discussion we are killing our hobbie

[Guest]

Chaps. Ive just been in to leicester modelzone and just heard all stores are closing, you guys probably know already but feel down in the dumps about it in a silly way as now I will have no where to buy my models other than the internet!! Such a shame. I really hope they can somehow get saved.

Damn the internet and selling cheap models haha.... at least 50% of my stash are internet buys as im sure most peoples are.

Ill have a stiff drink and treasure my wardrobe full of kits haha

 

[Guest]

We're not killing the hobby - the hobby will survive ModelZone. ModelZone might not but there are plenty of alternatives. I will say though keep supporting your REAL local model shops. MZ lost the plot when the Venture Capitalists took over - they'd been gradually loosing the plot for several years but the changes imposed more recently were what killed it.

We can also blame Amerang for the ridiculous price of foreign kits like Hasegawa, Trumpeter et al as they were the importers and added huge mark ups. Maybe that situation might get better...

In the meantime, get along to your local model shows and support the traders at them. Use the internet but if you have a local model shop, help them out as well!

 

[Gern]

Not sure we're killing it - just the High Street outlets.

I've just had a thought that together, we may actually be making our hobby more successful than it should really be. How many of us have a stash of kits that we probably won't ever make? That means we're buying more than we need and keeping sales figures higher than they should be - which has surely got to be good for the manufacturers!

Gern

 

[Guest]

A few hours ago I tried to get on the modelzone website because they have some great deals and even that's down , sadly its happening all over the place I live near Epsom and even pizza hut in the high street has just shut down and that's only about a minute walk from the cinema which is always busy , its the world we live in at the moment people just can`t afford to spend , saying that I`m guilty as the next man I hate shopping but in my defence the stuff I need or want are only available online be it in the UK or abroad ,

Richy

 

[Guest]

Just to standstill & think a little!

This forum is alive & kicking I think all would agree there.

What keeps it alive not Modelzone !

Guess what does ?

Laurie

 

[Guest]

I blame thatcher :granade:

 

[Guest]

I blame thatcher :granade:

Wow I did not realise she had an interest in model making ? Are you sure it was not Dennis he looked as though he had an eye for models.

Laurie

 

[Guest]

It's a double edged sword, I want support my local model shop and regularly buy from there but at what cost, I have had my eyes on the premium edition snowberry kit on the shelf but at £129.99 that's £30-£40 more expensive than I have found online. Most kits I see on the shelves are a lot more expensive. I understand about overheads and such like but how is a model shop supposed to compete with online sales unless we as modellers are happy to pay over the odds for stuff

 

[Guest]

It does worry me that modelzone maybe closing. As I've said previously it is our only town centre model store. Without a high street store I think you are going to struggle to encourage the future of modelling, ie the youngsters. Its the going into a model shop for the first time, picking up the kits, looking at the box shots, the general feel of being in the model shop. Buying online cannot match that feeling in anyway in my opinion!!!

Cheers, Andrew

 

[Ian M]

MZ having a web shop as well as a proper shop must be a sign that the internet is not killing them off.

A thing to remember is that the money you save buying over the net is often eaten up in post cost. And while you are there you make the most of it and buy stuff to get the most sent at one go as you can.

As long as there are kit producers our hobby will be safe.

Ian M

 

[BarryW]

Wow I did not realise she had an interest in model making ? Are you sure it was not Dennis he looked as though he had an eye for models.Laurie

Well, back in the late 70's early 80's I met the great lady many times and mark my words she could really appreciate a well-made model of a Spitfire and all it represents.....

Seriously - retail is changing, the High Street is changing - we really should not, as consumers stand in the way of such change. Yes it is great to support our local model shops as much as we can (that definition does not include Modelzone) but, at the end of the day, they can and should survive only by doing what on-line shopping cannot provide, personalised service and help - they can never survive on choice and price. My LMS does not provide either so I do not support it and it is up to them to make the changes needed to attract me as a customer. Life is hard and business is hard. I have had to adapt my business to survive and so should they and if they do not then they do not deserve to survive. These are the facts of life.

 

[Gern]

I've just found this:

AE, Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Models

If we are killing our hobby, it seems to be taking us a long time. This dates from about 2000 BC.

If anything, I think our hobby is getting better. It certainly seems that we can make more accurate and detailed models today than we could back then! :lol

Gern

 

[Guest]

How many times do you go to the high street on a fruitless journey wasting time and money only to find you just cannot get what you want.

I'm finding more and more high street shops just will not stock the goods you want.

