Hey all, im still fairly new to the modeling hobby, started a year ago, but finally started getting serious about it maybe 2 or 3 months ago, and I was wondering what the average price for 1/35 kits is, I realy like tamiya and trumpeter since they seem cheaper than most other brands, I usualy spend about 15-20$ on a kit and I was wondering if im just being stingy or if there are just alot of suppliers that will gouge you if they get a chance, im not looking for any high end kits at this point either since im still a bit accident prone, thanks in advance for any help tips or opinions

If you are only paying $15-$20 for Tamiya and Trumpeter kits, they must be older offerings. The newer kits go for an average of about $40-$50. Tamiya's newer kits usually go on the higher end closer to $50 or higher.

With the newer kits (except for Tamiya, who continues to reissue older kist at stupid-high prices) containing PE, metal barrels, etc., the higher prices are not really that bad. If you were to buy the PE and other extras that you get separately, it would usually be more. The quality level of most new kits is awesome as well. I feel you are usually getting your money's worth.

Jonas, I think you're moving in the right direction. Hone your skills a bit on the lesser expensive kits before moving up.

well for the first few months i just kinda dinked around with trumpeter 1/72 tanks since there cheap and easey to build, and now that im pretty confident about my building skills im moving on to painting, im still just a bit nervous about getting a kit that's more than 30$, i've botched one or two kits already during painting and would hate to do that on a more expensive kit, also on average I put together 2-3 kits a month, im not sure how many people do on average, but thats also kinda factoring into how cheap i've been

Jonas-
First off, welcome to the illness. As for curing the cost issue I would suggest watching this forum and e-bay for good buys in the price range you are desiring. You should also look into some of the distributors in Asia: Japan tends to be a bit higher. The nearest decent (that is overloaded) physical hobby shop to my house is typically 30-50% higher than I can find online.
The more you watch, you'll learn the average price for a given kit and when to jump on something much lower.

As for making mistakes when painting: well, may I suggest writing it off then either removing the paint or repriming and using it as practice towards the next. I've got a couple of M4s that will never be finished and are on their 3rd coat.

thanks for the advice, I have a hanomag half track that if designated as a test tank, it works pretty well since it has alot of large flat spots, and I feel like illness is a good description of the hobby

Shops being stingy and gouging? Most likely no..the prices you see online and ebay are typically at ,or near wholesale prices..especially ones coming from Asia. Deals are there to be had, but dont assume that the local shops are trying to rip you off..theyre simply trying to stay in business ..while the "deal" dealers are destroying the market, and putting those shops out of business..soon, as in most areas are now, you wont be able to run to your local shop to grab that needed paint, glue, styrene..or what ever you need right away.

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