PRODUCT PUZZLE - Model Retailer

Transcription

What’s Selling: products that make you the most
FEBRUARY 2010
11 all-new product reviews
RESOURCES FOR SUCCESSFUL HOBBY RETAILING
SOLVING
PRODUCT PUZZLE
THE
Retailer stories about adding product lines, increasing business
The top 10
hobby stories
of 2009
PLUS
Vol. 36 • Issue 2
What the Treasury
Department is doıng
to help your business
www.ModelRetailer.com
• 2009's hottest products
• Former R/C dealer makes movie
• Horizon names new train chief
• The Edge: Tinkering in America
!! "
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ON THE COVER
What’s selling: products that make you the most
FEBRUARY 2010
11 all-new product reviews
RESOURCES FOR SUCCESSFUL HOBBY RETAILING
SOLVING
THE
PRODUCT PUZZLE
Retailer stories about adding product lines, increasing business
What the Treasury
Department is doıng
to help your business
The top 10
hobby stories
of 2009
PLUS
Volume 36,
Number 2
ModelRetailer.com
Visit our Web site for these bonus
Product Lab reviews:
• 1:25 “Scooby Doo” Mystery
Machine Polar Lights
• Cessna T-50 “Bamboo
Bomber” Czech Model
• Small World expansion
sets Days of Wonder
Plus the latest news, business
articles and much more!
PRODUCTS
F E AT U R E S
14 16
special report – The tried, true and new
18
industry watch – the top 10 stories of 2009
FIRST LOOK
Our first impression of seven
new products:
• Revell Proto CX Ultra-micro Heli RTF
• E-flite mCX Tandem Rescue Heli RTF
• Encore Models 1:72 “Blue Max” Pfalz
D.III Econokit
• Bachmann HO-scale Deluxe Salty
with moving eyes
• HobbyBoss 1:48 F-111A Aardvark
26
• Airfix 1:72 Bf 109 G-6
• Micro Engineering HOn3 Turnout
22
• Mayfair Games Steam
• Reaper Miniatures The Dark Maiden
• Life-Like Stock Car Thunder Set
26
32
40
42
48
50
radio control
model railroading
32
MOdels
DIE-CAST
IN THE NEXT ISSUE
Signs say a lot more about
your store than just where
products are and their prices.
Model Retailer explores how
to make good signs.
Want to grow your customer base?
Consider adding new items as well as
expanding on the categories you already
carry.
The last year of the decade leaves no
doubt as to just how global the industry
has become.
20
Business basics – tough but not impossible
Much of the government-backed economic
relief has focused on big business, but you
can get that loan if you need to.
PRODUCT LAB
We review four new products:
• Woodland Scenics Scenery Clinic
42
• Nuremberg show preview
• Former R/C dealer makes movie
• Horizon names new train chief
• The Edge: Tinkering in America
Figuring out your store’s
product mix and balancing customer expectations
can be a challenging but
rewarding puzzle to solve.
Cover photo/Bill Zuback
specialty
Slot cars
DEPARTMENTS
6
8
EditoR’S note Don’t guess; ask them.
INDUSTRY NEWS The What’s Selling 2009 top
picks, an R/C retailer makes a movie,
Athearn’s new director, and more.
W H AT ’ S S E L L I N G
What products or product lines are giving
you the best margins, and what are you
doing to capitalize on them?
28
36
44
radio control
model railroading
MOdels/ DIE-CAST
MODEL RETAILER (ISSN 0191-6904, USPS 395-730) is published monthly, except two issues in October, by Kalmbach Publishing Co.,
21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612. Periodicals postage paid at Waukesha, Wis., and additional offices.
Postmaster: Send address changes to Model Retailer, 21027 Crossroads Circle, P. O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI, 53187-1612. Canada Publication Mail Agreement # 40010760.
MODEL RETAILER FEBRUARY 2010
EDITOR’S NOTE
by HAL MILLER
EDITORIAL OFFICE
21027 Crossroads Circle, Box 1612
Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
Phone: (262) 796-8776 Fax: (262) 796-1383
Web site: www.ModelRetailer.com
E-mail: staff@modelretailer.com
Don’t guess; ask them
EDITORIAL AND ART
Editor Hal Miller
We spend a lot of time talking about cus-
hands or an informal customer conversa-
Associate Editors Sue Brettingen,
Tim Kidwell
tomer service and having the right prod-
tion, but a hard-numbers kind of thing?
Editorial Assistant Jenny Maaske
uct mix in a store. We even have a feature
on the latter topic on page 16, but don’t
numbers on the bottom of their receipts
go there just yet.
that customers can call and rate their expe-
The basics of the former are simple: be
Art Director Tom Ford
For years, I’ve seen restaurants put phone
Photographers William Zuback,
Jim Forbes
Publisher Terry Thompson
rience to win a free dinner or other prize.
ADVERTISING
Many also have customer comment cards
Ad Sales Manager Rick Albers (x652)
on their tables. Most of these businesses
Ad Sales Representative Aaron Jors (x537)
have customer service and what the eating
Ad Services Representative Sue Hollinger-Yustus
public likes down to a science, primarily due
Production Coordinator Diane Olp
to the answers they get from these polling
K ALMBACH PUBLISHING CO.
methods.
President Gerald B. Boettcher
Why not do something similar in your
Executive Vice-President Charles R. Croft
store? You could have, say, a 5-question poll
V. P. Editorial Kevin P. Keefe
at the checkout that customers could fill
out quickly before leaving. Make it easy for
V. P. Advertising Scott Stollberg
them to answer — multiple choice is always
V. P. Marketing Daniel R. Lance
Ad Director Scott Bong
good — and ask them about product catGood customer service means you’re
always listening. Like this guy.
egories they’d like to see, if they’d like to
Corporate Art Director Maureen M. Schimmel
Managing Art Director Michael Soliday
see more of an existing category and what
items, how their overall shopping experi-
courteous, be helpful, go a little bit above
ence was and maybe even collect an e-mail
and beyond to make a customer for life.
address.
Trying to figure out the combination
you collect a solid database of e-mail
necessarily so easy. You know what sells
addresses, there are a lot of online survey-
in your store and what doesn’t, and you’re
ing tools you can take advantage of at
constantly racking your brain to figure out
reasonable cost to collect more data. Plus,
what to bring in next, and what must go to
there’s the added benefit of the customer
make room for it, and wondering if the new
feeling like his voice is being heard.
rid of the old thing.
There’s enough uncertainty in business
these days. Help yourself by eliminating
How about taking a poll? Not a show of
Assistant Circulation Manager Janice Zimdars
TO ADVERTISE
Toll-free: (888) 558-1544 x652, x537
Which leads you to the next level: once
of customer service and product mix isn’t
thing will sell well enough to have gotten
Production Manager Annette Wall
what you can.
TO SUBSCRIBE
Toll-free: (800) 558-1544 x818
CUSTOMER SERVICE
(Weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central time)
Toll-free: (800) 558-1544 x818
E-mail: tss@kalmbach.com
Subscription rates: Distributed free to qualified hobby
shop owners and managers. Others – U.S.: $85/year. International, payable in U.S. funds: $85/year, surface mail.
© 2009 by Model Retailer, division of Kalmbach Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Title and tagline registered
as trademarks. Model Retailer is an associate member of Game Manufacturers Association, International
Model-Hobby Manufacturers Association, Kite Trade
Association, National Retail Hobby Stores Association
and Radio Control Hobby Trade Association.
Printed in the U.S.A.
Send your comments to Hal Miller at hmiller@modelretailer.com.
INDUSTRY
NEWS
BY THE MODEL RETAILER STAFF
Best-selling products of 2009
Every month, retailers across the U.S. and
Canada share information with Model
Retailer about their stores’ top-selling
products. The results are published in the
magazine’s What’s Selling columns.
The products and companies that follow
are those that appeared most frequently in
the January–December 2009 What’s Selling
sections. The results have been tallied by the
Model Retailer staff, and here are the results:
The Edge
Product of the Year
For three years, Traxxas has come out on top
as a best-seller in R/C. This year is no different, except the reigning king, the T-Maxx has
been dethroned by its short-course cousin,
the 1:10 Slash. This year has been a banner
year for short-course style trucks, and Traxxas
has played this one beautifully, sponsoring
the Traxxas Off-Road Championship series
and offering plenty of licensed products too!
Traxxas Slash
And now the rest, by category:
Model Railroad
No hobby store
in Spamtown
And no, we’re not talking about
your e-mail inbox. Austin, Minn.,
may still be home to Hormel, the
manufacturer of the processed
meat product, but it doesn’t have
a hobby store anymore.
Marty’s Hobbycraft closed for
good in November 2009 due to
damage from a January fire. The
owner, Marty Miland, had run the
store since 1986. According to
the Austin Daily Herald, there had
been a hobby store in town for
the last 50 years, but no more.
Fortunately, Spam continues
to be churned out at the rate of
44,000 cans an hour.
Athearn Genesis FP45
Lionel O-gauge The Polar Express set
HO scale: Led by products such as its Genesis
FP45 and standard SW1500, Athearn was the
top vote-getter in the scale. It wasn’t just locomotives that got the manufacturer to the top;
it was also its now-discontinued Blue Box kits
and ready-to-roll cars.
at each end of the year. However, Aristo-Craft
gave Lionel a run for the latter’s money, as
its large-scale track and rolling stock made a
prominent showing.
THIS MONTH’S BIG NUMBER
60%
In a poll conducted by The
Foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, nearly six out of every
10 people said that they’d
never made or built a toy.
Shocking? Yes, but without
an earlier poll to compare it
to, it’s hardly ironclad.
Atlas N-scale SD60
N scale: Atlas takes top honors in this scale
through the combined efforts of its locomotives, rolling stock and track. Motive power like
the GP9 and tank cars showed up a number of
times over the year. Kato proved a worthy challenger, however.
Other scale: Always strong in the category,
Lionel again proved to be the winner with its
FasTrack and The Polar Express sets, especially
Radio Control
Vehicles: Traxxas 1:10 Slash (Product of the
Year)
Aircraft: If there was
any doubt that E-flite is
on top of the micro-heli
craze, this should put it
to rest. While competitors took a shot at toppling this mighty micro,
the mCX was a favorite
E-flite mCX
among consumers, and
flew off store shelves. This was also the first
product that E-flite offered as either Readyto-Fly with a 4-channel controller included, or
as Bind-N-Fly, allowing customers to use their
own DSM2 compatible radios.
Boats: It must be something in the water,
because Traxxas has snagged another win in
What’s so
Great
Traxxas Blast
Models/Die-Cast
Vehicles: Of course, Erwin Rommel, the
Desert Fox, didn’t really speed a dune
buggy over the sands of the Sahara, but
that’s what made this kit so much fun; well,
that, and the bleached skeletons included
with the model. Designer Tom Daniel
included some authentic details, including
about
advertising in
a Kalmbach
Revell’s 1:25 Rommel’s Rod
German Afrika Korps markings and a Mercedes engine and front.
Aircraft: Estes has been producing model
rocket kits, engines and accessories since
1958. The company’s name comes up time
after time in Model Retailer’s What’s Selling
survey as a popular mainstay among aircraft model products.
Magazine?
• Quality audience of
loyal readers and subscribers
• Incredible subscriber
renewal rates
• Always searching for
more new customers
• Trusted magazines give
credibility to advertisers
• Ad sizes and sections to
fit all budgets
• Readers spend
quality time with our
magazines – ads included
ADV-ADH-MD10154-MRH
2009, with the Blast. Fast and easy to drive,
the Blast was solid on fun, and R/C boaters
like to know that they are going to have a
good time right out of the box.
That’s great news for you
when you advertise in
Kalmbach magazines.
1-888-558-1544
www.Kalmbach.com
INDUSTRY NEWS
Americans don’t tinker
anymore, do they?
In a recent poll of 1,000 U.S. adults
sponsored by Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs (NBT), The Foundation of
the Fabricators & Manufacturers
Association, more than a quarter
of those polled have never made
or built even one item from a list
of eight common projects ranging
from a dollhouse or piece of furniture to a fence or flower box.
TOY ASSEMBLY TOO HARD
The staff of Barston’s Childs
Play in the Washington-Baltimore area assemble many
of the toys they sell, since
parents get frustrated doing
it themselves. — Hillary Stout,
“With new toys, more assembly
required,” The New York Times
“Many Americans simply do not
work with their hands anymore,
whether it’s to tackle a hobby for
pleasure or to handle a necessary
household repair,” said Gerald
Shankel, president of NBT.
However, a Nov. 13, 2009 story
in The Wall Street Journal titled
“Tinkering makes comeback amid
crisis” tells a different tale.
“The American tradition of tinkering — the spark for inventions
from the telephone to the Apple
computer — is making a comeback, boosted by renewed interest in hands-on work amid the
economic crisis and falling prices
of high-tech tools and materials,”
writes the WSJ’s Justin Lahart.
The claim is bolstered by these
numbers: SparkFun Electronics,
an electronic parts dealer, expects
sales around $10 million this year,
up from $6 million in 2008. Make
magazine, full of DIY articles, has
grown from 22,000 subscribers
in 2005 to more than 100,000
now. Its annual “Maker Faire” in
San Mateo, Calif., attracted 75,000
people this year.
Which is it and what does it
mean? Only time will tell. Two
things are certain: hand wringing is not the answer and like it
or not, the word “hobby” now
encompasses more than the traditional models, railroads and R/C.
10
RMS Titanic; USS Constitution
Ships: Two Revell models emerged as top-selling products for 2009 in the category of ships.
One was a 1:96-scale model of the USS Constitution, a ship that survived fierce battles in the War
of 1812. The other was a 1:570-scale replica of
the RMS Titanic, which went down on its maiden voyage in 1912 and has been immortalized
in films and traveling museum exhibits.
