Hey all.....

Just a quick question about Trumpeter products.......

Why is it, that I see pricing in the range of $30 for their new 1/35 armor, such as the AS-90.....but when it comes to an aircraft like the Mi-4 Hip....we are talking like $90 for the kit.....I was interested in getting the Mi-4 and eventually the Mi-24 Hind....but not at these prices...I can't justify it.....I mean come on...anyone else that makes 1/35 helicopters don't charge that much money....I mean look at Academy, their Blackhawks, Cobras and Kiowas are no where near this priceing range, and in my opionion are probably just as good as the Trumpeter offerings.....however I will be the first to admit that I haven't seen the Trumperter stuff as of yet.....are their kits that superior to everyone else that they have to charge that much for a kit? Or do they know that there is going to be such a high demand for these kits due to their subjects that the are inflating the price...cause they know that enough people are going to pay the price for them?

Would like to hear your thoughts!!

Well, they are doing kits that people want, in the scales they want them.

Personally, I won't pay more than $25 for some slivers of plastic, but that is just my opinion. People vote with their money in this hobby. We will see what happens.

Mike

Hi All
I'm just praying that the AS90 and Challenger II don't end up with the same disparity in price as the 1:32 A10 thunderbolt.Over here the cheapest i've seen it is £70 yet i've seen it on some US mail order sites for $44.99 (Approx £30).If they do come out like that i'll have to raid my piggy bank.
happy modelling
Peter

Yeah....here in Canada, the price of the new AS-90 is between $30 and $40 Canadian.....not sure what that would translate to in your country.

In France, I see all the new trumpeter armor kits between 21 and 25 euros (1 euro = 1 USD). That price is realy interesting compared to other companys and I'm considering bying one of them.
I'm also surprised because when I check the price of thir plane kits I find them very high !
To find the new trumpeter kits, you can check : blast-models

I submitted interest to Trumpeter for importing products to the Nordic area. The pricing scale they gave me made me decide not to run their stuff. It's no wonder you have pricing up in the higher ranges. I will be the first to admit - I will not pay outlandish prices for this hobby!! At the same time they are using the universal marketing scheme of supply and demand. Hopefully they will cash in on their new machine park and cut prices soon...but they have quite the setup!!! I would love to have what they have!!!! They have invested very, very much money in what they do...and we have to pay for it!!!

Hi all
I've just received an email from Hannants to say that the trumpeter kits have arrived. the Challenger II is priced at £14.95 (approx $25) and the AS90 is £13.95(approx$23.50) so they don't seem to be very expensive compared to £25 for the tamiya Challenger I mk 3 and i think the prices are comparable to those in the States.
Regards
Peter

I think Trumpeter priced their kits to get a toe hold in the market. Their first kits, the poor copies, came out at the $18-22 range. This was about the price for like sized Italeri armor kits. Tamiya kits were in the $30+ to $50 range and Trumpeter knew they couldn't ask for those prices. Why buy a hit-n-miss Trumpeter kit if you can get a known quality Tamiya kit?

The only way to get us to go back to trying Trumpeter kits was to keep the price so attractive that it was "worth it" to try a Trumpeter kit. Their strategy has worked (Take the M1 series for example). Now that they have a better reputation in the armor kit market, they can start raising their prices into the $25-30 range.

Also notice that Italeri has slowly raised their prices into the $30 range. The DUKW, LVT, USMC M4, M60, M-7 all had initial prices above $30.

Aircraft purchasers always seemed willing to spend more for smaller sized kits.

I agree with Sabot and what he said about Trumpeter and their pricing....but don't you guys think that $90 is a little....no alot steep for a 1/35 Mi-4 Hound? I mean yeah it comes with PE...but there are only 4 pieces of PE....look like intake screens, then there is the fancy dashboard....whats the prices going to be when the Hip and the Hind come out....the Hind is what everyone is waiting for....Trumpeter I think can basically name their price on them.

The average Joe moddler can't and won't afford to buy these kits!!!

I guess I am just living in the past with my Revell 1/32 Apache and my 1/32 Revell Germany Tornado GR.1, both of which I picked up years ago for no more than $30....I know, I know...probably no where near the quality of the Trumpeter stuff....

Guys i remember my first trumpeter kit.... the 1/32nd A-10, boy the price was close to $100 usd, and i got. Shortky after getting it home though i was depressed at the quality of the kit cockpit. Trumteters armor kits are far from the industry standard as well. so I think they are following the notion that a new kit in a scale that has been asked for for years will make them money....I for one have sworn off all trumpeter kits, i won't even get them for people who ask me to get them at a cheaper price than in the states, or even trade a trumpeter to a friend.. stug

To be honest the only reason that i'm after these kits is because they are the only plastic versions of these vehicles and i can't afford the Cromwell/Accurate Armour kits ,excellent though they may be.According to a post on another forum Trumpeter seem to have got the AS90 instructions wrong on one section so if anyone has this kit it's something to look out for.
Happy modelling
Peter