Here in NZ, I think the hobby is in pretty good hands (if I do say so myself). We have a strong group of "Young Guns" which are working their way into positions within the works of the New Zealand Miltary Vehicle Collectors Club (NZMVCC). The club editor (me) and membership officer are both in their early 20's.
The trouble with MV's as a hobby is getting one of your own at a reasonable price. Everyone thinks what they have is gold. It's the problem with a lot of hobbies, when I was putting my Mini together, everyone thought that what they had was worth a million dollars.
Also, there is a bit of a problem, at least in my experience, with older members not wanting to use their vehicles. All they want to do is parades or displays. Which bores the living s**t out of us younger blokes. We like to get out in the mud and dirt and USE the MV's for what they do best, driving off-road.
I guess we all need to be concious of the prices we ask when selling our vehicles. Sure, everyone wants as much as possible, but I think you've got to be reasonable. A year or two ago, I sold an ex-army Land Rover to a bloke for a lot less than what I could have got for it if I had put it on TradeMe or the likes. Why? Because he was looking to get into the hobby and really wanted a Land Rover. He is still enjoying it and is now one of the area reps for the NZMVCC.
Every one of us needs to do our bit to ensure the longevity of our clubs and our hobbies.
I organise the "Warhorses" section of the bi-annual Wings Over Wairarapa Airshow. This event brings together several MV/militaria groups from around the country. It's a great way of getting to meet people and offers a superb chance to advertise the positives of our hobby. I guess the point I'm trying to make here, is that if you don't get out and fly the flag for the hobby, then how else will people get interested?
(oh, and the Warhorses event isn't just a parade and display, we run rides and this year we're aiming to break the Carrier world record. So it's not boring like other parades
)
Alex