A visit with the folks at Revell

Great article ,thanks for sharing

Yes indeed! Although I gotta say he should hit some other IPMS meetings. 10 guys is just our set up and clean up ;)

Great article!  Here are my comments on art vs industrial production. It is in the design and layout of kits.  Some model companies, or even specific kits from a single company, are much better designed than others.

If there are plated parts, are the sprue attachment points in a spot on the part that is not prominently visible?  Are attempts made to place seams in less visible areas, or even covered?  Modern low-relief angle castings?  Decent instructions with accurate paint callouts?

I swear it seems like some mfgs put kits in production without trying to build kits.  Sounds nutty, but I swear I have worked on kits that absolutely cannot be put together the way instructions say.

BTW, Revell has put out some beautiful kits lately.  Their Stearman PT-17 is stunning, yet inexpensive. I am so glad they are going to kit variations of it.  Their KK midget race car was super!  Waiting to see the new Revell technology in a new ship kit.

The author points out that ship modeling accounts for only 5% of Revell's business.  However, ship modeling is an exploding hobby with new kits and new companies being announced almost monthly.  Most of these companies that are producing new kits, as well as the new companies, seem to be mostly from China, a few Korean, and fewer still from Japan.  Revell of Germany produces new ships occasionally,  as does Italeri. Revell/Monogram USA rarely comes out with a new ship kit.

I would rather buy kits made in the USA if they were produced, especially over Chinese kits. Unfortunately, that is a very rare option.

Bill

That was a fun read, indeed. Informative, too.

Thanks, EG.

Nice article - albeit by a normal human being rather than a serious scale modeler.

It's nifty to see some of the human beings behind the scenes. It sounds like most of the decision makers in the company are genuine model enthusiasts. Thirty years ago I don't think that was the case. When I was working in a hobby shop, in the late seventies, Revell was run by the widow of one of the company's founders. I have the impression that her dumb marketing decisions (the , and utter ignorance of the scale modeling concept, almost destroyed the company.

It raises some questions that the author didn't address. Do those various sales figures (e.g., the tiny sales of ship models) include Revell Germany kits sold in the USA?

As of a few minutes ago, the Revell (USA) website listed 62 ship kits. All but six of them are labeled "Revell Germany." The six exceptions: a 1/25 "Hot Rod Hydroplane," the old Monogram 1/35 "UDT Boat with Frogmen," the 1/72 PT 109 (from 1963), the 1/426 Arizona (1958), the 1/96 Constitution (1965), the 1/196 Constitution (1956), and, of course, the 1/535 Missouri (which celebrated its sixtieth anniversary last year).

That web catalog is a little weird. Many of the ships listed as "Revell Germany" are old ones that originated in the U.S. in the fifties and sixties. (The Missouri is listed twice: once as "Revell Germany.") The "German"kits also include an ex-Monogram kit (the Swift boat) and several that started life under the Italeri and Zvezda labels.

I know nothing about that "Hot Rod Hydroplane," and I don't know the original release date of the Monogram "UDT Boat." But the other four "Revell USA" ship kits are at least fifty years old. The big Constitution (which is observing its fiftieth birthday this year) is, if I'm not mistaken, the most expensive kit in the Revell range. Certainly the most expensive that doesn't have a "Revell Germany" label attached to it.

If those six kits are only responsible for 5 percent of Revell's US business, I'm not surprised. But maybe the 5 percent includes the "German" kits. The article doesn't say.

I wonder if any plastic kits are actually made in the USA any more. I doubt it. My impression is that almost all, if not all, of the actual molding is done in China and South Korea. Or does Zvezda mold its kits in Russia?

Great article with a good combination of info & nostalgia. The Black Widow was the first model I felt I built well, all those years ago. I may have to pick up another one to see how it looks today. The magazine itself looks very interesting - thanks for the link!

Miker

I have seen some Revell kits with a molded in the USA on the box,  and also one from Poland of all places.

I have seen quite a few Revell kits with the words " Manufactured in the USA" printed on the box; primarily car kits.

One kit ( ex-Monogram ) was molded in the USA but tires manufactured in China.

I bought the 1/96 Cutty Sark kit re-issue for a nostalgia build and noticed the figures were made in Poland.

jtilley

I wonder if any plastic kits are actually made in the USA any more. I doubt it. My impression is that almost all, if not all, of the actual molding is done in China and South Korea. Or does Zvezda mold its kits in Russia?

It depends on your definition of the word "made" or how strictly you adhere to it. some of the CAD is still done in the US, but I don't know of any real molding still being done.

That's what I thought.

It's sobering to think that almost the entire industry depends on the availability of cheap labor in Asia. If some major change were to take place in American policy toward Asia, or if Asian workers were to start demanding reasonable wages (by Western standards), what would happen to the plastic kit industry?

It might return back here. I'm sure there are millions of folks working for sub-minimum wages in the fast food industry who would love to go to work at a clean well lighted plant where they could have regular hours, sit in a chair and do something interesting.

warshipguy

The author points out that ship modeling accounts for only 5% of Revell's business.  However, ship modeling is an exploding hobby with new kits and new companies being announced almost monthly.  Most of these companies that are producing new kits, as well as the new companies, seem to be mostly from China, a few Korean, and fewer still from Japan.  Revell of Germany produces new ships occasionally,  as does Italeri. Revell/Monogram USA rarely comes out with a new ship kit.

I would rather buy kits made in the USA if they were produced, especially over Chinese kits. Unfortunately, that is a very rare option.

Bill

I have built most of  the Revell Germany ship kits- they are outstanding.  Their Emden brought me several prizes.  I still have their ocean going tug in the bench queue.

