Model Kit Prices

[gonzalo]

I just purchased the new Hasegawa 1/48 EA-18G. Granted nobody told me to do it and I can afford it, for now anyway.I make decent money but kits are getting way to expensive lately. The kit with shipping cost me $84. HOLY COW! Even if I would have purchased it localy it would have cost me the same or more. The thing is this hobby is pricing itself out of business. Hasegawa isn't the only culprit. Hobbyboss, Kinetic, and even Italerie are charging insane prices for plastic kits in 1/48. Let's not even talk about 1/32 scale. Tamiya seems to have a few kits that are reasonable compared to everyone else in 1/48. In 1/32 it's a different story. Monogram seems to be leading the pack in keeping prices low but lets face it we know the quality of some of their kits. It's no wonder younger kids are not getting into the hobby. Why pay so much money on a kit, not including supplies, when you can get the same one already built at the same price or lower? Model companies better catch on or they are going to be out of business because the prices of their kits are getting outragous!

[loki]

Then add aftermarket decals, metal landing gear, resin cockpit, weapons, metal etch, new tyres, new exhausts etc etc, a 1/48 kit and all the kaboodle can cost £200+

[Dave Williams]

If you are buying kits in the US, a large factor with the brands that you mentioned is the fact that they are imports and the dollar is practically worthless as compared to the yen, and even to the euro. The currency exchange rate has a lot to do with the prices of many kits now vs. then.

[Edgar]

What Dave said, above, is so very true, but too many get all emotive, and blame the manufacturer, instead of looking at all of the options. Tamiya's 1/32 Spitfire IX has a price of 9,800 yen on the box. Five years ago, if I'd ordered a kit, of that value, direct from Japan, when we got 240 yen to the £, it would have cost me £40.83; now we're lucky to get 120 yen, so it would cost £81.66, exactly double. Kit manufacturers didn't put the western world into this financial mess, but they're (unfairly) getting most of the flak for it.

Edgar

[Scooter Man]

Agreed that the devaluation of the dollar has definitely had a big impact on the prices of kits from Japan. You figure the value of the dollar has dropped nearly 25% against the yen over the last 3 years. Not sure about the other manufacturers though.

[toadwbg]

Like other items, i wait and buy when the costs are relatively low. Our culture seems obsessd with "having things now".

I'm not immune mind you!

[White Wolf]

(Just my humble opinion)

The truth is that modelling just isn't cheap anymore, due to better quality kits and increases in the prices of raw materials, cost of living worldwide, licensing fees, etc. Even Gundams are becoming super-expensive. But as the saying goes, you (mostly) get what you pay for. What annoys me is when you DON'T get the quality that is supposed to come with high prices.

However, I'm pretty sure that a good deal of the expenses for a model comes from aftermarket stuff. If a person just wants a physical representation of the subject on the shelf (and I bet that 90% of people who look at my models wouldn't be able to tell the difference between, say, a F-16A and a C anyway), then building OOB should be enough.

[terrysumner]

Modeling is STILL really cheap when you compare it to other hobbies. For instance....I love woodworking...I have a 24' X 48' shop filled with a LOT of tools...Powermatic 66 Tablesaw...$2500...General Lathe...$1000....14" bandsaw...$600....15" planer...$1100...and it goes on and on. Okay, so there is the tool cost. But once they're paid for...no more tool cost. But now ya gotta buy the wood to make things from! You think models have gone up? Ya oughta see the prices for lumber now! Whoee! Good furniture grade lumber, rough 4 sides but dried to 4 - 7% moisture content....say Walnut...around $9.85 a board foot! Now in case ya don't know what a board foot is...it's a board that measures a mere 1" thick, 12" X 12"! So if you have a 12' long board that is 12" wide, that makes 12 board feet. And that one board will cost $118.20!!!! And you still have to plane and joint all 4 sides.

Do you play golf? 18 holes with a cart at most golf courses...around here anyways...runs at least $50.00... and what do you have to show for it when you're done? Nothing but a few memories.

I love drag racing too but have long since given that up due to the exorbitant cost of the cars, the parts and the fuel! Cam2 race gas is $10 a gallon.

Let's not even get into the cost of boating, camping, travelling...even a pair of tickets to a Yankees game is $150.00. And music concerts??? Wow, those tickets are ridiculously high.

No matter what hobby you talk about, the cost of participating in it has gone up...no doubt about that. But I think that this hobby, even though costs have risen, is still one of the cheapest ones going!

