Model car builders are cheapskates, right?

[robertw]

I try  to forget what I've begun to pay for kits. In the last few years it has become a much more expensive hobby. One expects to pay $60 and up for resin kits but even mass produced re-pops of old '60 &'70 kits can cost $40 and up (at least here in Canada).. I'm glad that I don't build the large scale Tamiya level a/c that easily sell in the shops for well over $100. While I may sound like I'm complaining I'm still quite willing to lay out what ever it costs to buy any kit that I want, example I have the Ebbro kit of the Citroen DS19 on order and I expect it to cost at least a hundred here in Canada. Where I've rebelled at the high prices is by not buying buying two or three of each kit.

As to the original question I've picked up a number of AMT/mpc C2 Corvette kits in original boxes for well over a hundred each so I would think they're my most expensive buys.

[Tom Geiger]

Per some of the comments above...  I own a lot of $100 plus kits, and a lot of resin.  But the ones that have given me the greatest satisfaction and accolades started out as cheap kits.

This one started out as a $1.99 close out kit when  Child World blew out all their kits one year right after Christmas!

 

 

[Pete J.]

When it comes to car builders being cheapskates, it has to do with the e-boards like this one.  There is no doubt that if a builder want's something bad enough they will pay the price.  However, it seems like every time a new kit comes out, someone has to complain about how much it cost and that is generally followed with the famous "It's not worth it comment!"  Start talking about Tamiya or MFH kits and someone will invariably chime in about how expensive they are.  My attitude? I have a choice.  Buy it or don't but don't.  Oh, and the most expensive kit was Scale Motorsports 935 superdetail kit. $500.  Yea, I know, not a kit but it might as well be. 

[Snake45]

When it comes to car builders being cheapskates, it has to do with the e-boards like this one.  There is no doubt that if a builder want's something bad enough they will pay the price.  However, it seems like every time a new kit comes out, someone has to complain about how much it cost and that is generally followed with the famous "It's not worth it comment!"  Start talking about Tamiya or MFH kits and someone will invariably chime in about how expensive they are.  My attitude? I have a choice.  Buy it or don't but don't.  Oh, and the most expensive kit was Scale Motorsports 935 superdetail kit. $500.  Yea, I know, not a kit but it might as well be. 

You think it's bad here in Model Car World? Check out the whining and whinging in Model Airplane World sometime.

[paul alflen]

IN THE 1990'S I PAID 200 FOR A  1/25 FROG/AMT 1968 MUSTANG UNBUILT, AND 175 FOR RACERS WEDGE MPC KIT FROM DAVE BERKETT AT TOLEDO OHIO SHOW. NOW YOU KNOW WHERE HE GOT HIS SEED MONEY FOR THE LIMITED EDITION RELEASES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mike999]

You think it's bad here in Model Car World? Check out the whining and whinging in Model Airplane World sometime.

Or any armor board! (And I have almost as many armor kits as cars.)

It starts with laying out $50-100 for the latest superkit from Big Lizard, Hornblower, WildHorse etc. etc. That kit comes with resin and photo-etched metal parts, and is pronounced Most Accurate & Wonderful Kit ever.  For about 2 days.  Then Der Experten notice that the shovel mounting bracket is only correct for tanks produced in Nov. 1942, not Jan. 1943. And the spacing on the idler-wheel bolts is off by 0.000015. Basic kit is now the Worst Thing Ever and we should immediately nuke the Chinese plant that produced it.

But you stick with it, and lay out another $50-100 for upgraded resin and PE parts, plus $25 on eBay for a rare decal sheet only issued once in 1994. (Which falls apart when you try to use it).

Finally, with immense pride, you post your completed model of Sgt. Kowalski's M4A3 Sherman, EXACTLY as it appeared at 12:05 PM on August 3 1944.  Only to have Der Experten pop up and note that your model is all wrong. Because the ammo crate you added on the engine deck fell off at 12:04 PM. And he has  a photo to prove it.

I may be exaggerating. Slightly.

Edited July 28, 2016 by Mike999
Error

[highway]

Or any armor board! (And I have almost as many armor kits as cars.)

