60 replies to this topic

[Darin Bastedo]

We want lots of accurate detailed models molded in the USA...But we want them for the same prices we paid 15 years ago.

We are willing to pay extra for the detail we want....So long as we still get to use that 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby.

$25 dollars is too much to pay for a highly detailed kit of a car we've been bugging you to kit for decades...But $125 dollars is great deal on that screw bottom built up AMT Buick Invicta at the swap meet last week.

I Cant believe that screwed up ______________ (insert small detail that most wouldn't notice.) on the new tool '57 Chevy....The original AMT '57 chevy is the best one out there. (even though it has a wire axle going through a gaping hole in the engine block.

Why don't the model companies ever give us what we want? After all they can read this board and see exactly what we are asking for.

[Junkman]

You have to see this in perspective. If one looks at the quality of modern 1:18 scale diecasts in relation to their retail prices, one can't but wonder why plastic kits don't cost a lot less of what they cost 15 years ago. This is especially true for reissues.

[disabled modeler]

Darin.... Id pay 25.oo for a kit if it was something that had not been over re-issued for the last 15 to 20 years or had all the extras removed to save plastic...for many of us the extras can make the sale...optional building versions like the 3 in 1s from yesteryear giving the buyer the choice to build anyway they want to and use extra parts on the next purchase. I do not care if the re-issue of an old kit that has not seen the light of day in 20 years has the metal axles or if its a curbside ether as long as it is not something everyone has built 10 or so models of. Say for instance if they would bring out the 67 to 70 Bonneville HT...Id pay 25 or 30 for it in a heartbeat. The convert was a very welcomed sight to see back out years ago with or without the boat.


I have the original 57 Chevy kit... if you have something of great interests to me Id trade it.

[Lunajammer]

Darin, you have crystalized that thought very well. Nicely put. I believe model companies know you can't please all the people all the time, so I trust they look at their own business plan and use these boards as a barometer, rather than complete, bankable market research.

[Dr. Cranky]

Darin, I just paid 24.99 per kit for two kits. I don't mind paying the modern day price for a kit if I like it. If the kit companies want to keep putting out good, high detail quality kits, there are folks like me who will keep buying it.

[Ace-Garageguy]

When you consider the relative complexity of an injection molded toothbrush handle and a model car kit, and the smallness of the model market relative to the market for toothbrushes, a model car kit looks like a pretty good deal, pricewise.

Of course, that's only one way to look at it.

And the truth is that ANY manufactured item can be made cheaper AND better if the manufacturing company is operating as lean and efficiently as possible, with highly skilled and motivated and talented people in every position. Good luck finding that in any industry.....except maybe Rutan's company, Scaled Composites.

[Danno]

Not only that, but no matter where you go ... there you are!

[Jantrix]

I long ago decided that the cost of this hobby is nothing compared to the cost of many hobbies I could have gotten into. Should the cost of a new kit go up to $50, I would still build. I break it down to entertainment over time. When it takes you a couple of months or more to complete a model (like it does for me) even $50 doesn't seem like that much for the enjoyment I get building it.

Round 2 is bringing back old favorites, Revell is creating new and extremely well done new tooling as well as their older kits. Mobius has joined in the scale auto market and is creating well crafted kits unlike anything we have seen. The Japanese companies are considering dabbling in the American muscle genre.

Frankly I have never been happier with the modeling market as I am right now. We are seeing a true scale auto renaissance. If some people are too stupid to see this or are only happy when they have something to complain about, just ignore them. I would hope that sales figures show the model companies how we feel more than what they see on the forums.

Edited by Jantrix, 03 September 2012 - 12:12 PM.

[southpier]

no kidding. ever buy a pair of skis?

[modelmike]

i just bought a 1/20 ferrari F1-2000 for 15.00 and followed it up with a 65.00 detail kit all from japan and i dont understand why we cant or more to the point dont produce such things i would have gladly paid more for a MADE IN THE U.S.A. kit....

[Harry P.]

i just bought a 1/20 ferrari F1-2000 for 15.00 and followed it up with a 65.00 detail kit all from japan and i dont understand why we cant or more to the point dont produce such things i would have gladly paid more for a MADE IN THE U.S.A. kit....

Simple. Manufacturers are in business to make money, the more, the better... like all businesses. So they don't produce things here if they're cheaper to produce somewhere else. It's not just model kits, it's all sorts of things. Have you tried to buy a made-in-the-USA TV set lately?

[martinfan5]

I long ago decided that the cost of this hobby is nothing compared to the cost of many hobbies I could have gotten into. Should the cost of a new kit go up to $50, I would still build. I break it down to entertainment over time. When it takes you a couple of months or more to complete a model (like it does for me) even $50 doesn't seem like that much for the enjoyment I get building it.

Round 2 is bringing back old favorites, Revell is creating new and extremely well done new tooling as well as their older kits. Mobius has joined in the scale auto market and is creating well crafted kits unlike anything we have seen. The Japanese companies are considering dabbling in the American muscle genre.

