I stopped in at my favorite LHS today, and saw that Fujimi had released this kit. They had a box open in their “New Arrivals” area and I poked around in the inside. I saw multiple bags of sprues. All the control surfaces were separate and able to pose them at various positions. Intake trunking was provided and detailed weapons bays and wheel wheels also. There were two canopies given, one smoke and the other clear. Armament was included, but also there was a bag containing parts for the engines-something I think is a waste as they would be buried in the fuselage. I didn’t take them out, but the instructions appeared to be in color. I turned the box over and almost dropped it when I saw the $68 price tag! I even re-opened the box, thinking there should have been a big bag full of brass parts, but didn’t see any!
Has anybody purchased this kit? Just wondered what you guys think of this-I think it is a bit much for a 1/72 kit!
Heh… Wait… Someone will soon chime in and defend ridiculously high prices for kits that’re “state of the Art”, but in reality offer little more than some eye-candy, a few strips of brass, and some engraved lines…
Will this be the KIT that plugged the price dam? Will modelers hold fast and refuse to purchase this kit at this pricepoint? I doubt it. This kit once reviewed will see an initial surge in sales then taper off. A year or two from now you’ll see it on sale at a decent discounted price…probably under $40.
Nah, ridiculous price for a 1:72 kit. I just saw Trumpeter’s 1:72 rendition of the F-100F going for about the same price. I think the manufacturers skillfully made 1:48 kits high priced, but I refuse to delve into that scale with those prices.
[:XX] I would not pay that much for a kit of an aircraft that size ( I did pay slightly less for a 1/48 B-1B- $60) in 1/48, let alone any aircraft kit in 1/72. Sorry I just cant see any company justifying that price for that size kit. and any builder who pays that price for said kit… I guess he has money to burn.[+o(]
I just thought it was overpriced for the scale. If it had included PE parts, perhaps.
I did purchase Revell of Germany’s F-22 kit and the reviewer called it (at the time) the 1/72 kit to have. Then I shelled out 30 more bucks for an Eduard PE set for it bringing the total to around 50 bucks. That’s why I thought the price would have been closer with a bit more to offer.
One of the newest Gundam kits released. the “NZ-666 Kshatriya” is 1/144th scale, which is alot smaller scale wise then those planes, and it’s price is about 48$
If those kits are too small and you want to get the bigger and nicer ones, like 1/32nd for you guys, youd be paying upward of 150-300$ per kit
Yea, thats a steep price for that plane kit but, eh, could be worse
Scale is relative my friend. How big is the Gundam kit you refer to in actual size? A 1/144 Fletcher class destroyer sells for roughly $90. But the kit is very big! Almost 32" long, 500 parts, etc. A BIG one. While a 1/144 lets say F-15 (same size aircraft as a Raptor) is less than 6" long and produced by the same company prices at a bit over $6. Most 1/72 F-15s sell for a fraction of that huge price that was asked for.
A quick websearch shows your Gundam to be a somewhat larger kit. When compared pricewise against what is in the box volumewise, it is not outrageous. [;)] I have no problem spending the $10- $20 my LHS charged for Gundam kits that my son likes building from time to time. I have yet to see one that is not a fair deal size for price.
For the price of that Raptor, I could get a 1/144 Gato AND a 1/144 Seawolf Class submarines from Trumpeter, or THREE different 1/144 U boats from Revell. All substantially larger kits than a Raptor.
Forgot to mention that Fujimi, etc prices the kits for the Japanese markets Revellogramm, Testors, Italeri, ROG are very poorly represented in that market.
And I would reckon that the $25 Revell kit will end up costing $50+(thereabouts) in the Japanese market.
Get over it, guys. Manufacturers can charge anything they want for a kit and they also control the supply. It’s their issue whether or not they are profitable.
Modelers can decide individually whether it is worth it to them to pay a certain price for a kit. Whether or not some modelers think a kit should be priced at a certain point doesn’t mean anything as long as enough are sold to meet the manufacturer’s profitability goals.
Consumers will pay a premium for exclusivity when a new product comes out. That fact is not lost on the marketing managers at model companies.
The F-22 is going to be around for a long time. Odds are that there will be a variety of kits available within a few years at a wide range of price points. If you want to buy one at a “reasonable” price, then be patient. If you just have to build one now, then get ready to ante up.