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How much are you willing to go?

moon puppy

moon puppy

Administrator
Staff member
tanktrax wrote:
It all adds up... If the "kit" ends up costing less than $250 all up (not including glue, paints, tools etc... and my time), then it's probably a bargain in my books...

but in the end building model kits is my "happy place"..... :lol: That to me is priceless....
Click to expand...

I started thinking about this John, and wanted to know just how much do we put into a completed kit? How much would you go?

Off the top of my head I know I spent over $300.00 for the Lion's Roar M2A1 Halftrack build, and sad part is I'm really not done with it.

But shopping yesterday I looked at some really big Navy stuff priced up to $140.00 and I just refused to pull the trigger. I know a 1:144 Fletcher class DD would give me LOTS of time to build but still, I just couldn't pay more for a model than my first car payment.

How much is too much for you?
 
Here it comes.... what ever can be justified? :huh: I hear you Moonpup. I use to think adding a barrel is too much, now I AMP real bad and I justify it all now. I bought 2x Italeri's 1/35 S-100 Schnellbootes. I got all the barrels for both and started tracking soen crew figs. I wanted to convert one to a S-38. Then all the mines and such came out. I could not do it. I sold one and built the other (still painting). Iam looking at some all resin kits and saying, "well, its not in plastic and I really want to build one."
It would be one thing if we (I do mean we) only bought one or two kits. But we all have a "pile" or "stash" I easily have 70 plus kits w/ all AMP for all kits :blush: . So I say that its all in justifing for your self in one way or another. Ryan ;)
 
I don't spend more then 30 on a single kit and not more then 20 for addon. But I'm talking about 1/72 planes :blink :blink I think this more than enough.
 
I think the most I have spent on a model is just shy of $600.00 for my Flanker. The kit, interior, upgrade from Zactoman, exhausts, then metal exhausts, decals, then all the books for it specifically. For armour I was buying aber for everything and whatever else came out. My production is suffering for my AMS though. I know I had to turn away from an upcoming detail set for 1 kit because I just cant afford to keep buying everything out there.
James
 
There's been years of endless rhetoric on this subject. In the end, I think, it all comes down to personal preference. Nobody is holding a gun to our heads to buy kits or the ever-growing aftermarket detail and/or upgrade releases.
My "stash" doesn't even compare to most of my counterparts, but then I intend to enjoy "building" the kits I purchase. I'm a relatively slow builder and I don't enjoy gazing at a closet full of kits I'll never have the time to build in one lifetime. One of the guys in my old model club invested a small fortune in "unbuilt" kits. He was always the first to buy new releases and his ever-growing collection was worthy of a good drool or two. However, he hadn't completed a kit in years. He was more of a collector than a builder. I didn't find out until much later, that he worked for an plastic-injector-molding company. So, although he rarely participated in the building aspect of kits, he provided a tremendous wealth of knowledge. He attended every club meeting and every show/contest in the area.
Therefore, each of us has to decide on our own where to draw the line in regard to how much we are going to "invest" in our hobby. I have never consciously drawn that line, although I know I have easily invested a couple of hundred dollars to complete a diorama.
To each his own.
DioRandy
 
I think the cost of a hobby is for the most part all relative. How much do you enjoy the hobby, how much do you want to invest for the perceived outcome?

Some people will invest $20,000 into a Bass boat and gear just to go fishing, others might invest the same amount of money in a couple of Ski-Doo snowmobiles and a trailer to haul them for a hobby that requires a decent snowfall season and then there's people like myself who shelled out close to $700.00 for a 1/35th Dora rail gun.

For me it depends on subject matter really, what I might pay for a T60, one off half track is probably significantly higher than what I might pay for a German one off vehicle. Of course having said all that my spending has been heavily restricted for quite a while now. I have been reducing the amount of my relatively small stash by building the kits I have and will only buy something if it's either a deal I just cannot pass up or something small for whatever it is I am working on at the time.
 
The funny thing is, whether you build OOB or with dozens of AM extras, I don't think there is a financial difference. Why? because an OOB build used to last me maybe three weeks, now one with extras, or especially scratching stuff, takes me an average of three months

If I built OOB, I would probably spend c£150 on kits, building one after the other, in three months

If I built OOB, I would probably spend c£150 on a kit and extras, and it would take me three months

The only difference is how many kits I'd finish, and finished kits are not nearly as muc fun as in-progress kits :)
 
Lets see...

In my modest little colelction, I have a few expensive ones:
two 1/35 Chinooks
two 1/350 USS Enterprise carriers [with ALL the goodies]
1/350 Star Trek Enterprise
1/350 Destroyer
1/700 Resin carrier
1/32 Harrier and Phantom
1/48 F-111
and the new reigning champion: 1/500 Fujimi Yamato LImited Edition [over $400]

So i have a few high priced items in the collection.
 
