Bummer discovery.

Having a renewed interest in diecast replicas, I bought what I thought was an extremely high quality product of the USA. I paid an above average premium for it too, but that's what I get for assuming.

It wasn't advertised, but no sooner do I open the beautifully packaged box, my worst fear slapped me in the face with small print: MADE IN CHINA.

Naturally my stomach turned, but is nothing scared? I mean, does every damned thing we buy any more have to be produced by asian slave labor?

Consequently, I ended-up with a detailed toy with no intrinsic value or heirloom charm, but a novel gift idea for a 10 year old brat that has everything.

Of course, I would never do that, or return a non-defective item I bought of my own free will back to a retailer, but I won't do this again.

I'm just glad they didn't stamp "Made In China" on the piece itself (at least not that I could find), but if I'm going to pursue this enthusiam any further, I want to do it with replicas hand-crafted by the skilled employees of an AMERICAN COMPANY.

I've gotten familiar with some of the industry leaders (and I know about prices), but you can't always tell who-is-what by name alone, so any recommendations would be appreciated.

Somehow, I suspect I'm wasting my time looking for US manufacturers, but there HAS to be ONE, right?

One of the worse cases I've seen so far is a major retailer carrying Tiffany of California lamps stamped with MIC and still priced at over $100. Those of us old enough recall Made in Hong Kong items were 5 and dime wares, Made in Japan was OK for 'cheap' china and electronics but Made in USA still meant 'The Best' except for high dollar cameras.

The major opposition I have to 'Made Anywhere Outside the US' , loss of US labor/jobs not withstanding, is that prices do not seem to reflect the manufacture plus import costs. First (and on topic) instance that comes to mind is the new Monogram/Revell prices for this year, now that all their molds are *over there*. AMT did not raise theirs, except for Dave's repops, and they have been OT for quite some time.

First people to lay the blame on is ourselves. 30 years ago when the message was to 'Look for the union label', the AFL/CIO knew this was coming. Maybe some time in the future, the US will finally make it to 3rd world status and we'll get all the jobs/labor back :-)

The worst one I ever saw was a Sears Nativity set my parents bought when I was a kid. The set was just the figures, no stable (my dad built the stable out of a fruit crate, I still have that), but there was an angel that was supposed to be positioned at the apex of the stable roof holding a banner. The banner was embossed, not with "Gloria in excelsis Deo" but "Made in Hong Kong." (sob)

Fortunately this story has a happy and even on-topic ending, as I was into models at that time and merrily sanded off the offending lettering and repainted it properly. o:-)

Sister Mary

Yep...the "labor faction" of our electorate has definitely done their fair share of pricing themselves out of business. But also, we have here in the U.S. a *much* more stringent set of environmental codes than the "third world", as well as more stringent than parts of Asia and Europe. Our hobby, in particular, utilizes a lot of material and procedures which fall under these codes. Compliance with these codes is *very* expensive...once again, making far better sense (economically) to "farm out" the work. And also, since kids today, are not really into model building, the hobby is supported by a *much* smaller base. Fewer numbers of each product are being produced, so the unit price per each must be higher.

Just heard last week that Wal-Mart expects to export $18 billion worth of goods from China next year. It's China's eigth-largest trading partner, ahead of Russia, Australia, and Canada, for example. More than 70% of the items sold at Wal-Mart are made in China.

I've seen American catalogs in the last two years where every single item is made overseas.

John Hairell ( snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com)

"Just heard last week that Wal-Mart expects to export $18 billion worth of goods from China next year. It's China's eigth-largest trading partner, ahead of Russia, Australia, and Canada, for example. More than 70% of the items sold at Wal-Mart are made in China."

That'll hit the newscasts, and HellMart will run a spot showing a rubberband factory in Alabama that was saved by them ordering a gross. The fact is, they pressure their suppliers to relocate their factories in China, American jobs be damned.

I doubt it. Wal-Mart employees in the US invariably vote against unionizing.

I'm glad my parents bought theirs at Lits. The figures seem to have been 'Made In Italy'. There wasn't a structure but they bought one years later. I've been strengthening it over the years with balsa to keep it standing. Pressboard doesn't last forever.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

Glad someone pointed that out. Interesting reaction of theirs to the labour union in Canada. They'd rather close a store than deal with them. Hmm, maybe we can get that reaction here...

Bill Banaszak, MFE

I predict that within five years some China company will buy a well known but near or already bankrupt US retailer chain and clone the WalMart formula. After all just about everything sold by WalMart is from Made in China. Why not just cut out the middleman. Its easy enough to gain instant storefront recognition through a welknown name, gain instant market share from their existing retail outlets and employ experienced retail staff already in place.