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  #11  
Old 05-14-2013, 05:10 PM
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Seascape Seascape is offline
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Diderick,

Does this also mean the the Makit Brussels Marketplace project is also gone for good?

Regards,

Fred
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  #12  
Old 05-15-2013, 01:29 AM
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Diderick A. den Bakker Diderick A. den Bakker is offline
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Fred: not necessarily, and I certainly hope not. All depends on the original publisher / designer...
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  #13  
Old 05-15-2013, 10:32 AM
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I also agree with your initial formulation., Diderick.

However, there are after-market items that can also help the industry, just like plastic modelers do... barrels, laser-cuts, wheels, canopies... even photo etched parts. But again, and to kill my own statement, those are made by anybody else, and not the designer himself.

It is a complex matter, but it has to evolve.


Quote:
Originally Posted by John Bowden View Post
I must admit that though I have a large selection of printed models I'm still adverse to cutting up these "books".
I have no qualms cutting up my digital models as I can reprint a messed up part, and always have a copy (unless it's not backed up) to look over at any time I like.
I do trend to treat my printed copies as more "eye candy art" as opposed to something that is destroyed buy my amatuerish attempts at building a model.

john
I totally hear you, John (I thought I was the only odd guy who wanted to buy 2 copies of a model to save one for posterity! )... or like Isaac (you almost have a whole store there, my friend!)

Let's keep on cutting paper, and make little works of art supporting our friends who publish and sell models.
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  #14  
Old 05-15-2013, 01:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diderick A. den Bakker View Post
Fred: not necessarily, and I certainly hope not. All depends on the original publisher / designer...
Glad to hear that. Would still like to get my hands on one of those models.

Fred
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  #15  
Old 05-16-2013, 01:00 AM
Hathaway Veteran Hathaway Veteran is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diderick A. den Bakker View Post
May 2013: new developments in the world of paper modelling.

Small world, niche market.
Since I found myself in the small world of paper modelling in 2001 much has changed. Shops selling paper models were virtually extinct; the printed catalogues of PMI and Moduni were mines of information unavailable elsewhere. Computer and internet were only just begining their advance. Buying via email by means of credit card and Paypal were yet unheard of. Had eBay been thought of yet? When I started my internet shop in 2003 (www.zeistbouwplaten.nl) I was the first in the Netherlands.
Contacts with especially East European publishers were often extremely difficult. Their very basic sites were in their own languages only; mails or letters in German or English were often simply not answered. In the pre-Euro period payments and Sales tax compensation were expensive and complicated.
My small internet shop filled a definite need. Numbers of visitors grew quickly to well over 25,000 per year. My interest in unusual (architectural) models drew attention from abroad as well; its being part bilingual certainly helped.
In spite of all this, paper modelling remains a very small world, with few customers and small turnovers. Only a handful of the larger publishers can make a living out of paper models - internet shops and designers are nearly all hobbyists who do not depend on this for their income.

Brief success; fast decline.
From ca. 2000 onwards we had a real revival of paper modelling in the Netherlands. Google, the internet and the introduction of the Euro were of crucial importance. Shows and fairs played their part. Sales via internet shops went up sharply. After these few very successful years sales are now declining steadily. In recent years several large players have gone bankrupt or stopped business, both in Europe and in America. Most of the causes for this seem to be related with the fast growing importance of computer and internet in our lives:

· Nowadays virtually evey publisher has his own website and internet shop. Understandable: that way they maximize their own profits. Some of the larger ones even refuse to trade sites like mine. Not always really good for buyers - these sites are often hardly user friendly...
· Many models are now sold sale via eBay, generally at the usual shop prices.
· Numbers of visitors / buyers at fairs (at least here in Holland) are decreasing.
· Numbers of visitors to my own site are also decreasing. Not surprisingly: Google has made it easy to find and access many more sources than ten years ago.
· Total numbers of buyers are also decreasing. This hobby has much to do with nostalgia - and older buyers fade away, whereas very few younger customers take their places. The same process is going on in the world of plastic modelling and model railways.
· Perhaps most important of all: the daily increasing amount of freely downloadable models on the internet from sources all over the world. Many are of very poor and amateuristic quality, but they are free. It is sad to realise that once disappointed by such an experience, a beginner may never want to buy a 'real' model anymore.
· Most Frequently Asked Question on various forums: 'is there a free model available of ...?'
· There are large numbers of sites offering illegal downloads of even the best known publishers for just a few dollars. They even charge for models available free of charge elsewhere on the internet.
· International parcel post has become ridiculously expensive.
· The European economical crisis probably also has its influence.

