Just a thought which has been nagging me for several days now... When a news item appears on the site, there is an enormous difference in the number of hits, depending on the subject of the news story.. Let me explain further. Taking for example the case of Italeri's re-pop of the old Esci German Horse-drawn Convoy, within a matter of days, it gets to 500 plus 'hits' However, if I post news like the 'Formations' recent releases, it wallows about and gets about 350 hits. Now, what does this tell me? If I post on a re-pop the whole world starts (metaphorically speaking ) throwing their hats in the air, whereas something of the undoubted quality of Formations has less impact..

Are we really so conservative? I would have thought the release of a new kit from Tristar, would be much more interesting than a re-box, re-pop or 'let's add a coupla new sprues' from Tamiya....

Well? ....Jim

Jim,
Maybe all the others are like me........ I tend to look at the titles of news items, and if it's about a german subject I rarely even open it. If it's about an Italeri kit, which I may be able to afford, then I'll probably read it, items about resin kits I hardly ever read because I know that I'd have to remorgage the house to buy them!
If I read about them I'd only want them, and then get depressed because I can't!!

Jim:

It might have more to do with German subjects vs. Allied subjects. For some reason, many modelers seem drawn to the German stuff -- and that's most of what the model makers give us. This debate has gone on for years ...

Or -- maybe it's styrene vs. resin? Lots of modelers, particularly beginners and intermediate builders, are leery of resin kits. This fear is well-founded in many cases, with kits that are expensive and difficult to build. Personally, I would not hesitate to recommend a Formations resin kit as a first resin kit for any modeler.

My 2 centavos ...

Let me play Devil's Advocate here, but why does the number of hits matter? Is there some sort of mystical prize associated with the highest number? I know I don't care about, follow or even consider the number of hits an item has. I just look at something that may interest me or "catches my eye."

Perhaps a re-pop of an old, but good plastic kit draws more attention than the latest resin conversion because it is plastic verses resin (resin equates to a lot of money to some folks).

Perhaps it is just the subject matter or maybe visitors have already seen the Formations information on another site. There could be a wide variety of reasons. My guess is that the "average" modeler is more likely to see an Italeri kit on the shelves than a Formations product, hence the greater interest.

But to attempt to draw a conclusion of conservatism because some reissued kit that will be readily available at the local stores gets more hits than something new but with limited distribution is kind of a stretch.

I don't think either story is less important than the other. I think one appeals to the modeling masses and the other appeals to a more focused group of modelers.

Think Lexus's and Chevys here.

"don't think either story is less important than the other. I think one appeals to the modeling masses and the other appeals to a more focused group of modelers"

Bingo!! I am just glad that there is this info going out there in the forums. Thanks for taking the time and effort to post them.

I was genuinely looking for an answer. In my own case, if I want something (different) I have to buy it from abroad if I want Verlinden or Italeri - no problem. The hits are truly unimportant, the only inerest I have in them is curiosity - nothing else. The thing that is truly worrying me at the moment is how 'unbalanced' the news is at the moment. Lots of attractive new 'goodies' for figure and armor modellers, and little or no content (in the news pages for the Warship and Aircraft modellers) That for me is more worrying than the number of 'hits' I'm also aware that we could do with more items for the small-scale modellers...

This thread was more part of a process of 'thinking-out-loud' than anything else.....Jim

Any news is good news JIm, so keep on posting them.....

I think it might be more a function of the fact there just isn't that much coming out for ships. I can't speak about planes. If Allied modelers think they're being slighted by the manufacturers, and I do, they should try modeling plastic ships. If you don't want to make another Bismarck or Tirpitz, or an American Iowa class, forget about it.

As to your original question, I know I looked at the Italeri horse drawn wagon re-release because it interested me. I've seen Shep Paine's dio using this kit, I think, and it interested me it was coming out again. I don't like German stuff, but once in a while I can think of things I'd like to do with it.

I mentioned this before Jim - I appreciate the News period and am thrilled that you're bringing it in here for everyone. Recently, Pawel has also managed to break the dam too - and there will be much more coming.

I can't add anything to what everyone else has written here. I can only say that every now and then, a modeler will get curious about something different. In my case, I am not interested in Figures. But, I checked out your coverage of Alpine Miniatures items. I bought one simply because I saw it reviewed here at Armorama. Figured (pun intended) it couldn't hurt if I hated it.

I wound up loving it and buying more Alpine Miniature Figures - even of subjects (WW II Germany) that I'm not interested in because they're really good and I will try out building a WW II tank just to go with the Figure.

Keep it up!

Gunnie

Well do me a favor then - post up something in news (on Sci-Fi) and see if I can can start again on Spaceships or figures.. Jim

Personally, I look for products by manufacturers I haven't heard of... often they have "just the thing" I was looking for... or at the very minimum, they may have interesting products that I can resell as a dealer on my website.... Hansa System products come to mind as fitting both categories.... I found a totally flexible system for building custom layouts, and their windows and doors work great with other vendor products... plus, IU was able to meet the opening buy requirements to become a dealer... now the stuff sells like hotcakes on my website!

New vendors? Bring 'em on!

I have to say, it has to catch my eye by falling within my interests, not because it's a "new" news item. I read the title and the synopsis and decide whether to open it up or not.

Cuhail