Former R/C retailer
makes movie
Many in the hobby industry are used to seeing radio-controlled cars zip around carpeted
tracks at high speed, and the personalities
associated with racing. The rest of the world
isn’t, but soon could be because of a new film
called Carpet Racers: A Crash Course.
The feature-length documentary is the brainchild of former Pittsburgh, Penn., hobby retailer
Mike Rooney and director Jay Thames. It covers
a year in the life of the men and women who
make a living, or try to, racing R/C cars indoors
on carpeted tracks.
Watch the Carpet Racers: A Crash Course
trailer at www.carpetracers.com.
The venues are familiar to those who follow
R/C racing: places like the Snowbird Nationals in Orlando, Fla., and the International
Indoor Championships in Las Vegas. Many of
the names are familiar too: Barry Baker, Mike
Dumas, Jilles Groskamp, Paul Lemieux and
Chris Tosolini are the primary racers followed
but there are a number of other familiar faces,
or voices, like Scotty Ernst.
The movie is a down in the trenches, wartsand-all look at the ups and downs of the racers
lives, their quest to be the best, and the toll
it takes on their families while they’re on the
road. The promotional poster reads, “Welcome
to life in the small lane.”
Rooney, now the director of media convergence at Empire City Casino at Yonkers
Raceway in New York, is the film’s executive
producer. The movie has played at the Orlando
International Film Festival in Florida, the Three
Rivers International Film Festival in Pittsburgh,
and the Queens International Film Festival in
New York. It’s also scheduled for the Ventura
(Calif.) International Film Festival, the South
Africa International Film Festival and the Great
Lakes International Film Festival.
To see the trailer, visit www.carpetracers.com.
Business Briefs
Mueller named new
train chief at Horizon
Paula “Gwen” Mueller has
been named director of
Horizon Hobby’s proprietary
model railroad division, which
includes Athearn, Roundhouse and McHenry brands.
She is a consumer packGwen Mueller
aged goods executive, with
experience in the product development, marketing, sourcing and sales in the tools, automotive after-market, toys, juvenile products and
sporting goods industries. Most recently, she
had been doing some consulting for Horizon
and said she was surprised and excited when
they offered her the job as director.
“I have a natural affinity for trains anyway,”
she says. “I really fall in love with things.” She
said she’s been very familiar with Horizon for
some time as her sister also works there.
Mueller brings global marketing and manufacturing experience to the position after working
for companies like AMF, Hedstrom and Alltrade.
But ultimately, what she’s tasked to do is simple:
“My job is to help people have fun with trains.”
One of the areas she says shows a lot of
promise for growth right now is N scale, but
What’s so
Great
about
advertising in
a Kalmbach
E-mail
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Build it and they will come
Dynamic Hobbies of Hemet, Calif.,
has “A gigantic model train layout,
stretching as far as half a basketball court,” according to a recent
column by Bob Pratte in the Riverside, Calif.-based Press-Enterprise.
Store customers pay $75 per
year to join a club and can run
their trains on the layout.
Store owner Bob Parcell says
the layout is “a good investment”
and is “a key to surviving sour
economic times.”
VISIT US ON THE WEB
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industry news, bonus
content and the Business
Pages directory, visit us at
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search for: Model Retailer.
she says she’s committed to making all the
company’s customers happy and finding more,
no matter what the scale. She says she’s also
anxious to promote the model railroading
hobby in general.
Mueller is a 1981 graduate of the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. — Hal Miller
Schuco die-cast
models win awards
Schuco’s VW minibus model received the
Innovation Award from the German diecast magazine Modell Fahrzeug.
Modell Fahrzeug organizes the awards but
opens each category to readers’ votes.
Schuco received three awards at the annual
“Model of the Year” event hosted by the German magazine Modell Fahrzeug, a publication
that covers the die-cast industry. The magazine
presented the 2009 awards Nov. 30 in a ceremony at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart.
The Schuco 1:10 model of the 1954 NSU Max
received first place for motorcycle models. The
Schuco 1:43 Mercedes-Benz LS 1620 heavy
truck tractor received first place for 1:43 commercial vehicles. The 1:18 die-cast, radio-control Schucotronic 2.4GHz Porsche 356 and VW
minibus model received the Innovation Award.
Testor Corp. adds
new U.K. distributor
Creative Models Ltd., which currently serves
400 hobby retailers in Great Britain, is Testor
Corp.’s newest international distributor. Testor
Director of Sales Tom Richardson hopes the
addition will expand Testors product availability to hobbyists in the U.K.
PLANET HOBBYTYME
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FIRST
LOOK
information on selected products to help you sell today
Proto CX Ultra-Micro Heli RTF
Prod. No.: RMXE6059
MSRP/Street: $99.99/$79.99
Availability: Great Planes
Model Distributors
Revell
micro helis now: all of them
similar. However, while the
Proto CX’s frame and design
are familiar, it comes with
Target consumer: For
ages 14 and up; customers
looking for a cool gift or
R/C heli that can be flown
in a small space
First impression: The
market is full of ultra-
mCX Tandem Rescue Heli RTF
Prod. No.: EFLH2500
MSRP/Street:
$224.99/$179.99
Availability: Horizon Hobby
Target consumer: Recommended for ages 14 and up;
customers looking for something a little different than
the typical ultra-micro heli
look and experience
First impression: E-flite has
got this thing with micro
RTFs down to a science. As
always, everything you need
to fly is in the box: four AA
batteries, a 250mAh 1S 3.7V
LiPo battery and AC charger,
and 2.4GHz transmitter. And
let’s not forget the heli!
Don’t expect to zip around
like you would with the mCX.
That’s not a bad thing; the
Tandem is a good deal slower
and as a result, extremely sta-
MSRP: $9.99
Availability: MMD
Target consumer: This plane
could easily be a first build
for a 10- or 12-year-old with
supervision; good kit for
quick build or change of pace
First impression: What a
neat little kit! For a great
price, you get a full-color
paint guide, instructions, a
14
The Proto CX flies well,
and has both a beginner and
advanced setting, including
dual rates.
Why you should stock it:
Micro helis continue to be
popular, and this one comes
in at a great price point. An
extra set of blades, the sturdy
battery connector and builtin charger make it a great
choice for novices.
— Tim Kidwell
E-flite
1:72 ‘Blue Max’ Pfalz D.III EconoKit
Prod. No.: EC72004
a futuristic-looking 2.4GHz
transmitter that made me
say, “Cool.” Is it a gimmick?
Sure, but that’s okay.
The 3.7V LiPo charges in
a neat little compartment
on the transmitter, which
is nice. What’s better is that
the battery has a very robust
connector with large surfaces
that similar helis lack. There’s
practically no chance of ruining the connector or connecting the battery improperly. It’s a very nice feature.
ble. It also has cool scale looks
and flashing lights that add
to the realism. Nice, gentle
flights got around 10 minutes
of battery life; an aggressive
session ran it down in a little
more than six minutes.
Why you should stock it:
This is the first high-end tandem ultra-micro heli on the
market. The mCX Tandem’s
scale looks and unique
design will grab attention.
There are hints that consumers are tired of being thrifty.
If this is the case, the Tandem
could play right into the postholiday “splurge” market.
— Hal Miller & T.K.
Encore Models/Squadron Products
wonderful set of decals and a
easily built biplane.
No, there isn’t the sort of
detail that you get with other
Encore or Czech Model kits,
but then again, you’re only
paying $10.
Why you should stock it: This
is exactly the sort of kit that
could be given to a young
modeler and, with supervision,
could build up into something
he would be proud to have
built. It would be a great starting point for any modeler
interested in WWI aircraft —
and let’s face it, “researching”
the “Blue Max” Pfalz (watching
the movie) can be a lot of fun.
The model can be hung
on pegs, allowing for depth
with very little room taken up.
Finally, Encore Models is part
of MMD’s Profit+ Line, which
means stores get a full 50% off.
— T.K.
HO-Scale Deluxe Salty with Moving Eyes
Prod. No.: 58804
MSRP: $55
Availability: Bachmann Trains
Target consumer:
Parents or grand parents of children, 8 and
older, familiar with the
“Thomas & Friends” TV
show
First impression: Not
the flashiest of Thomas’
friends, Salty is still a
nice little locomotive.
Based off of a diesel
British Rail Class 07,
Salty has the looks of
the TV character, down
1:48 F-111A Aardvark
Prod. No.: HY80348
MSRP: $109.99
Availability:
MMD
to the designator 2991,
hazard stripes and
eyes that roam back
and forth as he moves
along the tracks.
Why you should
stock it: “Thomas and
Friends” continues to
be a popular license
and draws interest
First impression: It
looks good in the box
and should build into
an impressive model.
Surface detail comprises finely recessed
panel lines and rivets.
Fuselage vents are
very well executed.
The F-111’s little
nose wheel and big
rear tires are molded
in soft rubber.
The kit features
dropped flaps,
1:72 Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6
Prod. No.: A02029
price conscious
MSRP: Approx. $6.99
First impression:
Yay! Another kit that
has nice features
but doesn’t break
the bank. With just
41 parts on three
sprues, this Bf 109 is
uncomplicated, has
nice surface details
Target audience:
Modelers who prefer
1:72-scale aircraft; the
among young children. Bachmann has
HO-scale sets available
on which Salty can be
used and would make
a nice addition to a
collection even though
he is a minor character
in the TV show.
— T.K.
HObbyBoss/Squadron Products
Target consumer:
Modelers looking
for large, detailed
jet aircraft kits
Availability: Check
with your favorite
model distributor
Bachmann
HOn3 Code 70 #6 Turnout
Prod. No.: 15-105 (lefthand turnout); 15-106
(right-hand turnout)
Availability: Direct
from Micro Engineering; 636-349-1112
MSRP: $19.95 each
Target audience:
deployed leadingedge slats, and even
spoilers.
Lots of options are
included.
Why you should
stock it: All in all, this
kit looks great and
will probably build
up into a nice model
of the early Aardvark.
The price tag may
seem a bit steep, but
it is a large plane and
the detail is quite
good. Fans of the F111 or contemporary
jet aircraft should be
pleased.
— Aaron Skinner
Airfix
and can be modeled
with the landing gear
up or deployed. Also
included are a fullcolor paint guide and
decals for three different planes.
up very little space on
the shelf and is packaged in Airfix’s eyecatching red package.
Price could be a big
Why you should
stock it: This kit is all
new tooling, takes
selling point.
It would be appropriate for beginners
and experienced
modelers. For the price
of one larger kit, a customer could buy three
and have three different planes to display.
— T.K.
Micro Engineering Company
Narrow-guage model
railroaders
First impression:
Micro Engineering
produces nice track,
and these feature
sprung switch rails.
While the frog is
all-metal and can be
power routed through
switch machine contacts, it does look a
bit rough. However,
this can be hidden by
paint.
Details are molded
into the ties, such as
spikes, wood grain,
and rail braces and
slide plates in the
switch-rail area.
Why you should
stock it: HOn3 has a
solid following. These
turnouts are DCC
compatible and without any modifications
match Micro Engineering’s HOn3 Code 70
Flex-Trak.
— David Popp & T.K.
15
special report: product line diversification
The tried, true and new
Want to grow your customer base? Consider adding new items
as well as expanding on the categories you already carry
By sue bret tingen
M
aking new friends, keeping the
old — you probably recognize
these as the lyrics to a classic Girl
Scout song.
But there’s also some sound business
advice to be taken from these words, especially if one of those friends is silver and
another is gold. Think about the “gold” you
can acquire by bringing in new customers
as well as satisfying your regulars.
After all, these days maintaining the status quo is not enough. In order to survive
and flourish, you need to draw in more
people.
However, big gestures are not always
necessary. Sometimes something as simple as changing the mix within your core
category is enough to shake things up in a
positive way.
Tweaking the tried-and-true
Model railroaders make up the main audience at The Doll House & Train Emporium
in Port Hope, Ont. Five years ago, Colleen
Dobie and her husband, Jim, took over an
existing store that sold doll house miniatures, model trains and slot cars.
“After traveling around the area visiting
other stores, we realized that what was
lacking in our 100-mile radius was a really
good train shop,” Colleen said. “This is what
we’ve tried to create. We still carry doll
house miniatures and have expanded on
our slot-car trade with stock, layout and a
race league.
“[But] where we’ve had the most growth
has been in the area of model railroading.
We also expanded our store, moving from
a 600-square-foot retail space to 2,200
square feet about a year and a half ago.
This not only allowed us to expand our
stock, but also to run workshops and howto’s, build displays and offer other services
such as repairs and installations.”
HO is the most popular scale, particularly
Atlas, Kato, Athearn and InterMountain
16
Railway products, but N-scale is giving HO
a run for the money, Dobie said. The store
also carries G, OO and O-scale products.
“In the last year, the main line we added
was Lionel O scale,” she said. “This isn’t a
huge seller yet, but does draw a certain
core group of collectors and hobbyists. The
other area we’ve really expanded on since
our move has been in building supplies
and scenery.
“We now carry lines of styrene (Evergreen), metals (K&S Engineering), paints
(Polly Scale), and wood products and kits
(Osborn Scale Models). Our Woodland Scenics stock has seen the most expansion,
with more in building kits, scenery supplies and school supplies.” Keeping these
items in stock has resulted in a significant
increase in sales.
The area that has seen the biggest
reduction has been G scale, primarily due
to decreased interest, but also because of
fluctuations in the cost of track and the
shakeup at LGB. The store has also halted
plans on expanding doll house miniatures
until sales pick up.
Some customers are disappointed by
these changes, but the store is willing to
order products that aren’t in stock, and in
the case of doll house products, Dobie said
she refers customers to a store about an
hour away that specializes in miniatures.
Dobie said she and her husband have
a good feel for what customers want and
which areas of the store need expanding
or changing. Of course, the economy has
had some effect on this, but growth in
model railroading has actually been larger
than first expected.
