1:72 Manufacturer Output and Trends: a Decade in Review
Nov 9, 2019 10:02:59 GMT
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Post by Nico on Nov 9, 2019 10:02:59 GMT
As the 2010s draw to a close let's take a look at some manufacturers' output and various trends over the past ten years. I'll attempt to illustrate these with the use of some graphs which should help us take stock of where we were and how things have evolved.
Caveats: Military models only. Figures for 2019 obviously not final. Split-runs (A, B and C releases) involving different airframes, i.e. Corgi's Mogadishu Black Hawks, are counted as separate releases. Hobby Master's signed B releases not counted. Release dates subject to some guesswork and extrapolation. Finding the release date of some models can be harder than you think. With releases scheduled for December, it's often impossible to tell if they were in fact released then or in the following year. I've gone with the scheduled date unless there's hard evidence that it was delayed, either way it balances out. Sometimes releases go stealth and it's hard to find any information on them.
New toolings
Unsurprisingly, Hobby Master leads the way with 38 new toolings. A noticeable divergence has emerged between Corgi and HM in the second half of the decade and particularly the last two years, having run fairly even until 2014.
Total number of releases
Of particular note here is the rapid rise of Falcon Models to become one of the more prolific manufacturers until their sad demise in 2014. That year also saw the end of Gemini Aces' military models.
The cumulative totals really illustrate just how far HM have pulled away from their competitors in terms of volume. Since 2010 they've gone from producing just over Corgi's total to three and a half times as many by 2019. Once again the divergence over the last two years in particular is very clear.
The decline of World War II releases
This has been one of the major talking points over the past few years, particularly in relation to Hobby Master. The following graph illustrates the downward trend from all the manufacturers mentioned. For purposes of this comparison I have combined the HM figures with SkyMax, and included pre-war releases with WWII. I have to admit that the decline of HM's WWII output is not nearly as precipitous as I had assumed. It seems to have been a steady decline spanning much of the decade, rather than the sharp drop-off in the last two or three years that I'd been expecting.
The cumulative totals reflect - even with Corgi's reduced numbers - a slight but growing divergence between Corgi's WWII output and that of HM/SM.
I haven't kept records for any 1:72 manufacturers not listed, and while I don't follow their developments even I could tell at a glance that the online databases such as DiMA and Wings900 were incomplete. The Witty databases seem to be complete but around half the models were sans release date and therefore could not be included. The bottom line is that I have not deliberately excluded JC Wings, Witty, Oxford, Aviation72 et al., so if you do wish to discuss them please feel free.
Hope you found this mildly informative and interesting. Any surprises? Happy with the way the hobby has developed, totally disillusioned or somewhere in between? Let us know your thoughts, and here's to the next decade.
Caveats: Military models only. Figures for 2019 obviously not final. Split-runs (A, B and C releases) involving different airframes, i.e. Corgi's Mogadishu Black Hawks, are counted as separate releases. Hobby Master's signed B releases not counted. Release dates subject to some guesswork and extrapolation. Finding the release date of some models can be harder than you think. With releases scheduled for December, it's often impossible to tell if they were in fact released then or in the following year. I've gone with the scheduled date unless there's hard evidence that it was delayed, either way it balances out. Sometimes releases go stealth and it's hard to find any information on them.
New toolings
Unsurprisingly, Hobby Master leads the way with 38 new toolings. A noticeable divergence has emerged between Corgi and HM in the second half of the decade and particularly the last two years, having run fairly even until 2014.
Total number of releases
Of particular note here is the rapid rise of Falcon Models to become one of the more prolific manufacturers until their sad demise in 2014. That year also saw the end of Gemini Aces' military models.
The cumulative totals really illustrate just how far HM have pulled away from their competitors in terms of volume. Since 2010 they've gone from producing just over Corgi's total to three and a half times as many by 2019. Once again the divergence over the last two years in particular is very clear.
The decline of World War II releases
This has been one of the major talking points over the past few years, particularly in relation to Hobby Master. The following graph illustrates the downward trend from all the manufacturers mentioned. For purposes of this comparison I have combined the HM figures with SkyMax, and included pre-war releases with WWII. I have to admit that the decline of HM's WWII output is not nearly as precipitous as I had assumed. It seems to have been a steady decline spanning much of the decade, rather than the sharp drop-off in the last two or three years that I'd been expecting.
The cumulative totals reflect - even with Corgi's reduced numbers - a slight but growing divergence between Corgi's WWII output and that of HM/SM.
I haven't kept records for any 1:72 manufacturers not listed, and while I don't follow their developments even I could tell at a glance that the online databases such as DiMA and Wings900 were incomplete. The Witty databases seem to be complete but around half the models were sans release date and therefore could not be included. The bottom line is that I have not deliberately excluded JC Wings, Witty, Oxford, Aviation72 et al., so if you do wish to discuss them please feel free.
Hope you found this mildly informative and interesting. Any surprises? Happy with the way the hobby has developed, totally disillusioned or somewhere in between? Let us know your thoughts, and here's to the next decade.
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