I was wondering what manufactures of model aircraft seems to be LESS bang for the buck? (Over priced for what we get.)
I was hoping we could share our opinions.
I find that many of my Classic Airframe models don’t offer much for the price I have paid and HobbyBoss seems to be a bit pricey for what you get .
Thoughts?
HobbyBoss seems to be bipolar. They will give you a reasonably priced kit like their Mirage III, F4F, and F6F series, then have some outrageously expensive builds such as the F-111, F/A-18, and A-7 series. Hasegawa is IMO ridiculously overpriced with many so called “new” releases being nothing more than a new set of decals and instructions and a higher price tag on an older release kit. Tamiya would have to be a close second for being overpriced, although you do tend to get more for your money. Especially since they usually include a full ordinance load and sometimes even options- which Hasegawa wants you to spend more morefor one (or several) of their Weapons Sets. I tend to stay away from those limited run mixed media kits such as Classic Airframes for price alone.
Ditto to Stik! I did get a H/B 1/48 A-7E for $15 and a 1/72 A-7A for $7(mk82 bombs look stupid though, thank God for spares!!!) from Squadron though!!! I never would have paid retail for them though. Tamiya, for the most part are very well done…time + price = not a lot of “bang for the buck”. Pretty much everyone but Revell is priced a bit too high for me. I get all them at shows anyway for a small fraction of retail cost.
Yeah, I agree, most Hasegawa kits are ridiculous in price, find them at half-off sales and such and you will be fine.
Hobby Boss, when I first took notice of them, had some really well-priced stuff, but there’s no way I can afford on my working man’s budget some of the newest stuff from them. There’s no way I can give $90 for a 1/48 F-18 Hornet when Revell/Monogram’s was $20. Show me the extra $70 bucks worth of plastic please.
Now I’m not knocking the quality of the kits by any means, but they gotta realize they cant retire off the first ten kits sold.
Tamiya … I like. Yeah their upper end kits are pricey, but of all the manufacturers the bang is almost equal to the buck.
Long Live Monogram!!!
I agree with everyone here.
Even at half price the Hasegawa kits are still overpriced. They are over-engineered too. For that price the parts should at least fit together. I stay clear from them now. I bought a bunch of their F-14 kits a few years back for around $30 each. Now they go for $75 and higher. All that’s different is a decal sheet. And no bombs!
Tamiya has some good fitting kits out there but they are still a little pricey. But like already stated, at least you get a missle or two. I will still buy a few of their kits, especially their 1/48 F-16 and P-47 series. They never seem to be in the “sale” sections though…
Hobbyboss has some good subjects in their catalog but the new stuff is very expensive. There is not a 1/48 scale fighter plane out there worth over $100.00. That goes for Hasegawa kits as well.
Academy has got a good price for whats in the box IMHO. Their new F-15E OIF and F-15C MSIP II kits look fantastic. Lots and lots of weapons too. Although they are creeping up in price.
I am glad that Revellogram keeps releasing new subjects and re-popping there older molds. They keep the hobby affordable and fun.
I haven’t purchased any limited run kits because of the price and from what I have read, the fit sucks.
My [2cnts]
I found that Czech Model is also very over priced for what you get. I understand that they release many kits that other manufactures don’t and wont produce, but what you get for your money is ridiculous.
Many of the kits that I use are older such as Monogram/Revell; I like the old “Pro Modeler” from Monogram. I also like Tamiya, Academy (with the exception of the decals), and Hobby Craft. I also found some of the old ARII and Otaki kits go together rather well and can be found on ebay for good prices.
I would never pay retail for any kit. I tend to find most of my kits on ebay for a good price.
Ditto here on Hasegawa. I have their P51D kit in 1/32 and it is nasty. The cockpit isn’t even close to accurate and the fit is very bad for most parts. By contrast, my Dragon kit of the same plane was less expensive by far and is a far superior kit.
I also think Trumpeter is a bit pricey. I have their Chinese PLAAF MIG 17 clone and it is an okay kit but I never would have bought it retail. Even most of the eBay sellers who sell it are raising the prices a lot and honestly I never found their kit’s to be all that much better than Revell/Monogram, and especially for their prices.
Testors is cheap, but some of their kits are also pretty nasty. Even the ultra inexpensive Monogram F104 kits blow theirs out of the water. Although a few kits like their F8F aren’t too bad.
Starfix, Lindberg and some of the Kitech kits are not worth the price either, although some come close.
In short, every company has good kits and bad kits. The thing is they never seem to distinguish between the two. If I ran a company and I had 300,000 units of a single inventory item that has sat without any or many sales, I would discount it to get rid of it. These companies don’t that I can tell.
But even more overpriced than kits are paints, thinners, glues and all of the other tools and supplies you need to work on them… That’s the real budget buster for a lot of folks. <y wife doesn’t usually squeal when I make my monthly rounds for a new kit on eBay. When she squirms, screams, shouts and teaches our Daughter new obscenities, is when she goes to the Hobbytown for me to get me some supplies. Three jars of paint and some glue should NOT cost more than the kit they are to be used on…
Just my 1.22 cents (Inflation)
Rich
Hobby Boss leaps to mind. Their F4Fs are pricier than Tamiya’s F4F-4, and IMO are decent, but not up to Tamiya standards. The wing fit is vague, the windscreen is too tall, the canopy too short, and you cannot pose it open. The good parts of the kit all seem stolen directly from Tamiya (see: the cockpit).