These developments in the land of paper modelling are inevitable, and are similar to those in the world of film and pop music. A new film or CD has hardly left the studio before illegal copies and downloads are sold all over the world. A pop group can no longer depend on the sales of a new CD. Similarly it has become virtually impossible for small commercial publishers (like Zeist Bouwplaten / Paper Trade) to bring out new models. I expect larger publishers, too, will be affected by the same problems in the near future.

New directions: digital sales.
The world of pop music is pointing the way. You don't buy a CD in a shop anymore - you pasy for a legal download via the internet. No more printed paper models via the mail - you will get a paid download, or a CDRom through the mail. No more professional printing costs and postage - just get a good printer, suitable paper and plenty of ink cartridges. Just like printing your owen photo's.

This approach is already taking shape. ECardmodels.com in the USA is a fast growing phenomeneon, with guaranteed legal material only. A growing number of designers and publishers are already offering their products this way.

Consequences for this internet shop.
From the above you will understand that it is quickly becoming unprofitable for me to take even a small selection of new publication (and the often expensive detail sets that are becoming ever more popular) in stock. The market is simply too small for that. I will gradually limit myself to publishers who still 'sell well', to unusual publications which may still be difficult to find, and to old or second hand items. Some of my own publications (Zeist Bouwplaten, Paper Trade) are already available via ECardmodels.com; as models become sold out I may also to consider the CDRom option.

I also plan to use this place to draw your attention to newly issued and other models I come across on the internet. A complete review will be impossible - especially in Russia and the Baltic states, new publishers seem to spring up like mushrooms. I will make a personal selection of items that interest me. I will mention local prices, which do not include sometimes very high p&p. I will be happy to help people who have difficultu ordering direct from such publishers - of course at a reasonable mark up.
Diderick,

As a past customer, I can identify very clearly with what you write. Actually your comments fit a long discussed topic with friends here in the US about the decline of the walk-in hobby shop.

However, let me first add that the value of your service is being able to obtain the unobtainable and hard to find items - in my case from here in the US. You were able to obtain many Eastern European items including the Areva nuclear plant item long after it was released (as an example). You are also keen to provide news and trends. This is far more valuable as an Internet business than wading through the obtuse GPM-like websites.

Moving on, I see three points from what you (and others have commented on here) affecting paper model acquisition.

1. Personal economics - worldwide financial uncertainty (including heavy taxation) here and abroad affects personal spending

2. Changes in personal family situation - I find that as we age, the need to care for elderly parents can result in financial outlay. This results in diversion of hobby funds to care but also results in reduced time for modeling

3. Worldwide postage - I am finding that postage from here to the world and from the world to here in the US is borderline outrageous. I have no difficulty pointing the USPS as a culprit, but I have little say-so. Looking at publishers in Eastern Europe, whether the goods are bought directly from them or from "middlemen", the cost can be more than the model, which I would argue is anti-business in addition to preventing me from buying printed matter, which I prefer.

Ok, No. 3 is long sentence, but what does that mean? If the trend is toward download, then the upfront cost is high. Up-to-date computer, inkjet or laser printer that is affordable to the individual, software for editing, continued outlay for ink or toner cartridges. Who is paying the price here?

From a different perspective, I see distinct differences in paper modeling between US, Czech and Polish modelers. The later go to great lengths to customize, paint (literally) and modify the basic paper kit to what might as well be considered a multi-media model. I still enjoy building a paper model from the printed packet as is, but I also have to ask myself about the future of this path. I make model in many media (because I just can't sit still and love anything mechanical) and I note for plastic, the direction is resin after market parts. And where does the best resin come from, why Eastern Europe.

If I follow the aftermarket reasoning, I have to ask where are the customization options for paper models? GPM comes to mind as advancing laser cut items, but what about etched brass? Then there are wooden wheels. Albeit crude compared to resin, these are signs of a changing hobby, or is it?

I think modelers need to voice their interests by voting with their purchasing dollars. For example, I am asking the question why should I buy something printed if the color is all off? What if I want different colors? These are just features of customization that just may be driving the hobby in the future.

Lastly there is news about new products and offering service to deliver models. I can find any number of English model magazines that have news about plastic, resin and wood kits. I think I can read some non-English publications that offer news about paper/card models, but they are printed and costly to translate. I would suggest that news of paper models is a key commodity for an Internet business.

Anyway, great food for thought here!

PS: A short story. I grew up where .50 cents US bought a small plastic model. In the mid 50's Revell issued an extraordinary of an atomic powerplant. It was priced like $3.00 then - very expensive for me, couldn't afford. Many years later I bought one for $500, but had to sell for medical expenses. Now can't afford. Mint in the box, they go for like $1500, but I suspect more. Then I discover the Areva paper kit and bought (2) for nothing close. The detail is equivalent, and you get a cool instruction book on reactors just like the old Revell kit.....
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