After looking at some pics of shows on the web it struck me and I wondered, is the nation that the show is at the one most modeled at the show?
Case in point, I see more Italian aircraft at a show in Italy, French in France, Czech in Czechoslovakia, not just US in America or English in England.
But, I wonder, is that really true or just what I notice in the photos? WWII subjects are popular so lots of US, British, and German at other shows. Vietnam has its following and not that many nations with equipment in that one. Israeli stuff shows up all over the place and there are others but are the main number from the host country?
This probably applies more to aircraft then other subjects. German armor is probably the most numerous at most shows because there are so many kits of their stuff available compared to other nations and they had those fun camos and not too many of those crooked crosses to get concerned over. Ships can go all over the board but US, Japanese and British seem the most popular unless you throw in subs then German and Russian have big followings. Never really looked at cars but while each nation has their own industry, NASCAR, Forumla I, muscle cars and Japanese autos seem pretty popular.
So, maybe it is just the aircraft. And then, maybe I am up in the night and just need to get more sleep.
What do you all think?
Phil I think it depends to some extent on the availability of kits which answers why there is so much German armour at shows. After that it can depend on the availability of the various manufacturers. You just had to see how some of the British made stuff was flying off the stand at a recent E-Day to appreciate that. What is easy for me to get is not necessarily so for someone in the Czech Rep.
Then there's probably the availability of reference data and finally but perhaps the most important point is the sheer natural chauvinism,not just of the modellers themselves but of the press and publishing industry which inspired their formative years. It's very difficult to shrug off the habits we form as youths.
It might be interesting to try and work out why in my experience British modellers appear to be so eclectic in their tastes ?
Edit : Not sure I've actually answered your question ? Probably raised another one
The other aspect is the nature of the shows, those that are more competion orientated you will see the models grouped by genre but others are more club based so it can be alot harder to see if their is a general trend on not
In the Netherlands, there aren't that many kits of Dutch subjects so we build mostly foreign kits, in proportions that reasonably match what' s available, i.e. loads of US, UK and German stuff, with others trailing.
Given what I've seen at Australian shows (which, admittedly, isn't that much); although there is a good showing of Aussie stuff, including purpose built Aussie kits & mod's of other (primarily US & Brit) aircraft & vehicles, there is a greater wealth of German, US & British military subjects (I'm excluding civil stuff) - especially German.
I agree with the wombat. There's probably more Australian stuff at Aussie shows than those over sees, but it's not the most modelled nation, and in some categories and shows there might not even be a single example.
Meerkats......some in RAF service coming soon ;) ;)