Having the right product is only part
of the equation, though. “Having knowledgeable staff on hand, as well as providing good customer service and support,
is just as important,” she said. “Our motto
is, ‘If we can, we will; if we can’t, we’ll tell
you why.’”
Adding a little something new
Model railroading has also been the mainstay category at Blue Ridge Hobbies in S.C.,
most of the five years the store has been
in business, and while it continues to make
up the bulk of the store’s offerings, radiocontrol is gradually working its way into
the mix.
“It’s a small section of the store at this
point,” said owner Frank Ruby, “but word is
getting out there on the street that we’ve
got it.” So far, it’s moving well, considering
he hasn’t advertised it yet.
Ruby decided to bring in R/C during
the grand opening of the new store back
in October. At its new location — directly
across the street from the old — the store
is 2,400 square feet, double its former size.
One of the reasons Ruby chose to bring
in R/C was because the local HobbyTown
USA (which did most of the R/C business in
town) closed. Taking on a new product line
has presented a learning curve for Ruby
and his staff, but so far, they’re managing.
“We’re to the point now where we know
enough to be dangerous,” he said. And, he
said, they’re feeding off information their
R/C customers share.
Puzzles, games, Steiff bears and plastic
model kits are other items Ruby has added
recently.
Ruby said his hardcore model-railroad
guys are a skeptical about the R/C. “And
the helicopter guys say, ‘You don’t have
enough!’” But Ruby keeps regulars happy
by continuing to offer them good customer service and competitive prices.
Making room for changes
Modellbahn Ott Hobbies in Gilbertsville,
Pa., has been around since 1983. Owner
William Ott has been unafraid of changing products and locations as he sees fit.
A recent move means the store now has
11,000 square feet, including a 6,000square-foot showroom and 2,200-square-
foot indoor radio-control racing track.
Model railroading is also a strong performer. According to Ott, more than 30%
of store sales are related to Märklin trains
(primarily HO scale) and European buildings and accessories to go with them,
including Faller, Kibri and Vollmer building kits, Preiser figures, Wiking HO-scale
vehicles and Itty Bitty Lines Z-scale cork
roadbed. Customers range in age from 10
to 90, with most between 35 and 50 years
old.
Radio control makes up about 15–20%
of sales; mainly nitro vehicles, followed by
electric helicopters, electric vehicles, electric and nitro boats, and electric planes.
Main customers range in age from teens
to 45 years old, with Traxxas being the top
brand. “They’re an excellent company to
work with, either as a shop or a consumer,”
Ott said. “They really stand behind their
vehicles.” Heli-Max and E-flite are the bestselling helicopters.
Ott said his eyes are always open to
new ideas. “In the late ’90s, we started to
add Thomas the Tank Engine products,
along with Brio wooden trains,” he said. “I
pursued handling everything made under
the Thomas the Tank license, and it worked
very well for several years.
“We added room decorations (stickups
and borders) plus licensed children’s bedding. After 2003, that business began to
drop, as did all areas, but the Thomas interest waned to a great extent.”
Soon after that, the stickup manufacturer and bedding supplier went out of
business, and although Ott tried to find
new suppliers, he had no luck and began
phasing out inventory in 2008.
“Now, in the new store, we are working more towards the typical hobby shop
items and expect to grow our R/C area by
having an indoor race track, an outdoor
race track, and hopefully, in the spring, an
adjacent flying field,” Ott said.
“We’ve already jumped back into slot-car
racing, as we owned two tracks.” One, he
said, had been out of service; another had
been disassembled and placed in storage.
Both tracks are back in business, he said,
and adding incremental sales to the bottom line.
Despite reduced credit lines, Ott said
he’s always on the lookout for new products. Once he can stretch the budget to do
it, he hopes to add metal detectors to his
product mix.
“Customers really like the changes they
see, not just because the store is much
nicer, but because they know exciting
changes are in the works,” Ott said.
Taking on more toys
Sometimes, dramatic changes are required
in order to keep your business solvent.
Mike Crocker, owner of Capitola Toys &
Hobbies in Capitola, Calif., said his store is
now almost entirely toys. “If not for toys, I
would be out of business,” he said. “That’s
just the way it went … I’ve seen it coming
for so long, and here it is.”
Twenty-two years ago, when Crocker
opened his doors, the store went by the
name “RC Sports” and was a single-line
hobby shop. Horizon and Great Planes provided 99% of what he bought. Ten years
later, Crocker added general hobby products as half of the total mix. Now, he’s at
70% toys, 25% general hobby and 5% R/C.
The declining interest in R/C was one of
the reasons for the shift, but Crocker said
the biggest factor for him is the way toy
manufacturers and distributors do business as compared to hobby manufacturers and distributors. The profit margins,
the terms, the service: these are all areas
in which the toy industry outshines the
hobby industry, according to Crocker.
Crocker said he rarely hears from the
hobby distributors, and even then, it’s
mainly on an e-mail basis. Conversely,
many of the toy distributors send reps
right to the store, and they bring in their
wares and make recommendations. “I’ve
got a couple of great toy reps that come in
three to four times a year and show me all
the lines,” Crocker said.
With hobby distributors, he said, “It’s
hard to find new product. You’ve got to
learn it on your own. They don’t have the
personalization.”
Crocker is most impressed with Melissa
& Doug, but named many other companies, such as Schylling, Toysmith, Alex, Out
of the Box, Georgetown Hobbies Distribution, Rhino Toys and the Orb Factory as
providers of products that are popular and
profitable in his store.
Capitola Hobbies’ customer base is
about 60% female now; it used to be
80% male. Crocker said his R/C customers
grumble about the low inventory of R/C
parts, but on the other hand, they buy
most of their supplies from online retailers.
And, on the flip side, he said, “Ladies will
walk in and say, ‘Gosh, I just love the Melissa & Doug line. I love your selection. And
it’s terrific that you’re carrying this stuff.’ So
we’re getting more repeat business.”
General hobby products have continued
to hold their own, with plastic model kits,
paint, model rockets and model trains selling well.
Crocker recently moved from a 3,000square-foot space to one that’s 1,300 square
feet in order to save on rent. But he said he’s
glad to still be in business: “The real key to
surviving now is diversification.”
17
Industry watch
The top 10 stories of 2009
The last year of the decade leaves no doubt
as to just how global the industry has become
By Hal Miller
L
et’s face it: 2009 has been a year of survival for the hobby industry, just as it has
for many other businesses. While Washington says the recession is over, everyone outside the Beltway is saying, “It is?”
The economy is but one of the stories
that has affected the hobby industry in
2009. It’s been a busy year, with some good,
some bad, and some ugly. So, without further ado, here are this year’s Top 10 stories,
not necessarily ranked in order of relevance:
1
The
economy
Not that this needs a lot of reporting,
because we’re all living through it. The
economic slowdown late 2008 became a
full-fledged recession in 2009, with small
retail bearing the brunt of consumers’
diminished spending habits.
The retail hobby business fared fairly well
through the first quarter of 2009, with dealers tightening their inventories and consumers still buying. Many dealers reported
a slowdown in the late spring which continued through the summer. Also reported
was a shift away from high-ticket items to
accessories and items at lower price points.
Several retailers have reported the holiday
season to be off to a slow start; we’ll have to
wait to assess the numbers after Christmas
to get the full picture.
2
China
slowdown
Problems with China’s toy industry have
been brewing since 2007 when it was
hit by a massive recall. Add in changes in
labor laws, increased environmental scrutiny, and compound it all with the global
economic downturn and the result has
been closed factories and delays in deliveries of new products. Production backups
at firms like model railroad manufacturer
Sanda Kan has been especially vexing for
U.S. manufacturers. Also adding to the
18
Consumer days at the 2009 iHobby Expo attracted more than 20,000 visitors
interested in everything from R/C trucks and model trains to puzzles and robots.
problems with product availability is the
unpredictable nature of the overseas shipping industry, another business hard-hit by
the economy.
3
Consumer Product Safety
Improvement Act (CPSIA)
Signed into law in August 2008, the law
went into effect in February 2009, catching
many companies flat-footed and making them scramble to meet its mandates.
Intended to prevent the problems that
caused the massive toy recalls of 2007, it
set new lead and other chemical testing
and documentation requirements on toys
and products consumers — primarily children 12 and younger — might come into
contact with.
Many companies in the hobby industry
were forced to relabel products to skirt the
age requirements of the new law. In the
broader toy industry, many items, including
apparel, bedding and books could not be
sold and had to be destroyed. Numerous
small companies have gone out of business.
One poll put the cost of the CPSIA at $2 billion to the toy industry.
Ironically, the large toy companies whose
recalled products brought about the law
suffered least. Almost a year later, there
are still reports of toys sneaking onto store
shelves that don’t meet the law’s requirements.
4
Märklin
insolvency
Talk about bad timing: on the eve of the
Nuremberg Spielwarenmesse Toy Fair that
was largely going to be a 150th birthday
party for Märklin, the German train manufacturer, which also owns LGB, declared
bankruptcy. The unfortunate event cast a
pall over the show, but receiver Michael
Pluta did make an appearance to answer
questions.
In the bigger picture, new product development for the company has slowed, as
have exports of Märklin and LGB products
to the North American market. Perhaps the
most visible impact has been on the U.S.
large-scale segment.
After putting together a reorganization
plan, potential buyers have been identified
and the sale of the company could happen
this spring.
5
More German
insolvencies
Märklin wasn’t the only German model railroad manufacturer to reorganize in 2009.
Fleischmann also entered bankruptcy and
is in the process of restructuring. Another
casualty of the economy and slumping
European train sales has been building and
scenery manufacturer Faller, which, like
the other companies, has seen a significant
portion of its workforce slashed to stay
alive.
6Hobby
trade shows
It was a mixed bag in 2009, with the economy playing the biggest role in the drop in
attendance. Retailer numbers were reported up 10% at the National Retail Hobby
Store Association’s Table Top Expo in Las
Vegas. However, exhibitors were down.
After selling out of booth space early for
the 2008 iHobby Expo, 2009 saw about 25
fewer exhibitors, with dealer attendance
comparable to the previous year. The
bright spot? iHobby Expo drew more than
20,000 consumers, eclipsing 2008’s numbers by more than 5,000.
7
Train shows
doing well
8
Amazon.com
expands into hobbies
The January World’s Greatest Hobby show
in Philadelphia, Pa., drew possibly the
largest crowd ever to attend a model train
show in the U.S.: just over 40,000 in two
days. Almost 25,000 attended the first day,
causing a 5-mile backup on the route to
the show.
The WGH shows continue to average
about 25,000 people per event. Additionally, individual shows like Trainfest in Milwaukee continue strong. This year’s event
in the Brew City drew more than 21,000.
Model railroading is dying? Hardly.
This is a story that’s going to be making
news for some time to come. The late summer brought rumblings that the massive
e-tailer was looking to expand its hobby
offerings; the fall brought confirmation
Model railroading was popular with kids young and old this year. The WGH show
in Philadelphia, Pa., drew more than 40,000 attendees, its largest crowd ever!
from the company itself: among the hobbies represented are coin collecting, diecast, hobby tools, models, radio control,
rockets, science, sports trading cards,
stamp collecting, games and model railroading.
9
R/C explores new
marketing channels
There is no denying that R/C, overall, has
been down for the last year. As hobbyists
held on to dollars, R/C companies looked
to utilize their marketing dollars outside
the traditional hobby channels to reach a
wider audience.
One of the biggest players in this movement was Traxxas, which not only penned
a deal with Pep Boys to sell products in its
stores, but also landed top billing for the
Off-Road Championship series. A coalition
of respected names in R/C, which includes
Tamiya, Kyosho and HPI Racing, formed the
R/C Motorsport Experience and exhibited at
the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach, Calif.,
this past year. That show alone exposed the
R/C hobby to 180,000 visitors over three
days. Only time will tell whether this new
marketing approach will build a broader
R/C audience.
10
Fantasy & sci-fi lead
plastic model resurgence
According to manufacturers, distributors
and retailers, plastic models have been
selling well even with a recession on. What
has been a surprise is the banner year that
fantasy and sci-fi plastic models have had.
Moebius Models, building on its Aurora
repops, has made licensing agreements
with Marvel Comics, DC, and Universal Studios, and is producing kits as fast as it can.
Meanwhile, Round 2 is rereleasing many old
Polar Lights kits and making new molds for
its Star Trek license. Even Revell has thrown
its hat into the ring, repopping its own
classic Aurora monsters and Babylon 5 kits,
along with continuing its partnership with
the Star Wars franchise.
The other important factor in the success
of these types of kits has been price. There
have always been sci-fi and fantasy model
makers, but the kits are often expensive and
not widely available except to those in the
know. Recent releases have been accessible,
priced right, and some are targeted
at novices or youngsters, which
doesn’t hurt.
All of this in the face of
increased production and
shipping costs is a testament
to the resiliency of plastic
models. The buying
public has proven to be open to
products that are
new, different and
eye-catching.
— Tim Kidwell
contributed to this article.
Polar Lights’ Robby the
Robot is just one kit
among many that
made a nice showing
in models this year.
Business Basics
Tough but not impossible
Much of the government-backed economic relief has focused
on big business, but you can get that loan if you need to
By Mark E. Bat tersby
J
ust three months after the recession
reportedly ended, at least according
to many experts, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner made the
announcement: “This credit crunch is not
over.”
Geithner’s statement, “It may feel dramatically better for large companies, but
it is not over for small businesses across
the country,” was prophetic; several days
later, CIT Group Inc., the company that
provides badly-needed credit to thousands
of small and mid-sized businesses, many
in the retail sector, filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy.
The lack of available capital has affected
every hobby retailer and appears to be
continuing as a major concern for the
foreseeable future. The Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC), for example,
recently reported that lending at U.S.
banks fell 3% in the third quarter of 2009,
representing the fifth consecutive quarter
in which banks have reduced lending.
