So, were there any race car announcements at the IPMS Nats?
Nov 4, 2019 17:32:39 GMT -8
starfighterace likes this
Post by pnance26 on Nov 4, 2019 17:32:39 GMT -8
Thanks for the info, as this has been an on going issue for many years. Nascar and Indy Car decided not to license plastic models period and go with 1/18 scale diecasts. I'm sure that they make way more that way as they're sold at the tracks, as well as for specific races. Then the companies sell them online to the rest of the collectors.
As for out of the Orient, the majors like Tamiya, Hasegawa, Fujimi, Beemax, etc are way to big to chance a lawsuit so they license their kits. Home cottage industries produce small limited runs of unlicensed cars, and for the most part are just over looked as it doesn't pay to go after them. I would assume that MFH doesn't bother with licensing either. While their kits cost a fortune, just how many do they sell to make it worth while for a car manufacture to file suit? And even if they did, they would have to file in the country that the business is in, which means hiring an outside law firm.
I do see the day when Licensing will put the majors out of business, and what's left of plastic modeling will be all cottage type of companies.
Joel
Back in the 90s, there were licensing agreements between NASCAR and Revell, AMT, Slixx, BlueRidge and all sorts of model manufacturers. NASCAR did all the licensing and got their cut. Suddenly, all of the guys who were contingency sponsors realized they were getting screwed and they demanded a separate licensing agreement. So now, any model manufacturer had to deal with NASCAR, the car manufacturer, the driver, the main sponsors, and the contingency guys. There just wasn't enough money to go around so they said screw it and reduced the number of products to a bare minimum. The last plastic model kit I have is a Jimmy Johns Ford Fusion from 2017.
As far as diecast, well, you can thank the late great Dale Earnhardt for the demise of that industry. Racing Champions, Hot Wheels, Revell, and ERTL were doing most of the diecast and you could buy them in 1/144, 1/64, 1/24, 1/18 scale in haulers, and cars. They were available at KMart, Toys 'R'Us, almost anywhere on the toy aisle. And each driver signed his own deal. The cost was around $20 for a 1/24th and $3 for a 1/64th. And they were all there!
Dale formed his own company called Sports Image and was the first to license everything right down to his copyrighted signature and door number. And if it didn't have the Sports Image logo on it, he wouldn't sign it! Along came a guy named Fred Wagenthals who owned a small company called Action that started doing 1/24th solely but in three lines that were standard, premium and exclusive. They talked EArnhardt into selling Sports Image to them for a shit load of money and a seat on the Action Board of Directors. In return, Earnhardt said he could deliver all the drivers who stood to make a lot more money from licensing their cars as an Action was going to be $39.95 and available by mail order. Earnhardt also realized that by running four different paint schemes during a year, he could sell four times as many diecast to his fans... that's how all those other paint schemes came out (Earnhardt realized his fans would "just have to have one of everything). Trouble is, Earnhardt couldn't deliver two drivers that were really important... Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte who wanted their stuff available to the "poorer" fans who couldn't afford $40 diecast. In fact, Terry sued over the release of a diecast of the car he drove at Suzuka because of infingment.
Long story short, greed got in the way. Action kept upping the price and while the cars featured posable steering, roof and hood flaps, opening hoods and trunks, fuel cells, window netting, etc, they also kept increasing in price. What was $40 became $59.95, then $69.95 and the Elites were bumping up against $100. And they had very little value as they were all produced in numbers of 100k. There is very little value in these "collectibles" with very few exceptions. I have boxes of diecast and plastic NASCAR models that have zero resale value. Trading cards are the same way. I have autographed cards from Earnhardt, Gordon, Elliott, Yarborough, Allison, Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, both Labontes, (15 cup Champions all total) and they are worth nothing. And the autographs are authentic because I got every one of them!
So that is why there are few options now... the licensing has gone through the roof and the cost of tooling up a new kit like the current Mercedes or Ferrari or Red Bull or McLaren is just too high. We were lucky when Mr. Tamiya was alive and didn't care about cost. it will never be the same!
