Or is it just the state of things and the economy?

Just came back home from the local IPMS show in Marietta, GA and it was light in attendance and entries compared to the last few years. I noticed people walking around with fewer kits/bags than in previous years.

Talking to the vendors I came away with the impression they did not make as much money/sales as they have in the past.

The place was packed with vendors, but sales looked like they were very light.

If the trend of vendors not being able to have good sales and having to cover all the costs associated with vending at a show, I believe it is going to hurt the shows when vendors decide to stay home. I also heard at the show that there was an event in North Carolina this last month where not a single vendor showed up.

What are your thoughs on this matter. Please keep it constructive and no rants.

1) Is the economy hurting the shows this badly? Is it just the economy?
2) Are there just to many shows?
3) Are there just to many vendors fighting for the little money there is out there.
4) Are too many releases/products hurting the hobby?
5) Should table costs for vendor go down (they seem to continue to go up)?
6) Is it the problem that modelers just have too many unbuilt kits?

Thanks for your take on this matter.

Cheers,

Jose.T.Rodriguez

I think the economy does have an impact. I wonder most about our ageing modelers. Do we have enough youth entering the hobby to sustain it in the coming decades? I just don't know. I'm 43, and have been "playing" with model airplanes my whole life. Is my generation the last?

Everyone remember that in Kingsport, Tennessee on July 17th we are having the 1st annual model show at Bays Mountain Park! I hope to see anyone in the area there. I hope turnout is good. Russell

Jose,

All of the above! All of the factors you mentioned are in play, and they tend to build on one another. And Russel is right about the aging modelling population - this same thing has become a big issue in the model train hobby too. (And train prices make their hobby the equivalent of only buying resin tank kits! A typical new diesel locomotive costs upward of $100, and a steamer $2-300...)

There is no solution though. As the hobby gets overstretched the vendors will thin out, the less sustainable shows will wither, and eventually prices and diversity will also shrink. However, I doubt it will be a simple return to the gentler days of my youth, since we no longer have the big entry-level kitmakers churning out popular stuff for pre-teens to assemble. The likes of Monogram and Aurora nurtured the hobby partly because there were so few alternatives to an evening with a 20-piece glow-in-the-dark "monster movie" figure. Now, the kids spend that cash on yet another Wii game...

Still, I could live off my stash for a very long time as long as the glue still flows and the Evergreen grows!

Tom

My punt;

Probably all of those points figure in some - but I'm not sure that "shows" - as an event or venue in our hobby - are necessarily dead.

I just re-entered the hobby after about a 35-year break. And only because I happened to drive past a local motel which was hosting the local club show! On the lark, in I went. It was GREAT! I "blame" my return to the hobby on SHOWS.

I've built a few kits since then, attended several smallish local shows and a Regional and a larger "local" show (Houston), won several awards for my builds, met many cool folks, and seen quite a slough of neat builds. And I've dropped enuf dough on vendors...

And joined the local club.

Seems to me that the shows have been OK- some better-visited than others, and some more vendors (and more sales) than others.

To me, the biggest challenge facing the Hobby is recruiting new folks- young or old. There are lots of great new kits, and lots of great old stuff- and junk, too. I think we- individuals and clubs- have to focus on getting new blood in. Find ways to bridge the gap. My local club is working on this issue... We think the SHOW is a good way to go. We are hosting a show with "make and take" for newbies, "show anything old and even funky-looking for free", and members doing little work-shops and demos. We are working on local biz out-reach, and looking around "the box" for ways to contact youth and bring in new older blood.

Will this work? Dunno! But I CAN promise that all of us WILL be the last if we don't do some efforts to keep things alive.

Maybe it would help if we recall that actually those old kits costing 2 - 5 - and (yikes!) maybe 10 bucks back in 1968- were just as dear to us as kids then as a 25 - 40 buck kit is today. And we all know what deals can be had at shows... Things ARE a little costlier now- but us parents CAN subsidize our kids. Heck- how much do those game things cost?

