This was originally going to be in reply to another post, but maybe it needs to be it's own topic of discussion.......

Speaking of kids and models, I don't see how the hobby is going to continue to thrive. Sure the death knell has been announced before on plastic kits, but the market has still exploded. This time there is something different though. Obviously the most important factor is the deadly impact of video games and other electronics. Secondly, the fact that a kid who finds tanks interesting doesn't need to buy a model kit to get a decent reproduction. Forces of Valor and other companies put out some fairly decent and cheap prebuilt kits for the kids to play with. The next thing has to be the incredible cost of armor model building. Kids can still purchase a fairly cheap car model kit and even an airplane kit, but where are the inexpensive armor kits? I believe the manufacturers should dig up some of the old molds and knock out some real cheap kits aimed squarely at the kids. Sure, most of us would never touch the old Tamiya kits from 20 years ago, but put them out at rock bottom prices with packaging aimed at kids and they'd probably sell. Case in point - when MRC was the carrier of Tamiya in the states, they packaged the kits with a set of figures and accesories such as the sandbags, brick wall or barricades. Or change the artwork. Make model building cool again.
Additionally, what really needs to be done is get the hobby shop owners who put all those stupid "No kids", "Shoplifters will be killed and eaten" "Don't touch" signs to get their heads out of their buts and quit being such jerks. There was a hobby shop that was close by my house in Houston that my wife absolutely refused to let me take my kids in because the over abundance of those signs said essentially "we hate kids." She preferred that I make a trip across the city than shop at one that was so anti-family. Or perhaps we shouldn't even worry about our hobby. Maybe we should accept the fact that it has become a very specialized hobby - like baseball cards have - that really only caters to adults now.
What do you think?

One more thing to add about how the hobby makes it less appealing to kids. In last month's Fine Scale Modeler there was a detailed article for people who want to get into the hobby. The article subsequently listed under it's basic supplies an outrageous list of stuff that a beginner really doesn't need that would end up costing a decent chunk of money.

I, for one, agree with you on the rediculous costs for models, not just for the kids, but for me as well!!
But on the other hand, who has to teach these kids in the first place, if not we? We know what they need and we can spend the money on a cheap kit, because most of the time we know where to get those... but usually we don't buy them, because they are 20 years old...
For the rest.... when I look at my sons face, or my daughters for that matter, when they look in awe at the latest model daddy has made, I believe that there is nothing more powerfull then the power of creation and the admiration for that...

You sure that's awe?

Just kidding my 4 year old daughter and her friends think my models are "Really cool"

The two LHSs near me never have any kids in them

The last several years have been quite a boon for us modelers. As for the death knell.... who knows? My kids are expressing an interest in models. My son wants to build sci-fi. My daughter wants to build dinosaurs and cars. They've both got a couple of models under their belts. Now they are at the age where they are ready to delve into glue-together kits. As for video games/TV. The rare game on the computer. No TV on school nights. A movie or on the weekends. There is no cable TV not that it's not available, I can not justify $$$$$$$ for 3000 channels of .
It is a good thing to bring new blood into the fold, just don't forget to enjoy what we've got while we've got it. Sorry so long winded. Meds are wearing off. Ohhhh pretty voices.......

Landshark hit upon the one thing that struck me about the hobby when I took it back up nearly a year ago--how it is now a grownups' hobby and kids seem to be few and far between. Just having the children of modelers pick up the hobby is not a solution, as that just slows down the decline in the number of modelers. Although we now live in an era of booming choice in models and aftermarket parts, I can't help but thinking that 20+ years from now the market for models will be much smaller (at least in the US--China and East Asia may be a very different story), and we could see a dramatic decline in the health of the hobby.

I am heartened by some signs, including two very kid-friendly LHSes in my area. That said, I'm not sure the hobby can survive or grow without a lot of new blood.

Hey all,

The ones to blame for the price of kits is mainly us modelers. We demanded more detail and better made kits and for the most we got what we wanted. The people making the kits know where the money is so the based there kits on us. I believe kids will still be drawn to the hobby but mabey not as young as when we started. Games, TV, and music won't turn the kids because they will see dad working hard on his hobby and they will ask questions and at times we'll run to the store for the snap together for them. They may not make a model when there young but they may when there older and they remember what dad liked to do.

Young or old our children will and other children will find the joy of modeling because it reminds them of dad or a time in there life that they remember fondly and they want something to remember it by.

