# Why have none of the Mad-Max movie cars ever been licensed for model kits? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875 "2016-05-15T22:12:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/1 "2016-05-15T22:12:01Z")
[According to this](http://madmaxmovies.com/mad-max-model-kits/car-kits/index.html)none of the Mad Max franchise cars are licensed to be made as models. Per the Mad Max franchise vehicles [seen here](http://vehicleshowcase.madmaxmovie.com/)licensing models of these cars [ would seem to be a common sense thing to do yet a fair chunk of money has been left lying on the table with almost zero effort required by the movie right’s owners. It’s not like they are anti licensing [URL=“[Mad Max - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Max_(franchise))”]per this]([Mad Max Model Kits - Mad Max Interceptor Model Kits and other Vehicles](http://madmaxmovies.com/mad-max-model-kits/car-kits/index.html)) > [@](#): > > Merchandising > > Many licensed products are based on the Mad Max franchise. Products include novels, comic books, video games, and other materials. Is there a reason this has not been done? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/2 "2016-05-15T23:58:20Z")
[REAL modeler] Because a REAL modeler kit bashes and scratch builds. Duh. [/Rm] Or: [http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Max-Road-Warrior-Interceptor/dp/B000FN30FY](http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Max-Road-Warrior-Interceptor/dp/B000FN30FY)😉 ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/3 "2016-05-16T00:48:28Z")
I know a guy who wrote a book with a character named Christopher Bashing… And, yeah! Modifying kits is FUN! (There are people who build Lego kits and follow the directions…and there are those who go their own way, creating something new. Hooray for both!) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/4 "2016-05-16T01:04:27Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > (There are people who build Lego kits and follow the directions… [engineer] Those people are called “workers on the line” or “future robots.” [/e] > [@](#): > > …and there are those who go their own way, creating something new. [e] Those are either engineers or the banes of an engineer’s existence, people who don’t follow the bloody drawings because they think they know better. :mad: [/e] ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/5 "2016-05-16T02:22:08Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Is there a reason this has not been done? Making traditional model kits is a process with high overheads and low per-unit costs. You design the sprue and then cut it into blocks of metal, but once you’ve done that you can have a machine churn them out at a rate of sprues-per-minute without any input. Since a lot of the cost is in the moulds, it’s possible that they didn’t think a cult classic like Mad Max would sell enough kits at the usual prices to pay for the startup costs. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/6 "2016-05-16T03:12:57Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Making traditional model kits is a process with high overheads and low per-unit costs. You design the sprue and then cut it into blocks of metal, but once you’ve done that you can have a machine churn them out at a rate of sprues-per-minute without any input. Since a lot of the cost is in the moulds, it’s possible that they didn’t think a cult classic like Mad Max would sell enough kits at the usual prices to pay for the startup costs. Really? They will do models of this - [1/25 Fast & Furious™ Mitsubishi Eclipse Plastic Model Kit](http://www.revell.com/model-kits/cars/85-4384.html#.Vzk5rTv2Yzs) - but not the Mad Max car? I find that difficult to understand. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/7 "2016-05-16T03:44:00Z")
There is a detailed thread with a buildup of the Humongous’ six wheeled truck somewhere. I don’t know where it is so if someone else can point out, that would be great. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/8 "2016-05-16T17:42:30Z")
This [source](http://legionofleia.com/2015/09/rumor-will-we-see-mad-max-fury-road-toys-in-2016/) says that the toy rights belong to Miller himself, who has shown no interest in creating merchandise. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/9 "2016-05-16T20:01:57Z")
Amazon lists a 1/24-scale plastic kit for the V8 Interceptor seen in Mad Max II, although the price is an eye-popping $145. Still, yes, seems like the some of the vehicles from _Fury Road_ would be great to put out there as kits. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/10 "2016-05-16T20:25:53Z")
Heck, if anyone knows where I can get a Hot Wheels-sized Toyota Tercel or Toyota Echo, let me know. I’m trying to collect a miniature version of every car I’ve ever owned and so far I just have the burgundy 1990 Camry. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/11 "2016-05-17T00:27:18Z")
What you can do is make your own. You carve a male Tercel (first time “male” and “Tercel” have ever been in the same sentence) mold out of balsa, sized to fit the underpinnings of another Hot Wheel, buy a Mattel Vacuform on eBay, and mold it using clear plastic sheets. Paint it on the inside so it looks nice and shiny and mount it to the chassis you bought. Don’t forget the coffee can tailpipe extensions, wing that looks like it’s about to fall off, and black window plastic that’s starting to peel, just like on your own car! ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/12 "2016-05-17T03:21:35Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Really? They will do models of this - [1/25 Fast & Furious™ Mitsubishi Eclipse Plastic Model Kit](http://www.revell.com/model-kits/cars/85-4384.html#.Vzk5rTv2Yzs) - but not the Mad Max car? I find that difficult to understand. Isn’t that model essentially a stock car with different decals? They probably already had all the moulds for the car and only needed to change a few cosmetics. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-none-of-the-mad-max-movie-cars-ever-been-licensed-for-model-kits/754875/13 "2016-05-17T18:07:03Z")
As mentioned above, Aoshima has released The Last of The V-8 Interceptors a couple times. There are also resin kits of a couple of the Aussie police cars used in the original movie, put out by little teensy outfits. I think the primary problem with tie-in models is that nowadays the movie is in and out of the theater so quickly that by the time a model could hit the shelves it’d be yesterday’s news. Sure, the movie might build a cult following over time, but that audience isn’t nearly large enough to amortize a tool. Of course, it’s different when you can just put a new decal sheet and a sprue of different wheels into an existing kit. I need 😉 to point out that soon you’ll be able to buy a 1/32 “Ford XB Falcon” slot car from Scalectrix: > **[Hornby Hobbies USA - The new home of Hobbies in the USA](https://www.hornbyhobbies.com)** > > The new home of hobbies in the USA, including Slot Car Racing, Diecast models, plastic model kits, model railways, snap together kits, brick style kits, paints, glue and more. Hornby Hobbies are proud to deliver high quality models straight to your...