Evening Dave:
Dave, I would really like to see this through to see if a group or groups of enthusiasts can really influence a plastic model maker.
In that sense, my strategy parallels yours and it is here that I need your help and the help of others. I am a long ago modeller, now a model retailer amongst other things I sell. As an individual "brick and mortar" retailer, I would put my volume up against up any other "brick and mortar" store. However, I do not do mail order nor internet sales so my volume is based on my local market. However....my store is also probably the largest in terms of size in the US and that draws a lot of factory types who want to see what a 30,000 sq ft hobby retail store looks like.
I would like to leverage that advantage and, again, do a proper job of it.
So, to return to the strategy, I agree that we collectively have to come up with a suggestion for a chassis and cab that can be, with the obvious make differences, a basis for a wide range of Chev and Ford trucks. Tamiya have the engines and other parts of the drive train for both already. More and more mass market kits are coming out with alternative wheel sizes so that should not be a problem although there is still the "aftermarket" for those items. Tamiya, amongst others, is also starting to market accessory sets that can be used to differentiate basic models to create other variants.
This much I do know, For perhaps 5 years, I lobbied with the die cast and plastic manufacturers to introduce what we call "tuners", the modified lower line Japanese coupes and sedans that are all the rage now, as opposed to continue to produce old "muscle car" models that the younger crowd has no interest in today.
More than one marketing or product manager from these firms has told me that my name popped up in their market research and although I am certain I had little or no influence on their decision to enter this market segment it doesn't hurt that they know who I am.
The slight tactical advantage I may have is that I am a retailer, not a modeller albeit a retailer with a deep knowledge of the hobbyist side of modelling. And...I run a very large, high volume hobby store as a business, not a hobby and most of the manufacturers know that. I have no vested interest in getting my "favorite" model put into production. I just want to sell more models, same as they do.
Let's keep it going and see where it leads.
Cheers
Bill
__________________
Dog Robber Sends
|