Yesterday for example I was on the search for an electric camping light and thought "I know lets support my local 2 shops"! One wanted to charge me a ridiculous sum for a light that wasn't what I wanted whilst the other tried to sell me a battery light instead. 1.5 hours wasted along with a couple of gallons of fuel. Got home and ordered off the web.

 

[Guest]

Well like all have said, I'm going to make a conscious effort to support the little man who has an aladdins cave a few miles out. I know the hobbie won't die as everything adapts which is good, but like a member said on here reference to many kits, I now have enough to last me until I die

I did pick up some bargins in MZ yesterday though all with 20% off.

It's a double edged sword, I want support my local model shop and regularly buy from there but at what cost, I have had my eyes on the premium edition snowberry kit on the shelf but at £129.99 that's £30-£40 more expensive than I have found online. Most kits I see on the shelves are a lot more expensive. I understand about overheads and such like but how is a model shop supposed to compete with online sales unless we as modellers are happy to pay over the odds for stuff

Reference the 1/72 snowberry, I have one if your interested, the hull has been started but only the internal struts and its still in two halfs if your interested, and can send you some pictures in the next few days,,, just name a price? And if you like subs I also have the 1/72 GATO sub and 2 1/72 German subs, brand new in box, just name the price as will never ever build them.

Lewis

 

[eddiesolo]

Difficult for me as I am disabled, so getting to a shop can be difficult. However, a shop is a good place to see and wander around and actually see the kits not just a picture on a screen. It is the future and the economic climita we live in...sucks really.

Si

 

[Guest]

Just made a calculation, between overs(first test match), of the number of models available to the plastic type model making community.

Stunned with the figure.

Over 5000.

So I do not think that model making is going down the shutes just yet.

It is where you buy them that will change. Seems to me that some companies in other avenues do this at the moment. You take the order on line at your usual internet outlet & then have a central depots in a country which holds the stock send the goods directly from the central depot. Why. There are so many models & it is impossible for even large internet companies to hold all the stock or even a portion of it. That unfortunately will entail an increase in (voice of doom & gloom) the cost as it will be big business who run the depot affairs.

Laurie

 

[PaulTRose]

i wish it was that easy to support the little shop................if you have got one!

i live on the edge of nottingham...not the smallest city by any means, yet i am really limited by outlets

Modelzone and GeeDees are both in the city which i try and avoid visiting unless i really have to..............but when i do i make a point of visiting both shops........MZ is going and Geedees always seems expensive or limited in what they have...........my other outlet is HobbyCraft......still a 20 minute drive and even more limited on stuff

yet if i go on ebay i have a big dealer only a mile away, reasonable prices (specially when i can walk round and collect to save on postage!) and a big selection of stuff

i do the majority of my kit buying by ebay..............its stuff like paint, etc that i try and buy in person

 

[stona]

As long as there are people with money to spend on kits and all the other paraphernalia which most of us have littering our hobby rooms then there will be people willing to produce and sell the stuff to turn a profit.

The real question is, given the age of the typical modeller, how long will those people be there?

Cheers

Steve

 

[Guest]

Yes an interesting point especially on the Sunday morning BBC slot they had a discussuion about angling. In the young the rivers association ? have indicated a 45% drop in interest by young people over the last few years.

A 25% drop over all ages.

A few boys fishing were asked for their views & said it was probably TV & playstaion etc. taking the numbers down. Suspect also football has also been a factor both in the cost of going to a match ie taking available finances, as a result & not allowing fathers the interest to take their kids fishing. Suspect similar things in model making. All a shame.

It would be interesting to have the average age of the model fraternity. Looking at the members on this forum who write here it looks like a very rough age of mid thirties to eighties. Noted that a good number when joining are coming back after 20 or 30 years absence which seems to indicate the young are not interested or not given the opportunity.

Not been to any of the big shows being in Jersey (shame on me). These shows must give an idea of the interest in the young.

Laurie

 

[AlanG]

My nearest shop in Elgin is ok. Got some good stuff in there, but at a price. I normally buy the odd bit of paint or brushes from there but for the most part I use evilbay or www.scalemodelshop.co.uk (shameless plug there lol)

I cannot justify buying things in the local shop when I can often save quite a lot of money on kits and buy them from elsewhere.

As for youngsters coming into the hobby. I know i'll try and get my two boys interested in it but I will not push them. I only went out of the hobby because I found traveling around in the RAF from one singlie room to another usually ended up with lost paints/glues and/or broken kits.