Of The Clones Models

Yes, AMT/Ertl made the Trade Federation Tank. These are the Phantom Menace kits they did:
Naboo fighter (diecast and plastic)
STAP and Battledroid
Droid fighters (3-pack)
Pod Racer
Gugan Sub
Hover tank
I would have like to see the Sith Infiltrator. I believe that the Fine Molds Slave I is the Attack of the Clones variant and not the beat up one from the Empire Strikes Back.

Yup, tons of very interesting hardware being ignored there.
I'd love to build one of those huge maser-type multi-legged Republic tanks!

I agree with J-Hulk, would LOOOOVE to see a kit of that.
There's a lot of potential wth both of those movies(so far), but I read something somewhere that AMT/Ertl lost their butts because the kits that they DID release(the ones that Rob mentioned in the second reply) didn't sell that well. Apparently they were MASS produced when in reality they should have been limited editions.
How about some more Revell/Monogram sci-fi?
Anybody remember the Voyager and Kazon ships they did?
Those were great!

I can understand that the "Phantom Menace" stuff didn't sell well and thats why they haven't made "Attack of the Clones' stuff. But lets face it "The Phantom Menace" sucked where as "Attack of the Clones" rocked, was a much better film. George Lucas sure did make up for Ep 1 being a crap movie. Also thought Ep.1 was over promoted and that killed off a lot of interest in the toys and models. And most of the models were snap-tight.

Fine Molds does make the Jedi Fighter and Jango's Slave I in 1/72 scale. Kotobukiya makes painted kits of the Clone Trooper, Obi-Wan, Jango Fett, Mace and Yoda. You can find all of these at <www.hlj.com>. I'm sure more kits will become available, if not by the model industry, by the garage-kit entrepreneur.

QUOTE: Originally posted by panzeriv I can understand that the "Phantom Menace" stuff didn't sell well and thats why they haven't made "Attack of the Clones' stuff. But lets face it "The Phantom Menace" sucked where as "Attack of the Clones" rocked, was a much better film. George Lucas sure did make up for Ep 1 being a crap movie. Also thought Ep.1 was over promoted and that killed off a lot of interest in the toys and models. And most of the models were snap-tight.

Hi,
I'm glad you wrote that Panzeriv, I thought I was the only one on any of these Boards that enjoyed AOTC.
I agree that PM being the dud it was killed off any new models by the big companies. Hopefully garage kit makers will fill the void. The Hover tank was made tho.

I would like to see the Naboo Royal Cruiser, the Royal Yacht , the Genosian Solar Sailer and much of the armor on both sides come out as models.
I'm sure I would have a lot of fun Chroming the two Royal ships.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just AMT's goof with the Phantom Menace kits that killed off a lot of interest in models. Has anyone else noticed that production of all SF-related models in America has virtually stopped? The only exception is Polar Lights with the upcoming original Enterprise and NX-01 kits.

My guess as to the root of this trend is that the majority of SF fans have shifted to collecting pre-made ships, figures, etc. rather than actually sitting down and building something.

I don' thtink the trend is toward pre-built as much as it is a signal that consumers were getting tired of poor quality kits AMT/Ertl was producing. Judge this by the success of the Bandai Refit Enterprise kit. Yes, it was a snap together and pre-painted but fit and quality far exceeded anything AMT/Ertl made.

Also look at the success Fine Molds is having with their line of Star Wars kits. In my opinion they have done two things well here, they have put the time and engineering into producing a quality product and they are producing kits in the same scale.

Thier is also a lot of successful companies in the garage industry.

I think GK will be the way to go in the future. Being fans themselves I think they are better in tune with what we want. One good GK maker is Zarkus Models -
http://www.angelfire.com/art/zarkus/zarkusmodelkits.html

another is SMT - http://smt.theshoppe.com/

To rossjr,

I don't doubt AMT's half-hearted kit designs were a factor in their declining sales of SF-themed kits. I've dealt with more than a few and can see why a lot of people already into modeling would avoid those kits. I just don't think that's the primary factor. Maybe it's just happening in my area, but I've noticed fewer and fewer new modelers of any kind. The main reasons I've heard are "I just don't have the patience" and parents not allowing their kids to start the hobby because they're concerned over intentional or unintentional exposure to chemical fumes. The only big sellers around here in the past 8 years have been the Gundam kits, which I'm told are rarely glued, let alone painted, by the people I've taked to.

All that aside, there's another reason I made my statement. I've attended an SF convention in Columbus ( MarCon ) every year for over a decade. The first few years I was there, the art show had several models on display, resin and IP. The last time I saw a model there was 5 years ago. Since then there have been absolutely no model entries ( which will not be the case next year, I've already seen to that ).

It's not just SF modeling. When the Challenger was lost in 1986 there were a lot of kids wanting shuttle kits to build their personal tribute to the astronauts. The local hobby store braced for another such wave of interest after Columbia. Not a single one of those shuttles has sold, but tons of Collectible Card Games and the like continue to be strong sellers. Even the sales of military-themed kits has been minimal in this new age of patriotism.

More and more people, young and old, have just discarded the idea that building something with your own two hands can be rewarding in any way. This, combined with people leaving the hobby, is why I have sometimes referred to us modelers as an "endangered species."

As for the success with Fine Molds, I'm glad to see that someone is finally producing good kits, but the hobby can't grow if those kits aren't available at the local toy or department store. The kits you mention, including garage kits, aren't readily available to a 10-year-old who wants something from Star Wars. Of course, that's assuming that the kid's definition of "hobby" extends beyond Nintendo.

Sorry to take up so much space.

I think that the EP I models didn't sell because they weren't interesting enough. The Naboo fighter, droid starfighter, AAT, etc, were too smooth and sleek. I think that Anakin's podracer was a pretty good seller, probably because it was a visually more interesting kit. Who'd want to build ships that are so sleek that they only have a couple of pieces?

I think that the EP I models didn't sell because they weren't interesting enough. The Naboo fighter, droid starfighter, AAT, etc, were too smooth and sleek. I think that Anakin's podracer was a pretty good seller, probably because it was a visually more interesting kit. Who'd want to build ships that are so sleek that they only have a couple of pieces?

Kugai, you make several important points about the decline in interest of model building. The short attention span or little patience part really struck a chord with me. As a parent, I am determined to allow my children every opportunity to experience our great hobby. It'll be a great way to get them away from the television. Last year I built a small Gundam kit with my 3-year-old daughter (we picked a pink one). We didn't glue or paint it because that would have been inappropriate for her at that age, but she absolutely LOVED snapping the pieces together!! She still likes to play with it and she has been very careful not to break it or lose the parts. Can't wait to do another. Now I have a 1-year-old son and I'm eager to introduce him to models, eventually. I'll need plenty of help to finish the 105 unbuilt kits waiting patiently in my workshop.

Well, Ertl's out of the sci fi business - they let their SW license lapse. So thet's why we won't see any lones moels from them.

Fine Molds is only an 8-man operation, so I don't think they'll be cranking out the amount of kits Ertl used to.

Oh well!

One of the big reasons that you don't see near as many toys, models and paraphenalia from E2 is because Lucas-Arts did not want to have the marketing blitz that was associated with E1. People got burned out on all the merchandise that was pushed on the public with the first movie, so they decided to scale back and only allow "choice" licenses for their new products. They lose less money that way, especially if the movie didn't live up to expectations. Politics rears its ugly head again...

demono69