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What's happened to pricing ?

paddy

paddy

Well-known member
We all worry that model making is not being taken up by the young but today i was looking at possible next projects.... There is a WnW FE2B on ebay for £350.00 or a Gotha for £1100.00 GBP, thats about $1600 USD
There are new tamiya cars in 1/12 scale at around £500.00
i know you can still buy cheaper but really my last build which was a pretty basic Revell helicopter was £47.00 + PE another £50 and so nearly $135.00
The new Italeri Vintage race cars are all £150- £175 so over $200.00
With modern 3d cad production design and mould manufacture i cant see how they justify this. and as for WnW going bust ? I bet if they had sold the kits at the price they fetch now on e-bay they would have survived. Its just a shame people dont lend their weight to these manufacturers when they are still going..
 
Paddy, the Wingnut Wings kits are all out of production. The company folded about 4 months ago. They are awesome kits, but unfortunately no more will be made and the Handly Page 0/400 kits and WNW Lancasters will probably never be sold even though there are molds for them. The 1/12 Tamiya cars are probably a similar deal. The kits are either very limited release or not available at the moment. I have a nice stash of Wingnut Wings kit and they probably just doubled to tripled in value in the last few months. It was an awesome company and the kits are over the top. Looks like the only one that is able to be had is the Meng Fokker Triplane. Meng was doing the molds for WNW and the triplane was ready to be released. I suspect that Meng was able to keep ownership of the molds as they weren't paid yet. Maybe the Handly Page and Lancster molds are in a similar place.

Personally every Italieri kit I have tried to build has been pretty poor. I usually pass on them.

Maybe once all this covid crap settles out, good vaccines become available for those with health problems and the politic crap slides back into the background, things will go back to somewhat normal.
 
I've bought a few kits that were north of $100 this past year, a pair of 1/32 ZM kits, the 1/24 Airfix Hellcat, 1/32 Tamiya Zero, the HK B-17. But at the same time, I grabbed the new Tamiya Marder I, a few of the new Tamiya figure kits and just a few days ago some Flyhawk armor that were very reasonable for what you get. The FH armor kits were under $10 each. The RFM armor kits are incredibly reasonable for the quality.

I think, just like when the Producers broke the $100 a ticket threshold on Broadway, you get shocked at first, then used to it, then they become commonplace.

Granted, I'm jaded after the Tamiya RC armor kits that are all around $700, but it's what floats your boat. I'm sure I could run up a nice bar tab in the time it takes to build a good kit, so it's good use of 'mad money'.

I mean, takeout dinner for 4 with some appetizers here in NY is $100. Before I gave up my Giants seat, it was $100 a game. $100 to travel, get jostled, freeze your arse off for 4 hours and watch them get embarrassed, only to have to travel home.

But yeah, when my wife thought that the $200 microwave we were looking at was too pricey I didn't pipe up that the 1/32 Uhu I bought (plus ref book) was the same price and I certainly don't use it everyday. Heck, not sure where it is at the moment...

There are plenty of $20 kits out there to be had, which is a bargain if you consider a crappy Monogram (by today's standards) was $5-7 back in the 70s when I was making $2 an hour. No kid looking to get in the hobby should tackle a WnW kit.

Aren't the reboxed WnWs that have been released pretty cheap though?
 
The only reboxed WNW kit at this point is the Meng Dr.I. Sprue Brothers had a Meng sale a while back and I was able to obtain the kit for $56. The WNW kits never went on sale. I think that was part of the deal with stores carrying the line. The instructions and decals were definitely a step down from WNW class, but the plastic is right up there on top.

Heck a couple of years ago I bought the HPH 1/48th B-36. Bought it direct and with 5 day shipping it came to about $650 if I remember correctly. I later saw one on Sprue Brothers for $1400. It is a typical all in one HPH kit. Nothing else to buy except glue and paint. On the other hand the original HK 1/32 B-17G kit with all the aftermarket accessories from Eduard, Master Model, and HGW came to about $850.

The last little while I have been building the ZM 1/32 Horton kit and have been fairly pleased with it. The basic kit will build nicely out of the box, but with the extra few items I picked up and other things it is really tricking out. Much more enjoyable than some other kits I have worked with.
 
Most I ever paid for a single kit was $200. That was the kit alone and Paul has it now, it's beyond my skills (needs a great jig). I've spent more that that on aftermarket all total but I really doubt i'll pay that much again. (famous last words)
 
I regret not buying Orange Hobby's 1991 USS Midway for the $180.00 it was when it was released. You don't see that kit now for less than $450.00. I'll be damned if I will pay that much for a 1/700 model ship. Even if it is the storied CVA-41.
Evidently some model makers think it's a seller's market. WRONG!! We model and buy models because we want to.
I won't get on my "Soap Box" about buying from China. We also have memories. Economic messages are more effective than anything on Facehole.

You guys must be young, or maybe I am old. My first Monogram airplane model sold for 98 cents when I bought it in 1968.
The B-25H Mitchell "Sh'Boom" kit. I lusted after the Monogram 1/48 P-40B Tiger Shark kit, but at $1.29 It was more than one week's allowance.

Yep It's me. I'm old!
 
