Hilarious!!! [Y][B]
One problem we modelers face is that we all figure the genres and subjects we are most interested in are the same ones all modelers are most interested in. So, we believe that if someone would just kit a (whatever) the result would be their best ever selling kit. So it should also be cheap as a result.
That is a tough one.The stakes are very high cost wise so a poor seller could really hurt a company.
Lol…
All I can suggest is shop around.
Look at the volume, a 1/32 kit TWICE the size & FOUR times the volume of a 1/48 kit, just saying…
This affects the raw materiel costs, but most importantly the SHIPPING costs.
The Italeri Widowmaker is currently available from the UK Amazon for UKP £60-£90 USD $92.00-$132
A Major beef with me are the Importers’ RRP, It’s making Dragon & Trumpeter very expensive compared with HobbyBoss in the UK.
eg, why is an English AIRFIX or Italian ITALERI kit (both made in the far east) Cheaper from Lucky Model, Hong Kong, or from HLJ Japan, on a personal import, even with shpping & taxes.
Distribution from their own point of sale.
Hello Folks. I’ve just been browsing here lately, but I recently read an article in the latest issue of MMIR that addresses this problem in a sense. The author was concerned about the rising costs of imported models from countries such as China, and some of the large price variations from certain companies. After getting a chance to talk with people from these companies, he developed a pretty good perspective on the issue.
Apparently, the price change represents a change in the way Chinese companies are trying to service the model making community. The model making hobby is largely driven by new content, since old kits sometimes suck, or become unavailable, or just simply due to people not wanting to remake the same model a thousand times. Research and development for new kits is an expensive process, and it was a very slow process when Chinese companies were making large quantities of each kit, and selling them at a low price.
With the international market (everyone but China themselves) being the primary consumer of these models, the decision was made to produce fewer numbers of each model kit, and sell them at a higher price to their primary consumers (since we can actually afford to spend a bit more). This allows them to get back their money sooner, and put it back into research and development for new kits sooner.
Also, apparently model making is still not a very popular hobby in China, and this practice also allows them to keep the prices lower in China, in an attempt to try and increase the popularity of this hobby.
The full article is in the latest issue of MMIR 62 (Military Miniatures In Review, and the author explains everything better than I did here.
Hey guys…problem solved for me…anyway. Jul 25…my birthday…opened up my prezzies…there was the beautiful Italeri 1/32 104.
i have a smart and thrifty/crafty wife…who talked the retailer down $30.
she paid $134.39…tax incl! The receipt was taped to the box!
And that’s CDN $! So…just under $100 U.S. out the door!
I don’t have the RM version but it is skill level 2 whereas the RG kit is skill level 5. The RM kit has 22 steps and the RG kit has 44 although they both have 16 pages. In looking at the instructions online it doesn’t look as though the panels and bulkheads are as detailed on the RM kit as they are on the RG kit which I have. It appears that some of the interior detail on the RM version is done with decals where on my RG kit they are moulded on and paintable. I am guessing that RG took the original p61 moulds and retooled them and added things. I notice on my RG kit some panel lines are raised and some are recessed. It makes me think again that they added extra details to the kit. This is all just a guess, but I have wondered the same myself, and those are the differences that I have noticed.
Zombie thread…wheres my crossbow…?
new kid in town…
But can they sell them?
More zombies…
Protest high kit prices and AM detail prices by scratchbuilding.
And how would protesting help?
LOL! As in many cases, it does not.
Like could you really see a crowd gathering at Tamiya USA, or one of the import companies such as Stevens or MRC? We don’t have many choices left in the US now that Revell USA is closed.
I agree with Kensar in one respect.
I dont know what “ protest” means exactly here, but “rebel” as a verb might fit.
Its worth challenging oneself to make stuff rather than shell out more bucks for AM.
If you’re going to protest you need to let the manufacturers know exactly why you’re not buying from them. Maybe it works and maybe not but if they don’t know why salesa are down they’ll draw the wrong conclusions. Send an email and tell them.
And how is that working out for you? Not trying to be sarcastic. Face it, it‘s inflation, economics, supply & demand and costs to manufacture these products. For the most part, kits are pretty reasonable these days. Sure there are certain kits carry a high price tag (ie: Wungnuts) or even 1/72 - better yet, 1/48 bomber kits can run you a couple hundred dollars for them due to their size.
If it’s kits prices you’re protesting, why not protest the rising gas prices. Everything goes up from taxes, utility bills, food, services, automobiles, clothes, medications, health care, etc… are all rising as well. Funny, nobody protests those but the reality is we still buy them whether you like it or not.