Surprisingly — and frustratingly — the
FDIC report revealed that the largest
banks, those that received billions in taxpayer dollars via the Troubled Asset Relief
Program (TARP), were responsible for
nearly 75% of the lending decline. What’s
more, this occurred during a period when
banks posted aggregate profits of $2.8
billion.
With all available capital apparently
going to big business and government,
what can the average, financially-strapped
hobby-shop owner do? Fortunately, there
are a few bright spots among the clouds.
As part of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, the maximum
guarantee on U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) loans was increased to
90% and borrower fees were temporarily
eliminated for the 7(a) program as well as for
both borrower and lender fees for 504 loans.
20
The SBA’s primary and most flexible
7(a) Loan Program is designed for both
start-up and existing small businesses, and
involves government-backed guarantees
for amounts loaned for general business
purposes. Last spring, the Treasury and the
SBA announced a joint initiative to make
direct purchases of securities backed by
7(a) loans on the secondary market in the
hope of freeing capital and encouraging
more small-business financing.
The SBA’s CDC/504 Loan Program provides long-term, fixed-rate financing to
acquire fixed assets (such as real estate
and equipment) for expansion or modernization. It is ideal for small retailers and
businesses requiring “brick and mortar”
financing. Rather than commercial lending
institutions, 504 loans are delivered via
CDCs (Certified Development Companies)
set up to contribute to the economic
development of their communities.
The SBA itself hasn’t been idle. The SBA’s
weekly loan volume is up more than 75%
since the beginning of the year. It has
expanded 7(a) loan eligibility to more than
70,000 businesses through alternative size
standards and recently proposed increasing the size definitions for three commercial sectors, two-thirds in the retail sector.
The SBA also has a unique program to
provide small (up to $30,000), short-term
“microloans” for working capital or the purchase of inventory, supplies, furniture, fixtures, machinery and/or equipment. Ideal
for those needing small-scale financing
and technical assistance, the SBA microloan is available from specially designated
intermediary lenders.
The America’s Recovery Capital (ARC)
loan program provides viable small businesses suffering immediate financial
hardship some temporary financial relief
so they can keep their doors open and
get their cash flow back on track. An ARC
loan is a deferred-payment loan of up to
$35,000, 100% guaranteed by the SBA.
In addition to no interest charges to the
borrower, the SBA will pay the monthly
interest at the rate of Prime plus 2% to the
lender on behalf of the borrower. After a
12-month deferral period, the borrower
pays back only the ARC loan principal over
a period of five years. To date, more than
4,000 ARC loans totaling $130 million have
been granted to viable small businesses.
Microloans from the SBA and a variety
of other sources ranging from banks and
credit unions to community development
organizations are increasingly popular.
The nonprofit Web site Kiva.org, which has
traditionally facilitated microloans only in
developing countries, began testing a new
micro-lending program in the U.S. in 2009.
The White House recently announced
two new programs designed to increase
access to credit for small businesses.
Although details are not yet available,
these will support institutions that do a
disproportionate share of their lending to
small businesses through:
• an initiative that provides lower-cost
capital to community banks that submit a
plan to increase small-business lending; or
• a program to support Community
Development Financial Institutions lending
to small businesses in the hardest-hit rural
and urban communities
The Treasury Department’s recent
announcement of an initiative to provide
lower-cost capital to community banks,
along with a new program to support
Community Development Financial Institutions lending to small businesses, illustrate
the ongoing efforts of the Treasury and the
SBA to help ease the credit crunch affecting so many small businesses.
Stock this NEW,
must-have DCC book
DCC
DCC Projects & Applications Vol. 2 answers questions
VOL.
2
cations
Projects & Appli
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equipment, selecting state-of-the-art gear, and installing and
operating these new electronics. Based on the popular Model
Railroader magazine column, “DCC Corner”, this volume
focuses on actual readers’ problems and gives real-world
solutions that apply to commonly available contemporary
equipment. Your customers will get the answers and
information they need to be successful with DCC.
12441 • 88 pgs • $19.95
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Locations
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Mike Polsgrove
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with David Popp
Make sure you have this title in stock!
Contact your distributor or order direct:
BMK-ADH-09X1740RH
Phone 1-800-558-1544, ext. 818
Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CST.
Outside the United States and Canada
call 262-796-8776, ext. 818.
Fax 262-798-6592
E-mail tss@kalmbach.com
Trade Web site Retailers.Kalmbach.com
Mail Kalmbach Publishing Co.
21027 Crossroads Circle
P.O. Box 986
Waukesha, WI 53187-0986
PRODUCT
LAB
REVIEWS AND MARKETING IDEAS FOR ITEMS IN YOUR STORE
Clinic helps set the scene for sales
1 Medium Green Bushes
1 Hob-e-Tac
Adhesive
1 Scenic
Cement
6 Scenic
Glue
6 Mountain Dioramas
6 Sifter Lids
1 Black Color
6 Spray Bottles
1 Burnt Umber Color
30 Plastic Cups
1 Earth Undercoat Pigment
1 Yellow Ochre Color
6 Stir Sticks
12 Tree Armatures
Promotional Materials
1 Green Blended Turf
1 Medium Green Coarse Turf
1 Scenery Clinic DVD
1 Medium Green Clump-Foliage
1 Yellow Grass Fine Turf
Product: First off, this isn’t something to
sell — it’s something to help you sell.
You know clinics and classes can help
bring traffic into your store, but where do
you start?
Woodland Scenics has come out with its
Scenery Clinic, a box full of all the stuff you
need to teach a class on the basics of this
skill; one that’s useful in a variety of hobbies.
The box contains enough materials to
teach the class to six people. There are six
bases made of foam covered with plaster
cloth that are basically hills with a rocky
outcropping, plus grass, bushes, tree armatures with bases, glue, rock-colored washes,
and containers and spray bottles.
Perhaps most importantly, there’s also a
DVD that gives easy, step-by-step instructions not only on how to build the scenery,
VITAL STATS
Product: Scenery Clinic
Maker: Woodland Scenics
Stock No.: LK958
MSRP: $30
Availability: Woodland Scenics
1 Paintbrush
6 Foam Brushes
but also on running the class. There’s also
a printed set of instructions that includes
sales tips.
Topping the kit off is a promotional poster for your class as well as 24 color handouts to give to interested customers.
The only things you need to provide
for the class are a sharp tool, like a nail, to
plant the tree; masking tape; newspaper;
paper towels; a plastic bucket for discarding
excess paint; scissors; a permanent marker;
rinse water; and a trash can.
Performance: Even if you’ve never
Marketing: If you think classes like this
done scenery before, you can demonstrate
how. A quick viewing of the DVD gives you
all you need to know about laying groundcover, making trees, painting rocks and
finishing a scene.
The materials inside are bulk versions of
tried-and-true Woodland Scenics products,
so you know they’ll work as intended and
look great.
The great part about scenery is it’s really
hard to do it wrong. Generally, if it doesn’t
look quite right, you haven’t put enough
material on.
BOTTOM LINE
• Helps you sell products
• Contains all you need for a class
• Useful for many hobbies
will be of interest only to model railroaders,
think again. Modelers can use these scenery
techniques to make dioramas; table-top
gamers will also be interested in learning
how to bring their playing surfaces to life.
You might even try out the clinic with your
staff to get them more familiar with the
products and how they’re used.
Getting these hobbyists into your store
and teaching them how to do scenery for
themselves not only increases the likelihood of selling scenery products, but also
other products related to their hobbies, too.
Additionally, classes help you build customers for life. Even if you charge $5 per
person to attend the class, it’s still an attractive proposition.
One more thing: orders of two or more
kits get free shipping.
Reviewed by Hal Miller
22
RETAILER REVIEW Mayfair Games’ Steam a complex yet rewarding game
Product: Steam is an “all in the box”
modular game. The box contains a sturdy, 6part fold-out game board. Either side can be
used, as the only difference is the map. All
other vital parts of the game board are identical. Depending on how many players you
have, one side is better than the other.
As for the playing pieces, there are several wooden tokens: small cubes represent
goods to be shipped; larger round tokens
represent victory points, income, completed links, and locomotive level. Also
included is a turn marker, dozens of
hexagonal track tiles, and action
and city growth tiles to indicate that
a city has been resupplied with goods.
On the positive side, the multiple pieces
make for good variety in game play. No
two games will be the same, due to different track and goods layouts. As always,
Mayfair’s game pieces are of the highest
quality, and the game itself is challenging.
However, setting it up is a complicated
affair, with lots of small pieces, and the
rules are complex. Players should expect to
spend a few hours learning the game.
Gameplay: Steam puts each player
in charge of their own start-up railroad
company. Each player must acquire capital
from the bank, lay track, overcome obstacles, upgrade locomotives and deliver
goods.
Players must accomplish all of this while
competing with rival companies that are
all fighting for the best delivery routes.
Shipping product means money in the
company coffers.
But the money must be continually
spent to lay new track, complete links,
upgrade locomotives and create new cities: the never-ending cycle of commerce!
All of this is set in the Golden Era of steampowered locomotives.
VITAL STATS
Product: Steam: Rails to Riches
Maker: Mayfair Games
Stock No.: MFG4551
MSRP: $55
Availability: ACD, Aladdin, Alliance,
Brown Box, Centurion Hobby
Distributor, Diamond Comics Distributor, GTS Distribution, Mad Al,
Premier Hobby Distribution, R&M,
Southern Hobby Supply
Marketing: If you have hardcore
boardgame customers looking for a challenge, they’re your target audience for
Steam. The average customer just walking
in off the street is probably going to be
intimidated by both the gameplay and the
involved set-up.
This is a game that needs to be displayed to be appreciated. The box is rather
plain, and isn’t going to reach out and grab
a perusing customer’s attention.
If you have space to set it up, Steam’s
detailed board and cards, as well as its
wooden pieces, are impressive and will
make shoppers stop and take a look. Yes,
it will take up a lot of table space, but we
believe that if you take the time to display
it, Steam will sell.
And to be fair, while the price of the
game is a little on the expensive side for
regular consumers, avid boardgamers will
be more than pleased with how well it’s
made for its price point.
Reviewed by the staff at
The Hobby Shop, Wilson, N.C.
BOTTOM LINE
• Very challenging
• Not for casual boardgamers
• Demo will attract attention
ModelRetailer.com
Visit our Web site for these
bonus Product Lab reviews:
•1:25 “Scooby Doo”
Mystery Machine
Polar Lights
•Cessna T-50
‘Bamboo Bomber’
Czech Model
•Small World
expansion sets
Days of Wonder
Plus the latest news, business
articles and much more!
23
PRODUCT LAB Reaper Miniatures model easy to assemble, fun to view
Product: The Dark Maiden is Reaper
Miniature’s first foray into the realm of
large-scale resin models. The Maiden
stands nearly 12 inches tall and comes in
four parts for easy assembly and painting.
Included with the figure are also metal
replacements for the resin arms, just in
case there is warpage, particularly in the
swords that the figure wields.
The kit is safely packed in styrofoam and
a large, rather plain box.
VITAL STATS
Product: The Dark Maiden, Shipwreck
Angel resin model kit
Maker: Reaper Miniatures
Stock No.: 30012
MSRP: $129.99
Availability: E-mail ron@reaperminis.
com for more information
Assembly: As you would expect from
a figure with only four parts, assembly was
simplicity itself. No written instructions
were provided; none were needed. For
those who might find themselves wondering if they’re putting the model together
correctly, there’s a small assembly diagram
on the side of the box.
In my experience, there were only two
minor, obvious, expected and easily correctable flaws in the model. First, the figure
had a couple of small bubble holes in the
resin casting itself, but with a dab of super
glue on the chin and in the hair, these
flaws were quickly fixed.
Thankfully, Reaper remedied the second
flaw — somewhat flimsy arms — by providing a set of white-metal arms, which I
opted to use, since one of the resin swords
was warped.
Marketing: The main attraction of this
particular figure is its fantastical subject
and dramatic pose. This may be an easier
sell to clientele interested in fantasy, sci-fi
or superheroes than it will be to your standard modeler. However, that doesn’t mean
that the model won’t sell.
First, don’t rely on the box to make your
sale. Its design isn’t as good as it could
be. It looks like a common white packing
box with three images of the Dark Maiden
pasted on the sides. To the good, the
pictures are large and clear, and show the
figure finished three different ways.
Many shops are disinclined to unpack a
24
product and display it. This is one model that
you may have to. Even unpainted, the model
is impressive and will attract attention.
Second, the Dark Maiden would make
an outstanding first resin model. The
details are quite crisp, and the model’s size
provides plenty of room to make mistakes
that can be cleaned up later.
At the same time, if you have customers
who are already interested in large-scale
fantasy or sci-fi figures, the Dark Maiden
could be hopped up by experienced modelers using pigments and oil paints. Its design
even lends the model to airbrushing.
Depending upon your customer’s skill
level and ambition, make sure to offer a
selection of paint: acrylics are probably the
safest bet with novices. Since Reaper is a fantasy miniatures company first and foremost,
it also has a line of Master Series paints that
offers a wide variety of colors that would be
appropriate to the Dark Maiden.
Other acrylics you might carry with
appropriate colors are Acrylicos Vallejo or
Citadel paints from Games Workshop.
Suggest using 7-minute epoxy to
assemble the Dark Maiden. Using epoxy
will ensure a strong bond that super glue
cannot. It also provides some working time
to make sure that the model’s parts are
positioned correctly.
There are magazines and books dedicated to modeling figures that can be helpful
to modelers. One such periodical is Figure
International, published by Andrea Miniatures and distributed in North America by
Otium Intellegens USA (call 877-544-9960
for more information). Each issue is instructive, providing practical painting advice,
tutorials and color mixes.
Reviewed by Craig Johnson
BOTTOM LINE
• Large statue, great detail
• Watch for warpage of resin parts
• Great for beginners and experts
PRODUCT LAB Life-Like’s Stock Car Thunder a fast intro to HO slots
Product: Life-Like’s Stock Car Thunder
set is a good mix of a lot of things: a track
with enough features to keep the racing
exciting; cars in popular liveries; and easy
to set up.