Well I spend what I like , I never justify it , there are so many items that if you added them in could include in the price of a kit , the hornet heads which replaced the drivers , but hang on , I still have the rest of them , the archer decal for the .50cal MG , but not the whole sheet ......

There are heaps of hobbies , paintball players can go through $200 a day , golfers pay how much for clubs , greenfees etc , do not justify your hobbies , just enjoy within your means . My cousin collects D & G shoes :laugh: ....... For you guys that do not wear high healed stilletto's (well there are a few who do :unsure: not mentioning names :laugh: )
then you should imagine the cost of a Trumpeter F14 in 1/32 scale on each foot !!!!

I spend a lot on the stash of unbuilt , but you know what ? I am happy that I am supporting the industry . We must admit that as modellers , that we are catered for very well and what a great hobby .

Jenny :kiss:
 
Funny you bring up Paintball Jenny. I was going to say the same thing. I use to play professionaly for about 6 years. I travelled the world and was sponsored for everything. I ended up working for some of my sponors as well. But yes, when I was starting out it was expensive. Most of my guns were custom and in the range of $1200.00 to $1800.00 And all the gear and of course the paint at $125.00 a case. It really comes down to how much are you "in to" a thing.
 
I think that modelling gives you some of the best bang for the buck of your entertainment dollar.That $40-50 armor kit is good for 4-6 weeks of entertainment.Think of other stuff,movie admission $10-15 for 90-120 minutes,$40-50 dollars for 5hrs of golf on a muni course,it goes on,$7.50 for a pack of smokes.It just depends on how much you got to spend for recreation.My most expensive kit was Hasegawa's 1/350 Akagi @ $225.00,which I plan to build out-of-box.I really don't see myself going much higher then that.
 
Well that is a good point about movie tickets etc , have a look at the cost of Bob Letterman's builds , then have a look at the hours invested in them , then have a look at the amounts of hours of pleasure he has given others looking at his dioramas , how can you possibly put a price on inspiration ?

However much you spend , there is always someone spending more , it is up to the individual weather they want to replace the schutzen , have the confidence to depict the PE fenders or the individual if a white metal figure is worth the expense as it has the exact pose . It can equally be a temptation on unneeded accessories .

This is such a personalised hobby where we may share our builds , but I am lucky I build with my partner . Most people do so alone and it is you that you should please first , if you are happy with your efforts then you are a good modeller . ;)

The funny thing I see written is that people often say "it is ashame to paint it" when people talk about models covered in etch, plasticard , resin and some barely visible plastic and where I love to admire this style of work and could certainly not condone Watanabe San for his decision not to paint his brass masterpieces , I buy and use the etch to build to a standard I want from a model and not to show all the various materials used . It is the painted , weathered , model , as accurately depicted as I can possibly depict as a single entity , not an amalgum of materials that is what I want to show .

Jenny :kiss:
 
I think folks like us are the only ones who can appreciate Watanaba-san type of work. Scratch built brass work and soldering. They surely need to be painted, it's part of the package.

Guess the point of this was, I just bought the 4th Trumpeter F4F kit, this one I got just to get 3 parts out of it...but i'll build it also. Well I did get a good deal on it. But that seems to be how far i'll go to "git'er done". Now if I only knew what to do with all these Wildcats laying around.

I can say one thing, It's gotten to the point where it's time to start wrappin' those builds up.

Then I can start spending money on the 75GMC and the B25 waiting in the wings and the B1 sitting on the top shelf...don't forget the Mustang and Thunderbolt...it never ends. :mpup
 
moon puppy wrote:
I started thinking about this John, and wanted to know just how much do we put into a completed kit? How much would you go?

Off the top of my head I know I spent over $300.00 for the Lion's Roar M2A1 Halftrack build, and sad part is I'm really not done with it.

But shopping yesterday I looked at some really big Navy stuff priced up to $140.00 and I just refused to pull the trigger. I know a 1:144 Fletcher class DD would give me LOTS of time to build but still, I just couldn't pay more for a model than my first car payment.

How much is too much for you?
Click to expand...

Everyone has their limits for different reasons... what they want, cost, budget, space, partners ;) etc... etc....

I do have my limits. While I would love to get one or more of those 1/16 Tamiya RC tanks (Tiger, Sherman etc), I have to draw the line on the cost (~$1200AU) apart from the fact that I am only really interested in model kits - not RC... That's why I was quite OK with paying $500 for the Trumpeter 1/16 King Tiger with full interior. When compared to the Tamiya RC stuff, it was a bargain in my eyes.

