One thing that I’ve noticed over the years is just how ingrained into the collective New Zealand modelling conciousness is the Tamiya brandname. Over the past ten years or so we have seen a veritable quantum leap in modelling, from the days when Tamiya was the undisputed champion, being great leaps ahead of the competition in terms of kit fit and build, to today when we have 500+ piece kits with metal barrels, photo-etch, resin, and then the option to add more of the same to make it into a 1000+ piece kit.
I don’t think anyone can argue that compaies like Dragon haven’t raised the bar not just a little, but into a whole new league, and others have followed, companies like Hobby Boss, AFV Club, and even Trumpeter who have now lifted their game. Tamiya still produces good kits, but their focus these days seems to be on RC and model cars so we see rehashed older kits more than we see new kits, and even those that we do see are still traditional Tamiya. By that I mean they are good kits, but not nose deep in excess parts and photo-etch.
But still Tamiya seems to dominate the market in New Zealand, so lately I’ve been wondering exactly why that is and I’ve come up with three possible theories, though I’m sure the truth is probably a mix of the three.
The first, and the one I hear most often, is that we as a nation, as a people, don’t like change. We’ve always had Tamiya, we trust it, the name is well known, well established, and up until recently it has always been very cost effective with most kits being under $50. The early Trumpeter and Dragon weren’t that great and just as the first crappy Datsuns did irreparable damage to the image of Japanese cars for decades to come, perhaps those early kits didn’t set those brand up quite as well as they might have. Only time will tell if that one is true.
The second is one I think does have some bearing, and that is that the established brands here, the Tamiyas, the Italeris, the Revells etc, have a local representative, a local ditributor. Dragon, Hobby Boss, AFV Club have to come in from Australia, Academy has no representation. But though I think this has some bearing I don’t think it’s that big an influence, as the Tamiya representative also used to handle ICM and Zvezda but they also failed to be accepted. Likewise despite the kits, particularly the newer ones, being quite good Masterbox is very hard to get broad acceptance for.
The third is the possibility that those of us who choose our kits based on how much detail and accuracy they have are completely over-estimating the importance of that to the general modelling populace. The reality could simply be that most modellers like the quick, easy builds that Tamiya provide, and steer clear of the complexities of photo-etch and high part count kits that the likes of Dragon provide. Many of us who build Dragon kit as a preference will scratch our heads at why someone will buy the $70 Tamiya Tiger instead of the $100 Dragon one when the Dragon one has three times the parts. Perhaps they just don’t want three times the parts.
Quite simply it could be that Tamiya has survived for 30 plus years because they have found the right balance of what the mainstream modeller wants in a kit. That being an easy build with a good enough level of accuracy for the average man in the street, as opposed to the man with an extensive reference library. Tamiya serves well the needs of the average modeller, the massed modelling market if you will.
The New Zealand modelling market isn’t huge, and in the past year or two the few modelling shops in Auckland have become three less that I know of. Others devote more space to RC, cars, and trains, and I can only assume that they do that because those are what sells. The New Zealand Market is small, and the percentage of it that prefers the complex builds is no doubt an even smaller subset. A quick look in a well stocked magazine shop will show three or four modelling magazines to more than a dozen model railway ones. Quite simply it would seem that there really just isn’t that many of us.
Whatever the reason I suspect that for the immediate future at least that things will stay as they are, Tamiya will be the dominant name, Dragon will take the cream off the top, Hobby Boss, AFV Club, Trumpeter and the likes will struggle to get any decent level of sales, and the new comers from Eastern Europe will find the modelling world in general unreceptive.
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Once a kit goes over $100 it becomes a specailist kit when compared to what the average modeller pays.
My Das Riech (Kurst) Tiger 1 will be a 6 Tiger models sets and replacement tracks to the Tamiya kit and a PE set. If dragon did one a lot of update sets would not sell.
DML should be putting out a full range of updated Tiger I kits as Smart Kits over the next year or so.
What perhaps lets Tamiya down is the still have in circulation kits from 30 years ago, either in their orginal release form or some simple changes ie their Italian WW2 armour.
Their figures seem to have gone backwards!
Ease of assembly and to a lesser extent price over Dragon help but accuracy leaves something to be desired look at the Panther comparison. The Tiger is another example. Tamiya turret is simply wrong.
Tamiya corrected their Pz.Kpfw.VI Ausf.E turret some time ago but even so it is still less of a kit than the DML equivalent to those who care. But I think that’s Tamiya’s strength, that 90% don’t actually care. The mainstream modeller likes the balance of a good easy build, a reasonable price, and an end result that looks close enough.
I think that’s exactly it. Frequently on forums I see people mention that they are building a Tamiya kit and the first three replies will be along the lines of “why didn’t ou buy the Dragon kit”. I reckon that for 80% of modellers it’s because the Tamiya kits are exactly what people want.
My two and a half cents worth.
Regardless of what one may think of Tamiya they are the dominant force to Mr Joe Average modeller. One must take note that for quite some time folk new to the hobby quite often come from a generation that like the quick fix. Also within the Tamiya range you have educational models and RC plus collector style kits. One might say that they are a family of items that many are familiar with. Second the parents of many a young modeler probably grew up with Mr T so obviously their offspring will be directed theta way. Thirdly, Draon are plain just on the fiddly side and cost an arm and a leg for junior to be let loose on.
Plus why pay a high premium then have to remove bits from the base kit to allow this or that to be modelled when there is a cheaper alternative. Yes there are those that do want the detail to the xenth degree but the majority who buy kits don’t simply care. All they want is a model. hence, Mr T middle of the road are popular. Why? Simply Mr or Mrs Joe Average can build them. Kits from Mr T are buildable complete with readable easy to follow instructions and the same cannot be said for many a kit from other manufactures. Tamiya rules.