The very attractive and compact box holds
23 feet of track that assembles into a 60- by
49-inch layout. Also included are two stock
cars, in paint schemes for the 88 of Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and the 24 of Jeff Gordon. Controllers, a wall power adapter, guard rails and
decorative flags round out the components.
Performance: I liked the box; it has a
handle on it that makes it easy to carry and
VITAL STATS
Product: Stock Car Thunder Set
Maker: Life-Like
Scale: HO
Stock number: 433-9114
MSRP: $109.98
Availability: Wm. K. Walthers
to assemble are also the set’s weak point.
You have to be very careful not to flex the
assembled track or the plastic tabs will
snap. Disassembling the set can also cause
them to break.
Marketing: For the reason stated
if opened properly, provides a good place
to store the equipment.
Setting up the track is literally a snap, as
all sections have center connections that
lock together and metal tabs transmitting
the power between sections. Add the guard
rails and flags, and it’s race time!
The thing I’ve always loved about HO
slots is their low center of gravity and how
they seem to stick to the track with less
finesse than their larger counterparts. That
makes them attractive to new and younger
racers who might not have the dexterity yet
to “drive” on the bigger-scale tracks.
The tabs that make the track so easy
above, it’s a good idea to keep extra track in
stock; customers are also going to want to
add to what they have as their experience
level increases.
The box the set comes in itself has a thin
profile, so you can stock more of them on
the shelf. Another good thing to keep in
stock is other Life-Like HO NASCAR car
offerings.
Reviewed by Hal Miller
BOTTOM LINE
• Easy assembly, plenty of features
• Track connections are fragile
• Earnhardt, Gordon cars popular
The Hobby Manufacturers Association is the
only group representing the entire hobby industry.
H
MA Members join one of four product divisions: General Hobby, Model
Railroad, Plastics & Die Cast Models, and Radio Control and each division
has a representative council of leaders who oversee programs and services of value to each segment
of the industry.
T
he General Hobby Division of HMA
includes companies who manufacture
and distribute tools, paints, specialty
toys, and hobby accessory items. The Division
provides research data on the value of
general hobby products in hobby retail stores.
Members of the Hobby
Manufacturers Association are the
company you can keep by joining
HMA today….your resource for industry
research and education, iHobby Expo™,
legislative and regulatory updates, and access
to consumer and trade information across all
product categories.
MEMBERS:
AA Portable Power Corp.
Acrylicos Vallejo S.L.
Alpha Precision
Abrasives Inc.
Atlas Brush Company
Badger Air-Brush Company
Bruder Toys
Burfitt Tools Australia
California Hobby
Distributors
Casemate Publishing
CIS-Associates LLC
Claymodelers.com
CST – The Composite Store
Daylight Company
Delta of North America
Visit www.hmahobby.org and see how you can
benefit from group discounts on variety of benefits
and services available to HMA members.
Donegan Optical Co., Inc.
DX Energy, Science &
Technology Co. Ltd.
Enerland Co. Ltd.
Estes-Cox Corporation
Excel Hobby Blades
Flex Products
Grex Airbrush
G-S Supplies, Inc.
Hobby Town USA
Hobbytyme
Hornby America
International
Hobbycraft Co., Inc.
Iwata-Medea, Inc.
JHC Inc./Smartech Racing
Kalmbach Publishing/Model
Retailer Magazine
Mercury Adhesives
Midwest Products Co. Inc.
Moebius Models
My Hobby Store Ltd.
Paasche Airbursh Company
Palco Sports
Paul K. Guillow, Inc.
Pegasus Hobbies
Phoenix Unlimited, Ltd.
Proxxon - Prox-Tech Inc.
Quest Aerospace
Racemasters Inc.
REH Distributing
Round 2 LLC
Sunward Aerospace
Group Ltd.
Super Pro Edge Blades
Tecnitoys Juguetes, SA
Thunder Power
ToyMine International Inc.
Tri-Technical Systems, Inc.
Tru Square Metal Products
Tyler Retail Systems, Inc.
Walnut Hollow
Xuron Corporation
Zona Tool Company
Join Today!
25
RADIO CONTROL
BY TIm Kidwell
Rock Crawlers
driven by Robbie Nishida for 2009. The
package includes photo-realistic decals,
front and rear light buckets, window masks
and overspray film.
PT Gyro to accommodate a brushless outrunner motor and LiPo battery. The rotor
diameter is 34 inches, and the model’s
overall length is 28 inches. Contact AeroBalsa for more information.
Wheels & Tires
7" & 8" Treaded Lightweight Wheels
Du-Bro
Trail Honcho SCX10 kit Axial
Based on the SCX10 chassis, this R/C kit
(No. AX90014, $275) comes with a .040"
Lexan body, molded skid plate, Pro-Line
Flat Irons tires, bead lock wheels and more.
Hex socket hardware is featured throughout. Requires a 2-channel radio, servos,
ESC, motor and battery.
Du-Bro has expanded the “TL” (Treaded
Lightweight) series
of wheels to include
7-inch (No. 700TL, $37.95) and 8-inch (No.
800TL, $41.95) diameter wheels. Extremely
durable and perfect for paved runways,
these wheels are great for large aircraft.
Aircraft
Accessories
Blue Block
Evolution
Blue Block is specifically
formulated to protect glow
engines from rust and corrosion. The applicator bottle
(shown; No. EVOX1001,
$2.99) contains 0.7 fl. oz.
of Blue Block After Run Oil.
The After Run Oil Refill (No.
EVOX1002, $4.99) contains
4.4 oz. of Blue Block, making refills of the applicator bottle quick and
simple. Available from Horizon Hobby.
Bodies
200mm R5-N Gas Sedan Body
Extra 330 SC Indoor Aerobat ARF Protoform
Electrifly
Transmitter Bag This body (No. 1520-30, MSRP $27) is
pulled from clear .030" Lexan
and meets all for EFRA, ROAR and 200mm
GBS rules. Includes a large wing for downforce tuning, overspray film, window
masks and a sheet of stickers.
A black and yellow 3D aerobat, this
plane (No. GPMA1129, MSRP/Street
$79.99/$49.99) comes with prehinged
control surfaces, carbon-fiber wing spars,
laser-cut hardware and alignment jigs.
Requires radio, servos, battery and motor.
Distributed by Great Planes.
Venom
Now in silver! This transmitter bag (No.
VEN-2006S, $24.99) can accommodate
most of the popular pistol-grip transmitters available on the market today. The
padded case secures the transmitter to
prevent damage during transit.
10x1.1mm Tapered Shock Pistons
Factory Team/
Team Associated
200mm Nissan 350Z Hankook body
HPI Racing
Doozy Autogyro kit Fans of full-size drifting can get the replica body (No. 103886, $32) of the Nissan
FlyingBalsa
26
The Doozy ($109.95) is a redesign of the
Designed to fit
Team Associated’s
16mm big bore shocks, these machined
Delrin tapered pistons (No. 89456, $19.99)
provide more progressive damping and
improve rebound damping. Use with 25–
30 weight oil. Sold in packs of four.
Pro Tuned SS Exhaust-KOS
Venom
This tuned pipe (No. VEN-1911, $179.99) is
constructed from polished 22-gauge 304
stainless steel and features an integrated,
water-cooled coupler with dual O-ring
seals. For use with 21.8mm/0.85-in. outer
diameter header pipes.
Electronics
DSM2 12-channel
PowerSafe Receiver
Spektrum
Designed for models using multiple hightorque servos or multiple servos that draw
excess current, the AR12100 PowerSafe
receiver (No. SPMAR12100, MSRP/Street
$299.99/$279.99) features a robust
power bus to manage high-current loads.
Includes four remote receivers. Available
from Horizon Hobby.
Batteries
G4 Pro Race 50C LiPo
ThunderPower RC
An all-new range for ThunderPower RC,
the G4 50C series LiPo packs are available
in 5000mAh 1S 3.7V (No. TP5000-1SPR50,
$69.99), 5200mAh 2S 7.4V (No. TP52002SPR50, $129.99), 5200mAh 3S 11.1V (No.
TP5200-3SPR50, $199.99) and 5200mAh 4S
14.8V (No. TP5200-4SPR50, $259.99) sizes.
E-mail Tim at tkidwell@modelretailer.com.
Unless otherwise indicated, contact information for all companies mentioned can be
found in Model Retailer’s Business Pages at
www.ModelRetailer.com.
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THEBEST2#-ODEL0OWER"OATINGNEEDSSUCHAS
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27
What’s selling: RADIO CONTROL
?
COMPILED BY JENNY MAASKE
What products or product lines are
giving you the best margins, and what
are you doing to capitalize on them?
Trumpeter and Kinetic. I can sell them
cheaper than most and pass the savings
on to the customers.
Rick Chin
Uncle Bill’s Hobby
Calgary, Alta.
It seems like the E-flite line of helicopters
is doing well for us. The replacement parts,
and, in some cases, aftermarket parts, are
always in demand. Helicopters are intriguing to anyone who comes through the
door. I make sure to give brief flight demos
on a regular basis.
John Brown
Brownie’s Pro & Sport Hobbies
Staten Island, N.Y.
Our best margins come from bulk products
that we repackage with our own name tag.
Since we specialize in R/C cars, screws and
other fasteners are a great example. We
WIN THIS PRIZE!
can make a 100–150% profit this way. No
one wants to go to the hardware store and
buy a box of 50 or 100 screws when they
only need two or three.
Kimberly Miller-Gordon
Turn 4 Hobbies
West Boylston, Mass.
Toys. Some of the toys can have margins
up to 50%. I’m stocking a lot of R/C toys
like Kid Galaxy. I’m also stocking more toys
for girls. In fact, you need to add a general
line to your survey.
Don Dietz
D&S Hobbies
Florence, S.C.
Plastic models carry the best mark up
lately, especially since many distributors
are overstocked with so many kits released
every week. We are able to buy selected
excess plastic, mostly all current items at
W RTH
MORO
E THAN
40
RETAIL0
!
$
50% off to as much as 90% off. We price
them at retail and sell them at 50% off
after six months of inactivity. Some lines,
like Dragon, Revell and Hasegawa, we buy
six to 12 items and create a “buy it now”
area at 50% off. This creates a lot of buzz
and helps the distributors clear out overstock.
Paul Scopetski
The Spare Time Shop
Marlborough, Mass.
Innova Disc Golf. We are in a unique region
that has several public disc golf courses.
Our selection of product is the largest in
the state.
James Ochoa
HobbyTown USA
Tulsa, Okla.
ParkZone and Losi. Advertising focuses on
these lines.
Stacy Martin
Adventure Hobbies
Christiansburg, Va.
Right now it’s plastic models. We had a
10% off sale on cars and that’s what has
really brought the margin in.
Donald Terbush
Hillcrest Hobbies
Yuba City, Calif.
You can win these Etomic and
ParkZone planes in our next
quarterly drawing. All you have
to do is participate in the What’s
Selling survey. E-mail Jenny
Maaske at jmaaske@modelretailer.com or call 262-796-8776 ext.
260 for more information.
Congratulations
Mike Duncan of River Eagle
Hobbies in Boonville, Mo.
He received a Tamiya RTR
car and a ParkZone BNF
plane. Thanks to all the
retailers who returned the
survey!
28
Sponsored by:
What’s selling: RADIO CONTROL
Atlantic
North
Central
South
Mountain
Pacific
Store location
Turn 4 Hobbies
The Hobby Shoppe
Orangeville, Ont.
RC Hobbies Plus
Lafayette, Ind.
HobbyTown USA
Tulsa, Okla.
Prairie Unique
Terry, Mont.
Players Hobby Shop
Fort Bragg, Calif.
Vehicles
T-Maxx
Traxxas
Slash, B4
Traxxas, Team Associated
Aftershock
Losi
1:16 E-Revo VXL
Traxxas
T-Maxx, Slash
Traxxas
VXL models
Traxxas
Aircraft
manufacturer
Blade mCX, mSR
E-flite
Super Cub
HobbyZone
Ultra-Micro P-51D
ParkZone
Blade mSR RTF
E-flite
Revolver
Great Planes
Blade mCX RTF
E-flite
Boats
No trend
No trend
Hammer
AquaCraft
Apache Catamaran EP
Pro Boat
Crackerbox
Dumas
No trend
Accessories
manufacturer
Batteries, glow plugs
Various makes
Batteries, radios
Venom, Spektrum
Various
Spektrum
Batteries, chargers
Tenergy
Servos, receivers
Various makes
LiPo batteries
Venom
Store location
Hillsborough R/C Hobby
Hillsborough, N.J.
Paris Junction Hobbies
Paris Junction, Ont.
Tom Thumb Hobbies
Columbus, Ohio
Adventure Hobbies
Christiansburg, Va.
Hobby Hut Models
Grand Junction, Colo.
Hillcrest Hobbies
Yuba City, Calif.
Vehicles
Desert Truck
Losi
GST 7.7
CEN Racing
Blitz
HPI
T-Maxx 3.3
Traxxas
Micro-Rock Crawler
Losi
Slash
Traxxas
Aircraft
manufacturer
Ultra-Micro P-51D
ParkZone
Blade mSR, mCX
E-flite
Blade mSR
E-flite
Messerschmitt Bf 109G
ParkZone
Ultra-Micro P-51D
ParkZone
Super Cub LP
HobbyZone
Boats
No trend
Apache
Pro Boat
No trend
No trend
Mini Wildcat
AquaCraft
No trend
Accessories
manufacturer
Various
Spektrum
Fuel, batteries
Morgan, Venom
Chargers
Onyx
DX5e
Spektrum
RealFlight G5
Great Planes
Aftermarket parts
Traxxas
Store location
Brownie’s Pro & Sport
Staten Island, N.Y.
