$30+ kits - hows it affect you?

[drsnapper55]

I'm out. The retail pricing is far out of my comfort zone and I don't like the quality of the "new" styrene being used in kits as of late. The only way I'll buy one is on deep discount with coupons or clearance. I have a sizable stash of parts and kits with many being older issues so I have enough to build for a long, long time.

I'm out x2 - I have plenty of other kits to keep me building for a long time.  I'll just keep an eye out for some of my favorites and buy with a coupon or such.  I find that if I hold off, I didn't need or want it as much as I thought.

[Dave Ambrose]

My local hobby shop sells most new kits for around $26, depending on the kit. Some are more. My daughter and I were discussing this a few days ago. (she builds Gundams) We're both very satisfied with the state of our unbuilt kit collections, and don't feel any compelling need to get more. I started buying most of my kits at swap meets. They're generally cheaper there anyway, and if it's too expensive, I can skip it. Plenty of cool stuff to build in my stash.

That said, if there's something I really like, or can go into a specific project, I get it.

Most beginners are buying snap kits anyway, and those prices seem to be pretty reasonable. But, I do think the popularity of model cars is declining. The real growth is in Gundam and other science fiction subjects. Our model car club has about 50 members and is growing slowly. The local Gundam club has 300 members, and is only a few years old.

[Draggon]

I'd much rather buy one old original vintage kit for $50 or 60 than two or three new ones at $30. Even the new kits that interest me have so many "issues" that I pass on them. 

[martinfan5]

I don't think the growth of the hobby is on anyone's mind at Revell/Round2. I think our hobby has about 30 years left in it. No one younger than 30 has lived when cars were actually cool and stylish. Cars are a means of conveyance unless you are into imports and the current trends involving them. If the coolest car of your childhood was a Nissan 300 or maybe a g-body GM there's not much to look back and get nostalgic about.

 

Your opinion and not fact,  and yes, I am into imports and current trends,  but just because you dont like current cars, doesn't mean nobody else does,  plenty of juts Facebook model groups proves your statement is merely opinion ,  there is a large group of us that dont wear rose colored glasses and yearn for yesteryear.   I think cars are cooler today then were of a by gone era, maybe in different way.  

And you need to stop speaking for the hobby as whole,  I agree, the hobby here in the US has a short life span, but in the rest of the world where the hobby doesn't live in the past, its has a very bright future and getting better and growing everyday.   Of course, that is just my opinion as well, so what do I know

Edited December 3, 2016 by martinfan5

[martinfan5]

$30 kit prices, LOL, yeah, doenst bother me in the least and is not going to stop me,  I have no problems paying $30 for fine Japanese kits, but I will tell you what it will do,  if Revell and Round 2 put $30 price tags on what is at best a $20 kit, then yes, that will stop me from buying their kits.  If they are going to charge $30 for a kit, I expect that kit to be worth $30.

[Pete J.]

Every time the subject of price comes around and a bunch of folks start griping about how much the hobby cost, someone like me has to come along and point out that it isn't what you put into a kit, it is what you get out of it.  Now frankly, I'm a slow builder.  I know that.  I only get two or three done a year and if I put less than 30 hours into one, then that is pretty quick for me.  Having said that, I build because the process gives me pleasure.  If I just wanted something to throw up on the shelf, there are a whole ####pot full of diecasts out there that I could buy.  No, I love the pleasure of making something I can be proud of.  

So let me break it down.  Let's say I pay $30 for a kit and it only takes me 15 hours to build it.  I have dropped $2 an hour for my fun.  Do you know any place else that you can get that much fun for that price?  Heck, I went to Disneyland a couple of weeks ago and went midweek for a cheap entry and only got into Disneyland and skipped California adventure.  I was there for 12 hours and with food it cost me $130 a person.  That is just under $11 an hour and when I was done I had some pictures on my cell phone.  Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the time spent with family and the whole Disneyland thing, but that was five times what I spend on modeling fun per hour.  

To be fair, I was stunned a month ago when I went to Brookhurst hobby and found that Tamiya's Enzo was on the shelf for $90??  It is a great kit and I have 6 of them in my stash, but $90.  But then that kit would take me a lot longer than 30 hours to build the way I do, so my entry fee per hour still would not be unreasonable.  And it is still cheaper and less painful than an evening at a bar.  It is all a matter of perspective!

Edited December 3, 2016 by Pete J.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Every time the subject of price comes around and a bunch of folks start griping about how much the hobby cost, someone like me has to come along and point out that it isn't what you put into a kit, it is what you get out of it.  Now frankly, I'm a slow builder.  I know that.  I only get two or three done a year and if I put less than 30 hours into one, then that is pretty quick for me.  Having said that, I build because the process gives me pleasure.  If I just wanted something to throw up on the shelf, there are a whole ####pot full of diecasts out there that I could buy.  No, I love the pleasure of making something I can be proud of.  

