HUDSON TO CLOSE?

President of Hudson, Kazuo Yamada, died on 19th December 2009.

Production was already stopped from beginning of December. Sales ended on 12th December, remaining stock was destroyed on 13th due to closing of factory warehouses.

Hudson was one of the earliest modelgun companies, together with MGC and CMC they existed already in 1960 importing toy guns to Japan. In summer 1962 they have released the first Japanese modelgun: Mauser 1896, just before MGC released their Mauser VP-II (designed by Tanio Kobayashi).

Even if Hudson products did not achieve reliability and quality that we might have liked, they were important player in modelguns, and it is sad that they no longer exist.

Source (via Google Translate):
http://www.hudson-mfg.com/default/news/index.htm

Sad News indeed.

I find it difficult to comprehend why Hudson chose to destroy all remaining parts when closing their warehouses.
Surely you would think that there are enough Hudson modelguns in owners' hands to warrant the need for spare parts

I wonder if all the manufacturing dies and tooling was destroyed too If so, we'll never see this range of models produced again.
Sad news indeed

Cerwyn,
As for the stock, I might have misunderstood Google translation. Initial post from 1/12 "says" that due to closure remaining stock will be destroyed. However from info on 9/12 and 22/12 it seems that remaining stock will be in fact sold to selected 25 buyers. Ah, if only I could read Japanese!
There is still a bit of hope for the spare parts.

smootik wrote:

...it seems that remaining stock will be in fact sold to selected 25 buyers. Ah, if only I could read Japanese!
There is still a bit of hope for the spare parts.

The ability to read Japanese would make our hobby so much easier wouldn't it
Let's hope that one or two of the selected 25 can sell spares to us when we need them

Cerwyn,

Let me answer your question.
The president have sons who are not interested in modelgun business.
Hudson had some debts, but if the sons can sell the factory building and land, it can payout the debts and get huge change (since it is in metroplitan Tokyo area, land is super expensive). If there is no office, then, there is no place those parts and mold can go. On top of that, Japanese tax law impost on the molds (since it is regarded as an asset to create value). Therefore, Hudson decided just to dispose those thing. Yes, it is sad.

shaz

shazhib wrote:

Cerwyn,

Let me answer your question.
The president have sons who are not interested in modelgun business.
Hudson had some debts, but if the sons can sell the factory building and land, it can payout the debts and get huge change (since it is in metroplitan Tokyo area, land is super expensive). If there is no office, then, there is no place those parts and mold can go. On top of that, Japanese tax law impost on the molds (since it is regarded as an asset to create value). Therefore, Hudson decided just to dispose those thing. Yes, it is sad.

shaz

Thank you shaz,

It is even sadder to learn that a Company producing some beautiful products for 40 years or more shall close so finally.
Business is Business however and if disposing of everything quickly is the best way to clear debts and make big returns by selling the land, then that's what'll happen.
Land in Japan is one of the Country's most valuable commodities isn't it?

I'm glad I managed to buy my small selection of Hudson models when I did, the M1A1 Thompson is a joy to have, the PPSh41 quite possibly one of my favourites (and will be again once it's repaired ). What a loss Hudson will be to the Modelgun world.

Yes the cost to keep the molds and the parts might become a burden in places like Tokyo...and most importantly the 2nd generation without any passion (or wealth) to keep Hudson going...

If it happens in HK and China (where there isn't such tax/law involving Company Assets) then the molds can simply be sold to anyone interested...but actually it's more practical to make new molds straight (just see how many airsoft/electric gun makers in HK/ China now)...

The latest development in the modelgun world is very sad. A great company like Hudson closing down in such a bitter way, precious molds and parts destroyed and discarded. My feelings about Hudson's products were always mixed, but I have to admit that they made unique models, and their ABS M3 GreaseGun fired quite well out of the box. I already start missing them. But that is the way it goes.
I have a very bad feeling that the modelgun future will become darker and darker. I felt very sad when NewMGC closed down, but some of their models and parts were still available. But make no mistake: companies making modelguns will get fewer, and there is hardly a chance to see new developments in the future.
AirSoft models are getting better and better (see the Inokatsu M4A1), so why should one buy a modelgun? For me, modelguns are still the way to go. They are as realistic as possible, completly safe and legal. Why buy a deact when you can get a exact copy with moving parts? We will see what the future brings.
Some of you may have noticed that I am no longer around here often. That has nothing to do with my modelgun hobby. I just can not find the time. Anyway I am quite sure that we will stay a nice and helpful community. The fact that new members keep coming to the forum makes me feel good. For me the modelgun community is still something very special. I am glad I met you guys.

I couldn't get that off my mind. How can such great companies go down? Are there no longer people in Japan and over the world interested in modelguns? Then it struck me. Things are going to change. As some may know we have a great tradition of well known toy and model railway companies here in Germany. And those companies are in serious trouble too! Märklin and LGB (Lehmann) are bankrupt for some time, but there are efforts to get the companies rescued. Smaller, but also famous companies are out of business as well.
A lot of things are to blame. Some collectors blame it on the companies, making their models more expensive, with quality standards going down. But I think it is much more complex. It feels sad to see such companies going down.

There are probably many factors and it is difficult to know for sure.

Collectors are usually loyal to their manufacturers and they follow products. Question is whether this is enough sales for manufacturer to carry on? Collector market is usually small (not only for modelguns), and except for luxury goods it depends strongly on economy. Luxury goods always find buyers, as very wealthy people are wealthy even in crisis. Everyday goods also find buyers, as you need to eat and drink. Middle segment depends much more on economy - if things go bad, this is the first thing that gets cut. Pricing does not help, either. Modelguns are produced in small numbers and therefore they are expensive (mass production reduces costs), more expensive than real guns in most countries (beautiful 1911 is 500$ in US).
Marushin seems to be the only major modelgun maker that still continues - and they have a lot of other popular products (like airsoft) to keep them going.

I suspect that computers have taken over a large part of what has usually been spent on collecting. Many kids buy games, software, faster CPUs and gadgets for their computer instead of collecting. Just 20 years ago railway models were a dream of children, now this is a past-time for 40 year old men. From what I see kids are not that much into classic toys, board games, railway models and such.
Collecting starts when we get older and have enough money to go back to childhood with all these toys ;-) The new, computer-raised, generation might not become collectors, I think.

On economy side, crisis means it is more difficult and expensive to secure money for your business - credits, dues - cash flow begins to get shaky. This only makes matters worse while sales go down.


Some time ago I wrote that Yahoo Japan has so many modelgun-related things available - there are usually over 4000 auctions in that category. I tried now to measure another thing - how many auctions appear daily. It surprised me that only about 15-30 auctions are created per day. This means that large total number of auctions is more due to their longevity, than influx of new ones.
For comparison "gun replicas" category on Polish site has 30-60 new auctions per day, with about 600 auctions total. Much quicker turnover, and probably supply of items. I am likely wrong in this analysis, but it's a data point anyway.

EDIT: it seems that YJ auctions with items not bought are "refreshed" and available for another period under the same ID. These do not appear as "new auctions", which disturbs statistics. That explains above.