Leading Edge Hobbies
Kingston, Ont.
Al’s Trains & Hobby LLC
Bedford, Ohio
D&S Hobbies
Florence, S.C.
Earl’s Hobby Hangar
Logan, Utah
RCPlus Hobbies and Bikes
Salem, Ore.
Vehicles
Micro-T, HIGHRoller
Losi
Slash
Traxxas
No trend
Slash
Traxxas
Stampede, T-Maxx
Traxxas
1:18 Mini-Rock Crawler
Losi
Aircraft
Blade mSR BNF
E-flite
Blade mCX S300
E-flite
Firebird Commander
HobbyZone
Blade mCX
E-flite
T-28 Trojan
ParkZone
Ultra-Micro P-51D
ParkZone
Boats
1:12 Miss Elam Hydro
Pro Boat
Rio EP
AquaCraft
No trend
Bandit II
Thunder Tiger
No trend
SuperVee 27
AquaCraft
Accessories
Transmitters
Spektrum
DTX 5000 batteries
DuraTrax
Various
Hitec
2 PL 2.4GHz radio
Futaba
Motors
Scorpion
LiPo batteries
Various makes
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
Lists are based on retailer reports of hot-selling items in each category. Survey was taken in December.
!!! 30
4'.
*'/'70804##/&%25+3'2('#452'3#!
3*#(4&2+6'/$#4*45$%*#33+37+4*(20/4&05$-'
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+/%-5&'3#-+)*45/+47+4*(20/42'#2-+)*43
10-8%#2$0/#4'$0&8
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" "
9
"
7774#.+8#53#%0.
MODEL RAILROADING
by JENNY MAASKE
locomotives
HO EMD GP7 locomotive Bachmann
Features on Bachmann’s GP7 locomotive
(MSRP $85) include all-wheel drive, can
motor, die-cast chassis, E-Z Mate Mark II couplers and DCC sound. Available in Pennsylvania (No. 62401), Union Pacific (No. 62402),
Chessie (No. 62403), Baltimore & Ohio (No.
62404), New York Central (No. 62405) and
Clinchfield (No. 62406) paint schemes.
HO EMD GP40-2 locomotive Athearn
New paint schemes on Athearn’s Ready
To Roll GP40-2 include Boston & Maine,
Kansas City Southern de Mexico, CSX
(Operation Redblock logo), Norfolk Southern, Indiana Harbor Belt and Southern
Pacific. Two road numbers each. Delivery is
expected in April.
O SD35 diesel MTH Electric Trains
The Premier Line SD-35 diesel locomotive
features add-on details such as windshield
wipers, metal see-through body grilles, lift
rings, metal grab irons and handrails, seethrough rooftop fan housings, and truckmounted brake cylinders and air pipes.
Road names include Chessie, Pennsylvania,
Southern and Western Maryland. Available
with Proto-Sound 2.0 (MSRP $429.95) or
unpowered ($199.95).
Rolling stock
HO freight cars
Accurail
Assorted freight car kits include an Asso32
ciation of American Railroads 41-foot
steel gondola lettered for various road
names (two-pack, $26.98); an AAR 40-foot
steel boxcar lettered for Denver & Rio
Grande Western ($13.98); an 89-foot trailer-on-flatcar lettered for RTTX and TTX
(three-pack, $39.98); and an American Car
& Foundry 3-bay covered hopper in CSX
livery (three-pack, $39.98).
Conoco (No. 06600060, $23.25); and a 40foot Central Vermont rib side boxcar (No.
02500700, $21.45).
N freight cars
Deluxe innovations
Micro-Trains line Co.
DeLuxe Innovations announced its first
run of Nedlloyd 40-foot hi-cube corrugated containers, available in a five-pack (No.
520181) for $37.95. Also announced is a
second run of Flex-Van 48-foot smoothsided containers (two pack; No. 8171,
$16.95), and red Stax 53-foot corrugated
domestic containers (shown, two-pack,
No. 13031, $16.95). Delivery is expected in
the third quarter of 2010.
N Containers
New paint schemes from Micro-Trains
include a bay window caboose with
white and blue Union Pacific shield (No.
13000060, $32.85); a 40-foot Baltimore &
Ohio boxcar with white “13 Great States
Capitol Dome” logo (No. 0200826, $17.90);
a 50-foot boxcar lettered for Denver & Rio
Grande Western (No. 03200450, $24.70);
an ACF three-dome tank car lettered for
Structures
HO Grand Gazebo
Woodland Scenics
Woodland Scenics has added the Grand
Gazebo (No. BR5035, $74.99) to its line of
HO-scale Built-&-Ready Landmark Structures. A perfect centerpiece for any layout’s
city or village park, the Grand Gazebo
design includes an interior open raceway
to accommodate wiring and lighting.
Ho, N Hudson Oil Gas Station
is based on the Hudson Oil gas station
design used from the 1950s to 1990s. The
kit includes office structure with restrooms,
canopy, pump island with four gas pumps,
roadside Hudson sign, changeable gas
price signs and two billboard frames with
four printed billboards. The HO kit (No.
2002) retails for $39.95 and the N kit (No.
1002) for $34.95.
Blair Line LLC
HO Roadside Americana
Wadham’s
This new kit, available in HO and N scales,
walthers
New! Just for You!
Digitrax.biz for
Dealers only.
SDH164D $49.95 msrp
6 FX3 Functions
28mm Round Speaker
1.273” x 0.67” x 0.25”
New Digitrax SoundFX Decoders:
Sound, Motor and Functions
All-In-One Decoders for N & HO
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1 Amp Continuous / 2 Amp Peak Rating
FX3 Functions
Includes speaker and 330uF capacitor
Preloaded with diesel & steam sounds
Additional sounds available for free download
Fully customizable sounds
No external sensor for sound workload changes
No programming booster needed
No in-rush current problems
Superior performance and reliability
• Full Digitrax Series 3 mobile decoder feature set:
Speed Tables
Simpliﬁed Scaleable Back EMF
Advanced Consisting
Transponding
Supersonic Motor Drive
Decoder Lock and so much more!
SDN144PS $49.95 msrp
4 FX3 Functions
18mm x 13mm Oval Speaker
1.22” x 0.405” x 0.164”
Short 8 Pin Harness for HO
Based on the gas station in West Allis,
Wis., this assembled model (No. 933-2854,
$69.98) features a unique pagoda roof,
separate pump island with 1920s-style
clockface gas pumps, four non-operating
lamp posts and decorated picket fencing.
Delivery is expected in late March.
Complete Train Control
Digitrax, Inc. 2443 Transmitter Road, Panama City, FL 32404
Phone 850 872-9890 / Fax 850 872-9557 www.digitrax.com
33
MODEL RAILROADING
vehicles
Figures
accessories
XL lubricant
Excelle
Lubricants
These
lubricants
are made
specifically
for use on
model railroad motive
power and are compatible with many
types of plastic. Offerings include XL
Ultra-Lite, XL Light, XL Medium, XL Heavy,
XL Gear, XL Bearing, XL PTFE, XL NLGI 1
Grease and XL NLGI 2 PTFE Grease. Available from Phoenix Unlimited, Ltd. Contact
the company at 847-515-1263 or e-mail
phoenixul@foxvalley.net.
HO, G Scenic Accents
HO 1950 Dodge Meadowbrook
4-Door Sedan
Classic Metal Works
Mini Metals HO-scale 1950 Dodge Meadowbrook sedan ($13) features separately
applied parts including the grille, bumpers,
trunk latch, wheel covers, hood ornament, and taillight and headlight parts.
Paint schemes include cadet red (No.
221-30225), dawn gray (No. 221-30226),
island green (No. 221-30227), black (No.
221-30228), and Yellow Cab Co. (No. 22130229). Available from Walthers.
Woodland Scenics
The latest HO-scale Scenic Accents figure
sets include Swingin’ Sensation (shown,
No. A1950), Music to My Ears (No. A1951)
and Downhill Derby (No. A1952). Each
set is $18.99. Also available is Junior’s Jug
Band (No. A2570) in G scale for $21.99.
E-mail Jenny at jmaaske@modelretailer.com.
!
" ! " " % !$ ! !%!
! #!" !!!"!$"#!
#!!!
"""" C
enterline
" P
roducts,
#"!LLC
1229 E.'
4th Street,
Reno,
NV
89512
"
&
TEL (775) 337-6662 FAX (775) 337-6663
666(*/4*2-,/*120)5(43(0.
,/+0(*/4*2-,/*120)5(43(0.
%
"
34
#!"$$$ " !
MODEL RAILROADING MART
Stock your shop with
sound locomotives that
make GREAT PROFIT.
•Paragon2 HO Sound Locomotives
•PUFFING SMOKE in Steamers
•Auto-Pilot Equipped=Hands-Free Operation
•Load-dependent sounds and speed
•MAP protected
Broadway Limited Imports, LLC
Call: 386.673.8900
LGB Ready-to-Run G Scale Starter Sets
The Classic Start in Garden Railroading
426-72302 Passenger Starter Set with Sound & Smoke Generator
426-72400 Full Gauge Railroad Starter Set*
LGB starter sets make getting started
easy – everything your customer needs
from the high quality locomotive and
cars, to the indoor / outdoor track,
transformer, controller and accessories
are included.
Plus, the easy to expand track system
and broad assortment of add-on rolling
stock, accessories and the LGB
Multi-Train System will build a strong,
loyal customer base.
For more information about becoming an LGB dealer
call Walthers toll-free 1-800-877-7171.
426-72403 Work Train Starter Set with Sound & Smoker Generator*
*Load subject to change
walthers.com
MONTH 2000 www.ModelRetailer.com
MODEL RETAILER
35
1
What’s selling: model railroading
?
Bachmann trains. I stock them the most for
sets. I do pretty good with Revell models
also.
Allen Fenton
Bedford, Ohio
Williams O-gauge engines by Bachmann.
We are displaying them as having excellent
value for the money spent and pointing
out that they are most like the old engines
in their simplicity and “run-ability.”
Bill Longcor
Feels Like Home LLC
Newton, N.J.
All scales of train track. Whether a novice
or an experienced modeler, everyone buys
track and the customers do not quibble
over the price. Internet and discount sellers force us to lower the price on sets and
the more expensive items. We try to stock
WIN THIS PRIZE!
every piece of the major brands of track.
This is becoming more difficult as many
manufacturers now offer their own track,
which is often not readily compatible with
other brands.
George Bourcier
Tacoma Trains & Hobbies
Tacoma, Wash.
We buy a lot of toy and train collections.
We have a reputation for giving the seller a
fair price and for being able to sell it to our
customers at a realistic price. In our advertising and newsletter, we have added that
we buy collections.
Valerie Gale
Chinook & Hobby West
Calgary, Alta.
I am a one-man hobby shop and I concentrate strictly on R/C nitro and electric
airplanes and N- and HO-scale trains. I’m
W RTH
MORO
E THAN
50
RETAIL0
!
$
just starting to get into O-scale trains. I’ve
tried advertising in local newspapers and I
always run a small ad in the Yellow Pages.
To be honest, my capitalization is word of
mouth because I give excellent service.
Fred Peters
Fliteline Hobbies
Ridgeville, S.C.
There aren’t many product lines with good
margins in the model-railroad industry.
We’re just focusing on turning our inventory faster.
Mike Niedzalkoski
Niedzalkoski’s Train Shop
Jeannette, Pa.
We do a large volume of paints and have
added new lines throughout the year.
Joyce McEwan
On Track Hobbies
Port Moody, B.C.
Learning Curve Thomas the Tank Engine.
Clay Kinser
Lone Star Trains & Collectibles
San Antonio, Texas
White’s Metal Detectors.
Pat Barcello
Columbus Train Station
Columbus, Ohio
You can win these Bachmann
N-, HO- and On30 locomotives
in our next quarterly drawing. All
you have to do is participate in
the What’s Selling survey. E-mail
Jenny Maaske at jmaaske@modelretailer.com or call 262-796-8776
ext. 260 for more information.
Congratulations
Tim Trewhella of TreatStation in Peekskill, N.Y. He
received N- and HO-scale
cars and locomotives from
Micro-Trains and Bachmann.
Thanks to all the retailers
who returned the survey!
36
ATTENTION RETAILERS
WHOLESALE TO THE TRADE ONLY
Are you looking for a distributor that will treat you fairly no matter how large or small your orders are?
Try ARIZONA TRAINS & HOBBIES. We feature great service at competitive prices. Our prices remain the same 1 piece or case lots.
We sell to retail stores only. We do not compete with our dealers.
We Proudly Distribute
Atlas • Atlas-O • QSI • Lionel • K-Line • Ready Made Toys • Aristo-Craft • Bachmann N thru G • Kato • Plasticville • USA Trains
Kalmbach Publications • Miller Engineering • Excel Hobby Tools • All World Scenes • Super Smoke® • Woodland Scenics
Midwest Products • Boley • Classic Metal Works • IMEX • Broadway Limited • MRC • Z-Stuff for trains • Timberline Trees
We Now Carry MTH!
ARIZONA TRAINS & HOBBIES
15605 Broadway Center Street, Gardena, CA 90248 • Toll Free: 877-889-2005 • Phone: 310-965-0005 • FAX: 310-965-0006
Visit Our Web Site: www.aztrainsca.com
8DB>C<HDDC;GDB6IA6HBD9:A
EgZ"dgYZg9ZVYa^cZ/?VcjVgn'.!'%&%EgdYjXi6gg^kVa/?jan'%&%
www.atlasrr.com/HOLoco/hou30cloco4.htm
Detroit Edison
(Webpage expected to go live fi rst week of January)
Milwaukee Road
Rock Island
Family Lines (L&N)*
Guilford (Boston & Maine)
Ferrocarril del Pacifico
(HO models from previous run shown)
Norfolk & Western
6IA6HB6HI:G =DJ(%8E=6H:(AD8DBDI>K:

HO locomotives are available with DCC/Sound or DCC ready.
