Friends,
I do not share these posts to FaceBook, mostly because I have received more than the usual push-back about posting ‘personal’ information on that cite. That said, I have never kept these sort of things from you, so, if you are interested…
I have been watching the industry change since I started TMD 25 years ago. For the most part, it has been marvelous. This truly is a golden age for scale modeling — especially with the rise of 3D printing and laser scanning. Now, with AI, I have no doubt things will continue to change, and even faster than before Now, don’t worry, this isn’t going to be about 3D printing. I’m passed that. No, it is about the cost of these new products and the aging population of modelers.
I have already decided to just keep doing what I do until the sales fall below the point where I can pay the bills. God willing, that will still be some time in the future. But, as I look at how old we are all getting, and the way my stash keeps growing, I am starting to wonder why I keep making things for all these new kits. They have gotten so good that, for the most part, they don’t need aftermarket. But they also cost a lot of money. So I started thinking, why not just focus on the stash from this point forward?
So, this is exactly what I am thinking: I will start working to fill out my product line for those kits you guys all know you have squirreled away. Maybe I can even motivate a few more of you to join me in my push to start building again. I certainly want to get back to building. I miss it. But I want to use all the cool stuff Karl and others helped me make these past 2 1/2 decades, not spend retirement money on a new kit I will still want to detail and modify. Maybe it’s just me, but this is my current thinking. Build what you have, save the cash for retirement (it’s just around the corner).
So, I am going to start filling in the missing pieces in my current line, but I will not be working that much on new kits — unless they fill holes previously missing in the modeling world. This means, if it is just the Nth rendition of the ‘whatever’ kit, I am probably going to ignore it. But, if it is new, and never kitted in plastic, or not kitted since the technologies changed (slide molding, etc), I ‘might’ have a look. What I will be doing instead of watching all the new bling is focusing on what has been done and trying to actually build and paint it.
If this works — cool. If not — still cool. It’s just what I want to do. I hope it will be enough that I can continue to serve the modeling community but, if not, then, hey! Every soldier has to muster out sometime, and I know I’m approaching that time. I just want to keep on keeping on until that time and not ‘retire on active duty.’
Please, feel free to share any thoughts you may have in the comments below. Otherwise,
Ya’ll take care and stay safe.
Joe