Why are kits so much nowdays????

because money is worthless.

Us...they charge that much, and we pay...

snipped-for-privacy@COSLINK.NET wrote: : I just saw the 1/35 Bronco Staghound for $60!! : Well, it is not the US dollar swooning on the international money markets, since the Chinese still tie their currency to the US dollar.

My suspicion is that it is mainly the importer. That tends to be the place to look when prices are "silly".

But, the Bailey Bridge was not any less.

Bruce

" snipped-for-privacy@COSLINK.NET" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@y42g2000hsy.googlegroups.com:

Don't compare straight dollar for dollar, as that is economically meaningless. It's better instead to compare prices as a percentage of average take-home pay, as it gives a much more realistic view of the relative cost. I think if you do that, you'll find that kits ARE more expensive than they were, but nowhere near as much as it seems (no, I haven't, and won't bother to do the maths), BUT there's so much more in them, parts, detail and quality-wise, than in 'the good old days'. Not to mention the sheer variety available.

As for the difference b/w the Staghound and the Martlet - new kit, yet to pay off its production costs vs very old kit, long paid its costs, so every one they sell is almost pure profit.

But I could be wrong.

RobG

I did a study about a year ago on kit prices and inflation, based on prices I saw in model mags from forties and early fifties. There ARE kits that are appropriately priced for inflation, when one compares prices of kits of EQUAL QUALITY. Those early plastic kits were pretty basic. Many had few cockpit details- a seated pilot figure was about it. No instrument panels, no detail in interior of fuselage sides. Raised panel lines.

What we see today is a much wider RANGE of prices. There are kits priced in line with inflation, but there are super kits that are far beyond inflation in price, but also far beyond early kits in detailing and accuracy.

So essentially today we have far more choice. Unfortunately, it is still buyer beware. A high price does not NECESSARILY translate to super kit quality. There are some high priced kits that are pretty junky. But, on the other hand, I have bought a few cheap kits lately that were delightfully high quality.

Inflation is about a factor of ten today compared to my teen years.

That as noted is not a good comparison. The Martlet (e.g. F4F-4) was a nice kit when it came out over 35 years ago but as can be seen no longer sells for $1.98 but $19. It is also virtually the same kit from then with new decals.

The other one is a state-of-the-art-or-close-to-it one with interior details, etched brass and other niceties.

As one chap noted the other day you can buy an Italeri M4A1 at a flea market for $10 but then have to buy new tracks ($15-32), new turret in resin ($15-20), new brass details ($10-22), a turned aluminum barrel ($10-15) and details such as tools and stowage, or you can buy a DML one for $45 complete less stowage. Which is the better bargain?

Cookie Sewell

FWIW, I think Don's points are very good re: choices and detail/accuracy, etc. I for one have always been drawn to larger scales/more detail (can you say 1/35 DORA?) so when Trumpeter started pumping out nice kits in 1/32, I plunked down my coin without much thought, happy to finally have nice kits in the (dare I say it) "correct" scale.

Speaking of Trumpeter, ever since they released the A-10 I've felt that someone within their organization is a very insightful marketeer. We modelers who started building before we could read and are now in our

40s/50s and beyond can for the most part afford (the occasional) higher-priced kits, and (dare I say it) many who started out in the smaller scales now prefer the larger ones. So Trumpeter answers the call at just the right time, albeit with what could be argued as a very fat margin.

Having said all that, however, I personally am getting tired of 1/32 aircraft in the $150+ range. I'll be quite happy with the Hasegawa Thunderbolt, thank you very much. Maybe I'm just tired of having to sneak all those big boxes in past the wife.

But when someone comes out with a 1/350 Kirov I'll be first in line, checkbook in hand :)

Yup...Hasagawa certainly has it right with the price point and the quality. And the scale. I started with 1/32 scale at four years old, and so I've just come home to it, I guess.

Where Trumpeter has me is that they've actually listed and/or produced EVERY 1/32 offering I have requested here on RMS (and I've bought them, and a couple more...), EXCEPT a Mig-23, an Su-22, and a P-61...and hopefully they'll get around to those...maybe I got the insight...

