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Forums - News / General |
For General modelling or hobby-related topics that are not covered by any other specific forum. Please keep to topics concerning the hobby. |
| Topics | 2916 |
| Messages | 21261 |
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| Subject: | Re: Law of Diminishing Returns? |  |
| Date: | Sep 23, 2005 |
| From: | Kip Rudge | |
I've never quite understood the wringing of hands by modelers when competition takes place among the manufacturers in this hobby. Basic economic lesson number one: competition is good.
Unfortunately I'm old enough to remember the 70s-80s when releases were rare and often not worth the wait. Tamiya and Italeri ruled and both were careful not to step on the other's toes. It was a gentlemanly, sedate atmosphere that nearly killed the hobby.
Now we have a hotly competitive business and the hobby has never been healthier. There is a correlation between the two.
Competition forces companies to get lean and mean and be responsive to the consumer market. This hobby isn't just about what Mr. Tamiya wants to build anymore. It's now about what you and the millions of other modelers want to buy and build.
Maybe some manufacturers will have to quit. That's simply economic Darwinism at work. Other companies will take their places. One has to beleive there is always a better idea out there just waiting to happen - it's human nature.
I never hear modelers pining away for Pyro, or Nichimo, or Frog, or Renwal, or Adams, or UPC, or MPC, or Aurora. Worrying that the hobby has climaxed and it's just a matter of time before the lights go out. It's no accident that if you look hard enough you can find just about any kit ever molded under somebody elses's logo. Molds never die, just management conglomerates.
Lighten up. Don't worry, be happy. There has never been a time in plastic modeling that compares to now. Yes it is altogether likely the competitive heat may melt some companies. But the same heat that melts, can also forge. So new companies will fill any void that occurs.
The simply fact is, those manufactures who adapt will survive and prosper. Those who don't will be stored in our closets for a long time. |
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