It seems not too long ago that we thought this hobby had reached is zenith and could only decline. All of the mixed media kits and use of slide molds. How wrong were we? With new players, such as Meng, Takom, RFM , etc. we are presented with more accurate kits at lower prices. Dragon may have toppled(nothing against them, I still buy some of their stuff), but at what cost? Better bang for our buck? Manufacturers are producing items we never thought would be seen. It would appear that the only way the hobby will go is forward. I just did a cost comparison. For what would have bought me three or four kits a few years ago, now brings 5-7 kits and some am stuff. Just a great age for us.

I returned from a 14 year modeling hiatus last year. It was like I traveled through a time machine as far as the modeling world was concerned. I sold off a huge piece of my old stash and replaced it all with more modern kits. I also added subjects I never thought would be available in any form. The best part of it all is aftermarket upgrades are not as essential as they were 14 years ago. Tracks and resin wheels are all I really need in most cases.

It's funny you mentioned Dragon's "toppling". I've noticed a definite bias against Dragon on the discussion boards here. They've certainly produced a few turds in their black death label, but I don't believe they deserve the hate they receive here sometimes. That being said, I never pay retail for their kits. I wait for the 40-50% off sales on dragonusaonline.com before binge buying their kits.

Price wise, kits are certainly higher than they were 14 years ago. I occasionally run across old invoices from various online purchases I made back in the day and most items are 2X what they used to be. The exception to that is Takom kits, they are noticeably cheaper than the competition with the same or better level of quality.

Takom and Meng lead the way, in price comparisons. Take the Panther, KT, Tiger. They are only 2/3 of what Dragon asks. I say Dragon "toppled" due the the blatant errors in the majority of their recent releases(not counting re-issues) and what they ask for them.

Firstly, I agree with Matt that we are truly in a "Golden Age" of Armor kits, and modeling in general. But I do think Dragon has suffered a real slump lately. I say this in combination with what I know of Dragon from working part time in my LHS after retiring from my "day job", conversing with other Modelers, and having first hand experience with Dragon kits. They used to be the leader, no doubt, but I think that was because they were also the "only game in town" for many kits for a long time. Now there is Meng, Takom, a resurgence in Tamiya, Miniart, AFV Club, Hobby Boss and other manufacuturers. But specifically, shortcuts and inaccuracy in Dragon's "Black Label" kits, intorduction of poor quality control in thier Dragon Styrene Tracks, lack of customer service, an announcement they are concentrating on their "toy line" at the cost of thier design and accuracy research, along with some very poorly designed kits at very high price points--these are contributing to the impression they are on the decline. I've also noted a tendency to try to boost sales by "retreading" older kits, or kits that were not as popular as others (see thier "new" T1E1 kit announcement here). They have had some good kits released recently, but they still seem to be offering poor accuracy as compared to other manufacturers. I think these issues are why a lot of Modelers are giving them a "deserved" bad rap lately. I hope they have the wherewithal to turn this around, but I'm not sure "thier heart is in it" anymore-- the Armor side seems to be just one small part of thier toy making business.
VR, Russ