It starts with laying out $50-100 for the latest superkit from Big Lizard, Hornblower, WildHorse etc. etc. That kit comes with resin and photo-etched metal parts, and is pronounced Most Accurate & Wonderful Kit ever.  For about 2 days.  Then Der Experten notice that the shovel mounting bracket is only correct for tanks produced in Nov. 1942, not Jan. 1943. And the spacing on the idler-wheel bolts is off by 0.000015. Basic kit is now the Worst Thing Ever and we should immediately nuke the Chinese plant that produced it.

But you stick with it, and lay out another $50-100 for upgraded resin and PE parts, plus $25 on eBay for a rare decal sheet only issued once in 1994. (Which falls apart when you try to use it).

Finally, with immense pride, you post your completed model of Sgt. Kowalski's M4A3 Sherman, EXACTLY as it appeared at 12:05 PM on August 3 1944.  Only to have Der Experten pop up and note that your model is all wrong. Because the ammo crate you added on the engine deck fell off at 12:06 PM. And he has  a photo to prove it.

I may be exaggerating. Slightly.

And just goes to show what "Der Experten" (LOVE THAT!!) knows, because if the model is completed exactly as it appeared at 12:05 and the ammo box fell off at 12:06, wouldn't it still be in place at 12:05!?!?!? 

[High octane]

And there it is!

It all depends on what your modeling interests are.

If you are happy building the latest 1/24 or 1/25 scale kits from AMT, Revell, Moebius, etc... then you can enjoy the hobby relatively cheaply, especially with those 40% off Hobby Lobby coupons.

But... if your modeling interests lie outside of the "mainstream" type of kits, like mine do, you're going to have to pay to play, big time! 1/8 scale Pocher kits ain't cheap. And the prices are rising all the time as the number of pristine, unbuilt kits continues to dwindle. There is no such thing as a Pocher reissue, folks.

So while many of you would consider $25-40 bucks a reasonable price for a kit, I have to deal with prices in the $500-2,000 range.

But even with those insane prices, I feel it's worth it. No model kit can possibly give you the satisfaction, the challenge, and yes, the frustration, than a Pocher kit. They are the ultimate "modeler's high."

You have to deal with prices in the $500 - $2,000 dollar range? Because it's YOUR choice. I'm into the hobby for fun and not to drain my bank account. I don't like spending that kinda of money for car repairs on my real car, yet alone on a model kit.

[Mike999]

And just goes to show what "Der Experten" (LOVE THAT!!) knows, because if the model is completed exactly as it appeared at 12:05 and the ammo box fell off at 12:06, wouldn't it still be in place at 12:05!?!?!? 

Ha! Thanks!  You must have posted this before I caught my goof, sneaked in and changed the time to "12:04."   And don't even get me started on scale figures, a subject just about as touchy as armor. I've seen incredibly long, bizarre, multi-page arguments over who wore what, and exactly when, in WWII. 

[Spex84]

Funny how bipolar I am when it comes to "kit price" versus "fun had"...when I spend over 40 bucks on a new-tool kit, I expect the contents to be accurate, and if they're not, I'm a little disappointed. Meanwhile, I'll spend the same on a re-issue of a 1960s kit and be perfectly happy with the old, vague, flash-covered parts. And then I'll spend 3 bucks on an old, half-painted AMT kit with the roof broken off and...I'm genuinely looking forward to starting on that project, warts and all. It's going to be frustrating, and hopefully rewarding by the end, partly because the stakes are so low. The fun-to-cash ratio is going to be very, very high!

I'm starting to think maybe I should just build nothing but old junk kits from now on!

 

[10thumbs]

Per some of the comments above...  I own a lot of $100 plus kits, and a lot of resin.  But the ones that have given me the greatest satisfaction and accolades started out as cheap kits.

This one started out as a $1.99 close out kit when  Child World blew out all their kits one year right after Christmas!

 

 

Tom, that's a wonderful model!  The price allows me to smile.  After looking at this model for a while and looking also for weak points, just amazing, my opinion.  The only thing that seems a little off from the whole presentation is for me the side window, maybe the windshield, but then those two are just reflecting light conditions and I can't see mounting crystal glass on a small model.  Outstanding.

