Its changing for sure.
However,for myself not concerned,at my age with my stash,and decent finances,I should be okay for awhile,I am not a huge buyer of kits anyway,maybe 5-6 a year,and thats about what I have been building a year,don’t buy a ton of AM or research books either.
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Don’t worry about it. What will be will be. Here in the UK, I joke that my nearest proper model shop is in Widnes, 160 miles away, one way (I know that’s “round the corner” for US citizens!)! I visit it when I go to see my eldest daughter. As to the aging of the modelling world, I’m facing the same thing with my other hobby, classic motorcycles. We have seen a fall in values over the last few years and it seems that Japanese bikes from the 80s and 90s have supplanted British bikes for collectors. This makes sense, as the younger end of the hobby is collecting the bikes they grew up with or lusted after in the day. returning to modelling, we are in a “Golden Age” as regards manufacturers, subjects, standards and add-ons. Perhaps it’s the last hoorah before the death of the hobby, but there still seem to be a lot of modellers in the Far East, in fact, it looks as though they are carrying the torch.
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Heh, I had a dream once where I found this massive dimly lit hobby shop in the basement of some building. Every possible thing any modeler could want. That by itself was nice, but at least twice since then, I’ve been in a different dream and realized that hobby shop was nearby then spent the rest of the dream trying to find it again.
Whenever I road trip, I try to find hobby shops along the route. Visited my sister in law outside of Buffalo New York and had an entire day driving up to Toronto and back with a list of hobby stores. In three weeks I’m going to New Jersey for MosquitoCon and stopping at Modellbahn Ott in Pennsylvania on the way up and AAA Hobbies in Southern NJ on the way back.
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Maybe so…But how many are sold compared to how many were sold in 1875?
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Have no fears.
The demise of scale modeling has been predicted and worried over for decades and decades. There are evolutionary changes in it (demographics, genres, materials, etc.), but in the main scale modeling satisfies a number of needs that many, many people have. Human nature being essentially static and immutable (at least in terms or ancient through modern historical terms - if not maybe also in prehistorical terms), there will always be a place, need and demand for creative pastimes like scale modeling.
And, as long as free market capitalism continues to exist, the demand for goods and services that satisfy those creative pastimes needs will be met. That is, as long as scale modelers exist and as long as they want scale model kits, someone owning and operating some business is going to find a way to sell them those kits.
The demise of the brick-and-mortar LHS is a condition that was largely the result of the rise and expansion of on-line commerce (which evolved in many cases from pre-existing mail-order commerce that was filling the same need for many, many of us who already lived in places that were not served by a brick-and-mortar LHS.) Now, as in the past, if you don’t live in a place with a population large enough to provide the economically viable demand that results in sufficient commerce for a specialized product or service, no one is going to run a brick-and-mortar business to provide it.
In fact, for many of us, the evolution and replacement of mail-order by on-line commerce has been a real and significant improvement in access to and the availability of scale models and hobby related supplies. If you ever waited for the monthly Squadron Shop sales flyer to arrive by mail, and then you waited another month for your mail-in order to arrive (because you had to write in your order, stuff it and a check in an envelope and then mail it back to Squadron, AND THEN wait on Squadron to mail your order back to you), you’ll know what I mean.
(And if you thought that was slow, you have no idea how long it could take to order a resin garage kit from the EU or some “high speed” after-market accessories from Japan using the postal services…)
I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t worry about being able to buy scale model kits. Sure, you might notice some changes in prices (but modelers have been steadily facing price increases for kits for as long as I’ve been building models - i.e. since at least the late 1960s…). However, there is not likely to be any significant - probably not even measurable by any actual metrics - shortage in the availability of scale models as long as you’re willing to shop around on-line.
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In my best Peter Zeihan voice…
“Today’s sales of high end buggy whips exceed the total value of Golden Era of 1875 for buggy whips based on market capitalization dollar value when factored for GDP, annual inflation if tariffs are included in the nominalized estimation.”
Sounds good when he says it about high microprocessors so yeah probably applies to buggy whips too! (J/k) 
Definitely a lot fewer but unless one is a buggy whip or model kit manufacturer…why would anyone else care?
I used to like Kool-Aid sweetened with cyclamates but that went away here in the USA in ~1969 (to make a special interest group happy), there was a hiccup in quality artificial sweetners but a demand remained and that was eventually filled.
Worst case that’s what would happen with scale models for a brief period.
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When I was a kid I could ride my bike to Toyland, find a kit, buy some glue and paint and be home all within the hour. Can’t do that today. The selection is higher today due to multiple online sources and the products are only a week or two away depending on where it is being shipped from. If you like to handle the goods before buying, sorry about that. Look for Joe’s in box review somewhere. There is much joy walking into one of the remaining well stocked model shops that isn’t replicated on Sprue Brothers product pages.