Ha ha Rhino
The Airfix 1/72 kits in the plastic bags of the 60's used to cost me 2/-6d Thats 2 shillings and six pence so thats $0.16

You could build a whole Sqn of Spitfires for less than the price of a newspaper today....
 
Part of the problem is the cost of shipping which drives the price up. Then the raw materials and finally the companies trying to get more bucks specially out of previous molds. As for the ebay and Amazon and personal sales I think greed is the main driver of the sky high prices. Once modelers saw they could get big bucks for a kit the idea took off like wild fire. There are still WNW kits out there at the WNW prices and yet people still go on ebay and pay outrageous amounts for the same kit. I have pretty well every WNW kit out there and if I sold them I'm sure I could rake in a small fortune. Unfortunately I'm still labouring under the impression I will build them some day when I feel better and have more time.
James
 
You can still get plenty of great deals out there if you hunt for them ......... i use what I call 'the image meathod'. Like a true 'wanker' modeller i have a name for my method:LOL:
- if you put in your search in Google and then click on the images button (not the shopping choice) on the top, you will get a whole bunch of related pictures. Some of these are just blogs (like here at MA) but if you take a little time and scroll down and pick on a few images of the model that are from small stores(not the big ones, they are all along the top and also appear in the same way when you click on the shopping tag), even stay away from some of the ones you know and use. Go with the small obscure shopes and keep following the links until you find that Bargain - its worthwile . You can also find free delivery and hard to get kits this way along with the bargain at the same time.
Models are quite expensive down here at the moment, as our dollar is only worh about 69 cents US - virtually the same as the Canadian currency. So when I have to get a good deal it is even more difficult with this factor on top of the actual prices. [If you think you pay a lot in the US, try being the rest of us that base our dollars against the green back].
Heres an example for you guys -
I have wanted a 1/35 M1070 HMET (Hobby Boss) for quite a while, as I want to model it with a knocked out M1 Abrams on the back.
Down under to get both models(on a normal Net search) in AUD $ I would be up for $260.00 at a minimum and only if they are on special ($180.00 USD). and then you have to pay delivery on quite a large package. I found one and a Tamiya M1 with free delivery to my door for $70.00 AUD ($48.00 USD) from a Canadian store.
Another example - 1/72 scale Uboat Mk9 Pontos update set - very hard to get at the moment. Just sold out again in the usual places I look and they had it on special for $215.00 AUD plus $15.00 for local delivery. So thats (158.00 USD) - I found both the Mk7c & the Mk9c Pontos sets for $58.00 AUD each with free delivery (40.00 USD) - so I bought both for less than Half the price of 1 delivered to my door and just the fact they had the MK9c in stock was a bonus.
None of these deals are from Amazon, Ebay, Hannants, Luckymodel or BNA Model world etc. stay away from the big players and you will be rewarded if you can find your subject kit.
I could quote you countless other deals i have found over the last few months but suffice to say there are outstanding deals out there to be found if you search the images and follow the links in the boxed window to the left of the search results - Good luck guys!

Ian.
 
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My most expensive kit was the Hasegawa 1/350 Akagi $225.00
I have always been under $100 on everything else,but that's not counting figures,tracks,stowage,or any other AM,but I don't do a lot of AM
 
I went looking for the old Revell 1/542 USS Pine Island seaplane tender model ship kit. Hoolly Bukkits!
I can buy David Angelo's cool 1/700 USS Currituck for the same $$ AND It's my scale! I know the guy that does the mastering and I'm sure it's stellar.
 
paddy said:
Ha ha Rhino
The Airfix 1/72 kits in the plastic bags of the 60's used to cost me 2/-6d Thats 2 shillings and six pence so thats $0.16

You could build a whole Sqn of Spitfires for less than the price of a newspaper today....
Click to expand...
Right! Airfix, with all their hinged flying surfaces, rotating turrets, some with retraceable gear, and a crewman at every station! The newest coolest airplane models! We didn't notice the huge sprue gates and obnoxious rivet detail as kids, did we?
I built the Airfix 1/72 Spitfire, DeHavilland Chipmunk and the Grumman J2F Duck after my first visit to Oshkosh. The Super Chipmunk pilot put on a stunning aerobatic display. The Spitfire taxied past me on the grass and changed my 8-year-old life forever.
 
How about the giant thumbwheel sticking out of the side of that Wildcat that retracted it's gears? I remember someone's Mustang that had controls in the front of the oil cooler for gear retract and bomb release.
 
moon puppy said:
How about the giant thumbwheel sticking out of the side of that Wildcat that retracted it's gears? I remember someone's Mustang that had controls in the front of the oil cooler for gear retract and bomb release.
Click to expand...
That Mustang kit was a repop of the Monogram visible Mustang in 1/32. Somehow they messed up with the measurements on the parts for the visible as it didn't really work right. The cam inside was wrong.
 
Over here we had Frog kits. Nicely made but not as complicated as airfix, wings would usually be one piece and things like wheels might be moulded to the U/C legs, Revell were probably the best but also a lot more expensive i think.
 
As a kid I had a Monogram kit of the Grumman Gulfhawk. My brother had the military version. I think they were 1/32 scale. The thing I remember the most about them was you could pull the prop out a notch and rotate it to extend or retract the landing gear on them. It was really neat.
 
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