Other features include: Road Name specific details, Golden-white LEDs
Directional lighting, and Realistic die-cast underframe
Union Pacific
*CSX Licensed Product
Products bearing Union Pacific Marks are made under Trademark
License from Union Pacific Railroad Company.
###YdcÉi[dg\ZiiddgYZgC:L6iaVh6aa"HXVaZhIgVX`6XXZhhdgn8ViVad\h[dgndjg]dWWnh]de#6kV^aVWaZcdl
Atlas Model Railroad Co., Inc • 378 Florence Avenue • Hillside, NJ 07205 • www.atlasrr.com
MONTH 2000 www.ModelRetailer.com
MODEL RETAILER
ARIZONA TRAINS & HOBBIES
37
1
Atlantic
Central
South
Mountain/North
Pacific
Store location
Niedzalkoski’s Train Shop
Jeannette, Pa.
Tom Thumb Hobbies
Columbus, Ohio
Adventure Hobbies
Christiansburg, Va.
On Track Hobbies
Port Moody, B.C.
Tacoma Trains & Hobbies
Tacoma, Wash.
HO scale
Locomotive
Rolling Stock
Accessories
Athearn GP38-2
Yardmaster P&LE boxcars
Bachmann E-Z Track
Athearn Genesis
Athearn
Atlas Code 100 Snap-Track
Lionel RTR sets
Athearn Blue Box kits
Woodland Scenics
Atlas RS3 PGE, True Line U2G
ExactRail
Buildings
Athearn F45, SD45
Athearn
Atlas track
N scale
Locomotive
Rolling Stock
Accessories
Bachmann 0-6-0
Athearn bay window caboose
Imex buildings
Bachmann
Bachmann
No trend
No trend
No trend
No trend
Athearn CN
Fox Valley Models
No trend
Athearn F45
Athearn
Bachmann E-Z Track
Other
Locomotive
Rolling Stock
Accessories
Williams GP locomotives
MTH Steeler cars
MTH Gulf Gas Station
No trend
No trend
No trend
No trend
No trend
MRC Symphony 55 Sound kit
3-truck shay
Alberta grain car
Track
Lionel
Lionel O-27 cars
Lionel FasTrack
Store location
Brian’s Model Trains
Mysterstown, Pa.
DLH Locomotive Works
Springfield, Ohio
Fliteline Hobbies
Ridgeville, S.C.
Calgary, Alta.
Kelly’s Kaboose
Kamloops, B.C.
HO scale
Locomotive
Rolling Stock
Accessories
Atlas Trainman
Atlas Trainman
Walthers Cornerstone bldgs.
MTH SD70ACe
ExactRail cars
ShellScale decals
Athearn, Atlas
Athearn, Atlas, Bachmann
Woodland Scenics
Canadian steam
Canadian passenger cars
Woodland Scenics
Athearn
True Line Trains
Model Power buildings
N scale
Locomotive
Rolling Stock
Accessories
No trend
No trend
No trend
No trend
No trend
No trend
Atlas
Atlas
Woodland Scenics
CN locomotives
No trend
No trend
Atlas
Micro-Trains
Model Power buildings
Other
Locomotive
Rolling Stock
Accessories
Lionel O-27
Lionel O-27
Lionel FasTrack
No trend
No trend
No trend
MTH
Atlas, MTH assorted cars
Track
No trend
No trend
No trend
USA Trains, Lionel, MTH
MTH
Bachmann Plasticville
Store location
Scotsmans Trains & Hobbies
Endwell, N.Y.
Bedford, Ohio
Lone Star Trains & Collectibles
San Antonio, Texas
Winona Garden Railway
Guelph, Ont.
Roy’s Trains and Things
Clovis, Calif.
HO scale
Locomotive
Rolling Stock
Accessories
Athearn SD45
Branchline kits
Woodland Scenics
Atlas, Bachmann
Branchline, Walthers
Athearn RTR diesels
Athearn tank cars
TCS decoders
No trend
No trend
No trend
Athearn
Athearn
N scale
Locomotive
Rolling Stock
Accessories
Atlas
Fox Valley Models
Woodland Scenics
Athearn, Walthers, Kato
Micro-Trains, Atlas
Atlas
Micro-Trains
Atlas track
No trend
No trend
No trend
Kato
Micro-Trains
Bachmann buildings
Other
What’s selling: MODEL RAILROADING
Locomotive
Rolling Stock
Accessories
No trend
Williams boxcars
No trend
Aristo-Craft
No trend
Aristo-Craft
Lionel
Lionel
Lionel
USA Trains GP9
Aristo-Craft 40-foot boxcars
Phoenix Sound
Lionel
Lionel Pennsylvania Flyer
Lionel Wimpy’s Burger Stand
MODELS
BY TIm Kidwell
etched seat belts, slide-molded gun barrels
and engraved panel lines at three different
depths. Available from Dragon Models USA.
Fantasy & Sci-fi
1:8 Frankenstein
Moebius Models
Armor
Another model in Moebius’ Universal
Movie Monsters line of assembly kits, Frankenstein (No. 903, $39.99) comes with 30
plastic parts and a color instruction sheet.
Skill level 3.
1:48 Mtl SPW SdKfz 251/1 Ausf D ‘Stuka Zu Fuss’
Tamiya
Aircraft
Star Wars Republic Gunship
This model of the “Ground Stuka” (No.
32566, $33) includes a detailed interior,
side-mounted launchers, rockets and
rocket crates. Slated for delivery in January.
Figures not included.
Revell
For ages 8 and up, this snap-together kit
(No. 85-1865, $30.25) comes prepainted
to help ensure a young or novice builder’s
fun and success during assembly. Includes
a base to model the gunship in flight.
1:32 Fokker F.I ‘Voss’
Encore/Squadron Products
This model kit (No. EC32003, $69.99) features a detailed exterior, a full cockpit, plus
resin and photo-etched metal parts. Decals
and paint guide for two versions included.
Distributed by MMD and part of its Profit+
Line.
Conan the Barbarian: Death of Belit Cyber Hobby
Following up on its previous Conan kit,
Moebius’ resin model (No. 1005, $139.99)
depicts the scene on the cover of the
“Conan the Barbarian” No.100 comic book.
Dragon says that this Wing Tech kit (No.
CHC5555, $39.95) is full of detail usually
found on 1:32-scale kits! Features include
fully posable control surfaces, photo-
Zvezda
Available in January, this kit (No. ZVE3603,
$38.95) features 342 parts, polystyrene
tracks, two figures and markings for one
Luftwaffe and one Wehrmacht unit. Distributed by Dragon Models USA.
1:48 Messerschmitt Bf 110D-3
Moebius Models
40
1:35 L-4500R Maultier 4.5T Half-track
1:35 M1131 Stryker Fire Support Vehicle Trumpeter
This new variant of Trumpeter’s Stryker
(No. 398, $49.95) contains 491 parts, along
with eight rubber tires. Features include
infantry figures, tarp rolls and photoetched parts. Distributed by Stevens International.
lower hulls, a waterline plate, and deck.
Also includes one Ar 196 plane and display
stand. Imported by Stevens International.
Dioramas
Cars
WC DBL) have a regular tip on one end and
a tapered tip on the other. Great for multitasking at the workbench without having
to hunt for another swab. Call 800-3212313 for prices and ordering information.
Paints
1:32 Marsden Mat Display Base
1:25 Fire Truck
MPC/Round 2
Chuck Miller’s Fire Truck (No. MPC714,
price TBA) is a top-drawer show rod. It was
built in 1968 and won the Ridler Award
that year. MPC’s kit recreates the car with
parts molded in white, clear and clear red,
chrome plated parts, vinyl tires and colorful decals. Skill level 2.
Custom Dioramics/
Squadron Products
Resin PSP texture airfield base (one corner
has rough ground surface). Base measures
14 x 14 inches and is appropriate for WWII,
Korean War and Vietnam War-era dioramas
or displays. Available from MMD (CD5031,
$54.90) and part of its Profit+ Line.
Tools
Ships
Games Workshop Paint Set
Citadel
This box (No. 99179999003, $30) contains nine 12ml pots of Citadel Colour
acrylic paints, including: Chaos Black, Skull
White, Blood Red, Goblin Green, Mithril
Silver, Enchanted Blue, Snakebite Leather,
Bronzed Flesh and Sunburst Yellow. This
set also includes a brush and plastic mixing tray. Call 410-689-2421 to order.
Master Series Paint
Reaper Miniatures
Reaper has three new washes: Flesh (No.
9253), Brown (NO. 9254) and Black (No.
9255). Each comes in a ½-oz. bottle and
retails for $2.99. All three washes are also
available in the Washes Triad (No. 9785,
$8.95). Call 940-484-6464 to order.
1:700 German Prinz Eugen
Heavy Cruiser, 1945
Trumpeter
All new tooling! Reduced from the 1:350scale model, this kit (No. 5767, $39.95)
contains 279 parts, along with upper and
Double-tipped Tapered-one-end
cotton applicator
Puritan
These 6-inch-long cotton swabs (No. 821-
Dealer inquiries welcome!
info@monarchmodels.net
41
DIE-CAST
BY Sue Brettingen
dioramas
1:24 body shop diorama american diorama
This body shop diorama (No. AD-15914,
$89.99), crafted out of polyresin, is hand
painted, highly detailed and suitable for
die-cast displays or G-scale railroad layouts. Available from b2breplicas.
Loved Me,” the Aston Martin Vanquish and
Jaguar XKR from “Die Another Day,” the Rolls
Royce Phantom 337 from “Goldfinger,” the
Aston Martin DB5 from the 1967 version of
“Casino Royale” and the Space Shuttle from
“Moonraker.” Available from b2breplicas.
1:18 1967 shelby terlingua greenlight collectibles
1:64 diorama series 1
greenlight collectibles
Greenlight’s assortment of new dioramas
includes the 1968 Ford Mustang and 1969
Dodge Charger from “Bullitt”; a 2008 Crown
Victoria Wisconsin State Patrol and 2009
Corvette C6 with a police officer character; a
2010 Chevy Camaro SS with auction attendee characters; and a 1972 Chevy C-10 and
camper with camper characters. The replicas
feature opening hoods, detailed engines,
rubber tires, metal body and chassis, detailed
graphics and custom license plates. Each
diorama (No. 56010) retails for $9.99.
1:12 1960 Morris minor 1000
Sun star
Call it “Moggie” or “Morrie” if you wish; otherwise, formally, it’s known as the Morris
Minor — the very essence of Englishness.
This highly detailed model (No. SS4772,
$119.95) includes a fully detailed cockpit
and dashboard, extending trafficators,
a working suspension and fully detailed
chassis. Available from Diecast Direct.
corgi
42
1:18 “Arthur”
cmc
Meet the newest member of the Motorhead
Miniatures family:
Arthur (No. 787, $10).
Dressed in professional
black and tipping his
hat, Arthur is perfect for
any limo, luxury car, or
even a hearse.
What could be more classic than a red Ferrari? This replica (No. CMC071, $289.99)
comes with a fully wired and plumbed
engine, a highly detailed interior with
real leather seats and glass-faced gauges,
authentic paint and real rubber tires. Available from Replicarz.
E-mail Sue at sbrettingen@modelretailer.com.
1:18 Ferrari 250 testa rossa Corgi’s James Bond car set (No. TY99135,
$70) comes in a film can and includes 4-inch
replicas of the BMW Z3 from “Goldeneye,”
Little Nellie from “You Only Live Twice,” the
Lotus Esprit Underwater from “The Spy Who
accessories
motorhead
miniatures
Vehicles
james bond 8-piece film can set
Taking its name from a ghost town in
southwestern Texas famous for a chili competition, the Shelby Terlingua Ford Mustang
came with a distinctive logo: a prancing
rabbit silhouetted in black on a chrome
and yellow crest. Greenlight’s racing tribute
edition (No. 12817, $54.99) includes the
authentic race livery paint scheme; opening doors, hood and trunk; fabric seat belts;
window box packaging; and a sequentially
numbered chassis. Available in March.
Mack Granite Flatbed Truck
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Distributors of Quality Toys
and Collectible Models
TWH Collectibles - Norscot - Spec-Cast
Tonkin Replicas - Greenlight - Bruder
M2 Machines - Eligor - Sword Models
Phone (417)206-9700
sales@b2bReplicas.com
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43
What’s selling: models/DIE-CAST
?
Slot-car racing is my best margin. We have
an in-store track and hold frequent competitions.
Mike McMasters
Tom Thumb Hobbies
Columbus, Ohio
I’d have to say that our comics and board
games are probably our best profit margins. They’ll jockey back and forth as to
which line we push that week. For the
most part, comics will sell themselves, but
we will partner up with the local theater
and run promotions in their lobby. We’ll
bring in creators on occasion to help promote a particular book.
Board games always make for fun promotions. Demo, demo, demo! If you’re not
doing these you absolutely must. During
the holiday season, we’ll line our glass
cases with board games and have signs
out that say, “ Ask us for a demo.” Nothing
WIN THIS PRIZE!
sells a game like a demo. Make sure your
staff can play whatever games are set up
because nothing says we have no clue
what we’re doing quicker than an employee saying, “I have no idea how to play that
game.” Trust me. Learning them, displaying
them, and on occasion, having a full-blown
game going on in the store will build your
board-game sales beyond belief.
Sue Furman
The Hobby Shop
Wilson, N.C.
Dragon items are my best margin and it
lets me promote them. They have a large
display right inside the door.
Melinda Woody
Military Hobbies
Orange, Calif.
W RTH
MORO
E THAN
30
RETAIL0
!
$
The market has been very tough this year
and has made it very competitive and sales
are down. Plastic models have given us the
best margins, but overall, it can’t make up
the shortfall. Being conscious of customers’
needs and special ordering has helped a
bit. Local advertising of the hobby store is
the best solution for us.
