The Composite 'craze' had yet to gain any serious traction. AA use it,, although sporadically. The preponderance of new releases are still cast metal with very strong gains seen in the use of resin.
What we do see is the increase of 'sealed' bodywork.....good or bad for the hobby?...that's up to you. With the increased use of resin come increased releases of racing cars.....mostly from the Italian firms.
Minichamps are floundering right now....they came into the resin arena with a beautiful range of art-deco classics and concept cars, but recently have been offering retailers rather steep discounts to move that product....meantime, they are also re-issuing older releases as non-opening models at seriously reduced prices.....and their F-1 offerings are carrying increasingly stiff price points...the quality is not different from where they were...but , my, how the prices have changed.
Norev have quietly been releasing more contemporary product with (IMHO ) mixed results.....still, they do product that often proves a real bargain.With me it's model by model with them.
Other changes abound throughout the Bobby but that would take forever to expound upon....feel free to email if you wish to discuss further.
I hope you return to this hobby....it will be good to have your experience back on this board.