Cost of today's kits, particularly Airfix

[vh-bob]

I hope that this is the right place for this topic. As a modeller of some sort for most of my life' I suppose that it would be easy to think that I had lost touch with today's prices and I have heard the argument that no matter what it costs, the building of plastic scale model kits still delivers many happy hours modelling per dollar spent. Up to a point this maybe so, however when visiting a LHS in Adelaide South Australia to day I casually picked up the latest incarnation of the 1/72nd Airfix Dakota and was horrified to see an asking price of A$95.00. As a rough guide another shop has a slightly earlier release of the Airfix Shackleton for A$100.00, still pricey but a lot more plastic for the money. What the heck is going on. What concerns me is with the rumoured problems that parent company Hornby are having, how are these high prices going to affect the sales of Airfix kits. If sales are poor could Airfix be lost to us again ?. Is it possible that in an effort to appeal to the "Expert" side of the market with full interiors, better fit and surface detail coupled with professionally printed decal sheets, Airfix have sacrificed affordability ?. After all a DC-3 is a type that many modellers once could find room for several of on there shelves but unless I am totally out of touch I can only see limited sales at these prices. There is however another possibility, among the agents , importers and various middle men in this country, there is a thing that some of us jokingly refer to as "The Australia Tax" which seems to operate on the basis of "irrespective of how much this cost, how much do you think we can get for it". I don't think that we enthusiasts are the bread and butter market for the kit makers and if these prices rise sufficiently to scare off the grandparents from buying them as Christmas / Birthday presents for the kids, then we can kiss goodbye to ideas of new B-17s and Victors etc. in the future from this iconic manufacturer. What does anybody else think?.

Trev.

[Sir Fondlebottom]

Kits have become more advanced and there's inflation, but still I'd put a lot of stock into that "Australia Tax". Stuff is always a fair bit higher before it even comes to the shipping from Australia yet I've had to bite the bullet sometimes if it's the only vendor with something that I want in stock. I work in the video game industry and I've noticed that Australia in general also has ridiculous prices on video games, like, double what you pay elsewhere. That's usually attributed to sparse population over large areas, and isolation compared to the other continents... but those games are digital sales, so I don't buy that one.

Call me cynical but I guess it's a combination of "because they can" and dwindling sales. It's probably just as expensive for you to import yourself anyway once shipping and tax is tacked on, right?

Edit:

I went ahead and checked, and found the Shackleton price quoted to match up with my prices:

It would cost me:

£39.99 + £17.00 for me to buy a Shackleton off Airfix.com. That's 100.220 AUD for getting it to my doorstep in Sweden which matches your LHS price. From an actual Swedish store I'd pay 645SEK, almost the very same as 100AUD. So I guess it really is Airfix itself?

Edited July 27, 2016 by Sir Fondlebottom

[yardbird78]

When you check the prices in the LHS or on line stores either one, you find most kits going for at least 20-30 US$, with many upwards of $50 and quite few in the 50 to 100 range. Very few "kids" can afford to buy kits at those prices. Either they have to have a VERY generous allowance, mow an awful lot of lawns or have grandparents who spoil them with expensive presents. That overall scenario is not inducive to youngsters getting started in the hobby.

Darwin

[breadneck]

The modern Airfix tools are great kits, no doubt. I don`t bother with them this day and age due to their inflated retail prices. I just think to myself, oh well these are long run productions and will be around for years to come, so why buy them now when i can get a deal later on. I did get an ebay uk deal on a mkII Lanc and i did pick up the new Swordfish but that`s about it for now. Certainly with Airfix you would expect them to manufacture some reasonable plastic kits, not try to excel like they belonged at the top of the foodchain. Or do they ?

[vh-bob]

My two concerns were that first of all as a pensioner I cant afford to buy them and second that if poor sales are generated by high prices this could lead once again to the demise of Airfix who need a bigger market than the relatively few "Enthusiasts" to survive leaving one less mainstream manufacturer.

Trev.