Steve Brockman
The Hobby Shoppe
Orangeville, Ont.
Dice and card sleeves give us our best margins among new products. Used games
and single cards offer the best margins
among all of our products. We make sure
we keep a good selection of all of them
in stock at all times and keep sleeves and
dice near the register for add-on and
impulse sales.
Scott Thorne
Castle Perilous Games
Carbondale, Ill.
Model kits and the Games Workshop miniatures line. With a greater discount I’m
able to pass along savings to my customers to increase sales.
Darrell Burris
D&J Hobby Center
Galax, Va.
You can win 14 Dragon and Mini
Art 1:35-scale kits in our next quarterly drawing. All you have to do
is participate in the What’s Selling
survey. E-mail Jenny Maaske at
jmaaske@modelretailer.com or call
262-796-8776 ext. 260 for more
information.
Congratulations
Chris Neilsen of Hobby Hut
Models in Grand Junction,
Colo. He received models
from Tamiya, Roden, Hasegawa and Accurate Miniatures.
Thanks to all the retailers
who returned the survey!
44
We Are A Full-Time Wholesaler!
First Response Replicas and American Heritage Models are
found Exclusively at Diecast Direct. We also supply Corgi,
IXO, J-Collection, Pioneer Display Cases, SpecCast and More!
Why Make Diecast Direct Your Supplier:
CLASSICS
REBORN
IN STOCK
round2models.com
Magazine advertising
moves readers to action.
More than half of readers took action
on magazine ads or had a more
favorable opinion about the advertiser.
Call Model Retailer for information on
how to move your readers to action.
Source: Affinity Research
1-888-558-1544 ext. 537 or ext. 652
166 Spruce Street • Rutland, VT 05701
P 802-747-6672 • F 802-775-1981
If it’s Die Cast, we have it!
1958 Ferrari 250
Testa Rossa
1:18 Scale
by CMC Models
Item No. CMC071
MSRP: $289.99
brian@replicarz.com • www.replicarz.com
1965 Corvette Stingray
red with black interior
1:18 Scale
by GMP
Item No. GMP1800701
MSRP: $279.95
(photo of actual vehicle)
All the top lines of die cast models in stock • Over 50 brands, Over 3,000 models • We ship worldwide
No quantity requirements • Low minimum order
45
What’s selling: Models/Die-Cast
Atlantic
North
Central
South
Mountain
Pacific
Store location
The Spare Time Shop
Marlborough, Mass.
On Track Hobbies
Port Moody, B.C.
Bedford, Ohio
D&J Hobby Center
Galax, Va.
Calgary, Alta.
Military Hobbies
Orange, Calif.
Vehicles
New 1:35 WWII armor
Various makes
Sherman tanks
Various makes
Various models
Dragon, Revell
GT40 Mk.II
Trumpeter
Panzer tanks
Various makes
1:35 Japanese tanks
Fine Molds
Aircraft
1:48 B-24D
Revell
Beaver
Various makes
Various models
Revell
1:48 V-22 Osprey
Trumpeter
WWII models
Various makes
1:48 Zero
Hasegawa
Ships/Die-Cast
New 1:350 releases
Various makes
Bluenose
Billings
Various models
Trumpeter
Apollo 27
Pegasus Models
No trend
1:350 Graf Spee
Academy
Accessories
manufacturer
Paint sets
Lifecolor
Paint
Acrylicos Vallejo
Various
Testors, Tamiya
Weapon sets
Academy
Paint
Tamiya
Paints, pigments
Mig
Store location
Turn 4 Hobbies
The Hobby Shoppe
Orangeville, Ont.
RC Hobbies Plus
Lafayette, Ind.
Adventure Hobbies
Christiansburg, Va.
Small Soldier
Calgary, Alta.
Hillcrest Hobbies
Yuba City, Calif.
Vehicles
1:25 Mystery Machine
Polar Lights
Cars, trucks
Revell
1960s, 1970s super cars
Various makes
Tractor trailers
Lindberg
1:35 U.S. Infantry sets
Various makes
1:24, 1:25 cars
AMT, Revell
Aircraft
Rockets
Estes
WWII models, jets
Revell
Warbirds
Various makes
Bombers
Revell
1:32 Spitfire
Tamiya
AV-8B Harrier II
Trumpeter
Ships/Die-Cast
NASCAR models
Various makes
No trend
Sailing ships
Various makes
USS Arizona
Revell
1:350 Graf Spee
Trumpeter
No trend
Accessories
Paint, glue
Testors
Paint, glue
Testors
Magazines
Various titles
No trend
manufacturer
Dieppe Churchill decals
Echelon
Paint
Tamiya
Store location
Brownies Pro & Sport
Staten Island, N.Y.
Uncle Bill’s Hobby
Calgary, Alta.
Tom Thumb Hobbies
Columbus, Ohio
HobbyTown USA
Tulsa, Okla.
Prairie Unique
Terry, Mont.
Phillip’s Hobbies
El Cajun, Calif.
Vehicles
1969 Dodge Charger
AMT
1:24 cars
Revell
Tanks
Academy
Gundam models
Bandai
Military trucks
Revell, AMT
Rommel’s Rod
Revell
Aircraft
Starter sets
Estes
1:32 Spitfire
Tamiya
F-25
Revell
1:20 Pkf.85 Falke
Hasegawa
WWII models
Various makes
1:32 F-100D
Trumpeter
Ships/Die-Cast
Blackbeard Pirate Ship
Lindberg
1:350 Graf Spee
Trumpeter
No trend
No trend
1:350 Bismarck
Various makes
1:350 USS Buchanan
Dragon
Accessories
CA glue
Bob Smith Industries
Model Master Metalizer
Testors
Paint
Tamiya
CA glue
Bob Smith Industries
Paint, glue
Various makes
Paint
Various makes
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
manufacturer
46
Now Available
1:32 Scale
Fokker F.I ‘Voss’
Pre-production version of the legendary WWI
Luftstreitkrafte triplane fighter and mount of German
ace Werner Voss during his heroic final dogfight. Kit
features well detailed exterior with subtle fabric-onframe effect, full cockpit, resin parts (engine cowling,
forward upper fuselage cover, tailplane, rudder, multipart Le Rhone radial engine and standing figure of
Lt Voss in flight gear) plus photo-etch parts (cowl
retaining strap, lower fuselage access panel, ignition
wires, fuselage lacing, machine gun jackets/details, control cable grommets,
cockpit enhancements and color data plates, instrument faces and seatbelts). Decals and color painting guide for 2 aircraft.
EC32003............................................................................................$69.99
Coming Soon
1:32 Scale
CM3203....................................................$79.95
Toll Free
1-800-527-0674
Tel: 972-323-0525 Fax: 972-242-3775
e-mail: mmdsales@militarymodel.net
www.militarymodel.net
SPECIALTY PRODUCTS
BY SUE BRETTINGEN
educational
Discover Electronics!
sparkle labs
With more than 130 parts, including
switches, buttons, diodes, capacitors,
transistors, regulators and a breadboard,
this kit (No. SL004, $49.99) and its book of
graphical instructions gives kids (12 and
up) and adults the opportunity to learn
about electronics and electricity and create their own projects. For more information, call 212-777-8051 or e-mail wholesale@sparklelabs.com.
games
letter for every two-, three-, or four-letter word; players who move quickly can
earn bonus points. The player with the
most points wins. Contact the company at
hk_sales@joando.com.
The pillars of the earth:
builders duel mayfair games
The setting: England in the 12th century.
The object of the game: building either
a cathedral or a fortress, depending on
which role you play. To construct your
building, you must obtain raw resources
and convert them into building materials,
being ever mindful of foes who would stop
you. For two players, ages 10 and older, the
game (No. MFG4119, $25) takes about 45
minutes to play.
students you can keep away, the better. The
game includes six boards representing five
different galleries, and various other elements. For three to five players, ages 10 and
up; game time is about 60 to 70 minutes.
glenn’s gallery
mayfair games
fast4words
Players of this game (No. MFG4108, $35) are
employees of Glenn’s Gallery, a prestigious
art gallery where they’re learning the ins
and outs of the business of selling fine art.
Customers are represented by cards; the
more you can collect, and the more art
basic concepts
48
In this game (No. 7027, $15), two players
take turns placing their letter blocks into
the upright letter grid, creating words vertically, horizontally, diagonally, backward
and forward. Players score one point per
mystic tower and the book of spells basic concepts
This game (No. 7067, $24.99) features a
tower that pops up for multi-level platform
play as soon as you unfold the board; play-
ers can manipulate movable paths and
stairways throughout the game. The game
comes with a comic book featuring the Relic
Raiders, which are characters in the game.
For two to four players, ages 6 and up. Contact the company at hk_sales@jonando.com.
1951 Precision bass in Butterscotch Blond
(No. FTC161). Each retails for $9.95. For
more information, e-mail info@georgetownhobbies.com.
pinewood derby
activity kits
binding so that it can lay flat. “Amazing
Creatures of the Sea” (No. 6007, shown)
retails for $6.99. The series also includes
“Fun with Fashion” (No. 6005, $6.99), “Busy
with Ballet” (No. 6006, $6.99), “Fun on the
Farm” (No. 6018, $3.99), “Awesome Dinosaurs” (No. 6017, $3.99) and “Pretty Princesses” (No. 6016, $4.99).
art kits for adult crafters
faber-castell
Faber-Castell has released a new series of
three gift kits designed for adult crafters.
Each comes with a fully illustrated instruction book and supplies. Watercolor Canvas
Art (No. 800200, shown) comes with five
watercolor pencils to draw on four miniature canvases. Colorful Ceramic Art Vases
(No. 800203) includes six miniature vases
and five colors of pencils. Colorful Ceramic
Tile Art (No. 800206) contains miniature
tiles and five colors of pencils for you to
create a mosaic. Each kit retails for $24.99.
coloring & artivity books
creativity for kids/faber-castell
Creativity for Kids’ “Coloring & Artivity
Books” feature art paper and vellum as
well as tips and techniques to inspire
young artists. Each book includes fun facts,
puzzles, crafts and games, and has a spiral
NEW!
collectibles
superior axle jig
pine-pro/amenco
fender guitar collection 2
f-toys
The spirit of rock and roll lives on in these
replicas of classics like the Stratocaster,
Jaguar and the Mustang. Each guitar measures 5 inches tall and is detailed right
down to the fretboard. Shown is the 1962
Fender Jaguar in Sherwood Green Metallic (No. FTC159). Others in the series are a
1968 Stratocaster in black (No. FTC154), a
1967 Mustang in red (No. FTC158) and a
Pine-Pro’s Superior Axle Jig (No. 10210,
$19.99) can be used to drill axle holes in
wood or other materials for pinewood
derby and similar projects. Besides the
drilling jig with camber adjustment, the
package includes one #44 drill, two #1032 set screws for camber and one Allen
wrench for camber screws.
E-mail Sue at sbrettingen@modelretailer.
com. Unless otherwise indicated, contact
information for all companies mentioned
can be found in Model Retailer’s Business
Pages at www.ModelRetailer.com.
Max Modeller Now Available!
TSS-ADH-MOD0210RH
Kalmbach Publishing Co. is proud to be the exclusive U.S. distributor
of Max Modeller. A fresh, exciting new visual monthly publication
from the team behind AFV and AIR Modeller, showcasing the best
from the world of scale miniatures. Everything from ships, tanks,
and aircraft to figures, cars, and sci-fi will be presented in their
acclaimed visual style. Along with inspirational model projects,
Max Modeller will have regular news and reviews with how-to
features and much more. PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW!
Hobby shops, please contact:
Phone 1-800-558-1544, ext. 818
Fax 262-798-6592
E-mail tss@kalmbach.com
49
SLOT CARS
BY TIm Kidwell
Cars
Accessories
1:32 Digital Pontiac Firebird Trans Am ’77
Carrera
1:32 Digital Chevy Chevelle SS 454 ’70
Carrera
This digitally equipped car comes in two
versions: a blue stock version (No. 30483,
shown) and a yellow hot rod with blower
and extra-wide rear tires (No. 30482). Both
come with two neodymium magnets,
and working head and taillights. MSRP is
$43.99 each.
Available in two versions: black (No.
30480) and red (No. 30481, shown). Both
cars are equipped with working front and
rear lights, spare side mirrors, braids and
replacement guide. Each retails for $43.99.
GP1000
Lube-It
This multipurpose fluid lubricant is safe to
use on plastic-to-plastic, plastic-to-metal
or metal-to-metal contacts. For prices, contact Phoenix Unlimited at 847-515-1263 or
phoenixul@foxvalley.net.
1:32 Ford GT Lightning
‘NINCO World Cup 2009’
Always with you in Mind!
WE SHIP FAST! Dealers only!
We Specialize In:
PLASTIC MODELSESTES, TESTORS PAINT
1/24 & 1/32 Scale SLOT CARS
R/C PRODUCTS & CARS
1010 N. Van Buren, Unit B
Enid, Oklahoma, 73703
1-800-543-5743 / (580) 234-3433 Fax
MasterCard
Ninco
Limited edition! The Ford GT Lightning
(No. 50544, $79.98) comes with a transparent Lexan chassis with screw motor support; Lexan lightened interior tray; NC-5
Speeder motor; 33/11 anglewinder gearset; silicone guide cables; and Prorace front
and rear wheels. Distributed exclusively by
MRC.
SG2000
Lube-It
1:32 Corvette C6 ‘Police’
This non-toxic, semi-fluid, multipurpose
grease works well on sliding parts, axles
and worm gears. Safe for use on plastic.
Available from Phoenix Unlimited.
Ninco
Popular at the iHobby Expo, this highway
patrol car (No. 755011, $69.98) features
bright flashing headlights, taillights, and
intermittent blue and red lights on the
roof. Available from MRC.
50
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