The MV Hobby, De-Mob

[chris vickery]

I am happy fellows are reading and contributing to my post, it is certainly a topic for discussion.
At this time the Poll suggests an approx 65% of MLU contributors are in the 51+ group, just as I suspected...
Pertaining to the attraction of young guys to the hobby; help us to help ourselves in preserving the hobby by giving a deal to a newcomer.
As pointed out by previous comments, far too many think they have gold and ask ridiculous prices. I overpaid on my first CMP truck, mainly because I was not "connected". The same went for many parts which I had made when I could have found originals cheaper if I knew where to look.
I must commend a few guys that DID help me out when I first started by giving me a break or a deal on items to help me along as well as offer good advice. (you guys know who you are and many of you are here listening )
Most recently I got a young guy started who was hot to have my M715. Yes, I took a loss on it overall but the smile on his face was worth a few bucks.

[rob love]

Originally Posted by chris vickery

At this time the Poll suggests an approx 65% of MLU contributors are in the 51+ group, just as I suspected...

As a member of that sector, I want to quote Jack Donaghy from 30 Rock where he states “Fifty is the new 40 for men. Fifty is still 60 for women.”

Perhaps with the age shift, and the unknown length of the male lifespan in the near future, the MV ownership age is not that far advanced. I had honestly expected the poll to lean more towards the 60-80 group. I still feel like one of the young guys at the meets and conventions I go to. Then again I may just be fooling myself.

Actually, to look at the poll in a different light, approx 1/3 of the collectors are in the "under 50 " category, 1/3 are in the 50 to 60 category, and 1/3 are in the 60 and up range. Interesting.


By the way Chris, in your first post you mentioned discussing this with a long time collector. Was that with me? Seems to me we might have broached the subject on your first visit earlier this month.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by rob love

Actually, to look at the poll in a different light, approx 1/3 of the collectors are in the "under 50 " category, 1/3 are in the 50 to 60 category, and 1/3 are in the 60 and up range

.... of which 100%, 66% and 33% are online, respectively, willing & able to participate in this poll. But that is my guess only

H.

[jdmcm]

Even with prices at almost record highs on many of the collectible military vehicles there are ways for people to use their own hard work and ingenuity to participate. For example there is a group here on the west coast that has built a "replica" M10 Achilles tank destroyer. They began by salvaging a fabbed up tub from a scrap forestry yarder that itself used surplus Sherman running gear, and from materials they had around they built a fantastic homage to a WW2 tank destroyer. From 50 feet away you would be hard pressed not to believe it was real. Now I'm sure the rivet counters will deride it for being an imposter, and the value to a collector is negligible, but the fun factor is off the charts! And they didn't need to spend a quarter million or more dollars to do it. With the technical skills I see the young crowd applying to customizing their cars, trucks and motorcycles, they are well capable of building a variety of replica vehicles that would otherwise be unavailable to most of us. Now changing people attitudes toward "replicas" and welcoming these as legitimate representations of the hobby is another matter....

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

I have a different take, and not quite so pessimistic. While there are fewer youngsters per capita taking up the hobby, there is still a large number coming from an increasing number of countries. Re-enactors will take the opportunity to buy the old guys' vehicles (starting with the cheaper, smaller ones but inevitably working up) and will of necessity learn how to work on them. I expect the large, partially restored and expensive to operate trucks will fade away but the fun, sporty, historic ones will endure. I predict good, solid, accurate restorations will all find homes. What's out there is finite...they aren't making them any more and any un-restored ones will be to far gone to fix, so prices will stay reasonably strong.