So let me break it down.  Let's say I pay $30 for a kit and it only takes me 15 hours to build it.  I have dropped $2 an hour for my fun.  Do you know any place else that you can get that much fun for that price?  Heck, I went to Disneyland a couple of weeks ago and went midweek for a cheap entry and only got into Disneyland and skipped California adventure.  I was there for 12 hours and with food it cost me $130 a person.  That is just under $11 an hour and when I was done I had some pictures on my cell phone.  Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the time spent with family and the whole Disneyland thing, but that was five times what I spend on modeling fun per hour.  

To be fair, I was stunned a month ago when I went to Brookhurst hobby and found that Tamiya's Enzo was on the shelf for $90??  It is a great kit and I have 6 of them in my stash, but $90.  But then that kit would take me a lot longer than 30 hours to build the way I do, so my entry fee per hour still would not be unreasonable.  And it is still cheaper and less painful than an evening at a bar.  It is all a matter of perspective!

I agree wholeheartedly!

Last weekend, my wife, my daughter & I went to a Chinese buffet restaurant.

Mind you, this is a cheap meal as compared to most restaurants.

An hour later, we walked away $50.00 poorer.

$50.00 for an hour of pleasure versus $30.00 for several weeks of pleasure.

Sounds like a bargain to me.

 

Steve

[von Zipper]

$30.00 for a model car kit is sticky kid stuff-I'm trying to come to terms with 50 thousand dollars for a new pick up truck !   

[mademan]

Ive cut way back.... Up here in Canada the recent releases... and not so recent have been up there for a while.   The only Hobby Shop we have in the city I live in, Revell kits are $34.99-$46.00 and the Moebius kits are $46.99- $56.99. Sure I can get them online for considerably cheaper, but by the time you factor in shipping, etc. its about the same.

 

I guess I havent really cut back so much as im allot more conscious of what I purchase now. In the past when a new kit came out like the Revell 2010 Camaro SS, or the Lowrider Cadillac I would order a case  for the stash as I had so many ideas. I felt the same about the 83 Hurst Cutlass, however I waited until Micheals got one in and a 50% off coupon came up..... I guess ive reached a stage where I have so many kits in my collection already that I wont pay the escalating prices for more. Sure ill buy them, but with a coupon etc.

Edited December 3, 2016 by mademan

[Richard Bartrop]

Here in Calgary, Revel and Round 2 kits are as high as $45 and up here.   At those prices, it has to be a subject I REALLY want, or if it's for kitbashing material, it has to be somethng I can get 2-3 projects out of like AMT's Model A roadster reissue..

[Psychographic]

A question for you guys in Canada. Is it just models that are higher priced or are prices for most of the things you buy more expensive than here in the US?

[om617]

The only kit`s i seen that goes above $25 are some Galaxie kit`s,as an example the new Bronco is $16 or $18,this is on

Ebay where i do most buying. I could see foreign cars cost more,Japanese brands,but if you go to a Japanese online

store,the US cars cost over $40.

I dont buy new kit`s,mostly old junk and parts,enjoy the fix,and now and then some resins. For me the

price isn`t that much of a deal because i rarely buy. I could get 5 junkers one month,and zero the next.

 

[Rodent]

When the Moebius F100 first came out,  I thought I would get one. My LHS had it for $35.99. That was past my price point for a kit like that. I looked online, but never ordered one. Then I heard the griping on here about the kit's issues and saw pictures of what is in the box. I decided that I had enough to do without adding another kit to the stash.

I guess that was my first run-in with a $30+ kit.

[dieseldawg142]

............

Edited May 10, 2018 by dieseldawg142

[DON-T2]

A great example is the e-mail I got from Auto World yesterday. 25% off all Lindberg kits, I checked out the 37 Ford roadster. List was $39.95

25% off is still $30.00.

[lordairgtar]

30 dollar kits? Meh! Since I don't gamble, drink excessively (glass of good Single malt Scotch twice a month maybe) , nor smoke...this is what my spare money (after bills are paid) goes to; my hobbies.  I buy what I want and yes, I search for the deals but I support my local independent hobby shop (shout out to Model Empire), and swap meets. I'm not a wealthy person and close to retirement age. Bills get paid, meds get paid, food bought, gas, clothing....after all that is done, then I buy models. I've paid more than $30 on a kit or two but I find my LHS discounts right off the bat, and we have several swaps in our area too that more than enough satisfy my model car predilection. And I never have to darken the doorway of a Hobby Lobby ever doing it.

