I would like to take this opportunity to "Thank" all of the various kit manufacturers for curing me of my compulsion to COLLECT kits! I have
come to the conclusion that they really just want to help me build what's in my stash.
I think my wife MUST be in collusion with them on this!

What I really appreciate is an Italeri Staghound, that probably consists of 12 parts and costs US$52.00! I learned my lesson with the $39.00 AB 41 Armored Car! No value for the money. My curiosity got the best of me there...but as I said.....I'm CURED! HOOORAY!!!!

I also really appreciate Trumpeter drawing me in with very reasonable prices on some (IMHO) very nice models like the Sturer Emil and Marder I....... and then BAM!!!!!....prices go through the roof.

Don't even get me started on DML....I love their stuff but I can't afford to shell out $35.- to $45.- every time they release a new kit. I don't know how you guys do it.

In all actuality I probably have enough 1/35 Armor and 1/32 Aircraft kits to last me until the year 2137! I really don't need to buy another one.....I just WANT to!

I wonder how we're going to get younger Military (you can buy cars and planes dirt cheap at Wal-Mart) Modelers into the hobby when they have to work 6 months on a paper route to buy one kit.

I think the manufacturers are just trying to be helpful. Just think of all the SWMBOs who would be thrilled if we just stopped buying and started building!

Just think of the satisfaction that DML, Trumpeter, Italeri, Tamiya, Tristar, Miniart, Masterbox and all of the other big names in this fine hobby would get out of their "selfless sacrifice" when NOBODY buys their product and starts concentrating on building all of the other OVERPRICED stuff we have stashed in our closets, garages, attics, car trunks, BATHROOMS and other assorted places!

So here's a "SALUTE" to you Mr. "Gouge the Consumer" Overpriced kit manufacturer. Did you see my salute? It was just one finger...sort of a non-military salute....by the way.... my wife sends her regards.

Bodeen, if you have a store called "Hobby Lobby" they often run a coupon for 40% off. My last half dozen or so kits have been bought this way. But I agree, the prices have gone nuts, even older kits have "priced out" many modelers.

Hi Bodeen,

I feel your pain, but I have some food for thought.

I can not speak for the cost of doing things in the PRC, but model mold making is not cheap elsewhere in the world. Meteor is coming out with a super conversion of the 1/32 F-4J to British F-4K/M. Read about what is costs to run a production: Meteor Productions .

Steel Navy has some model manufacturers on the site, a few years ago the discussion was why Trumpeter's 1/350 USS Nimitz was $100+. It was an eye-opener. Basically, $20,000-$30,000 per mold per sprue, amoritized over the production run...shipping, cost of plastic with the high price of oil...

I don't like it either, and it stops me from buying many models I want. But some of these prices are probably [i]not[/i/ gouging. And if you want to see huge costs for little models, stay away from model railroading!!!

Hang tough, and I look forward to your next build. What are you working on now?

Well, before you start blaming the manufacturers, start by considering what happens before they arrive in the LHS. The problem is not, as you seem to think, on the shoulders of the companies, but the Distributors/Importers. Sometimes, several are all taking their percentage of the price, which is marked-up when it reaches the consumer.

Just HOW is that the fault of the manufacturers?

You wanna complain? Take a look at the prices of the products of the major manufacturers in Europe (considerably bigger market) and compare...

It isn't gouging (at least not on the part of the manufacturers) as for messrs Distributors...

DML has so far pretty affordable prices at the LHS (around 30-40). When it goes over 40 then I stop buying...
(Interestingly 1/48 Hobby Boss kits are around 16 bucks, and have considerably more detail, and material than any of the Tamiya kits twice the price.)

I guess that's life. You have to select what do you really want to buy. (The new DML Gepard just blew my mind. I'm building the old Alan one, so with a bleeding heart I'd rather buy a bridgelayer or a pnzI instead. For the forseeable future, however, I will stick to the cheaper 1/72 kits.)

Sounds like you're shopping at the wrong places. LuckyModel has the AB41 listed at USD 22.99. For the price you paid you could have bought the kit as well as the Voyager PE set.

How do we do it? Shop around. For me shopping at online stores like LM or HobbyEasy makes buying plastic kits easy and affordable again.

Jim- First of all...I am excercising my right to express an opinion (MY OPINION). I live in the US so I can't speak for Europe.

One question...Who sets the retail prices for Dragon USA and Tamiya USA? Are they not representatives of the parent company.They are both distributer and retailer for their respective company and their prices are no lower than some LHSs. When the initial manufacturer price is high the markups will will put the end price sky high. (JUST MY OPINION)

I don't buy the argument of the high cost of Research and Development for the PRC companies. China has very low labor costs and high Government subsidies. I can't believe that they would incur the same costs as an equivalent company in Japan or Taiwan.

Regardless of who's to blame....the prices are getting way out of hand. I know the US dollar is very weak right now and that has an impact on prices. You would think that, as strong as the Euro is, prices would be LOWER in Europe. I can't figure it out...maybe it's high tariffs.