And btw, should have gotten your EA-18 from Sprue Brothers........

[gonzalo]

Modeling is STILL really cheap when you compare it to other hobbies. For instance....I love woodworking...I have a 24' X 48' shop filled with a LOT of tools...Powermatic 66 Tablesaw...$2500...General Lathe...$1000....14" bandsaw...$600....15" planer...$1100...and it goes on and on. Okay, so there is the tool cost. But once they're paid for...no more tool cost. But now ya gotta buy the wood to make things from! You think models have gone up? Ya oughta see the prices for lumber now! Whoee! Good furniture grade lumber, rough 4 sides but dried to 4 - 7% moisture content....say Walnut...around $9.85 a board foot! Now in case ya don't know what a board foot is...it's a board that measures a mere 1" thick, 12" X 12"! So if you have a 12' long board that is 12" wide, that makes 12 board feet. And that one board will cost $118.20!!!! And you still have to plane and joint all 4 sides.

Do you play golf? 18 holes with a cart at most golf courses...around here anyways...runs at least $50.00... and what do you have to show for it when you're done? Nothing but a few memories.

I love drag racing too but have long since given that up due to the exorbitant cost of the cars, the parts and the fuel! Cam2 race gas is $10 a gallon.

Let's not even get into the cost of boating, camping, travelling...even a pair of tickets to a Yankees game is $150.00. And music concerts??? Wow, those tickets are ridiculously high.

No matter what hobby you talk about, the cost of participating in it has gone up...no doubt about that. But I think that this hobby, even though costs have risen, is still one of the cheapest ones going!

And btw, should have gotten your EA-18 from Sprue Brothers........

I did get it from Sprue Brothers! The one from Luckymodel was like $2 more, and takes weeks to get here. Spruebrothers will have it to me by Monday.

[RRTRENT]

The kits have got so much better than when I was a kid that I don't mind the prices.Entry level kits will always be out there and you can build a very nice model out of them.I did however price some Mig-29 aftermarket nozzles and just found them cost prohibitive.

Edited August 19, 2011 by RRTRENT

[RiderFan]

Model kits are way over priced. There’s just no question about that. And what’s even more annoying is that the prices of kits that are 20+ years old have skyrocketed. I get that petroleum is more expensive and all, but I don’t think that’s a big factor in the overall price increase.

Why is a 1:32 F-104 kit using molds from 20 something years ago $70?? Anyway…

Regardless though, for the entertainment per hour ratio, it’s still the best deal in town. I spent about $150 on the F-14 I’m working on. I’d guess I’ve probably spent about 250 hours on it so far. So that’s roughly $0.60 per hours worth of entertainment. Now yeah, I have an aftermarket cockpit in it so with that included I’m probably sitting at about 63 cents an hour. 63 cents… So let’s put that into perspective.

• A ticket to a football game is $70 so that’s about $20 an hour. (but I have to get two of them so that’s $40 an hour). Also doesn’t include food or drink before/during/after.
  
• I scuba dive. A dive charter is $50 so that’s about $17 an hour.
  
• A movie is $6.80 an hour. (but I have to get two tickets so that’s $13.60 an hour). Also doesn’t include food or drink before/during/after.
  
• Building a model is $0.63 an hour.
  

Seems to be good value for the money actually.

Edited August 19, 2011 by RiderFan

[datahiker]

That's why you're supposed to have a stash, right?

[toadwbg]

That's why you're supposed to have a stash, right?

Exactly!

[Edgar]

Why is a 1:32 F-104 kit using molds from 20 something years ago $70??

Because the blokes operating the mould, packing the boxes, loading/unloading the ships, crewing the ships, driving the lorries, owning the model shops, etc., are all requiring slightly more than the price of a bowl of rice, these days.

Edgar

[Wolfgun33]

I look for kits and such when they're on sale. For example- The Hobbyboss 1/48 N/AW-10A is close to $90. At Squadron this month it's on sale for $44. That's a killer deal (no pun intended). I always look for the deals on kits.

[WymanV]

That's why you're supposed to have a stash, right?

Where's the 'like' button?

Ken

[Pep]

Some kits i think are worth the money, I bet that Growler sill looks awsome OOB. Tamiya's P-51 needs no mention, and the 1/32 F4U they will be releasing on 10/06 (A guy can dream right?) are some examples; BUt lets take italeri's Mirage F-1 $45 for that thing! its almost like they saw the prices on ebay before they released the new one and whent: "Oh! well if they'r paying $50 for the old box they wont mind paying $5 less for a new box".