Frankly I have never been happier with the modeling market as I am right now. We are seeing a true scale auto renaissance. If some people are too stupid to see this or are only happy when they have something to complain about, just ignore them. I would hope that sales figures show the model companies how we feel more than what they see on the forums.

I am not happy at all, why?, because I dont have enough money to buy all the kits that are out there and that keep coming out

But to be serious, between the US and Japanese , I am very happy right now as a modeler

[Junkman]

no kidding. ever buy a pair of skis?

Plus a one-week-ticket for the ski lifts in a big ski resort, plus the hotel, plus the travelling there and back, plus the apres-ski...

[Foxer]

I know Darin was giving us a chuckle but if the price of new kits (around $25) makes you think it's too much, check out aircraft, or armor, ships, figures .. pretty much any other branch of plastic kits. We auto guys are the LUCKY ONES! I know, the latest Japanese kits are approaching armor.

[mikemodeler]

Great topic Darin and quite a few good responses as well.

I was all set to pay $24.99 the other day at Hobby Lobby for the AMT Phantom Van when the cashier mentioned using my smart phone for the 40% off coupon. My point is that if I am interested in a kit or part, it always comes down to the want more than the cost for me.

I recently bought a resin kit of a subject matter that I really like. I wish I had done more research as there was a better resin piece available but I will build what I bought.

I am quite happy with the hobby right now- some nice releases of late and I am able to buy what I like, although I do need to sell off some extra kits that I won't be building.

[Fat Brian]

I just want to point out that there is nothing wrong with using the Hobby Lobby coupon. The kit manufacturer still gets their regular wholesale price for the kit and evidently Hobby Lobby gets enough to make it worth their while or they wouldn't keep making them.

[martinfan5]

I find that the only time I will use a coupon is if its model related

[Michigan Madman]

I don't care how detailed a kit is- I think the kit manufacturers are missing something by not doing more Skill 1 kits (dare I say even snap kits), if the body and interior look good I could easily do without an engine and full chassis detail. As far as paying what I was paying 15 years ago for a newly-tooled kit of comparable quality? I'm too much of a realist to even entertain that thought. The price of EVERYTHING has gone up from where it was 15 years ago. And I personally don't care what country the parts are molded in- the American kit manufacturer, the good old American hobby shop I bought the kit from, and all the people in between made their money off of it.

I've never set foot in a Hobby Lobby and doubt I ever will, so that 40%-off coupon I hear about at annoyingly-frequent intervals is meaningless to me.

$25 is reasonable for a reasonably detailed, relatively recent (say, tooling for it dates from 1985, 1990 or later) kit. BUT... I'm sorry, I just saw the reissued AMT '66 Mustang kit for sale at that price, and I don't see the value. Other than the new decal sheet and printed tires, it's 99.9/10ths the same kit as the last 20 or so RC2 reissues, which I can buy online or at one of my local OOP kit vendors for ten bucks or less? Sorry, not even interested in the new tires, and I'm sure Round 2 will offer something similar as a parts pack, like they did with the M&H slicks. A kit like that shouldn't sell for $25, maybe not even $20. The Gremlin I can see, as it's a special edition and hasn't been reissued in 30 years (not to mention the fact it had to be restored back to a stock configuration), but $25 for a tired reissue just isn't worth it.

I'm not going to pay $125 for an original AMT screw-bottom kit. Why? Because Modelhaus probably sells a repro of it for about 30 or 40 bucks less.

I can't believe people get worked up over some minor detail being off. And I don't buy into this 'why don't we get kits as accurate as the military guys'? Just check out any military modeler's online forum. Or just read through any kit review in Fine Scale Modeler, and you'll see that most of the military kits they review DO have accuracy problems. Some are minor, while some kits seem to be just as riddled with errors as any car kit you can name. As far as the old 'metal wire' kits being 'better' than newer kits of the same or similar subject? I have to wonder how much of that is just nostalgia talking. Yes, some car kits are almost tragically flawed (cough, cough... anything by Trumpeter...), but the majority of them build into great replicas if you don't make nit-picking into your main hobby.

The kit manufacturers DO produce what modelers want. Well, the vast majority of modelers, anyway. If they didn't they'd be out of business by now. Just because they don't make a kit of that Volkswagen K70 or 1985 Pontiac Grand Prix you lust for doesn't mean they are turning a deaf ear to their customer base.

[martinfan5]

I've never set foot in a Hobby Lobby and doubt I ever will, so that 40%-off coupon I hear about at annoyingly-frequent intervals is meaningless to me.

Just curious Chuck, why not ?

[Michigan Madman]

Just curious Chuck, why not ?

First and foremost- none in my general area. And from what I've been told by friends and family members who are regulars there tell me, their selection normally sucks. Kind of like the old Walmart days- ten each of the same five kits I didn't want the last time I was there and still don't want now. That and they're a retail chain- that usually means clueless employees and constant inventory shuffling. Combine them all and I see no reason to set foot in that particular establishment. Ditto Michaels, Jo-Ann, etc. ...