Tamiya’s new releases. $50+ for a 1/48 Zero is somewhat ridiculous. But then they have a ton of great kits (P-51s, Corsairs, Bf-109, Spitfires, etc) that can be picked up for around $20. Their 1/32 Spits aren’t cheap, either, but at the same time I can’t begrudge them too much, since the engineering going into those kits is quite substantial, and clearly pushing the hobby forward (same with their $60 Storch kit…clear and solid styrene, molded together on one part???).
Trumpeter seems pricey to me, but easy to find substantially discounted.
I also think a few manufacturers are offering outstanding value:
Zvezda - Their La-5 is a beauty. Their Bf-109F-2 looks to be moreso. Both around $20. If they’d been boxed by Hasegawa, they’d have been twice, maybe three times that.
Eduard - Not so much the Profi-pack repops of old Gavia kits, but all of Eduard’s new-tool releases strike me as excellent values. Especially when you look at the packaging. Weekend Editions for the more barebones. Profi-Packs for more markings, included PE and masks. Dual Combos for two kits. Royal Class for just over-the-topness. With the exception of the La-7 profi-pack, I’ve never felt like I’ve overpaid for an Eduard kit.
I don’t have to big of a problem with what companies are asking for their kits these days. It’s like gas, food, medical bills, everything is higher than last year, way higher than ten years ago. Add that we keep demanding more detail (and bigger kits) and the price simply has to go up.
To me it comes down to individual value. If a company wants to charge $50 for a kit and I just have to have it, fine. But it better be a good value to me and value is in the eye of the buyer. I don’t want to pay $50 for a 1/48th scale kit that has lousy detail and poor fit but if the reviews say the fit is good detail is so so, the box has lots of extra parts and decals for four versions, then sure, if I want it I’ll buy it.
Short run kits are an animal of a different stripe. Fit is up to the modeler, period. The biggest benefit of a short run kit, as mentioned, is usually it’s obscure subject, which is a good value to some folks. I avoid them for the most part, not a good value to me.
I can’t pick on one company over another, each of them have their gems and their dogs, both most consider over priced. One thing I really believe though, is that we as a community of modelers should probably reset our price meters. This hobby, while not as extravagant as most, can be expensive. To sit around and complain about the price of it is simply a waste of electrons, IMHO. Ya have to pay to play. Complaining about it does nobody a bit of good.
I don’t agree about the pricing part. Companies such as Revell, Eduard, Zvezda and others, put out high quality, new technology molded kits at a lower price than the companies listed. Yes everything is more expensive today than in the past- conversely I am getting paid more as well. But looking at when companies put out the same subject certain companies do it just as well for a markedly lower price. Hasegawa 1/48 F-15E for a list of over $65 compared to Revell’s kit of the same subject for under $25. Both are well reviewed, but you can’t tell me the $40 difference is nothing to complain about.[^o)]
Oh it may well be. Not being familiar with those particular models I can’t comment directly. But if we use, say, the Revell P-51D and the Tamiya P-51D, the difference is night and day, as such is the price. To me both models are a good value for different reasons. If I want to burn time and exercise my scratch skills I’ll buy the Revell. If I want a very similar end result without the extra 25 hours of work and the purchase of resin wheels I’ll buy the Tamiya.
Either way, the Tamiya is worth the extra $10 or $15 isn’t it? In my book, for what I want in a kit, yes it is.
The thought that a companys kit is just as good as another but costs less is interesting. I’ve not witnessed such a thing yet, but admittedly I’ve never seen a Zvezda kit or anything truly new from Revell in the last couple of years. I may read the reviews of the kits you mentioned and try to see for myself what the added value may be of the higher kit. And so far the only price comparable Eduard kits I’ve seen have been Weekend edition kits. And those are a spectacular value. Loaded up with all the goodies? Still excellent value if you need markings for six kits, PE and resin, yada yada yada. And yes, priced $20 or $30 higher than anything else like it.
Well Revell has slowed down on new tooled releases compared to their heyday in the 80s/90s under Monogram. But the few new tooled kits they release are really nice. Their Super Hornet came in at a similar price difference with the Hasegawa release. Their Thunderjet is just as nice as Tamiya’s, but the price difference is not as much. Now the two Mustangs you mention are interesting,but are different generations of kit technology. The Revellogram dates back to the late 70s when it was the best on the market while Tamiya’s kit dates from the mid 90s.Both are worth their cost for what you get in the box.
Check out this side by side review of the Super Hornets to see how two companies approach the same subject at the same time for a $40 difference in cost. Both have their pro’s and cons.
http://www.internetmodeler.com/2005/september/first-looks/hornetduo.php
Thanks for the link, I’ll give it a read. On the F-15E I’ve only located a review of the Revell kit so far and it sounds like a good kit. The only review of the Hase kit I’ve found is kind of lame, complains of the kit actually being a worked over “D” more than it talks of the kits merits. I’m learning. If it’s possible to get Eduard or Tamiya quality kits at lower prices I’m all for it.