[Johnopfor]

I casually picked up the latest incarnation of the 1/72nd Airfix Dakota and was horrified to see an asking price of A$95.00. As a rough guide another shop has a slightly earlier release of the Airfix Shackleton for A$100.00,

Trev.

Wow Dude, I think somebody's trying to bend you over. Those Airfix Dakotas are in my local hobby shop for $36.00 (about 48AUD)and the Shackleton for $46.00 (about 64AUD). I don't know about Australian Customs, but I would suspect that they aren't that high.

[Darren Roberts]

While I understand the angst over high prices of kits, they really aren't all that high. Take a look at price comparisons over the past 80 years and you'll see why the price of kits is "high".

Price comparisons

[vh-bob]

Darren, my point was not so much as to get a direct dollars and cents comparison with the "good old days", it was along the lines of Airfix make four or five versions of the New C-47/DC-3 kit, hoping to sell enough of them to make a profit and therefore stay in business. Some how that kit sells in my LHS for a price of A$95.00 how ever it is arrived at. If you wanted to build all these versions, something the manufacturer would like you to do, would you mind parting with $400.00 or $500.00 for the privilege. This would have been a common thing to have done in the "old days" and Airfix and others have gone on producing kits for 50 or more years. I feel that the days of collecting a small stash of a particular type are over at this rate and sales and Airfix and eventually us will suffer the consequences. I have used the DC-3 as an example but could have said much the same for the EE Lightning and Harrier etc. ,all of which would have once been subjects for multiple builds by many modellers. Even I have 8 Lightnings on my display shelves. However if I am making a fuss about nothing, I will admit to being an old bloke who is well out of touch. Thanks for your input Darren.

Trev.

[Rex]

Trev, first let me say that you inspired the question, but I am not aiming this directly at you.

You have made me wonder just how high the percentage of "budget modelers" vs "new kit modelers" there are these days. Has the hobby shifted towards a lot more people that buy used kits at a discount or the cheapest new kits, instead of the "expensive" new kit releases?

On another forum, there is a guy that only buys and builds older kits, and he no longer seems to be such a unique guy.

Do you think there are more modelers on a tighter budget than there used to be?

My buying habits surely don't count in today's modeling price world. I had to buy a certain number of 1/72 Skyraiders, and I am gradually replacing every A-1 that I haven't finished with Hasegawa toolings, even though I am replacing a $5 kit with a $25-30 kit each time I find one.

Which way do you think is more common on ARC/HS/MM?

[Sir Fondlebottom]

Darren, my point was not so much as to get a direct dollars and cents comparison with the "good old days", it was along the lines of Airfix make four or five versions of the New C-47/DC-3 kit, hoping to sell enough of them to make a profit and therefore stay in business. Some how that kit sells in my LHS for a price of A$95.00 how ever it is arrived at. If you wanted to build all these versions, something the manufacturer would like you to do, would you mind parting with $400.00 or $500.00 for the privilege. This would have been a common thing to have done in the "old days" and Airfix and others have gone on producing kits for 50 or more years. I feel that the days of collecting a small stash of a particular type are over at this rate and sales and Airfix and eventually us will suffer the consequences. I have used the DC-3 as an example but could have said much the same for the EE Lightning and Harrier etc. ,all of which would have once been subjects for multiple builds by many modellers. Even I have 8 Lightnings on my display shelves. However if I am making a fuss about nothing, I will admit to being an old bloke who is well out of touch. Thanks for your input Darren.

Trev.

Well when I was little I bought kits all the time, sticking to mostly 1/72 fighters which I could afford with my allowance. If I wanted something larger I'd have to save, I specifically remember buying an He 111 in 1/72nd that I'd saved a lot for, if it was Revell or Airfix I don't remember. But anyhow, I don't think Airfix is targeting young modellers with the C-47 or the mentioned Shackleton. When I was little that would've just been another boring airliner when I could be building Spitfires and Stukas for about 5-6USD a pop while watching the BoB movie. This was some 20 years ago. Today I build way more expensive and complex kits instead, probably spending about 100USD to 300USD on a build between kit and the aftermarket stuff. So I'm making them more money than I did as as kid, though I'm buying way fewer kits, finishing a few each year instead of one every week.