However I agree that as long as there in an online and Asian countries are still buying kits at a large rate, models will be available.
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The good old days !!!
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I remember those days, well maybe not quite as far back.
Sometime in the 90’ies Italeri re-released their Steyr Raupenschlepper
and I was really excited since it was radically different from Tamiyas
motorized tanks. I waited and asked at the hobby shop but it never
showed up, maybe the Swedish importer decided that nobody in
Sweden wanted it.
I also asked around about getting the 1/35 military kits from Heller,
nope, no can do, the importer didn’t bring them in since they would
compete with their Tamiya and Italeri product lines. D*mn them.
The next time Italeri re-re-released the RSO I had internet so I could
get one regardless of what the importer did or didn’t do.
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3D printing has really revolutionized the modeling industry, and many modelers buy their own 3D printers. One can almost make anything modeling-related with a 3D printer.
ETSY is a great place to buy 3D printed model kits. You might have to expand beyond military models as there are a lot of model kits of fantasy, movie and video game characters, and fictional characters on ETSY.
Modeling is, and has been, a “Do it yourself affair.” Sure, there are modeling clubs and meets, contests and shows, but those are often rare. Kids these days, besides dating, TV, movies, and food, prefer instant gratification and rewards that come from video games that are cleaner, easier to play, more rewarding, and often more fun than modeling. Play a video game for 30 minutes and the kid can get more online rewards than being frustrated trying to build a model kit. (Hey, LEGOs are model kits of sorts).
Remember that modeling is a dangerous hobby with sharp knives, superglue, fumes if not using acrylic and safe paints, razor saws, resin dust, solvents and chemicals that can harm. I always wear disposable gloves and often a respirator when I build kits.
As for not sitting, buy an adjustable standing desk to build your models and an attachable LED lamp. Buy AK Markers so that you don’t have to use a paintbrush and wash the brush with each and every different color. AK Markers won’t color everything, but they’re a lot faster than painting with a brush or airbrush. They’re like painting with highlighters. Watch more YouTube videos on modeling. However, the time spent visiting and browsing a hobby shop are, unfortunately, mostly in decline. If you desire, search your local area for wargaming, comic, and Asian toy (Gundam) stores as these may be around compared to the local hobby shop store, and some of them might sell model kits.
Most of the model kits I buy are online and from overseas. Many European online hobby shops sell Asian model kits so that’s another way to obtain kits from another source. I have long given up on the USA producing decent plastic and resin model kits, except for 3D printing, and it doesn’t bother me the least. I feel that the USA doesn’t really appreciate art as much as foreign nations because of the stigma, 'Starving artist" and how people want STEM and a Bachelor in Science for more pay and prestige.
In the 80’s there were at least a half dozen privately owned shops around me,I say to myself not so long ago,but in reality,its 40 yrs ago !!!
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Yes, I meant desert and have corrected it.
All due respect to the OP’s plight, I don’t have a favorite hobby. Not one that’s suitable for this forum at any rate. One hobby though, is making sure I’ll have enough money to support my other hobbies for the rest of my life.
Now at the risk of being labeled “smug” again, or having people wish me ill fortune, as has happened recently, I’ll just use a “hypothetical” situation.
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
George Carlin
Let’s say a guy, not even smart or funny depending on who you read on here, spent less time wringing his hands and more time examining what’s going on. And let’s say, hypothetically, he made a move in response to this week’s well-known events. And let’s say that move netted over 7% in a few days time, He then took his profits and went home. (Aside from being a bit of a departure from his “buy and hold” strategy, he likes free money)
By my calcalations (but remember, this guy has been accused of not being that smart) that’s a little over $140. Enough to buy almost any kit, with the extras. (not counting outliers like 1/35 scale bombers. Who has room for those?)
Seems like a pretty good hedge against tarrifs - using them to your favor. Or is opportununism a dirty word now?
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No, not if it is spelled correctly
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From the UK, India, Japan, the US, or my own garage - if it has two wheels, it’s better than riding in a cage. (the Italian one is still in pieces.) The Ural hasn’t been fired up in years.
The chopper is not an ambi shift, however. It’s a foot clutch, suicide shift.
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Nice Rob ! I ‘ll start a new thread in a bit so as not to derail this one … My apologies for any damage I may have already done…
I wouldn’t worry. Not everyone has the same favorite hobby. 
I think we’re ok in the UK.
Airfix seems to be still going strong. They even have a supermarket presence, with starter kits and the Quick-Build range, regularly appearing in the middle of Lidl and Aldi. They occasionally get Revell too. So, maybe some younger builders have been tempted or were lucky to get them as Christmas stocking fillers.
We’ve got several good online retailers, some with actual physical shops too.
I’m lucky in that I have a well stocked shop round the corner from my house. There’s also another smaller hobby shop near my workplace and we have an art shop who dabble in kits.
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