All that really matters for me is the enjoyment I get out of building the kit and the end results in my eyes! How much it cost in $ to get to that point is not at the top of my list. It is also the reason why I stopped entering my kits into competitions - for me it started to take the "fun" out of the hobby and turned it into a "chore". And, in the end, so long as I am happy with the results, then it is a great model to me - irrespective of what anyone else may think. :)

So to everyone, I say - Have fun, enjoy what you are building, and to heck with cost. It's only money and you can't take it with you when you die. :laugh:
 
hmmmmmmmm ... the most individual question in modelling!

i for my part feel sick when i calculate how much some of my kits plus am goodies have cost!

i still have the old price tags in mind when i compare them to nowadays prices! in DMark times a tamiya kit has cost 30DM (15€) and nowadays the very same old kit costs 30€ (e.g. the old 88mm flak costs 20,50€ and the north africa campaign flak what is the very same kit but with different figures 32€ - and both really need pe!)

that's why i didn't have any scruple to buy the academy 1/350 tirpitz for 35€ instead of the tamiya tirpitz for 70€ although the academy offer is a barefaced copy of the tamiya kit but with enhanced flaks! (or maybe a licensed production!) tamiya milked that cow for decades and earned enough without improving or retooling the kit!

if i wouldn't have to watch how much money i spend i would give any kit the royal treatment but since it isn't so i prefer to try to enhance my kits with any means of improvising! some kits i got for a bargain receive am stuff, some luxus kits like the DML Panzer 4 Ausf. D will be built ootb!

but in the end the answer is always reduced to the formula "no one is forced to spend the money!"

and looking at the 1/350 hasegawa or fujimi ship kits we still are off fine and cheap!
 
Kreighshoer wrote:
i still have the old price tags in mind when i compare them to nowadays prices! in DMark times a tamiya kit has cost 30DM (15€) and nowadays the very same old kit costs 30€ (e.g. the old 88mm flak costs 20,50€ and the north africa campaign flak what is the very same kit but with different figures 32€ - and both really need pe!)
Click to expand...
Yeah and the newer one does not have the trailer bits niether !

Jenny :kiss:
 
artistic pleasure

I like to accurately present a model in the scale and buy the aftermarket stuff.

In some models the aftermarket is a must to bring up its accuracy.

The hobby nowadays is releasing models to extremely high standards and price to boot
like the Dora
Who needs aftermarket products :)
Impressive as it is as a stand alone model

When the model is finished ,painted ,weathered on a base or set in a diorama
to me is a visual experience of the modellers quality,artistic tallent and attention to accuracy and detail.

Michael :)
 
Thankfully, the military budget isn't classified at our house! My wife enjoys reading, so she isn't bothered by my disappearing into "the hole" on our days off. She appreciates my builds, although not as much as when I was building bikes and autos! I have to admit, I still cringe and usually pass when it comes to spending extra on some of the aftermarket stuff, but in my car building days, it wasn't uncommon to buy and raid 4-5 kits, plus buying paint, wheels, tires and PE to complete ONE vehicle. One point about armor modeling is you usually get more for your money, the more recent releases have as many pieces just in the tracks as most car models!

There have been many thought provoking responses here, thanks for asking this question Bob!
 
Considering I have over 700 kits laying about, (all were the latest and greatest when they first were released!)plus several suitcase filled with after market do dads, I've reached the point of burn out or not really caring too much about all the new releases. I figure if I actually finished one kit a week, I still would never live long enough to finish up the stash.
I think the smartest thing for someone my age, and in my health is to simply build what I have, not try to keep up the the Jones' or buy the latest and greatest new kits.
(Although I will pick up a Tilly--- even though I have a resin one! Now that sure is a sign of insanity, isn't it? I'll also pick up a few of the new Harley's... !!!)

I look at my stash, and the multiple kits of the same subject, and really have to question my sanity or insanity in certain areas of my life!

So for me the question really isn't about the cost or what I willing to spend on a model, but more of how insane I wish to remain, and how much insanity I wish to live with. :pinch: :eek:hmy:
 
Being unemployed at the moment I really have to pick and choose carefully what Im going to build next.I cant justify shelling out shedloads of dosh for something thatll sit on a shelf for ages unbuilt, thats why I dont have a stash :( I`m a buy em and build em type of person.

Although I have bought a few items at model shows but buitl them straightaway

My last purchase was a 54mm Pegaso figure and I felt a bit guilty about that :D ( well for a little while)

I really want to build that SWS Halftrack Cargo Truck from the Great-Wall-Hobby-Lion-Roary Company but without the photo etch, resin tarps. The Tarps I propably could knock up myself with some Aves Scultping stuff lol.

Andy
 
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