Hawkeye’s Squawkbox

I am pleased to inform you that issue number nine went to press! Over the past several months Billy Crisler and a host of other folks including myself have been working towards returning Aerospace Modeler Magazine to operational status. Well after some really hard work, mostly on Billy’s part the plan has come together, printing and production has resumed. Issue #9 will be shipping soon and work on number ten has already begun.

From this day forward, I’ll be actively involved in the magazines operations. Rookie Aerospace, Inc (publisher of Aerospace Modeler Magazine) has contracted with Zero To Sixty Marketing LLC to handle much of the back office administration and preproduction operations for producing Aerospace Modeler. Zero To Sixty Marketing LLC is owned by my wife Shari and me, so I will be instrumental with the handling of your customer service needs with Aerospace Modeler Magazine.

I first met Billy through email conversations when I first acquired the SnJ Spray Metal line. Then I had the opportunity to meet him for the first time face to face at the 2006 IPMS Nationals in Kansas City, Missouri. From there we have exhibited at iHobby Expo in Chicago twice and our friendship has continued to evolve. I consider Billy a close friend and a model businessman and entrepreneur. Though some recent personal difficulty slowed him down, he never lost sight of the goal. Even while he was sitting on the bench strategizing the next series of plays, he came back on the field stronger and determined. Way to go!

We are proud to be associated with and a part of the process of bringing to you one of the finest aerospace and modeling magazines in print today. If you are not a subscriber you should be. Once you lay your hands on an issue, open the cover and read through the pages…you’re hooked. It’s that good! A magazine that you will want to keep as part of your aerospace reference library. Its not simply just a modelers only magazine.

Again congratulations to Billy Crisler and the return of Aerospace Modeler Magazine! Subscribe or ask your local hobby shop for a copy today!

**Aerospace Modeler Magazine’s website will be updated soon to reflect the good news as well as updated contact and customer service information.

Thank You!

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This topic (about Local Hobby Shops and their future) arises almost every week or so on the various forums and conversations I have with industry colleagues. Our economic system is without a doubt in trouble. Yet each day new businesses continue to enter into the marketplace or existing ones reinvent themselves to adapt to the ever changing trends. Many of the new entrants will fail for several possible reasons, as will established businesses. There is no one pill that a business owner can take to prevent eventual death in the retail marketplace. However, there are preventative measures to remain healthy and viable until the time of their choosing to make an exit, one such measure being education.

The emphasis on the Local Hobby Shop’s (LHS) survival is forefront in this hobby. It is a similar story which has effected other retail establishments such as family-owned book, drug, sporting goods, bakeries, five & dime, butcher and appliance stores, to name a few. Each has had environmental and evolutionary changes. Main Street gave way to highway bypasses that took traffic (customers) away from the once cherished and profitable locale.

Single, stand-alone operations lost out to chains and franchises. In many cases this was a change that was inevitable because the owners of the local little shop reached the end of their tenure, much like a farmer who has no one to continue on the tradition of the family’s farm.

Retailers who failed to adapt and grow with the community and its needs succumb to those who have read the tea leaves and acted appropriately. As with the fast food industry, we all know who the major players are…McDonalds, Hardees, Wendy’s and KFC. Yet there are regional operators who are gaining ground in that marketplace because they have the ability to identify and react to consumers’ wants and needs. Companies such as Culver’s have created a large geographical footprint in the marketplace within the US. They potentially have the ability to give the larger national franchises a hard run for consumer dollars.

So what is the future of the LHS? Many are searching for this answer. It could be that the end is near OR that a new breed of LHS is about to evolve…a store that specializes in hobbies, collectibles, toys and items of scientific interest. Could such companies as HobbyTown USA be poised to capitalize on this? I don’t know, but regardless of what happens, some hard business decisions need to be made.

Hard decisions need to be made not just by one of the “players” but by everyone involved…manufacturers, distributors and retailers. All have to plan and make those tough choices. Consumers also play a role in this. As prices continue to soar, what is the upper limit they are willing to spend for merchandise related to their interests? Will this necessitate the elimination of the “middle man” to trim final costs to the consumer? In other industries the distributor tier has been eliminated to keep costs competitive.

No, I haven’t forgotten the role the Internet retailer has on this industry either. Do not forget that it was once feared that Amazon was going to put all brick and mortar bookstores out of business, yet even with their huge customer base and sales volume, Barnes & Noble and Borders still exist and thrive in the same marketplace. The doom and gloom rhetoric spouted about Internet retailing being the cause of the demise of the LHS is based on misinformation perpetuated by those few who don’t have command of the facts.