 

[AC Norton]

A question for you guys in Canada. Is it just models that are higher priced or are prices for most of the things you buy more expensive than here in the US?

I know some other Canadian member's here have answered or commented on your question, so I will throw in mine....yes, almost everything here is more than in the state's, and with many item's much more generally.  however there are 2 factor's to mention here.....there are over 330 million American's, and in comparison about 33 million Canadian's. I think you can see where I am going with this. your country has 10 time's the buying power, selling power, and worldwide financial clout that we have only a fraction of.... secondly, our social program's here are  very good, from our medical care, that  for the most part is covered, and many social and pension program's that are government funded. I myself had, and still have 2 pension's , one from 2005 and the other came in from May 2015,,,and as of last March another substantial one on top of those 2 mentioned simply because of my  income and 60 year's old and single status, that I applied for and received only 3 month's later. my point.... all that money and special funding to make sure people here can live well has to come from tax's ........our banking regulation's are different than those in the U.S. as well....hope this long winded answer  helps..........regards, the Ace....

[Richard Bartrop]

Exachange rates are also a factor. The Canadian dollar is currently worth about three quarters of an American one.

[Luc Janssens]

Find it odd that when comparing some prices the re-releases of Round-2 cost more then fresh engineered kits from Revell.

Maybe Round-2 should also design more all new kits, cuz it seems cheaper then restoring old tooling

[Tom Geiger]

Gas average .31 gallon in 1965. Gas in 2014 3.34, 2015 2.40 - so a 1.50 model should cost $16 and $11.60. Gas is not a real good indicator though. If we look at houses - 1965 median $19,800, 2016 $304,500 means a 1.50 kit from 1965 should cost $23.06. We could look at a lot of comparisons I guess. 

The cost of a kit in 1965 has absolutely nothing to do with the cost of kits today.  There is no inflation multiplier because we are talking about two different markets.  For instance in 1965 a kit may have sold 500,000 units.  Today a kit is lucky to sell 20,000 units.  That means that the cost of doing business is divided across 20,000 units not the 500,000 units of yesteryear. A totally different situation, and I'm sure if the could move 500,000 units today, kit prices would be less than we see now. So the cost of everything from keeping the doors open, research, engineering,  tooling etc cost more per unit, and that's reflected in the cost of a kit.

 

 

 

 

[Luc Janssens]

Just had a great deal today, in fact anyone in Belgium can have that deal, just bought an extra re-boxed by Revell Moebius Prostar truck, for a whopping 20 euro, at a national big box toy chain, the truck tire sets Moebius sells cost even more.

Do I need it right now, nope, but I'm sure at one point in time, parts of it can be used, or heaven forbid they all of a sudden become rare and sell for mega bucks on ebay

 

[Luc Janssens]

The cost of a kit in 1965 has absolutely nothing to do with the cost of kits today.  There is no inflation multiplier because we are talking about two different markets.  For instance in 1965 a kit may have sold 500,000 units.  Today a kit is lucky to sell 20,000 units.  That means that the cost of doing business is divided across 20,000 units not the 500,000 units of yesteryear. A totally different situation, and I'm sure if the could move 500,000 units today, kit prices would be less than we see now. So the cost of everything from keeping the doors open, research, engineering,  tooling etc cost more per unit, and that's reflected in the cost of a kit.

 

 

 

 

plus... since model car kits, were most of the time siblings from promo-tools for which the OEM picked up the tab, versus now, where the model kit manufacturers pays a licensing fee, to have the authorization from the OEM, to tool up one of their designs as a scale model kit and even have a say in how the product will be portrait on the box-art!

 

[bobthehobbyguy]

Besides although some believe that the manufactuers pick the msrp arbeitrarly. No so all the factors volume, production cost, and return on investment on tooling  all contribute to the final cost. If you ovrrprice the product you are not going to make volume you need to sell. 

[BrianC]

As all of the Canadian modellers have already pointed out a $30 kit is actually not a bad price these days up here. I am interested in many different subjects and I have recently purchased a couple of World War One tanks. None of the new military subjects come close to 30 bucks or even double that - try $80 or 90. It is probably no comfort to consider that most other disciplines in our hobby pay considerably more for the latest kit. Most are from 'foreign' manufacturers and not the domestic brands that serve the automotive side of our hobby. If you choose to look at it this way we are not that badly served....

Trying to find a silver lining I guess

 

[crazyjim]

Why doesn't everybody stop with their economic opinions and go out and buy some kits?