They don't sell model cars/trucks at Walmart. Bad sign for future truck builders

[C-10 simplex]

1) i'm not really happy selection-wise and atmosphere-wise with walmart, but happy with their pricing. i think target is a little better. Also, look into target's debit card---they offer 5% off anything in the whole store. k-mart WAS (is?) better than walmart in my opinion.

2) i was ignorant enough to try to buy something else from wm, but later realized they don't carry it. i think you can guess...............

[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by special-K

I disagree. There are a lot of things Walmart doesn't sell...or ever did...that will always be around. It's more like the models weren't profitable enough to take up shelf space. I heard Toys R Us stopped or cut back because of kit bashing (stealing parts) and that was most likely the same with Walmart. It's common problem in large stores. Buying online hurts about all retail stores,also. Walmart sells the things that they feel people will buy most locally and now,not order and wait. They are a mass marketing company more than they are a store.
I don't believe what people are saying about young people not being interested in working on vehicles. I'm surprised at how many youngins are messing with older vehicles and trucks,especially. We have a lot here and my area has a whole lot. I see them at swap meets and many friend's have sons who are into it. I have young guys talk to me about my trucks all the time. If anything,it's how expensive it has gotten. That has put a hurtin' on me and I have always had cool old stuff all my life.

I'm not saying models won't be around. Just saying the fact they aren't carried at Walmart, indicates they don't sell very well. You made my point when you talked about shelf space
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[special-K]

Walmart has a limited toy department that carries only the top selling items that take as little space as possible that they can get for the lowest bulk wholesale. They don't carry many many toys that are big sellers at Toys R Us. Models are a hobby,not a toy. Walmart also dumped their crafts section a few years ago. They are ever changing what they carry to maximize floor space and I'd hate to see what they spend on just staffing and studying that. I guess I just don't use Walmart to gauge what's what. They are just a biggass store and there's a whole world outside of Walmart. There are actually a lot of people who won't even go there...and somehow they survive!

[67ChevyRedneck]

I bet virtual model building as a smart phone app would sell well! If anyone reading this steals my idea and makes millions I want a royalty! ...seriously though... I'll send you a PM where to make the checks payable to...

[Sillyoldman]

Personally I'm happy to say that I really don't know what Walmart sells or not. When I was a kid our grocery store sold models.

[Indian113]

I try to shop anywhere but Walmart! They have done a very good job of killing Main Street in our area. I wanted to buy a piece of jewelry fro my wife for Christmas,NO Jewelry stores are open in our County seat-I'm going to drive to Des Moines to a REAL Jewelry Store.

[arturo7]

You can't lay all the blame on Walmart. They offer cheap shvt and people like to buy cheap shvt.

[Indian113]

Originally Posted by arturo7

You can't lay all the blame on Walmart. They offer cheap shvt and people like to buy cheap shvt.

I spose your right-We have done it to ourselves!

[Liz]

Originally Posted by arturo7

You can't lay all the blame on Walmart. They offer cheap shvt and people like to buy cheap shvt.

I never get that mentality. Not yours, but the buy at WalMart its cheap one.. Ok so its cheap, thats because its crap.. you will have to replace it 40x over in the time it takes to wear out one better made item. The food is a joke also. The cheap items have less in them etc than other stores. The ones that are the same cost more per oz etc. It surely is cheaper... you just get less and stuff that falls apart. Why not just shop at the dollar tree and be done with it.

[Gumby]

a good 5 or so years back all stores here stopped carrying models and supplies, now only the few hobby stores still around sell them, but ebay is your own super store for that stuff.

like the margins got so thin, all the stores moved them out for other products to take that space.

[85chevy86]

67chevyredneck is on something. why build something with your hands when there are ipads and iphones for games. i use to love model. maybe that is why i am the way i am today

[C-10 simplex]

Another thing to consider is that kids today aren't interested in models.

[Z16]

Everyone on this board should find a kid, take them to their local Hobby Shop (or wherever sells models in your town), buy a model and building supplies, and take that kid home and help them build that model to show them having a hobby is about. I would bet a lot of them would be asking question about our trucks and hot rods in general after that.

Support your local Hobby Shop and while you're at it, Support your local Speed Shop. We don't want either to disappear.

