Scale Model Hobby Hotter Than Ever
Thank the Pandemic for Surging Sales, and concurrently Supply and Demand Issues
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioSports.com

With a return to normalcy, many diversions will disappear – but don’t expect a resurgence in assembling plastic model kits to take a nosedive. In fact, industry insiders believe the COVID-19 pandemic has helped shine a light on a hobby which baby boomers embraced in the 1960s.

Assembling, gluing, painting and detailing scale models – 1/24 and 1/25 scale plastic automobiles, for example – is once again one of the fastest-growing hobbies, with global interest amongst everyone from pre-teens to great-grandparents. With the pandemic causing shutdowns and creating leisure time, many have turned to a hobby which offers peace of mind, according to Aaron Skinner, senior editor at FineScale Modeler (est. 1982), the hobby’s leading publication.

“It’s not only a good way to de-stress at the end of the day, but it’s also good therapy in that it gives you something to focus on instead of day-to-day issues,” Skinner said. “My mother died seven years ago and she was a big reason why I got into modelling. She encouraged me, brought me into the hobby. So when she passed away, I took two models and built them straight out of the box, and it was the best therapy in the world.

“Modelling is a solitary enterprise, something you can do at home,” added Skinner, who has assembled models since age 6. “You don’t need a lot of space. By and large you can get your supplies online, so you don’t need access to a (bricks and mortar) store. It’s a hobby that lends itself to the pandemic shutdowns and stay-at-home orders.”

Count this scribe amongst the many who have returned to the hobby. As a pre-teen, I would spend hours assembling horror and comic book models – everything from Planet of the Apes to Batman – as well as classic cars, including everyone’s favourite, the ’57 Chevy. Last winter, I made an initial investment of about $400 in order to put together a well-stocked, well-tooled scale model corner, complete with desk, lighting, paint, brushes, glues, thinners, knives, sanding sticks, tweezers, part holders, tape and a cutting mat.

Today, I enjoy assembling trucks and automobiles from the 1970s, including 18-wheelers with twin CB antennas, and heavy metal police vehicles we refer to as land boats. It’s an ode to my obsession with two-way radio communications commonly referred to as CB radio. I also appreciate the big tail fins and sharp edges of late-1950s, early-1960s limousines and Cadillacs, and am on the lookout for just such a plastic model resembling those automobiles seen in the movie, Godfather II.

Model Boom, Shortages

With families embracing the scale model hobby, sales of plastic models, tools and supplies have seen their biggest boom since the late-1960s and early-1970s. But along with the new popularity of this hobby comes supply shortages – and for a number of reasons.

Chicago-headquartered Revell USA, emerging from bankruptcy in 2018 and one of the industry’s largest model kit manufacturers, reported it sold more than one million kits averaging $24 US each in 2019, representing about $30 million US in total revenue. But by March 2020, sales were almost 100 per cent higher than one year previous. With the pandemic continuing, it’s safe to say those sales continued to climb.

Manufacturers have struggled to meet the world-wide demand for plastic models. For example, Airfix – the UK’s oldest manufacturer of scale plastic models – recently saw its stocks run dry for the first time in the company’s 71-year history, prompting one seller to airfreight 10,000 Spitfire airplane kits from a factory in India.

“To say there’s a shortage (of models and supplies) is an understatement,” said Cheryl Flood, owner of Kitchener, Ontario-headquartered Hobby and Toy Central (est. 1989). “I must buy very far in advance to meet demand. The pandemic has given the hobby a whole-new life.”

Flood said the innovation of computer games and screen time saw the hobby industry take “a massive hit. But now we’re selling more tools and accessories for models than we’ve ever seen in 30 years.” Flood estimates sales of hobby items have increased by about 30 per cent since the pandemic began. “We have a surge of new young people that gives life to the hobby business, which has been struggling for years,” she said.

In fact, Flood said even long-time, hard-core modellers have “taken it up a notch, buying more quality tools, more masking tape, more weathering and trying different types of glues – I’ve never sold so many glue types in the 30-plus years I’ve done this.”

The pandemic has seen many bricks and mortar retailers of all types – including hobby shops – shut their doors for good. But online sales of models and supplies have reached unprecedented heights over the past two years.

