Need your opinions...

[ct ertz]

Hello,
My five year old made a simple Monitor, complete with turret and vents...no guns though, and it was colored green! Our 11 year old did a pretty good Fokker bi-plane with only a little help, so I think it depends on the kid. How soon would you be ready to market, I am looking for paper models to sell at our Heritage day event. The cub scouts love modeling, and we wanted something besides baked goods this year. I started a thread on it titled "Help". Help! My e-mail is [email protected]. I really want pirate stuff as that is the theme of the scouts twilight camp and we are promoting that, but any paper models would do.

[whulsey]

From what I've seen dealing with teens is they are very visual. So you need to hook them in quickly or they're out of here. But if it is something that grabs their interest, they can be amazingly focused.

[markcrowel]

Here's another type of construction. Still a box type model, but with the sides extending beyond the body center, and with flanges on the end for headlamps. This gives a lot of shape variation to an otherwise simple box model.

[THE DC]

I work with teens and pre-teens a lot. They are hard to satisfy! They've grown up in an era of mechanization of f/x that's hard for the older generation to realize!

The simplicity of your designs provides the benefit of quick, easy builds; excellent for limited attention spans!

On the other hand, the simplicity might lack the detail and visual complexity of a generation weaned on micromachines! They may be wanting the wheels separate, maybe even moving.

A previous poster stated that it depends upon the kid & I think that's correct. Identify your market from a specific population that wants quick builds and demands limited physical detail.

One more thing: your concerns about copyright are legitimate, but you could always seek out churches, youth groups, and the like to "personalize" the car to the organization.

Well that's my two cents...and it may not be worth that much! :p

The DC

[Gharbad]

I really like Douglas' idea of having a playset of some sort.
Building up a series of related things is always a nice motivator.

[markcrowel]

You are all providing a good collection of ideas. To span a few interests at once, what do you think of a "three-in-one" kit? Each car can be built one of three ways: showroom stock, low rider/donk, or for racing.

Bodies can be lines-and-angles designs; flap-edge cardboard with detailed preprinted surface coverings that can be glued on (separate colors and features for each version). Rolling wheels. 1/24th size.

[Art Deco]

Boys might be more intrigued if they were more mechanical. Maybe moving wheels powered by a simple rubber band engine. I think building the "powerplant" could be a draw.

If that proves popular, maybe you could design a chassis powered by a simple electric motor (probably pretty cheap when purchased in quantities). The chassis could work with a series of swappable bodies.

I know I prefer your vintage cars, but "kids these days" might be drawn to more to contemporary vehicles. I think low-riders or "donks" (I had to look that up! ) and racing cars are a good ideas. I would also consider trucks (commercial/industrial/4x4/firefighting) or other wheeled equipment. Maybe futuristic science fiction bodies would have appeal as well (think of the vehicle used in the film Aliens).

[markcrowel]

One thing we should ask ourselves: how do we know kids won't also like the older cars, until they see them? The cars built before the mid 1960's had more elaborate shapes than today's cars, and youngsters might find them interesting. My own interest in antique cars developed largely through model cars. Also, my father and grandfather shared their interest in old cars with me.

I will strongly consider the new stuff, but I'd also like young people to learn some automotive history. Any thoughts on this?

[dansls1]

Originally Posted by Mark Crowel

One thing we should ask ourselves: how do we know kids won't also like the older cars, until they see them? The cars built before the mid 1960's had more elaborate shapes than today's cars, and youngsters might find them interesting. My own interest in antique cars developed largely through model cars. Also, my father and grandfather shared their interest in old cars with me.

I will strongly consider the new stuff, but I'd also like young people to learn some automotive history. Any thoughts on this?

I think there's some merit to what you are saying, but I think the 'process' you are looking for is as follows:
1) Get them interested in models (probably a better chance of happening with inexpensive paper models than plastic, because not many kids build plastic anymore, plus paper models don't require any special tools at the basic level). IMHO this will be easier with subjects that are more interesting to their daily life - for elementary school / preteens this will be tuners / Nascar / and-or off-road trucks.
2) Once they are into car models, they'll look to expand and build things they haven't before. This is when the older cars will get the interest. Once you've built a race-car or 2 or tuner or 2, you'll be looking for something else. This could be older cars, hot rods - planes, etc.

Mind you - I could be wrong, but this just seems to be the method that's going to get the most kids into the models as I see it. I know when I started building models I loved any models of cars that I had hot wheels cars of as well, for example (I started building snap togethers around kindergarten / first grade - so I started early).

[Art Deco]

Originally Posted by Mark Crowel

One thing we should ask ourselves: how do we know kids won't also like the older cars, until they see them?

Well, you could survey the contemporary toy market, that should give you a good idea. Large toy manufacturers spend a great deal of money on market research. However, I fear that what happened to the sales of Matchbox after Hotwheels came out is a good indication ... :(

Perhaps your initial line-up could include some differing types of models. You would soon find out from sales and customer interest which types have the most potential. Is there any reason you have to focus on one era or type? There may be some variation in taste among your potential customers, maybe some kids will prefer older cars, with others going for more contemporary styles.

Also, I think you should consider your goal. If it's to sell a lot of models, then determine what your customers want, and focus on that. If your goal is to introduce kids to the charm of vintage autos, go with what you think will most capture their interest.