[Dndieje]

What really pees me off is not so much the price of an individual kit but the inconsistency in pricing.

just noticed this on the LHS website:

http://www.aviationmegastore.com/c160-transall-elokang-04675-revell-4009803046754-scale-modelling/product/?shopid=LM4e3539593ed0d64300b5200dcd&action=prodinfo&parent_id=212&art=102550

The very nice 1/72 C-160 updated and with new decals for € 27,95 !

And I am supposed to pay how much for a 1/144 Minicraft airliner without any windows or details ?

I'm supposed to pay how much for a Hasegawa jet squeezed through 25 year old moulds ?

They're all made of plastic, they all have to be imported somewhere.

Someone is having a laugh surely.

[mako_leader]

Value of the USD, hehehehehehe, ROCK ON!!!!! (TIC) ;-)

But seriously, yes some manufacture's are stupidly expensive, here in the land where money's worth more than the plastic it's printed on Hasegawa have been bad for ages, though others are catching up.

[Jennings]

The thing is this hobby is pricing itself out of business.

I doubt it. Despite years (decades) of rumors that our hobby was at its end, I've seen zero evidence to support it. In fact, if you compare to the situation in the 1970s and '80s, we're pretty much in nirvana. There are more new kits than you can shake a stick at these days.

[Lancer512]

The very nice 1/72 C-160 updated and with new decals for € 27,95 !

Hmm, it seems you've got bad shopping intelligence! I just bought that kit today from Amazon for € 21,95. Free Delivery!

Anyway, if you compare the price of the new RoG F-16A MLU from when it was first released for € 9.99 with the price of the latest RoG F-16 issue for € 14.99, the price went up by 50%. And that is within Germany. The quality for sure did not improve, and I doubt if the production costs went up this much. But that is why I've got a stash.

[Dndieje]

Hmm, it seems you've got bad shopping intelligence! I just bought that kit today from Amazon for € 21,95. Free Delivery!

Anyway, if you compare the price of the new RoG F-16A MLU from when it was first released for € 9.99 with the price of the latest RoG F-16 issue for € 14.99, the price went up by 50%. And that is within Germany. The quality for sure did not improve, and I doubt if the production costs went up this much. But that is why I've got a stash.

"Shopping intelligence" (whatever that is) doesn't really come in to it.

I have no intention of buying the kit for a start, only took it as an example.

The F-16MLU costing 50% more isn't the point either.

I'm not comparing company A prices 10 years ago with company A prices now.

My point was that RoG can produce a rather nice 1/72 F-16A for under € 15,- whereas Hasegawa charges between € 20,- and € 43,- depending on version for basically the same thing.

[Lancer512]

Dndieje,

I see your point now. I am not buying any new Hasegawa kits, unless they are on sale. They are just too expensive.

I was saying that the prices for kits in general have risen.

[Dndieje]

I see your point now. I am not buying any new Hasegawa kits, unless they are on sale. They are just too expensive.

I was saying that the prices for kits in general have risen.

Amen to that brother :D

There are some really good deals out there.

Earlier this year I bought a Hasegawa 1/48 RF-4E, the latest Greek one, for €25,- at a modelling fair in Belgium.

At another one there were Tamiya 1/48 F-16C Block 52+ also being sold for € 25,-.

Eduard Mirage 2000C for under €30,-.

Some companies seem to be able to release original subjects in good quality at a reasonable price, the RoG C-160 for instance.

The AFV Club F-5 family is another example, the Airfix Valiant maybe even as well.

I also like the Eduard stuff.

What really gets me is that the likes of Hasegawa can make stunning models as well.

Rather than using that skill they seem happy to endlessly re-release "old" kits with just some new decals. As they are doing that the prizes keep going up and up while the quality of the mould goes down.

[Spectre711]

They are charging a higher price because they can. If the US dollar was strong the prices of the kits would be the same as they are now. Look at all of the Monogram 48 kits that use to be $5 and are now around $15. Same tooling but different boxing and maybe decals. This practice has been around for years but now the companys are increasing they're profit margin because they can. A few years back the new owner of Anheuser-Bush decided to raise the price of the 30 packs from $12 to $20. They explanation given by that company was because they could.

Think of all the old kit that were sold on ebay or in the clearance section of the local hobby shop. They are now getting good money for those kits only because the new kits are priced so high.