So, a little off topic, sorry guys.

$1.99 for a kit is a decent price.  I think this was in 1960 a higher price, the old AMT's were $1.25, if I remember well.  The Revell "Orange Crate" was 2 bucks, I think.  Expensive.

Edited July 28, 2016 by 10thumbs

[plastic-mechanic]

... I can't see mounting crystal glass on a small model. ...

bug screen is doing its job

[10thumbs]

bug screen is doing its job

I don't understand what you write.

Oh great English creators....please enhance me with your knowledge  (and show me what the frig he's wanting to say).

I suppose you're trying to say the reason why the side windows appear as they are is that the bug screen is doing its (it's is meant) job in making the side windows appear as they as if they are reflecting light.   Hence, bug screens keep the side windows clean too, and will help making glass in side windows reflective. 

I like this.

[towtruck]

$145.00 for a MPC 78 Dodge pick up of E-Bay been wanting this one a long time..and yes I'm gonna open & build it. there no good if ya leave in the box.

[plastic-mechanic]

I don't understand what you write.

Oh great English creators....please enhance me with your knowledge  (and show me what the frig he's wanting to say).

I suppose you're trying to say the reason why the side windows appear as they are is that the bug screen is doing its (it's is meant) job in making the side windows appear as they as if they are reflecting light.   Hence, bug screens keep the side windows clean too, and will help making glass in side windows reflective. 

I like this.

"it's" is a contraction of "it is".

"its" is a possessive form of the pronoun "it".

 

clear? - pun intended

[Snake45]

"it's" is a contraction of "it is".

"its" is a possessive form of the pronoun "it".

 

clear? - pun intended

Absolutely correct (and thank you!). There is no apostrophe in the possessive its.

Why? For uniformity. Look at all the possessive pronouns:

my

your

our

their

his

her

its

No apostrophe in any of them.

Now you OWN IT for all time. Thus endeth the lesson.

[10thumbs]

"it's" is a contraction of "it is".

"its" is a possessive form of the pronoun "it".

 

clear? - pun intended

Thanks Shakespeeeer,  so what's with the bug screen?

[sjordan2]

Not to mention the possessive hers.

[10thumbs]

...."the possessive hers".

Does this mean that "she is possessive"?

I hear that.

[Roadrunner]

Fun stuff. Indeed it's correct (its that is).

[StevenGuthmiller]

Holy BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH!

I had dreams about being back in high school for ten years after I graduated.

I think it's coming back!

 

Steve

[Harry P.]

You have to deal with prices in the $500 - $2,000 dollar range? Because it's YOUR choice.

Of course.

Nobody is holding a gun to my head and forcing me to buy those kits. I buy them because those are the cars that interest me, and that is the scale I prefer. And it just so happens that kits of those cars in that scale are very expensive. I don't think I ever complained about the cost, did I?

[Tom Geiger]

No screen on the glass at all.  Just a bright day and a lot of glare.. The glass isn't even glossy!

[CometMan]

Seeing some of the comments here has reminded me of exactly why I very, very, rarely ever discuss the money side of any of my hobbies, it can be a very touchy subject! (I am known to shoo the people I went to a swap meet with away from the table before I make a transaction.) When I spend any money on a hobby item it is because I have found a rare, or unusual, piece that I have spent a long time searching for that I will enjoy adding to my collection, and those types of pieces often come with a higher than normal price. Or, because the subject inspires me in some way. I mentioned earlier that I spent a rather large amount for a series of battleships, (over the course of approximately 3 years), that was because I have always been greatly inspired by the role those particular ships played in America's history. I am just as likely to leave an $18 on the shelf because the subject, while I may like it, hasn't inspired me enough to pull out my wallet. I receive absolutely no satisfaction from thinking about how much I had to spend to buy a piece, in fact, I often don't remember later on how much I had to spend on an item!

[The Junkman]

$135 for a Studio 27 Chrysler Viper GTS-R.  Seller (Ebay) wanted a bit more and I wanted to pay a bit less, Compromise.  Still unbuilt but I swear....someday....for certain.