The End Is Nigh

[ukzz4iroc]

Saw my mate Monty last week and we were saying how dead trades were on TC and how slow ebay is in what is traditionally mad at this time of year. Then just watched Netsmith's wonderful yet very sad Loft video. Is it the case that our generation have all got all the cars we wanted and many have moved on again to other things? Never known it so slow and looking at all those wonderful cars in the vid made me think of all the fun those cars have given people at some stages and now they just sit there- redundant...

So what's going on y'all? Where have all the heavyweight, oldschool collectors gone? Moosey stand up! Netsmith stand up! Where have all the heroes gone?

A depressed Felix

[Shodog]

I think there are collectors still out there looking for the vintage stuff. It's just the dynamic of this site has changed. Many of the old timers like myself have stopped contributing to the forums. The forums have no been populated by a lot of newcomers. I guess you could consider it the changing of the guard.

[Singapore_959]

I think there are collectors still out there looking for the vintage stuff. It's just the dynamic of this site has changed. Many of the old timers like myself have stopped contributing to the forums. The forums have no been populated by a lot of newcomers. I guess you could consider it the changing of the guard.

I hope not! New troops need wise old leaders

Come back, come back, where ever you are!

Personally I think that it just takes alot of effort to contribute in the manner of the past and without feedback the motivation level drops? While I am not one of the originals, I certainly feel this when I post up.

I enjoy all the 'wise old posters' everytime I see one of you all posting. It makes me immediately click on the thread even if the title doesn't strike me.

[dready]

These forums have deffinately changed recently bit of a lull me thinks.

People move on it's life we cant spend all our time mucking around with cars.

So new people come to the front and other's take a step backwards and the trend continues.

And then the old collectors finally sell all ther cars and the world goes round again.

It's deffinatley a lot quieter than it has been, speaking of quiet Where's Ryan he's usually got something to say.

[Matty777]

A few years back when I first went on ebay you could buy perfect examples of roughriders and sandscorchers with boxes etc etc for just over 100. Now its just scraps with beaten up old models fetching very high prices. With a family and bills to pay it is hard to justify paying and spending the time restoring these models (for me). It is easier to wait for a re issue model which can then be used as a runner and enjoyed from the start.

[monster_beetle]

For me collecting had just started

Only money is the problem, I don't have everything I want to have. I want so much more, but it takes it's rtime...

[twisty]

Cheer up Felix,

I think collector/seller might be suffering a little bit,because they now have much more competition.

Great news for the collector/buyer it is a buyers market due to the internet.

If you are just selling Tamiya gear,then maybe you need to branch out into other areas a little?

[Gruntfuggly]

Personally I'm not in it for the collecting - it's more just getting hold of older models - taking them apart - getting them running, etc. The collecting market is too scary in terms of value, and massively unstable.

It is a shame some of the oldies don't post much anymore, but there are still plenty of people around from when the club started...

[ukzz4iroc]

I guess for me it's not about the foums but more about lack of showroom updates or trades. The buzz has gone. I'm still loving it all sounds like I'm not alone after all

Change of guard? Well put. Could be.

[Wireless]

Some of us old timers are still here...! I was at the first unofficial TC meet at Clumber Park, the first Spring Drive at Snetterton (2003), posted the first movie edited to music (actually of the Spring Drive). Does that make me an old timer...?

I am now working though which makes a huge difference. Up at 7am and rarely home before 8pm means toy time is limited these days, not to mention finances limited. I have *so* much to do with cars, planes and helicopters but just cannot find the time. At the weekend I just wanna relax and trekking into my garage to mess with buggies is just not on the RADAR. Once the winter has passed, I will be back out there for sure...

This all said, TC will be one of the sites that I visit on a regular basis for sure...

[GTodd]

I think it is just that the supply/demand for classics such as rough riders, Avantes, and the s speeders have driven the prices to level that some of cant justify the price of something that is in the end just a "Toy". I relay want another Avante, regret selling the one I had, but I just cant justify that much money on a Toy.

[ryanbored]

Well I'm fairly new and found the welcome and attitude here to be spot on. (apart from Dready who's always got something to say! )

This site has re-ignited a collecting and engineering desire that has been with me from when i first played with lego or meccano, or got my first nikko buggy.

If it wasn't for this site I would have a lot less fun, alot more money and get more done at work!

Thanks is in order.