New Jersey-based MegaHobby.com boasts “the largest selection of hobbies on the web” with over 40,000 items from hundreds of manufacturers. At its Facebook page, MegaHobby recently posted a letter from its distributor, Stevens International, outlining the “global situation affecting the hobby industry.”

The letter outlined supply shortages stemming from trouble sourcing core products, as well as vessels – for example, aluminum spray cans – used in packaging. Raw material prices, as well as shipping and freight costs, have escalated, too, and shipping lead time from abroad causes shortages.

In fact, many model manufacturers have pulled staff from other departments and have hired extra staff in order to help meet demands.

“I’ve heard that (retailers) are selling faster than they can get products in their stores, in particular supplies, including paint,” Skinner said. “Our readership has picked up over the last 12-16 months, and we’re getting a lot more questions from existing and new readers.”

What’s Hot

Leaf through the pages of FineScale Modeler, and you’ll recognize a large presence of military heavy equipment – planes, tanks, ships – as well as Sci-Fi models. While classic cars and airplanes dominated the hobby during the 1960s and ‘70s, today just about anything goes – but with a heavy emphasis on war-time planes, tanks and ships.

“We sell a lot of tanks and planes – WW II, more than anything else,” said Flood, “but there is also a huge market for Gundam (Japanese military science fiction).

Skinner recognizes the same trend. “There’s a whole world out there of Gundam – robots, popular in Japanese anime and manga. That’s enormously popular with the younger crowd. It’s wildly popular. For a lot of the younger people, it’s things they seen on TV and in movies – Sci-Fi and fantasy. Star Wars is always popular.”

Yet Skinner said once you get someone into a hobby store or onto an online store, they’ll get bit by the hobby bug and often times will “build just about anything.” However, he encourages builders to follow their passion: if you love Captain Kirk, then build Star Trek vessels.

“Before the pandemic, everyone wanted the European cars – the hot Lamborghini,” added Flood. “Now, the hobby is enjoying a whole new era.”

With that comes a hobby which, for decades, has seen much-improved kits, thanks to computer imaging. There are many more choices in models and supplies, too, in particular with paints and glues.

“Kits are so well engineered today,” said Skinner. “You’ll hear people say that the hobby is dying and that not enough young people are building plastic models. But I look around at what’s available today, how many kits are available, different versions of vehicles that were never available before, the variety of supplies. It’s a great time to be a modeler.”

Putting Pieces Together

• There are a myriad of resources to assist you in entering and enjoying the hobby of assembling model kits. FineScale Modeler magazine FineScale.com from Kalmbach Media is the hobby’s leading publication. Kalmbach also offers free how-to videos, as well as specialty publications on everything from getting started to airbrushing. New Jersey-based MegaHobby.com boasts the largest selection of hobby resources available for purchase online, and also offers free how-to videos, including this video on purchasing tools, and this video on getting into the hobby.
• Think ahead: read the instructions accompanying your model kits, envision your finished models and then stock up on required paints so you don’t have to put projects on hold.
• It’s important to find a comfortable place at home that is conducive to productivity while assembling and painting scale models. A desk with proper surface space, a comfortable, supportive chair and good lighting will ensure that your modelling corner will help you produce your best work. Natural lighting is best. When selecting a lamp, choose one which provides daylight-balanced white light at a comfortable brightness, and which diffuses illumination evenly across the desk surface. An LED lamp with a flexible arm and head to direct light exactly where you need it is a good choice. Don’t strain your eyes nor your posture.
• Find a safe, secure location at home for displaying your completed models. Serious hobbyists build or assemble multi-level shelving to show off their finished projects.
• Remember: practice makes perfect. Rather, the more you assemble plastic model kits, the easier it becomes. With realistic features often desired, and weathering/distressing sometimes added for authenticity, perfection isn’t always the goal. Above all else, enjoy the hobby.
• Here’s a list of sources for model kits and supplies:

AVF Hobbies, London avfrc.com
Broughdale Hobby, London broughdalehobby.ca
Dean’s Hobby Stop, Michigan deanshobbystop.com
FineScale Modeler finescale.com
Hobby and Toy Central, London/Kitchener/Mapleview/Mississauga hobbyandtoycentral.com
MegaHobby, New Jersey megahobby.com
Model Cave, Detroit modelcave.com
Wheels and Wings, Toronto wheelswingshobbies.com