Airfix and kit building rediscovered ... again!

By: Tom
On: 14/09/2009 16:14:06
In: Interesting Sites
Comments: 0

Just a few days after my rallying cry on behalf of creativity (and particularly the tangible kind), I stumbled on this post. Another gratifying story of someone rediscovering kit building and appreciating that it is one of the few activities that can bridge generations.

http://www.speedcommunications.com/blogs/wadds/2009/09/14/airfix-keeping-its-brand-promise-30-years-on/

James May's adventures with Toy Stories!

By: Tom
On: 03/09/2009 17:14:16
In: Interesting Sites
Comments: 43

I found an article published on a small US web site and it warmed my cockles to the core! It made me think back a few years to 2001 when I first got back into this hobby building and then selling kits and accessories.

A central belief, upon which my decision to enter the kit retail industry was largely based, was that human beings are very tactile creatures: we are naturally drawn to touch, feel, handle, sculpt and mould things. We are naturally drawn to creating things through the magical marriage of our minds and hands and that flame will, I hope, never ever be completely quenched. It was to do my bit to try and keep that fire burning that I got involved. Unfortunately we are also a little like magpies being somewhat susceptible to shiny new things and it is these things that have been distracting us.

Where am I leading with this? It is not exactly a secret that there are people out there that think this hobby (and other hobbies that involve actually making something) is on its last legs. I begged to differ when I started up and I still do now. The difference now, 8 years later, is that the pendulum appears to be starting to swing back to craft hobbies and scale modelling and there is plenty of evidence out there to prove it. I have four examples that have crossed my path recently that I would like to share with you.

Read all of James May's adventures with Toy Stories!

Daily Telegraph offer!

By: Tom
On: 02/09/2009 19:53:58
In: Interesting Sites
Comments: 0

I suppose sharing this info is a foot-shooting exercise for a model retailer like me... Oh what the heck! Take look at this offer from the Daily Telegraph in the UK, it seems like a no-brainer to me. Not a bad broadsheet either.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/promotions/6122066/Free-Spitfire-and-Hurricane-model-planes.html

Another photo album from the US Nationals...

By: Tom
On: 01/09/2009 20:06:17
In: Interesting Sites
Comments: 0

There are some good pictures here but I think I prefer the quality of the pics published on the Hyperscale web site that included on a post last week.

http://www.empirecitydecals.com/ipms-nationals-2009-gallery/ipmsusa-nats-2009-day-3-4/

Two great videos of a tour around a kit factory

By: Tom
On: 30/08/2009 18:54:51
In: Interesting Sites
Comments: 0

Scott T Hards, based in Japan, has built up an enviable reputation as a first class model retailer. I have a lot of respect for him and even more so now that he has published a couple of videos on YouTube that has answered a whole load of questions about how kits are produced. While my main preoccupation is selling and making kits, I am also fascinated by the manufacturing process. Unfortunately there is precious little information released into the public sphere; however in these two videos Scott has gone an awful long way to easing my desire for knowledge!
They follow Scott on a visit to a Japanese based manufacturer of really high class car kits: Model Factory Hiro. They are quite expensive and are limited production runs, however that is the price one has to pay if one wants the level of detail and accuracy these types of manufacturers provide. If you are interested in buying a kit from them, I'm afraid we don't stock them, but Scott's store does; it is called Hobby Link Japan. Not sure what the shipping charges are to the UK but it is probably going to pale into insignificance when compared to what you may get!
Anyway, below are the links to the videos. Hope you get as much out of them as I did. Thanks Scott.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpH3mGRkTjw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqyK6u5ZTmA