That thread about what would be the next trend in modeling has stirred some gray cells. I think there has been a trend slowly sneaking up on us for some time. Remember all the comments over time about kit builders vs. kit collectors?? I think the industry has started to take notice of this phenomenon and adapt to it. es: Hasegawa re-releasing the same mold time after time with different decals and maybe a small bit of resin. Pretty soon you have a half dozen of essentially the same kit sitting on the shelf. I wonder how many of the duplications actually get built. I believe this is marketing essentially slanted toward the kit collector. Then there is the Eduard outfit. I think they are taking the trend to catering to the kit collector to a whole new level with their recent releases on the Fokker D.7 and Albatross D.5. Multiple kits in the same box with different decals and now the "Royal Series" with all three variants of the D.7 in one box along with that resin fuel cart and the cast brass Blue Max. This looks to me more and more like marketing aimed at the kit collector rather than the kit builder. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining as this simply means more options for us builders. If there are any complaints it might come from the aftermarket decal companies! :-)
Bill Shuey