Why are LEs less popular today? ...
than they were when they were more popular.

Ok, they're still popular with many folks in this forum, so this is not so much a question about what you like, but a question about why the demand for LEs has slacked off. Or put differently, what factors caused them to be or become popular that no longer obtain today?

I'll roll it all up into a one word answer: Collectibility.

So what factors influence Collectibility? And out of those factors which have had the greatest downside impact on market demand (or popularity) for LEs?

I'll toss in a few considerations to get this started:

Price: - does price determine Collectibility, or is it merely a measurement of it?

Aesthetics - it would certainly seem that aesthetically appealing models would be more Collectible than unattractive ones. Many people think the models in the LE line have become more intricate, detailed, and generally more aesthetically appealing as the line has grown over the years. While HL continues to be innovative in their use of materials that enables the sculpting of pieces that could not be made well from resin alone, I think its reasonable to say that the general level of aesthetic appeal has been very consistent over the last 3-4 years. Sure there are a few real stand-outs, and a few that are relatively less stand-out-ish, but overall the recent aesthetics are top-notch for their genre. (nobody makes a better mass-produced lighthouse model.)

So I'll postulate that a lessening of aesthetics has not been a factor in the lessening of demand.

Supply - Here we get into a dodgy area. Many Collectors gravitate toward rarity. Look at stamps and coins - the most expensive of these tend to be ones of which there is the fewest. (Think of original art work - for the best example here.)

In the case of HL LEs, the edition sizes have grown smaller. In 2000 there were at about 4(?) models with a planned edition size of 8,000. Not true today - in 2002 there were 2 pieces with planned edition sizes of 7500 and the vast majority planned for 5,000.

So, does supply help account for the lessening of popularity of LEs? On the near side, it wouldn't seem to, as supply has actually lessened - but this is a bit harder to gauge.

Ok, enough pump priming... what say you? Why are LEs less popular today?

From the Fog Signal Building,
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