Internet retailers have one basic difference in their business model…they don’t conduct face to face interactions with their customers. There are advantages and disadvantages to either business model, but they must be managed in exactly the same way and able to adapt to an ever changing market. The scale and scope of Internet retailing is as diverse as it is for the LHS. Success or failure boils down to the business decisions made by the owner/manager. I’ll touch more on this particular topic later.

Will the LHS survive? I hope so, but in what form I don’t know. If it follows the trends of other similar businesses, it might be found not on Main Street, but out on the bypass near the mall, bigger and better than ever!

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Sitting here this Sunday morning reading through postings on my favorite modeling forums, I noticed that I haven’t posted anything to my blog for quite awhile. It’s not that I don’t have a lot to share; I do. Unfortunately it doesn’t have much to do with my model workshop or my workbench. Instead, I have been at the desk in my office, which is both good and bad. The bad part is this keeps me away from the workbench. On the other hand it means I’m working on something really important…anything that puts food on the table can’t be too bad.

What has kept me distracted me and away from time in the workshop? Well, several things…the biggest and most time consuming, we (my wife and I) have opened a new full-service marketing company…Zero To Sixty Marketing LLC, which already has taken on new customers and their projects. (One such client/project is the Hobby Manufacturer’s Association’s consumer website makeover, which will be unveiled in just a few weeks at this years iHobby Expo in Chicago.) So, needless to say, the process of forming our new company, securing its initial clientelle, building its infrastructure and creating its own branding is a time consuming process.

Speaking of HMA, I sit as a Council Member on the HMA’s General Division and am a member of the Associations Marketing Committee. Serving in these positions gives me the opportunity to use my voice to help direct this industry on to a viable and prosperous course.

Xuron and I have been working on a new Sprue Cutter design since late last year. I’m in the process of reviewing the pre-production units that were recently delivered to me. I’ll be inspecting and testing them to see if they match my design criteria and are ready to be produced, then delivered to your eager and awaiting hands. As soon as I get the word that they are in production I’ll be sure to let you know.

My “To Do” list seems to run from the top of my desk, onto the floor and out into the next room there are so many items on it. In the modeling workshop, my list includes:

• vacform new blister canopies for my Tinkle Bug Project
• Eastern Airlines DC-3
• Battle Damage How-To
• New Product Application & Tip Videos
• Several ongoing What-If Projects
• Clean the Workshop!

… not to mention to actually find the time to build something…hence the reason there are twenty plus projects in various stages of completion on the In-Progress section of the workshop. This doesn’t include the projects in the garage, like overhauling my son’s snow thrower that crapped out last winter when it was needed most.

We, that is Zero To Sixty Marketing (our new company) and Hawkeye’s Hobbies are preparing to share with you another great announcement that many of you in this hobby will be excited to hear and see! Keep an eye on your email for a special announcement from this blog! You will not be disappointed! To use a familiar quote from Paul Harvey…“STAND BY FOR NEWS!”

Contributors Needed

Within our project to complete the Hobby Manufacturer’s Association’s website, we are creating some supporting informational blogs to help direct folks to the MyHobbyFun.com website.

One such blog is http://educationalhobbiesblog.com/ We have also created blogs that are directed towards RC, Model Railroad as well as others. More on those later. What we need is content from folks like you. Share your favorite or most interesting experiences with us so we can incorporate them into these blogs. Our goal with these blogs is to drive folks not just to the MyHobbyFun website but to bring people into the various hobbies that this industry supports. Help us get people, adults and kids alike, off the couch and out from in front of the television and computers! Help share your hobbies with others!

If you can help by providing articles relating to various hobbies we all enjoy, drop me a note at hawkeye@hawkeyeshobbies.com and we’ll discuss how you can submit your contributions.

Other Distractions (FUN)

New bicycles…a much needed addition around here to help keep our bodies healthy and our minds clear. We try to ride everyday, even if it is a quick lunch time jaunt around the neighborhood. Or a longer one to do some of the errands such as checking the Post Office box for mail. Sometimes the wife and I ride along the many trails in our community to discuss and brainstorm projects away from the distractions in the office…phone calls and emails. It has done both the waistline and mind good.

I’ve been keeping my new camera handy, snapping pictures of nature and the environment around me. We have a great number of birds and animals in our backyard that are at times more entertaining than what is on television. They make great subjects to photograph. I’ve also been taking pictures that have business and marketing applications. Needless to say, it is a fun hobby all on its own!

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