FWIW, didn’t Revell rework the molds of the P-51D back in the 90s? Those kits have engraved lines now and better cockpit detailing I’ve heard. The last one I built was the ancient raised line kit.
Just read that comparison. $40 difference, eh?
Yes, $40. The Hasegawa Super Hornets retail for over $60 and the Revell ones come in around $20. And I can highly recommend the Revell Strike Eagle. If you can find the ProModeler release you will pay a bit more, but then you also get a full weapons loadout. The basic kit just has Sidewinders, Navigation/Targeting pods,and Extra Fuel Tanks. But the detail…[:O] The afterburners are really a treat to see.
Most of my aircraft are academy. Hasegawa sucks! Its prices is the worst of all kind. Follow by Fujimi,Hobbyboss, Trumpeter and Tamiya.
Revell reworked their P-51B in the 90s when they reissued it under the ProModeler line. They added a new cockpit, changed panel lines from raised to recessed, made the exhausts separate. I think there are a few more improvements as well. The original Monogram P-51B is 1960s vintage without the updates.
Each company has some real winners and some real dogs; I’m sure we’ve all encountered this phenomenon. For Hasegawa kits I’ve typically enjoyed building their WWII aircraft but I’ve noticed the lack of stores in modern aircraft. That’s annoying and I think they are the only manufacturer that routinely does this. And their prices have gone through the roof in recent years.
I’m not going to complain too much regarding pricing - pricing for everything we buy has gone up over the years. I know we have it pretty good here in the States for gasoline, for instance, compared to Europe. In '98 I distinctly remember paying 98cents for a gallon of gas and knowing that was a steal. Within a year the price had crept over the dollar mark and has not been anywhere near that in recent years. Still less than what Europe pays, though.
When I was a kid I could buy a Monogram Hellcat, for instance, for less than a dollar. I recently bought that same kit via eBay for around $20. Part of that is probably collector’s pricing for a not-so readily available item that has possibly limited demand, but regardless you do not find kits for less than a dollar any longer.
I’ve built my stash to numbers that make me wonder if I will ever see the end of it. I keep telling myself that I need to quit buying kits, then I see that Revell is releasing some kits in the near future, including a Ventura, that I feel like I just have to have. I’ve seen that Ventura kit as a pre-sale on Squadron for around $30. Sounds like a steal to me; I figure a comparable kit coming from Trumpeter would be in the $100-$150 range given their history with similar aircraft (Wellington, C-47).
I have found lots of value embedded in Tamiya, Monogram/Revell, Academy and Italeri kits. Tamiya kits are generally more expensive than these other manufacturers but I like the fact that they almost build themselves and require little extra effort to produce an outstanding build. I’ve put out some really good builds with these other manufacturers, though, but have put additional effort into scratching internal components not included or acquiring PE aftermarket pieces. Hasegawa kits are typically of good quality but as I mentioned, their pricing and lack of additional stuff is off-putting. Trumpeter kits I think are way over-priced, and I really wasn’t that impressed with the P-40B I did of their’s. The Condor was good but I don’t think it was worth the initial retail price. Accurate Miniatures also produces some solid kits that I’ve not found any real complaints on.
Still love those old Monogram kits.
I’m begining to see a pattern here. More often than not I’m hearing that Hasegawa has the more ridiculous of the higher prices. I’ve bought few Hase kits in my lifetime, primarily because of the price. I currently have two Hase kits in the stash, a P-51 and a Kate. I really had to swallow hard to pay for the Kate.
In the realm of ridiculous prices is Tamiya’s P-47M. I’ve not seen it less than $48 to often and though I’d love to have it, refuse to pay it. Here, Hase has the better price but you pay for it in the end because of the extra work it takes to make the wing fit.
Where I’ll give credit to value watcher is in instances like the Trumpeter C-47. Or heII, just about anything from Trumpeter. For the bucks they are demanding for their stuff it by golly better fit and darn well had better be accurate. When I saw the test shots of the C-47 I knew the kit was gonna be a waste of way to much money just by looking at the shape, and I’m not super picky about shape as long as it’s close. Those jokers really screwed the pooch with that kit and I’ll never pay anything close to what they want. The Monogram kit in the stash is the best one out there and a quarter or less the price.
About now would be a good time to admit, I fell for another old Monogram kit recently. I’ve been wanting one for quite a while now so when I saw on on ebay I took a shot at it. And won. Soon a 1/48th B24D will be in the stash for the modest price of $20 if you ignore the $11 it took to ship it here.
Seems that a vastly higher price don’t always equal a vastly better kit. I think in most cases it’s probably true that a more expensive kit will get the builder a better product but by looking at this example it’d do the shopper well to do his homework regardless of subject.
I saw those burner cans on TC’s review and they do indeed look super. Wishing Revell had done that for the 1/48th Bone. I wonder if for the price of the eduard set I could buy two F-15E’s, steal the cans and be money ahead? Hmmm…