I model because it's fun and it reminds me of when I made models as a kid.

I spent HOURS as a child gazing in wonder at Airfix models in Woolies (Woolworths) and desperatly trying to decide which one I could afford to buy. From aircraft to cars to ships to soldiers. Sheer bliss!

The day I got the Airfix HMS Victory I nearly wet myself from excitement! (not a pretty sight at the age of 32... I'm joking, I was about 12... Honest!)

My six year old touches everything when I'm building a model... Unfortunately he surpasses the proverbial "bull in a china shop" by many miles.

I'd love to get him into the hobby. It would teach him so much!

I have seen an increasing number of children coming in with their parents at my LHS, and I couldnt be happier. I think the games and internet may even get some into it. As they see the tanks or planes in the always popular war games, they learn a bit about them. Search for Tigers, Shermans, Abrams, Leopards, etc even briefly, and you will likely find a picture of a model. Hands-on kids, may find these, and become interested, and possibly ask parents to take them to a hobby shop.

Unfortunately, right now, I think most kids dont have the opportunity readily available. Modellers can bring their kids to the LHS, but a lot of others dont even think to. That means a lot never get exposed at all, which means they never get into it.

Guys, youve all got good points. And you may all be correct to some extent. However, look at what technology has offerd up in the past 20 years. Just look at the car you drove in 1987 and now drive in 2007 (and god, I hope its not the same one! LOL ). Technology has made huge leaps and bounds in the past 20 years. hell, if someone told me in 1987 that Id be sitting on a "laptop" computer surfing the "internet" discussing models with people from all over the world, I would have said they were insane! Now, lets jump to 2027. Were talking holographic video games that jump off the screen at you. Plastic models??? I am thinking our kids are going to have robotic models that are either voice activated or remote control. Maybe some kids will still build plastic models for historical accuracy, but my guess is they'll be building some really high tech stuff. Im hoping they'll actually be using their hands to do it. So, dont be so bleak on the subject, and get kids involved any way you can. They may just surprise us!

Gary

I have two kids and both sit down with me and build their snap together models. My daughter will watch me build rather than watch tv. Many of their friends when over will stand and watch. Simply because they have never seen a model put together then beg there parents for a kit. My point is that the interest from kids is there and will continue to be there but there needs to be someone willing to teach and invite the kids to take part. Such as I have neighbor that bought her son a civilian truck. And he was having trouble with it from lack of resources to learn the how to part. So I bought him some stuff (knife glue and paint) and showed him how to remove parts and attach the parts and such. hopefully because of my effort he is better off. So the only way to improve the hobby is to mentor and with that educate the future hobbyist. I hope this came out the right way because my thoughts are jumbled due to the hour I am writting this.

I`got a 14 month old son & just can`t wait for him to start. He`s already interested ,but yes in the original post I do think it would be a good idea to release some cheap old ùns.

My youngest son 11 builds and he will attend the ASMS show with me this weekend in Austin (and he still has time for video games and sports). My father took my brother and i to LHS as we grew up so I think the future is safe as long as we guide them

I like the idea of a line of less detailed (yet dimensionally accurate) kits for kids to cut thier teeth on. They would need to be in the $15-$20 range to be about 2-3 week's allowance for most kids to be able to afford them when they wanted them. Something that, when finished by an expert could look much more than a toy, yet without the extreme detail that would frighten away kids and the extreme cost that frightens away parents.

It also nerks me to realise that in Asia, kits that go for $25 here are selling for $12 in those hobby stores. It isn't import taxes or transportation. It's "all the market will bear" but it ignores the development of new markets. Sad.

Paul

I don't know Frank. I see a lot of kits that I bought for a couple of bucks as a kid get reissued at the $10-15 range today.

For example, the old Matchbox 1/76 scale armor/tank kits with the little diorama bases once sold for a dollar and change, perhaps two back in the 1970s. Today, Revell reissues the same kit at about $12. Monogram and Revell reissued many of their 1/48 scale aircraft and box scale kits from the 1950s, 60s and 70s at prices pushing twenty dollars.

These are molds that have long been paid for, and I understand the costs associated with production, distribution, etc. There just seems to be a price based on the size of the kit and sometimes the price is comparable to what one of their new tooled kits sell for.

