Man this hobby is getting expensive.

[jknaus]

Just saw that Sprue Brothers has the PE sets by Eduard for the HK 1/32 B-25. Was thinking I might get some till I saw the price. About $30.00 each set. Saw PE for the M-ATV also. Considered that too until I saw the price. Man the hobby is getting expensive. 8 sets (4 for each) at about $30.00 is $240.00 more than I can spend. I imagine the prices will be worse at other shops.
James

 

[Iron Mike]

No doubt prices keep rising, makes me glad I have a stash!

 

[moon puppy]

I would venture to say the Eduard stuff ain't worth it...not being negative just saying. Hold out for others.

 

[TomN]

I hear ya James, I've cut way back on my buying lately.

Funny thing though, this doesn't come up too often on armor modeling sites. On model train sites it comes
up at least once a week, then is inevitably locked once the flaming starts.

Tom

 

[jknaus]

I'm not a big fan either, but a few things where of interest. Just not for that price. I hear you Tom.
James

 

[paddy]

Once you get to 1/32 scale i wonder about the point of PE anyway. Too many of the parts that should be spherical or round/tube are flat in PE and in that scale look wrong.
I built the Mk.IX tamiya Spit 1/32 with the big Ed set when it first came out.Most of it i didn't use for one reason or another. Mostly because the parts were flat but also Spitfires never drop their flaps except for 2 minutes when landing so you don't need those. I used the instrument panel but it seemed a great shame not to use the kit one as it was so good. I'm just about to start the Mk.XVI and this time i might scratch some bits but i will not be buying any after market so it will be interesting to see how the two finished models compare. Same goes for White metal IMHO, I've never seen a white metal ejector seat that was any good. After market is often just an excuse for AM producers to cash in on kit manufacturers efforts, people assume because its after market it will be an up grade but it often is not. It can be useful to detail old kits or for conversions but to be honest a lot of new tool kits really don't need it.
Just my opinion

 

[denstore]

What is it you don't like about it? I usually find Eduard to be the best value etch.

 

[Iron Mike]

My experience with Eduard has been mixed, their pricing is usually pretty good, but the fit is sketchy. I am not sure why they do not verify that the parts fit on an actual kit is beyond me, the math ought to be the easy part. Even the set I used to the Tamiya T-55 kit had parts that were larger than the kit parts. :idonno

PE is frustrating enough at times to add fit issues to the mix.

 

[Tojo72]

You are right,with rising costs of everything,we all have our limits and we all have our "must haves" at any cost.We all must make choices on how to spend our entertainment dollars.

 

[denstore]

My experience is almost the opposite. The reason I buy Eduard is that I can visit their website and see the the parts used on a built up model.
Compared to a lot of other, like WEM or GMM, that never publishes any photos of the etch in use, I feel that I get more out a fret when buying Eduard.
But my guess is that a lot depends on who has designed the set. Most makers have their ups and downs.

 

[Iron Mike]

The differences in experience may be from differing genres of modeling. Aircraft PE is probably different than armor, but not making your parts the same size as the kit piece is poor business. I much prefer, Voyager Model, Aber and RB for my armor builds.

 

[Old Dog]

I almost always bought the ZOOM sets as in most cases I was just interested in the instrument panel and a few cockpit gizmos. At one time most of these could be had in the $10 to $12 range, the newer ones are pushing $20 or more. The Zoom set for the new Tamiya Il-2 has an MSRP of $20 and SB has it for $18, still almost half the price of the entire kit.

 

[jknaus]

My experience with Eduard has been hit or miss. I started using it for aircraft and found for some things it was great, for others the metal was too flexable to be of use. After using Aber for my armour I found the Eduard useless as a whole. Then they came out with coloured sets which I bought for the instrucment panels, radios, ect where they looked way better than my poor attempts. But all to soon I found that their colours where off when it came to German aircraft. No problem I just masked the good detailand painted the offending. HAving saidd that I do like them for some things and avoid them for more. My interesgt in the B-25 sets was for some things which would look better than my attempts. But I got 5 sets of another PE maker for the price of 1 set of Eduard. So I will make my own details. For the M-ATV, I just thought I'd look and maybe buy. But again price stopped that idea real quick.
I have seen people who can make Eduard PE look like a masterpiece. I'm not one of them. But I would consider buying a set of Flap wells and using the PE as a template for plastic if I were going to detail the area. Just my experience with it.
James

 

[Von Bulow]

Hi Guys, hate to play Devil's Advocate :evil: but remember what we did in the days before aftermarket became so huge? :hmmm

We scratched, borrowed,adapted and over came, we cut up coke cans(I HATE PEPSI!),stripped telephone wire (sorry Mum :pinch: )
and generally scrounged what we needed to make things right!

Today its easier to part with a few or more hard earned dollars rather than doing it ourselves!

Anyway thats my two cents for what its worth! Anyway better go Firestorms having a sale at the moment
and thanks to a certain member i now have a Fruil addiction, that the master cards feeding!

Regards to all,

Adrian

 

[moon puppy]

Right you are Adrian, sometimes that scrounging turns out better than the Big Set from some manufactures.

 

[MrT]

We scratched, borrowed,adapted and over came, we cut up coke cans(I HATE PEPSI!),stripped telephone wire (sorry Mum :pinch: )
and generally scrounged what we needed to make things right!

Uhhhhh Hmmmmmm Ohh Hmmmmm well I still do.

Terry

 

[paddy]

Coke cans are a modellers best friend cut the tops off, slice it down the side and there you have a sheet of PE .003" ready to go. shallow scribe with a sharp knife and fold and you get a clean break. :cheer:

 

[Duke Maddog]

This is why I build OOB. Model kits themselves are expensive enough; adding aftermarket to the cost is just way too much for me. Granted, my models look toy-like compared to all you masters, but I have a good share of fun putting things together without all the extra costs and headaches from aftermarket parts.

 

[Sherman 18]

This is why I build OOB. Model kits themselves are expensive enough; adding aftermarket to the cost is just way too much for me. Granted, my models look toy-like compared to all you masters, but I have a good share of fun putting things together without all the extra costs and headaches from aftermarket parts.

Duke Maddog - you said the right words there "fun putting things together"

 

[DaneBramage]

When people get bigger they get an ego and ask higher prices. Makes room for little guys to get business!!! I rarely buy AM esp PE (except very small detailed stuff). I love me some evergreen and my exacto!!!