Post by kuzlynn on Oct 13, 2024 7:33:25 GMT -5
I am writing this open letter to everyone who follows this board and has bought and built, many of my resin Indy car kits. Many of you had an opportunity to purchase unique and otherwise kits that have never been offered by any mainstream model companies. I am making a rather hard decision to take a step back from producing the number of kits per year that I produce. Hard to believe that I have been producing kits for over a decade. I simply cannot justify spending the amount of time and dedication that it takes to produce these kits. I have not raised prices, even with the rising cost of materials, and have done my best to absorb the raising cost to produce each kit. Thanks to all the help of so many people that have become good friends that have sent in information, photos, materials, etc. Without your help I would have had a very difficult time producing these kits. To Indycals, Thank You!! This past year I have not been able to do the amount of work I have done in previous years due to my health. I still have knee replacement surgery scheduled for next month. To say it has been a tough year has been an understatement. This year with the help from my 3D printing friend, I was able to offer the 1984 Budweiser Lola that Mario Andretti drove to a Cart championship that year. The 500-version sold very well, so I decided to offer the road course version also. This was the first time a full kit of any road course car was available and in which I thought would be very welcomed. To sum it up, I guess I completely misjudged the interest in this version. Having offered this kit over 2 ½ months ago, I have finally sold my very first one. I was shocked and very disappointed. I realize that most modelers want Indy 500 winning cars, but I have no interest or motivation to offer these types of kits. Most of these kits have been produced more than once in the past by other manufacturers so I see no need to offer them. I have recently had an opportunity to get back into the custom building of railroading projects. This, as many of you already know, is another passion for me and is a lot more predictable than hoping my latest Indy kit will sell. I have known since I began Silver City Models that I was not going to get rich doing this. It has been a passion and wonderful experience for me and thanks to all that has helped. Thanks for being patient with me. I don’t plan on leaving this part of the hobby anytime soon but as I said before, I just can’t justify going forward as I have. My website and Ebay offerings will still be on going. I still have the Penske Reynard conversion kit to finish and another 70’s Indy car project that I started before I had health issues. I hope to have that kit ready for next May’s Indy show. Thanks for reading this letter and thank you for purchasing my models. Kevin, Silver City Models.