Me? I just pull the TV and Wii cords outta the wall and offer mine a plastic opportunity That, and don't be afraid to share your enthusiasms with others- the history, the creativity, the skill.

My opinion, of course!

Happy modelling!

1. There are no model shows in the central virginia area that I am aware of. Traffic in my are is horrible, I can't see driving 3 hours or more to make a show. 2. I find that I can deal with modelers here or ebay and get good prices. I only use the non local hobby shops for rare trips for glue, plastic stock, some paint, and basic supplies. 3. Me and my family stay involved with younger modellers ( use kits that are interesting to them and simple to build ) alas it is hard to pry them away from the video games or they complain it takes to much work and time to build models. They do really enjoy when I build a nice one for them though. LOL. anyhow this is my take.

There are three local hobby shops I have been to, as well as the nearby Hobby Lobby. One shop has hardly restocked in a year. Their prices are way above everyone else. I don't expect they will be around much longer. The other two specialize in RC kits, which is where they make all their money. The best of the two, Destination Hobbies, has very good prices on their plastic kits, with Dragon kits going for less than the best prices online, before shipping. I go there as often as I can. I know there is a somewhat local IPMS branch, and model railroaders are active in the area (my brother is one, and my wife is happy with the $40.00 I spend on a kit as opposed to what he spends) but most of the modelers I see are adult men.

I saw a kid looking at model airplanes, and his dad came over and said "these don't do anything" and led him away. My kids will build with me, but the wife won a WII at the fair and they spend more time on that. Maybe when they are older they will start building again for memories.

I think there are still a lot of younger builders out there, but we compete with an electronic world. There are a few basic kits, and a lot of advanced kits, but not many in between that I can find for my kids. Maybe the hobby is getting too specialized to attract newcomers.

I do believe that websites like this help keep the hobby alive. An electronic, media based generation can relate to what they see here, apply what they learn visually, and keep generating interest in modeling.

The biggest factor is how most of us got involved. I built with my father and brothers. My kids build with me. You learn by doing. If anyone is worried about the hobby dying out, grab someone and teach them how to build.

I was at the same show in GA, for about 2 hours in the morning. Except for ~3 younger kids with their parents, and 2-3 teenagers that appeared to be connected with one of the vendor(s), I would estimate I saw a total of 10 people under the age of 35 out of at least a couple hundred milling around.

All good points, My 2 cents worth would be the economy and the absence of younger modelers. The only youth I see at the local shows, usually relatives of us older modelers. Also as there are no hobby shops locally in my area, I use the shows to make some good deals and get some good prices, but this past year thats becomeing harder as there are fewer vendors at the shows willing to deal. just my observation!, milvehfan

Ditto what Tom said.

Prices to high at shows even with discounts.
But I enter and at least try to enter two a year but not driving 300 miles with the price of gasoline to enter one out of state plus hotels and all.
Will stay local.
So how are those Skeletons coming out Jose?

Yep same guy from Missing-Lynx

Not sure if "shows" should be the correct 'canary in the coal mine' for the health of modelling.

Its worth noting that other craft oriented hobbies have been doing similar hand wringing about the lack of the next generation of hobbyists. (I also paint miniatures and that is a perennial topic).

All the factors I read here are true (there are fewer hobby shops today). That has been going on for over 30 years though. (and we're still here). When I was a kid, I cut my teeth spending my $2 a week allowance on a $.99 1/72 airplane kit from Entex or MPC at the local Kmart. (department stores used to have surprisingly large model sections). That's all gone now too.

While we're lamenting the impending demise of our hobby I'll simply add one thing as "exhibit A" in defense of the fact that modeling isn't going to leave us (any time soon.)

Its the very fact that we're all here on the "intertubes" talking about it in the first place. We lament the video game age as killing craft oriented hobbies, but I say that , ironically, the Web is what is likely going to save it and keep it healthy (even if it looks different than we remember from our youth).

Just my $.02

Cheers,
Fred

1) Is the economy hurting the shows this badly? Is it just the economy?