So thankyou

Ryan

[RichieRich]

I think the reason a lot of the old timers aren't around much is because they've probably already filled their wishlist. Back before Tamiyaclub, we had Roby's forum on EZ boards. This is where most of the old timers got to know eachother and made trades, etc. I joined Roby's board towards the end just before Tamiyaclub came around. Now, it seems there's a younger generation with DF02s and F-350s instead of SRBs and Bruisers.

[matisse]

I think the reason a lot of the old timers aren't around much is because they've probably already filled their wishlist. Back before Tamiyaclub, we had Roby's forum on EZ boards. This is where most of the old timers got to know eachother and made trades, etc. I joined Roby's board towards the end just before Tamiyaclub came around. Now, it seems there's a younger generation with DF02s and F-350s instead of SRBs and Bruisers.

RR makes a goodpoint, those who have been colecting for a long time have by and large completed their collections, so the chance of getting that steal off e-bay or the NIB you've been loking for is much lles now as they've mostly been taken.

I've recently got back in to RC and massively regret selling my wild one and madcap when i was a kid, i'd love to have them again, but half the fun is building them and with so few kits out there the prices are ridiculous. don't even get me started on a king cab or monster racer, oy!

but like everyone else i still trawl the house clearence shops, LHS, and car boot sales beacuse you never know.

matisse

[Hibernaculum]

2 cents...

Is there such a thing as an end to the enjoyment of these old toys? I don't think that will ever be the case, so that's one positive.

Having said that, the 1999 - 2003 period saw a huge flurry of collecting and trade, as eBay came of age. And that was never going to last forever. There are only a finite number of people in the world willing to shell out the sort of money required to buy up vintage R/C stuff en masse, and own huge collections. And as others have said, a lot of the those collectors have had their fill and got what they wanted. Some have even sold it all off and moved on.

If there's any kind of downturn, I would call it a "correction". It's a bit like the stock market. Bubbles burst, and markets that are overheated always suffer a correction, that brings them back to a more realistic and sustainable level.

If things still aren't selling, maybe prices need to fall back a bit further? They will never fall to nothing, but maybe 10-15pounds for a NIP Sand Scorcher switch cover or steering rod is still a bit overinflated, etc. (Not whinging, just speculating!).

I don't think I've noticed any significant declines in values in recent times (excluding kits that have been re-released). Merely a plateau, followed by both ups and downs. Take the classic example - the NIB Scorcher. In 2000 they were going for US$1400. Before eBay, the value would only have been locally estimated at something like US$1000, or below. Nowadays they're somewhere around US$2500-$2800, but they've been at that level for a while. Some go higher, some go lower. Further significant increases may take longer than the sharp increase during the 2000-2004 period. (Note - There are currency factors at play too, in that the US$ is not as strong as it was).

Personally I've never been involved in the collecting "community" that much, other than posting here now and then for the past few years. I just do what I do, buy what I buy, but have made a few good friends along the way. Not a huge collector by any means, with only about 100 models now, and I do remember the old EZboard days and was actually collecting long before then, just in terms of hunting around local hobby stores collecting parts and genuinely trying to restore a few models to shelf standard. I only started to have money of my own right around the time when 1/10 electric offroad R/C cars really lost the plot in terms of design (early 90s), which explains why I immediately began looking for the old stuff.

So what I can say though is that despite any downturn we may feel, the reality is that with the internet and online trading, we are experiencing a world of collecting FAR bigger and better and more exciting than anything that existed, say, pre-1998. So we shouldn't forget that

I spent at least 6 years wandering around shops between 1992-1998, looking for parts, cars, etc. I was never part of any collecting 'network' or racing fraternity, so it was extremely hard to find things - particularly in brand new condition. For someone who didn't have "connections" in the hobby world such that I could raid vast underground pre-eBay vaults full of boxes of SRB radio tubs, there were only slim pickings to be found. It was fun to go turfing through clearance containers and look for old parts in the shops (in fact I really miss those days!) but I could only find modest quantities of parts, and certainly no NIB kits.

Until eBay came along. Then everything changed. Previously I would never have dreamed that more than a handful of complete, vintage kits still existed in NIB condition, in the entire world. But internet trading revealed thousands of NIB vintage kits still existing in the world - what an isolated view I used to have!

eBay and the internet elevated the pursuit of a few independent nostalgia freaks visiting local stores, into a worldwide community of international trade. I remember buying a NIB Wild One back in 2000 from a British soldier stationed in Saudi Arabia, and just shaking my head at the wonder of it all

So IMHO, things are good. Not as full on as they were, but the mere fact that you CAN still buy these ancient, long lost toys and parts at all, continues to be a thrill for me, whilst ensuring my wallet is always as light as a feather Still highly motivated and still having fun here.

cheers,

H.