Jon- I live in Pa. and the closest Hobby Lobby is about 150 miles away. I shop there when I'm in Omaha, but I'm never there when they have the sales.

JPTRR-I'm just finishing the Italeri (yes the one I mentioned in the first post) AB41 and I am ready to put the decals on an old Italeri Hetzer. I usually don't post pictures my models as they can't hold a candle to the work of most of the guys on this site. I just do this for fun and relaxation. I do have a few albums of my stuff on http://www.webshots.com/search?new=1&source=mdocsheader&words=Bodeeen

Rudi- I do use HLJ, Hobby Terra, Greatmodels and Squadron for most of my needs. I did buy the AB 41 at a LHS because I wanted it badly and couldn't wait. I learned my lesson. I guess I wouldn't have been so disappointed if I had gotten some quality AND quantity for the price.

Andras- I guess that's where you and I differ...I don't think $40.00 for a kit is reasonable. I can't do the 1/72 ....just too small for my big fat fingers(LOL)!

This is all I have to say on the subject....Like I said ....these are my opinions and I will continue to express them in such forums.

Jeff

What I cannot understand is how you guys had it so good for so long.

Today, a new Dragon kit costs 300 - 350 Swedish Kronor ($46.87 - $54.68), from internet retailers, and then ~60Kr for postage ($9.37). The same kits in the hobby shops cost ~450Kr ($70).
In the last few years, prices have fallen because of the competition, internet shopping and the sheer volume of kits being launched on the market. Any new kit a few years was costing 500Kr ($78.11) except for Italeri which was around 175Kr - 250Kr ($27 - $39).
New tamiya kits are still demanding 500Kr, where 30 year old kits are still at thr 350Kr mark.

Maybe the world market is just levelling out????????

DML is dirt cheap. A $37 Panther D Premium has a better plastic kit alone then any other manufacturer, yet includes for free $20 worth of etch $15 barrel, $5 cartograph decals, $18 set of indy tracks, and other bits(such as clampless slide molded tools and jack) versus getting the Tamiya version and upgrading. The SEP/AIM Abrams kits would be a bargain at $70. I think you would be insane paying more then $15 for an Italeri kit. As for collector kits, I have a half dozen Pocher car kits that cost about $150 in 1970 that are worth on average about $1600 each.

I would even get a decent return if I sold my DML/CH Tigers that I still have stashed even though they are only 2 years old. A DAK Tiger kit at $42 3 years ago was more then a bargin when they fetch over $200 easilly on ebay.

Bodeen I’ve got to agree with you.
Sadly I found that anymore unless I need something for an upcoming project or I find something second hand I like I don’t buy it. A lot of these kits are nice but just out of my price range.

Heck I’ld rather get an cheaper older kit and try fixing it up some then go with some of these newer versions that cost twice as much.

Exactly. All the goodies for around 40 bucks is nothing. (Now, if I could actually afford them...)
If you want to get a Tamiya plus all the metal, and indi tracks you can go well over 100 for the same kit. And it'll be usually a 20 years old basekit upgraded by PE.

The perfect reason for a good size stash.
I could never buy another kit, and still never build all the shelf and closet kings and queens.
Look for sales on line, Ebay is dead in that area, as the past few years it's been taken over by the "Become a Millionaire on Ebay Crowd". But you can still pick up some good deals on the various websites from fellow modelers clearing out their stash.
Buy a few of the older kits, then improve your skills on a few affordable aftermarket sets.
Try to avoid the "Keeping up with the Jones' Syndrome" and do not only selective sale shopping, but selective shopping and price comparison across the web. Don't forget to figure in the all important shipping charges also which vary as much as the prices, and unfortunately are also going to continue to rise.

No matter what, the old adage of death and taxes, also applies to rising hobby prices.

I live about a hundred miles from the nearest Hobby Lobby, but do get there once in a while. Three things have I noted:

1. That they tend to restock their model kit selection approximately once per decade, whether it needs it or not.

2. That "exceedingly poor" doesn't begin to describe, in general, their selection of kits, even immediately after a good restockin'. This is true, at least of the military kits, the armour and aircraft....I can say nothing about the car models and such--for my eyes and brain do not perceive such things, so I wouldn't know.

3. That they do carry the occasional somewhat unusual kit, things you don't see every day, like a 1/6 scale Spruce Goose or Snap-Tite George H.W. Bush's Dauntless....not that you would necessarily want to see such things.....

So....I wouldn't make a special trip to pop into Hobby Lobby, especially on a Sunday, but if I were in the neighborhood, I might stop by....regardless of what was on sale. Also, this is true of the Hobby Lobby in my area--the rest I can't speak for.

"That they do carry the occasional somewhat unusual kit, things you don't see every day, like a 1/6 scale Spruce Goose"
Man I wanna see the box that came in!!!