...are you listening, guys?

due to reality, some of us just don't do those $100 kits. not that they are unwanted, just that money and most especially, space, make it impractical. i don't like danglers. ok, a 111z yankinin' a gigant is a cool idea. if you like looking at an acre of rlm 65 in 1/48. so i would give up all the good stuff topside and inside. blech. and a c note does wonders for other things. i still actively correct halves by overton varieties, (gotten pricey) and large cents by sheldon varietys. you get to the place where those are serious money. i always bought the keydates first, when possible, but more research makes more varietys. rufus does guitars. good investment and fun. smart man. i do bikes and coins. bikes can be good investments. if...anyone guess the if? love kits, love building. history gets me excited. the last 20 years has expanded ww2 knowledge hugely. more kits, more books...more, more, more!!! i guess i'm expressing the regrets of a miss-spent youth. if i could do it all over...fahgeddaboutit!

not military, but i would kill for a large scale interurban car. something from the late 30's, early 40's. i would go nuts detailing it. yeah, the impossible dream. throw a blanket over the old guy in the corner, he's a million miles away.

Wouldnt a Niles car or a good two truck trolley be great? Especially in 32nd or even 48th?

I see, you mean pound for pound why the disparity given they generally eat up the same amount of costs production wise in plastic used to shoot the kit, cardboard and ink to make the boxes, etc. Otherwise the obious answer is inflation and the cost of living

1. Well, design costs may be a factor. I'm not familar with either kit. But if one is very old, the design costs have long since been amortized.
2. Source. Production costs vary between countries, along with currency value and other things.
3. Destination. Retail price is determined by a whole host of parameters that some people spend years studying and a lifetime making a living applying. Not the stuff that can be thoroughly discussed in a short message. But generally it breaks down to this - the manufacturer/importer/seller focus a lot of energy, time and money caluclating the maximum amount of money a potential customer possesses and is likely to spend on their product - and for how long. One of the game consoles made news a few months back due to the disparity of price being charged between US and Japanese retailers, with US buyers getting soaked an additional 0.

Consider this, tonight, millions of American children will celebrate Halloween with the traditional Trick or Treating in costume. Additionally, millions of American pets will don costumes as well. I'm not sure if they've actually begun to trick or treat, but I would not be surprised if something isn't up at the local Pet Smart in the form of a contest tonight.

Those pet costumes can run the gambit from $5 to $25 to whatever extravagance the owner wants to absorb. Somehere out there, a family is spending as much or more for their pet's costume as they did for their children.

You could raise the same questions regarding that Halloween phenomenon as you have on the disparity of costs between kits. But I think the imprtant question here has to be by far and away...

... just how many dog and costumes do they sell along restaurant row in Beijing. :-)

WmB

hell, i'd settle for a red line pcc from the old beacon st road. i have to look up niles, probably know it but not by name. i really need the sway/clatter,ding ding to free my soul.

For the 1/72 purist there's the Military Wheels Russian Series X Tram Car. It looks the part for almost any European tram car from 1900-1945 with tons of dorama potential. Think: road block material, bombed out street, etc.or (shudder!) a civilian diorama.

There are also a couple of streetcars from Keil Kraft that arn't terribly hard to fnd with some effort. Pretty basic, but quite nice.

Tom

Well what do you think? This is 2007 you know. Basically these are prices the rest of the world is used. It's just that americans are generally tight as two coats of paint. No offence mind.

we long ago got tired of being treated as rich suckers. and sick of really tight ass tourists telling us what's wrong with our country. i drove cab during the bicentennial and tall ships, i could care less if another tourist ever came here. here's some generalizations and sterotypes: the germans were far away the most arrogant and loud mouthed about what's wrong with us. the french were the cheapest and bitched about not being able to smoke in elevators and lines, the italians were slobs and threw trash everywhere. the brits tried way too hard and were crappy tippers and the bloody japs dared to call us barbarians. if i forgot anyone or didn't offend somebody, it's been a long day. i've done a lot of traveling and living abroad, the bavarians were the funniest and the most tolerant by being the most blatantly intolerant. they would tell you how much they hate foreigners, especially the "amis" while giving you the keys to the city. that kind of intolerance was just fine.

snipped-for-privacy@some.domain wrote

Well, you've annoyed me. You forgot the Aussies. That's it, you're in the plonkfile now! (c:

RobG (The Aussie one)

never met any here so i refuse to speculate. i refuse to go for the cheap shots. you didn't take any of that seriously did you? i'm a wuss, i like everyone.