How much are you willing to pay ?

[southpier]

drinking & smoking = nothing to show except an empty wallet.

i wonder is there's a Smokers Forum and they lament the days when cigarettes were 25 cents a pack and a book of matches thrown in?

[Ace-Garageguy]

i wonder is there's a Smokers Forum and they lament the days when cigarettes were 25 cents a pack and a book of matches thrown in?

Very interesting question to me, being an ex-smoker. So I did some looking on the interthing.

The answer is: yes.

[Tom Geiger]

i wonder is there's a Smokers Forum and they lament the days when cigarettes were 25 cents a pack and a book of matches thrown in?

I remember back when we established a $12 annual membership for one of my model clubs. A couple smokers refused to pay, but the same guys spent that every day on cigarettes!

[Greg Myers]

[unclescott58]

Back to the price of things in the past. My parents bought a 3 bed rambler, in the suburbs, in 1957 for just under $10,000. I remember my Dad telling me his monthly payments were like $87 per month. And it was a bit tight swinging that. In 1961 he bought a stripped (with heater the only option), 2-door Comet for just under $2,000. No radio because of what it would have added to his monthly payment. In 1967, we moved into a bigger home my folks had built, and got a new 1967 Comet 202 to replace the '61. That Comet came with not only a heater (standard by 1967), but a radio, carpet, and full wheel covers, for around $2,400. The new house was built for about $23,000. This is at the time model cars were going for $2.00 for the average kit. Comic books 12 cents.

Again, how do those prices compare with today? Are model kits expensive? Yes. But compared to what else.

Oh, by the way. My parents had to finance both Comets for 3 years to afford them. The houses? 30 years each.

Scott

[Fat Brian]

If it's a current issue AMT or Revell kit I get it a Hobby Lobby most of the time. For Moebius I get it at a Hobbytown that carries them locally. Otherwise I scrounge around ebay for deals, sometimes you can catch everyone sleeping. I'm not opposed to paying good money for what I really want but I try not too.

[vintagercr]

I 'm starting a rebellion here in Canada.... I'm doing away with the current monetary policy and replacing it with the good old barter system....... if any of you are interested, I have 3 chickens, a nice hand knit blanket & a quart of maple syrup I'm willing to trade for the new Man From Uncle kit....

Rick, maybe for a gallon of maple syrup. I paid $39.49 incl. tax today at Leading Edge in Kingston. I never had this kit, so it was worth it in my mind.

[Krazy Rick]

Rick, maybe for a gallon of maple syrup. I paid $39.49 incl. tax today at Leading Edge in Kingston. I never had this kit, so it was worth it in my mind.

I'll bring 2 gallons of syrup to the next show, maybe we can do business !!

[Snake45]

According to an online inflation calculator:

What cost $2.00 in 1966 would cost $14.40 in 2014.

I bought many model cars for $2 in 1966. Some of these were annuals with one-piece chassis and wire axles, but there were also the "Trophy" series kits with full-detail chassis and several custom & racing options for the same price. These were the equivalent of first-line kits (Revell) today selling for $25-$30 MSRP.

We're also paying that same price for some of the very same kits we bought in 1966 (AMT, MPC, Revell and Monogram), whose engineering and tooling costs were paid off three or four decades ago. (Yes, I realize the high profit margins on such kits help fund the lovely new stuff.)

Edited February 24, 2015 by Snake45

[southpier]

with the paid-for, re-released kits, the model companies are giving Junior, and maybe even Grand-Junior, a chance to build kits "just like they were in the olden days." not to be able to do so is a deprivation no budding modeler should have to endure.

there's a whole slew of released past kits (not only cars) i could only ogle on a 50 cent allowance in 1960. now i buy them for 20 bucks and am happy just to glance at the box on the shelf. i think of it as model room decor. if i ever build it, fine.

if not, fine, too.

[Jonj238]

I just threw down $90 for a Peterbilt Tow truck. I figure I will spend 3 or 4 months on that kit, so the entertainment value cost per month is minimal.

Edited February 25, 2015 by Jonj238

[gtx6970]

I just picked up 4 builtups,, three 1960 Models ,and one 1961 ,,,,,, one still has the price sticker on the box at $1.39.

I paid a lot more than that for them though

even though the 61 Mercury kit was only $29 so at least its comparable to todays prices ,,,,

[BubbaBrown]

I don't mind springing for a brand new kit. But paying the new rates on kits that have been issued to infinity over and over and over I refuse. So I hope you hear ne Round 2. and revell.

[wayne swayze]

with the paid-for, re-released kits, the model companies are giving Junior, and maybe even Grand-Junior, a chance to build kits "just like they were in the olden days." not to be able to do so is a deprivation no budding modeler should have to endure.

there's a whole slew of released past kits (not only cars) i could only ogle on a 50 cent allowance in 1960. now i buy them for 20 bucks and am happy just to glance at the box on the shelf. i think of it as model room decor. if i ever build it, fine.

if not, fine, too.

Think of your kit boxes as 3D wallpaper....at my place, it's called "Wayne's- caughting".

[turbo nova]

what has curbed me is the kits in HL and the like have steadly crept from 16-22 to 19-29 for standard 1/25 scale, kits I bought there in the last bit seem to be rising sharply. Not a ton of choices though as there isnt much of a scale community around me so second hand kits are scarce.

I know I should stop but I just cant, It got's me man, it be call'n me lol.

[Custom Hearse]

$10.34

[Roadrunner]

I have it in my head that the max I'm willing to spend (on mostly older-ish, non collectible, 1:24/1:25 car kits) is about $20. More than that, they can keep it.