While this is hardly earth-shattering news, I am by nature an observer of the human experience, and thus I think it might be worth running-up the flag-pole and see if anybody else feels com- pelled to comment.
When I first started in this hobby, THE default scale was 54mm. Few, if any, concessions were made to those who fell victim to the afflictions of aging, and a sure sign of an old codger in your midst was an Opti-visor on the bench.
Fast forward 35 years, and things are certainly different. For starters, "54mm" is now--and has been for a number of years--a "label' denoting the smaller end of the size spectrum. There are very few true 54's being produced anymore--most figures labelled as such are actually 60-65mm in height. While this transitional phase was not a pre-requisite in the evolution of figure size, it was a portent of things to come: the position of the default scale has been usurped by the 70- 75mm offering, largely as a concession to the consumer base.
Now, let's take a look at our associates in the GK-Fantasy genre. Here, 1/8 (250mm) was the time-honoured tradition. Now it has been displaced by the 1/6 and 1/4 scale (300 and 450mm, respectively) offerings.
The preferred medium of execution for the overwhelming majority (i.e., acrylics) has certainly been a factor in both camps. Most miniaturists feel uncomfortable brushing acrylics on anything larger than a petite 90; GKers, who have always used an airbrush as their delivery-system of choice, appreciate the greater expanse of "canvas" now before them.
And while my primary focus is the miniature figurine, other genres have experienced similar "inflation". Back in the day, a 1/32nd scale aircraft was not only an exception, but somewhat of a novelty. Nowadays, you can buy a 1/32nd Viermot--if you can afford it and you have the space to display it once done!
The most stable aspect of the hobby has remained the land-based military sector, where 1/35 scale still reigns supreme. BUT. . . times they are a-changin' there as well. 1/48th scale has established a firm toehold in the sphere once occupied unchallenged by the 1/72nd-76th scale "wargaming" miniatures-- and it has begun, perhaps uncharacteristically, to encroach on the supremacy of the 1/35th. On the flip side, 1/16th scale has definitely made inroads into the sacrosanct realm of the 1/35th.
What can we conclude from all of this? Size does indeed matter, and this must be attributed to diminishing visual capacity. Obviously, the base modelling community is incontrovertibly getting older, if only because that group is the only one that can afford the prices being charged nowa- days; and/or have the disposable time to indulge such past-times. There is now a very real "generation gap" within the hobby: the younger--and probably relatively less affluent (vis-à-vis perceived bang-for-the-buck)--are driven to the smaller scales, and the increased social inter- action of the wargaming communities. Traditional scale modellers continue to dismiss-ignore!- the challenge posed by the social dynamics of gamers, and hence we have, in relative terms, effectively ceased to grow.
Some might argue that things really haven't changed all that much in the last 20 or so years, and I could not disagree as much as I would like. However, the fact remains that we have squandered the last 20-25 years, failing to secure our succession. Henceforth, we will have to hope for 30+- something (if we're lucky!) converts to fill-out our ranks, as the erstwhile "farm system" is long broken.
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