A weak economy will always hit events like this as people have less money in their pockets, and will have an impact on how many are willing to travel.

2) Are there just to many shows?

In the UK I feel shows do not get the event news out to the widest possible audience.

3) Are there just to many vendors fighting for the little money there is out there.

I would have thought that sales is a small part of the reason for a vendor to attend depending on what they are selling. If they are selling purchased goods sales are important, if it is a manufacturer the I would have thought it more important to get their name and products seen at their best to encourage future sales.

4) Are too many releases/products hurting the hobby?

Choice can never be bad.

5) Should table costs for vendor go down (they seem to continue to go up)?

If a show prices out their vendors they will lose not only vendors but a number of the public who may enter but not stay at the show.

6) Is it the problem that modelers just have too many unbuilt kits?

Don't you swear at me as you are now sounding like the wife.

Scale modeling events are like anything they have cycles of up and down.

I've talked with several vendors about the shows they've recently attended and many said it was not worth attending. Few in attendance and those that were weren't spending even on rock bottom prices that haven't been seen in years.

If a vendor has a poor day of sales, chances are they didn't make enough to offset their costs. One chap I know says he's done for the year, no more shows, probably not even going to the Nats because he hasn't made enough to offset his costs.

Organizers need to promote their events to as broad a spectrum of visitors as possible. Also encourage continued participation by vendors by making it worth their while to attend.

Events that charge ridiculous fees for tables are cutting their own throats in the long run. Considering the cost of a table even at $25 a vendor must sell somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 to make enough profit to cover it. That is a lot of sales! When you're retailing a small product with a retail of less than $5 and your margin is 10-40% it takes a great deal of those items to break even.

Now add in gas, meals and lodging if it is a distant show. A vendor such as myself has to look at a venues potential for sales. Some offer little if any chance at a return. Its one thing to attend to show the flag when times are good, but during slow economic periods it can mean suicide fiscally.

On a positive note, plastic is apparently doing better than many other categories in the hobby industry. The cycle and the circle continues round and round.

When you say scale modelling shows are you specifically referring to military/historical miniature modelling, a la IPMS style shows?

Modelling shows and contests like the Golden Daemon for mini's seem to be as popular as ever, particularly amongst younger modellers. We continually say that the youth aren't interested in scale modelling. I don't necessarily agree: they simply aren't as interested in our genre of miniature modelling.

@Hawkeye;

25 bucks a table sure is steep, and I could see why vendors would be hard-pressed to make anything- So bring yourself on down to the steamy Gulf Coast for some cheaper venues! We here in Lafayette,LA are arguing about charging under 15 for 8-foot tables in our November show! Other shows here-abouts may price similar, I think. And I know of many local clubbees(besides myself) who still drop 100 - 200 per show, even in these leaner times. So there are still buyers out there!

@tarok;

You certes have a point, there. Modelling covers many genres and probably some of us tend a bit narrow about how inclusive we are- and that transfers over to the local show-scene. It would seem likely that, if show-holders (promoters? sponsoring clubs?) were to boldly reach out into some of those "less-well represented (parochially speaking) genres", maybe a different mix of contestants and participants and visitors might show up! If the next gen wants to build funny cars, aliens, spaceships and egg-planes, instead of tanks and warplanes and pint-sized battleships, why not open the tables, contests and prizes to them, too?

Again, I think promoting our hobby future lies, in large part, in reaching out and bringing the folks in.

@panzerbob01
In this economy I couldn't even consider traveling that far to sell at a show. Do you know how much paint sales it would take to offset the cost?

Proximity is a killer in this hobby...shows and LHS are too far away for most of us. Here the nearest sizable show is a minimum of 100 miles away. Yes, we car pool to attend and that helps but most folks don't want to travel such distances, especially if they are new or feeling the money pinch.

Access to a LHS is right now the biggest factor in servicing the hobby. Stores close at the rate of 2:1. Two close for every new one that opens. Do the math.