Can’t remember the exact price of the last one I saw in a shop (I don’t tend to bother looking at new
Tamiya kits nowadays as they are all out of my price range 
) but the price on Hannant’s online store (best
overall UK model shop IMHO) is £28.99 - about $60.
Here in Japan the 1/35 Tamiya Late Tiger (kit #35416) lists for 3,200 yen ($29.90 USD), but the regular everyday price at Tamiya World is 2,560 yen ($23.92 USD).
Went to a local HobbyTown USA opening just north of Milwaukee on Saturday, and the Tamiya kits were $44-$53. HTUSA tends to sell at full retail, so I wouldn’t lend much creedance to their pricing.
The best LHS in the Milwaukee area, Big Bear hobbies, has it listed for $35.00
At this point, we wait until Hobby Lobby runs a 40-50% off sale and stock up.
Jeff
My bad. [:I] I should read more carefully next time. I pay full price for any Tamiya kit, because my LHS never runs any sales. That is why ebay and onlines are so important.
Here at my LHS it is about the same as the squadron shop in price.When they have a sale they will do a true mark down of 30%.The Tiger 1 mid pro.I got at a hobbytown for about $38.00 with full interior.As far as the Tamiya stuff gos I have gotten kits as low as $10.00 but then again I drive a truck and have oppertunites to find kits cheap that most people don’t.Digger
Several months ago I shopped around the US websites for two Tamiya kits that I have wanted for some time! I found the following price range on Tamiya kit TA35246 Famo&SD.AH.116 trailer: Hi:$120.00 Lo:$91.43 The Tamiya kit TA35230 Dragonwagon: Hi:$101.65 Lo:$75.71 I went with the low priced dealers of these two kits, and paid a substantial shipping fee of $49.00 and still got a pretty good deal, and had the kits from the east coast within three days of ordering, and still, with shipping could not beat the price anywhere else, and received the kits within three days on the west coast. Semper Fi, Mike
I don’t complain about kit prices , I think it is a bargain for a hobby that I love , so I get my monies worth for the most part , whether Tamiya or DML .
I have not found the T 1 late around here ( not that I have been looking for it for that matter, I have enough models going on right now , I don’t want to "hoard " kits that I may never get to . If they discontinue the kit in the future , I will go to EBAY and buy on offa you guys ! [;)]
The original Tamiya T1 early went for around $50 when I did mine , not a bargain but pretty competitive with most shops .
P.S. , how is that FAMO and trailer kit anyways ? I saw that one on a site last week and I think that will be my next kit purchase, it looks awesome .
Now to resist the AM bug to superdetail the hell out of it !
I’m in Germany, the Tamiya kits usually go for around 50-75 Euro for the newer ones.
Dragon comes in at the 30-40 Euro range and Revell Germany are in the 25 -40 Euro range counting on how new the kit is and what it has with it.
The price in USD fluctuates constantly between 74 Euro cents to 84 Euro cents to the dolla, usually meaned at about 78 euro cents. Also, the Germans apply a 16% VAT sales tax, which is usually included in the price.
I just picked up a CMK kit for about 19 Euro, I didnt think that was too bad, the guy working at the shop was quite friendly and customer service and atmosphere will make me want to spend a little more if I have to.
Gothenburg / Sweden.
BigMac, burger only
32 Sek = $ 4.36
Tamiya 35216, 1:35 Early E
426 Sek = $ 58 = 13,3 BigMacs
Now THERE’S something I relate to!!
Model kits in Big Mac currency!!
Jeff
At my Hobby shop the Tamiya Tiger is $40.
P.S. , how is that FAMO and trailer kit anyways ? I saw that one on a site last week and I think that will be my next kit purchase, it looks awesome .
Now to resist the AM bug to superdetail the hell out of it !
[/quote]
Shawn, I’ve only opened the Famo box once, and all I can say is, Wow!!! what a nice kit.
There is an outfit in FL www.rocousa.com that is a prime importer of Tamiya kits, they’re pretty hard to beat on prices check it out. Semper Fi, Mike
I didn’t realize we are talking about politics… I suppose if you really want to though, I can add my two cents but I don’t think this is the place for politics. I’m also not sure why you spelled ‘Americans’ as ‘Amurikens’, I’m sure it is some witty crack based on your generalization of America. Anyway, here in Collierville (near Memphis) the price is circa $40.
I meant the one reviewd in december 2004 FSM issue.
the newest one with metal tracks and turned metal, PE and the whole shabang
This discussion is absolutely useless without comparing one single kit by kit number, not updated, semi-updated qausi late model Tioger.
Useless to others…meaningful to some
Whichever way you want to see it…try to give respect to the opinions of other members…or if you are not interested in the topic…please skip it…
Sorry, Dwight, when you’re trying to compare the price of several different items, be they Tamiya Tigers, ranging from a 30 year old kit to a state of the art, aftermarket included superkit or a Mazda Miata and a Porsche Carrera GT, you are dealing with an absurdity. Compare the price of kit #12345 vs #12345 not #12345 vs #67890 at varying places or compare the cost of something today vs the identical item X number of years ago. There’s a price range of 300% or more being discussed here on significantly different items up for sale.
OK I get your point. I am sorry if I misunderstood it.
As someone put it to me once…you might say these models initially seem to cost a lot of money…paints…and tools included…but if you consider how many hours you might spend on one model and divide that into the price…modeling is one of the cheapest forms of entertainment and enjoyment a person might find…
Let’s take a $40 tiger tank and the paints…maybe $20 more and assume you have the rest because you build…so if you take $60 and the 30+ you need to build paint and detail the model you’re at $2 an hour…still think modeling is expensive…?
Let’s take a movie here on the east cost $10 for the ticket + another $10 for the candy and drink…you’re at over $10 for the entire hour and 1/2.
Tickets to a sporting event…$50 for 2 or three hours…a concert…etc…
Let’s go back to the cheeseburger at $1…how long does it take to eat 5 minutes…ok 10… Maybe sometimes you get what you pay for…
Initially you have to sink some money in, but when you become more resourceful and efficient…less paint, supplies wasted, etc…it evens out to become cheaper than you think.
The real key is picking a kit that’s worth the price because it’s an enjoyable build and is time consuming…the equation should be…higher quality kit, more pieces, more detailing options, should equal higher price…?
Maybe you might consider that before you sink your next $40 into a kit…?
Just my two cents.
Tank
No problem, Dwight. Glad we cleared it up.