[Steven H. McLain]

I have been a modeler since I was 8 years old. I like the detail that is put into kits today. But even as an adult I can't believe the outrageous prices for todays kits. I'm disabled and simply can't afford these prices. Even kits that are re-issued with no extra detail are going for high prices. I want different subjects and lots of detail in kits but I believe they will price themselves out of business. No wonder young kids are not getting into the hobby. I think they should come out with new subjects, not issuing every version of an aircraft. Come out with new subjects. and lower prices,

[MoFo]

Some how that kit sells in my LHS for a price of A$95.00 how ever it is arrived at.

Two things.

First and foremost: that same kit is $60 AUD, all-in, from Lucky Model. BNA sells it for $62 + shipping, if you insist on buying in Australia. The problem isn't whether a manufacturer will disappear because people can't afford to buy them at the LHS. The problem is that LHS' will disappear because they can't compete in the global on-line marketplace. If the kit is too expensive at the LHS, then buy it somewhere else. You no longer have to pay the inflated, local prices. Unfortunately, the LHS simply can not compete in the modern world, and they will disappear before a manufacturer does.

Secondly, specifically with regard to Airfix... No, inflated prices in Australia aren't going to kill them. The vast majority of Airfix's revenue comes from the UK. Their international distribution is fairly terrible, and they have decided to focus most of their efforts on the domestic market. Now, you can argue that - in the 21st Century - that's a terrible business decision. That it's incredibly foolish to neglect the very large American and Japanese markets (I mean... it is. I think it could get *really* ugly when the P-40 and B-17 hit, and US modellers can't find them) But realistically, Australia isn't a major contributor to their bottom line; it isn't going to be make or break for the company, and there are bigger regions that they need to address first. (and I say this as a Canadian, who also also faces inflated pricing due to a small, sparse population in a market that isn't terribly important)

TL;DR: If your LHS can't sell Airfix kits, that's bad for your LHS. If Sprue Bros. and Squadron and Lucky Model and HLJ can't sell Airfix, that's bad for Airfix.

[Don]

Dove tail to MoFo's post above ^^^:

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=294243

Interesting reading if anyone's missed it.

[John Tapsell]

Picking up on MoFo's post and his comments on Airfix...

Unless the numbers have changed significantly in the past few years, only 10-15% of Tamiya's production is exported to the rest of the world. The domestic market in Japan is (and always has been) their primary market.

Regards,

John

[vh-bob]

G'day All Wow what a diversity of opinions. To some price seems to be no problem, to others it is a game changer. Personally I should have stated in the beginning that I already have enough kits in the stash to last several lifetimes, but human nature being what it is, I still like to buy the new releases. This morning, I ordered from Hannants the new 1/72 A-Model Beriev BE-10 at a cost of $89.00 plus $25.00 postage. While North American prices seem attractive the U.S. postal rate does not, often being more than the initial price of the goods. Postage from the U.K. is more reasonable but on investigation the best online deals seem to be from Poland, Ukraine and other eastern European countries. It is a long way from the days when reasonably priced kits could be obtained from the local toy store.

Thanks to all for your comments, Trev.

[worldslaziestbusker]

At the LHS today, I saw the new 1/32 Hawker Tempest in its slick looking new box. No price on the front.

I turned it over. Images of PE frets on the side. No price on that side.

I turned it further.

AU$198.00

Aw, man.

I find kits at the range of prices to cover my needs, from weekend projects with my children through to more complex project that challenge me to learn new skills, but some manufacturers are really aiming at a premium product. I guess they've done some market research or no-one would back the tooling up costs. Whether or not the resulting product sells well depends on whether the quality of the product meets the expectations of the target market and sustained economic conditions allowing that target market to pay the marked prices.

At the moment, though, the only shot I'll get at that Tempest is if a rich relative leaves me one in their will.