Don,

I am not saying that kits manufactured in other nations lack quality; on the contrary, there are few kits manufactured in the U.S. that can compete.  For example, the Gallery kit of the USS Intrepid and the new Merit International kit of the USS Yorktown are both outstanding kits from newer companies in China.  The RoG kits of 1/144 and 1/72 scales are also exquisite, as are their 1/350 Bismarck and Tirpitz.  But, the American manufacturers have released nothing comparable.  And, no new American companies are coming to the forefront to pick up the slack.

In other words, given that the most prolific manufacturers represent a nation involved in industrial and economic espionage, unfair business and labor practices, and civil rights violations. However,  our own industrial base offers few, if any, options.  We have no choice if we want to continue in this hobby. I simply would like to see Revell/Monogram and Lindbergh step up their game.

That said, I will continue to purchase high quality ship model kits wherever they are manufactured.

Bill

I'm wondering where the RoG kits are cast.  German labor and material costs mirror--if not exceed-those in the US.  Even the former DDR does not provide--any more--a 'cheap' labor force.

The other thing I have heard is that China outsources much of its production work--to Viet Nam.  This a sign of the growing affluence of China's middle class.

Putting two and two together...the article that started this thread described two old injection-molding machines that are kept in the room with the old molds, and are only used for "test shots." I wonder if the old Renwal kits came out of one of those machines. That would explain the "Made in USA" labels.

It may be significant that only three ex-Renwal kits still appear on the Revell website: the Patton and Walker Bulldog tanks, and the Ontos. The George Washington-class sub, the Essex-class carrier, and the atomic cannon are gone. I suspect Revell sold out of a rather short production run.

I think most, if not all, RoG kits are molded in either China or Korea nowadays. And I wouldn't be surprised at all if there was an injection-molding plant in Vietnam. About ten years ago I bought a lens for my Pentax camera. Pentax is one of the oldest, and in those days one of the biggest, of high-quality Japanese camera firms. The lens said "Made in Vietnam" on it. I practically dropped my teeth when I saw that.

I've been checking sales of lightweight summer clothing in the local sporting goods stores.

There are a lot of clothes being imported from Vietnam.

A long time ago in a neighborhood far, far away..........the Renwall Atomic Cannon and George Washington Class kits were on my childhood unfulfilled wish list.

I purchased the Atomic Cannon a couple of years ago and was surprised that the kit was recently re-issued; must have been quite bit of pent up demand from fellow baby boomers.

The sub kit I purchased a couple of months ago on sale at a local Hobby Town; perhaps the last kit in the Chicagoland area as I noticed the sub kit disappeared just as quickly as the Atomic Cannon.

Must still be a lot of baby boomers out there buying re-issued kits if both Revell and Round Two can either re-use old molds or have molds for old kits reverse engineered.

warshipguy

I would rather buy kits made in the USA if they were produced, especially over Chinese kits. Unfortunately, that is a very rare option.

Bill

I am getting to feel more that way than ever, with the Chinese hacking both our government and businesses.  And Putin threatening us with nuclear war!  At least Airfix and Revell Germany are good guys.

Speaking of Round 2 and the reissuing of older molds, I have purchased the Lindberg Blockade Runner and just the other day the AMT USS Akron/Macon Airship. On the boxes of both is a "Made in America" logo. Granted, the fits are still not perfect but it was nice buying something that was made here!

Steve

I do believe that Pegasus models are made here in the USA.

On the camera front, many of the companies are or have been intermixed in  a fluid, oriental sort of way.

So, Vivitar was Pentax, just headquartered in Hong Kong.  They were building to Pentax specs, but using PRC labor for parts assembly.  Was a staple in BX & PX though, as AAFEX did not care "where from" as much as "how much" for their product.    The Vivtar lenses have some cache out in the photog world, at least in the pro side, rather than prosumer side.

Such national distinctions mean very little in these days of international, web-based trade.  It's the quality of the product rather than the nation of origin.  Which is why IBM does not even bother to relabel Lenovo products.

Well, other than the Las Colonias operation in Mexico.  This is where Border-adjacent cities are set up to use less-expensive Mexican labor to create sub assemblies and parts.  Thse are then trucked over the border for final assembly so that they can have a "Made in America" label.  Which is somewhat spurious as that "made" refers to bolting on wheels and tires; or fastening that last 8 of 16 screws holding chassis and body together (and making a shipping crate or bending a shipping box to suit.

Made in Norte America ;)

Heche en el Norte

CapnMac82

Heche en el Norte

Don,

I agree that Airfix and Revell are the good guys and I love what RoG is putting out there.  I would just like to see more competition from American sources.  We constantly hear from "Corporate America" about the virtues of capitalism, but American producers are the least responsive to capitalistic forces within our own hobby.  Wouldn't it be nice for all to see Revell/Monogram USA (and Lindbergh, if they can produce anything worthwhile) dive back into the manufacturing market? It's just a thought.

Bill

Excuse me - declining numbers, increasing labor and production costs - how has the consolidation, shut down, and off-shoring of production by American companies NOT been squarely capitalistic? I don 't like it, but there's no willpower to change the entire world enough in the short term. What would work would be for population in the producing countries to realize more wealth (this is happening in China ) and drive up the costs of production in that country. Tamiya has its production done in the Philippines now, and I hear that Vietnam is doing things because it's cheaper than China. As those costs and shipping costs rise, it will become more cost effective at some point to bring the production back to the US.

I just hope there's a company or two left by then!

Tracy,

I was simply referring to the lack of will to engage in competition with the manufacturers from overseas.  The aspects of capitalism that you mention well illustrate why I am not a capitalist!

Bill

There is no such thing as Capitalism or Communism only the imply of its existence as history has shown us.