[Revoh]

Originally Posted by Z16

Everyone on this board should find a kid, take them

[leddzepp]

I have never been into models. Why build something you can't play with or drive? I love building "real" cars however, so lack of modeling has never diminished my interest in automobiles. I loved Hotwheels and matchbox cars growing up cause you could play with them, race them and crash them...and they didn't fall apart.
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[special-K]

I loved building models when I was a kid. They taught me the different parts of a vehicle by name and gave me a general understanding of how vehicles were assembled. That gave me the confidence to take on working on real cars. My first car was old and not running when I got it and I got it on the road by myself and ended up restoring/modifying it over time. Models also taught me patience and gave me better skill with intricate hand to eye coordination. I also had toy vehicles to play with as well as building and riding bikes.
I have taken kids and gotten them into building models before,but none lately. Both my sons I got into models and both still do it some and are into cars & trucks. If interest by younger people is being threatened,it's because they aren't being exposed by older people,not because Walmart doesn't sell models.

[jrdv]

Originally Posted by special-K

I loved building models when I was a kid. They taught me the different parts of a vehicle by name and gave me a general understanding of how vehicles were assembled. That gave me the confidence to take on working on real cars. My first car was old and not running when I got it and I got it on the road by myself and ended up restoring/modifying it over time. Models also taught me patience and gave me better skill with intricate hand to eye coordination. I also had toy vehicles to play with as well as building and riding bikes.
I have taken kids and gotten them into building models before,but none lately. Both my sons I got into models and both still do it some and are into cars & trucks. If interest by younger people is being threatened,it's because they aren't being exposed by older people,not because Walmart doesn't sell models.

I'm with you!
I didn't have TV growing up, but my parents would buy me a model ever so often to build. I don't think I would have had the interest in cars without the background doing models.

Well, maybe I would have. I learned to drive in a 69 GMC!

[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by special-K

I loved building models when I was a kid. They taught me the different parts of a vehicle by name and gave me a general understanding of how vehicles were assembled. That gave me the confidence to take on working on real cars. My first car was old and not running when I got it and I got it on the road by myself and ended up restoring/modifying it over time. Models also taught me patience and gave me better skill with intricate hand to eye coordination. I also had toy vehicles to play with as well as building and riding bikes.
I have taken kids and gotten them into building models before,but none lately. Both my sons I got into models and both still do it some and are into cars & trucks. If interest by younger people is being threatened,it's because they aren't being exposed by older people,not because Walmart doesn't sell models.

Sir, honestly you need to take the blinders off and see the big picture I have been trying to say all along. No, it isn't Walmart's fault, or simply due to the fact that Walmart doesn't carry models. Yes, models can be purchased from mom and pop hobby shops. However, the fact that Walmart is perhaps the largest retailer in the country and they don't carry models, would indicate that models don't sell very well to today's kids. If today's kids aren't buying models (or other comparable toys), it might indicate that when they get older they might not have the mechanical skills or desire to work on vehicles. Enough said
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[leddzepp]

That is an awful lot of "mights". I might fall and break my leg tomorrow, I might not. Some might have mechanical skills, some might not. Models might make a difference, they might not (as in my case). I see this as pointless worrying. While I did not take an interest in building models, I do see SpecialK's perspective as being very reasonable and valid, and absent of blinders. Walmart is the largest retailer on the planet, and they will stock their shelves with whatever product sells best. It makes no sense for them to have an aisle of models when Michaels and other mom and pop hobby shops carry tons of them. I look at it as something you CAN'T buy at Walmart...and most would agree that is a good thing.
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[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

That is an awful lot of "mights". I might fall and break my leg tomorrow, I might not. Some might have mechanical skills, some might not. Models might make a difference, they might not (as in my case). I see this as pointless worrying. While I did not take an interest in building models, I do see SpecialK's perspective as being very reasonable and valid, and absent of blinders. Walmart is the largest retailer on the planet, and they will stock their shelves with whatever product sells best. It makes no sense for them to have an aisle of models when Michaels and other mom and pop hobby shops carry tons of them. I look at it as something you CAN'T buy at Walmart...and most would agree that is a good thing.
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I am all knowing. I have a crystal ball. The word might therefore cannot exist

But I digress. Besides, using your logic, Walmart shouldn't carry produce, because it is sold at farmers markets...
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[fastwillie 696969]

Originally Posted by Mister-B

I'm restoring the emblems on my '69. Someone here on the forum, said to go get some black model car paint and small brush to paint the black areas like they came from the factory. Guess what? They don't have ANY model cars or trucks at Walmart. I ended up finding paint and brushes in another area, but I couldn't help but wonder if the next generation of kids will be lacking in mechanical skills because they don't start at a young age working on building things like we did.

Your thoughts?

Our trucks may become even more unusual as time goes on, and this disposable culture- non mechanically inclined generation comes about, and can't work on anything.
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common man! its 2013 if it doesnt have a touch screen or voice command forgetbouit

[powerdriver 1958]

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