As a 'kid modeller' myself (i started at the age of 9/10 and am now 16) I have a few words to say on this subject:
First of all, yes you are right there does seem to be a disappointing lack of kids in the hobby. Whenever I go to my LHS I always seem to be the only kid there buying scale model kits, any other kids are either with their parents or buying Warhammer or Lego ( however Lego did inspire me into scale modelling, you don’t generally get green bricks and the little men are too small once you built the tank!!! LOL ) Secondly, kit prices and reboxing old Tamiya (and others) kits for kids: When I first started out I was building mainly Airfix 1/72 kits which I knocked together and crudely painted and I was perfectly happy with the results (looking at them now I can not understand how I let myself get away with it!! LOL )The great thing was these were relatively cheap and were affordable on my small pocket money allowance and gave me the satisfaction of putting something together and painting it and then I could play with it afterwards!. My first 1/35 kit was a Tamiya Panzer 1 (I think) which I put together in much the same way, my point is this, as slightly more (and many on this site are a lot more) advanced modellers like myself we avoid these kits as we prefer to build the newer better moulded kits, but as a kid they are great as the LHS tends to price them cheaper than say the latest dragon kit because of their age and relatively poor moulding which is not generally noticed by your average ten year old kid! Therefore I think that reboxing them and aiming them towards kids would be a great idea.
Also a big problem is modelling is not 'cool' it is done by 'sad old men' (absolutely no offence intended LOL) Maybe model clubs could organise events (and they probably do, however I dont even know if there is a modelling club near me!!!) to try and make modelling cool again.
People seem to think that all kids do is watch TV and play video games, and this has been given as a reason why kids don’t make models. However sometimes these may help kids get into the hobby as they see something on it and think, hey that would be cool and want to make it. However as several people have stated they may not have the exposure to model building. I only really found it through my dad going to the LHS to buy things for the model railway and I would see the shelves of model kits at the other end of the room and just think cool and eventually asked my dad to buy me one. Yet another reason for local clubs to be more obvious, but maybe this is just my one (if there is one!!)
Anyway that’s just my 2 cents. Hope it makes sense. Nick

I started building models by watching my father. I actually built my very own first model when I was about 9. I didn't know about hobby shops untilI was about 12- 13. I received my models as gifts on my birthdays and at Christmas. I had no idea that there were such things as clubs, contests and organizations until I was in my 40's!! That was for plastic models. I belonged to the AMA and built flying models for many a year. I guess what I am trying to say is once a child is exposed to modelling and likes it, it will be there to come back to in the future. It really did not become a large part of my life 'till I was in my 50's. So, show it to your children and let nature take it's course.

well i am 13 and i am the only one out of my freinds that builds model cars i started because i am not good at video games and i am alway watching either history discovery or speed on the tv and my dad is also a really good with wood and tools so i wanted to work with my hands somehow so i took up modeling and i agree with u guys the only reson i am able to model is because i work for my mom for five dollars an hour and since the models are so expensive i work one model at a time and now i am saving up for an airbrushe and compressor which is also very expensive so me and my brother are saving up to buy one together he is areally good artist so he wanted to take it onestep farther so if it were not for him i would be lost

Tim

Just got into modeling, have always wanted to, but when you were a kid the 5 bucks for a model could buy a model or a GI Joe something or other. I have put together a lot of GI Joe, Lego, some snap together models (no paint), as a child but I always gazed at the scale models of the old WWI, WWII, and Vietnam dioramas. One of my old memories of military scale models is of Miss. Jones and the modeling magazines one of her older nephews had left I'd look a that thing for hours. Now I have a job have kind of collected up paint and some tools over the years and have gotten into the hobby. So there is hope.

There are also the Gundum and some of the other toys out there that require assemble. I bought my cousins some of the Zodes (I think that was what they were) they were just like scale models. Except they hade wind up motors with them and when you had everything put together you could wind it up and it would walk.

I believe the model manufactures should offer some more modern military armor, but kids don't really have much military or action based influence anymore except from video games. So it is up to us to keep the hobby going. Get involved with your kids and their friends hobbies have shows like car shows at local places like churches. Boy and Girl scouts could be a place to get kids into the hobby. 4H is another good place. In the south we have what are called Bible School the week after school lets out. During the week the kids learn bible stories, socialize with other kids from other schools, and have craft time. For older kids models would be a great craft for the week, would be allot better than some of the bird house and wood burning we did when I was a kid.