[highflyer]

I think the reason a lot of the old timers aren't around much is because they've probably already filled their wishlist. Back before Tamiyaclub, we had Roby's forum on EZ boards. This is where most of the old timers got to know eachother and made trades, etc. I joined Roby's board towards the end just before Tamiyaclub came around. Now, it seems there's a younger generation with DF02s and F-350s instead of SRBs and Bruisers.

I have read some posts. It Sounds like some members are just bored. What is the young generation? Anyway, I hope you 'old timers' stick around.... Cheer up guys.

CHEERS,

Rob

[RichieRich]

Not a huge collector by any means, with only about 100 models now,

Only about 100 models?

[Hibernaculum]

That's still nothing compared to the big collectors

[Tamiya1/10]

I've been with TC for 4 years now (I am an old timer?) and I am not too crazy about the new models by Tamiya hence don't know to much about them. I think new and younger TC members will like more and more of the vantage models and the cycle repeats itself.

For some members the interest has peaked or have other more important commitments and no time.

Right now, I don't see my Tamiyas as RC or Toys or as a collection but more of a home "decoration" piece like a vase, sculpture, bust ...

[mini-ac]

well, this is only my second year here, but when I started collecting tamiya cars, I remember I said to myself "I'm going to spend 100 euro a month, this should get me a new car every two months".

I bought my first "vintage" for 150 old french francs, it was a never ran monster beetle with just the driver, and one small part missing !!

I don't think I could find this kind of deal today

tom4, not a real oldtimer, but older than the youngers:)

[Jay61076]

I have only been a TC member for just over a year but have been into model for over 20 years. I feel that the E-bay has opened everyone’s eyes to the collector scene.

In years past I picked up loads of 2nd hand stuff from small ads and car boot sales I even got a Full monster beetle for 3 once. If you look through the ads now people expect almost new prices and will get them at times so it just an evolution of the market place.

One thing that puzzles me is I tend to buy build and run a small amount I don’t normally trash them with the exception of my competition entry :-) but so many collectors now buy 2 or more new releases one to play the rest to stay boxed.... So in 20 or 30 years time there will be loads of NIB old models and their value just won’t be there or am I being cynical

Key thing for me is I enjoy them, I don’t do it for the money....yet

[sosidge]

My gut feeling is that all of these "modern collectable" hobbies are reaching a plateau, not just Tamiya/RC.

Basic reason being everyone now knows about eBay, everyone's loft has been opened up, and most items that were worth trading have been bought and sold and found a long term home.

Finding Rough Riders and the likes in the early days of eBay was tough and boot sale finds were more common because people didn't check the value of these things. Now there is page after page of vintage Tamiya parts on eBay, various professional sellers who have accumulated old shop stock and limited Japanese reissues, and car booters check the value of everything they have before going to the sales.

I remember when the whole radio control section of eBay was less than 200 items. This is going back to about 2001/2002 when I first started using it, I came to eBay quite late. Now there are 200 items for most popular RC searches!

Also the western worlds economy is about to go down the pan so a lot of people are keeping their wallets closed right now.

[ryanbored]

Basic reason being everyone now knows about eBay, everyone's loft has been opened up, and most items that were worth trading have been bought and sold and found a long term home.

I don't think that's strickly true as at least once a week you see (and that's just the clasified section of TC) "Selling up, offers taken on showroom"

The main difference between now and then is peoples expectations of price/ value. Why advertise a king hauler (for example) at 400 when you can get a new one from asia for less than that? I just don't get it.

People awareness of value are now more commonplace with the advent of TC/ Ebay etc, but there are still pleanty of deals to be had. Miss-spealings, wrong catagories for a start. Recently I missed out on a ~NIB Blackfoot at 32 (The winning bidder was a mate, so i messeged him and let him win )

I still can't motivate myself to trawl through car-boot sales early sunday mornings though!

[dready]

I still can't motivate myself to trawl through car-boot sales early sunday mornings though!

Couldn't agree more, sunday mornings are for lying in not trawling through tat with all the other muppets.

[Igottamiya]

For me I'm still very definitely into RC. I simply do not have as much time and over the past two years with littles ones now on the scene have not really had time to checkout the forums.

On the other hand I have had a good spell to trade through the ads to move on stuff that was on shelfs and swap for modern stuff.