Saw this in the LHS today for $89.95.
Is it me or is this ridiculous for a 1/35th model with No engine No PE… Probably same molds from the old Hunting Tiger with a new sprue and decals.
Who is buying kits like this at these prices? I mean Its $70 at Tower.
I built this same tank model of their “Hunting Tiger” 20 years ago I paid like $17 bucks.
I paid $112 for the Trumpeter BR 52 and that was ten times the model.
Not sure about over there, but here its cheaper than the earlier release #295 which doesn’t have the Otto carius figure. I would pay that for a dragon kit, but not a tamiya one.
Price is based on supple & demand. With dropping sales it may be a attempt to raise the profit margin on the kits that are selling well.
I believe one of more of the ‘big 3’ manufactures have to drop out of the business due to the economic down turn, decreasing interest in the hobby and all the competition that has popped up in the last few years.
The same goes for your LHS, They are struggling the most as more people use mail order to purchase their kits, decreasing sales and other economic hardships.
This does give the consumer a advantage as they may lower their price or some other incentive to get your business. Do take the time to chat with the manager, unless you support his shop the next time it may be gone.
around here, Tamiya is dieing on the shelf! You are seeing fewer and fewer pieces of armor and aircraft all the time. They’ve simply priced themselves out of the market. A fine example is the Swordfish they came out with that was about $80. They rotted on the shelf, and finally sold for less than fifty dollars. The samething with the Storch, and the new $130 Spitfire! My dealer told me he has sold exactly one, and then the guy used four five dollar off cupons. Yet Dragon armor seems to move right along (a little slow right now), and now the Tamiya stuff is moved to the bottom feeders with Italeri and Revell
gary
I saw that price and thought it was nuts.Can’t be worth it.I built the old Tamiya JagdTiger and I don’t remember there being much to it.How different could the new one be?
Wow,that is a lot of money GM has it for $68.00.It has #35295 same kit without Carius for $52.00.I do believe that these are brand new kits,not old repops.I built #35295 and it was an excellent kit,not as detailed as DML,but very good with no issues.
While the “new” kit is the same as #35295 (plus a new fig sprue), it is quite different (completely new tooled) to the ancient '70’s kit referred to earlier.
This is why I don’t support my LHS with kit purchases. They are so slow to realize slow moving kits and never mark down their kits. Ebay is king. I paid around $30 including shipping for the Dragon premium Jagdtiger.
I did buy a couple Zvezda aircraft kits awhile back, and two LRDG’s from mine. Dealer told me he just can’t move Tamiya stuff anymore, and is actually looking to replace the line with another brand. The Zvezda BF109’s flew off the shelf, and he has a dozen or so back ordered. I also bought the Laag 5, and it may be even better than the 109. He’s also having problems selling the Eduard kits, and a lot of Hasegawa 1/72 kits. I’ll probably buy a couple Trumpeter LAV’s over the next six weeks or so, as they seem to be the best out there.
gary
I know they are not nearly as popular as the 1:35 kits, but I really like Tamiya’s 1:48 scale armor. Of course, in stores they usually run (at least around here) $30 or more. I can find a lot of them online for ten, fifteen, even twenty dollars less. Yes, they are smaller and simpler but still, very nice for half the price. There is a fantastic hobby store near me, specializes in kits instead of RC, but sadly I can’t bring myself to buy anything other than paint there. I know the store will go under if no one buys kits there but as much as I would love to support the owner I just can’t justify spending that much more.
It depends what you want from a kit. The new Tamiya ‘Carius’ Jagdtiger is their 2008-vintage kit, featuring optional link&length or rubber band tracks. It has a new sprue with fenders, outer road wheels, anti-aircraft MG42 mount, as well as all the parts from the original kits. There are three new figures, quite good, but not up to Dragon Gen2 standard, and you also get the year 2000-vintage DKW NZ350 motorcycle.
In the UK, it sells for £49.99 (say USD78.00) in LHSs, though you can get it for 10% off on-line easily enough. Is it worth the money? I got mine as a review sample for one of FSM’s UK-based competitors, but I have to say that I wouldn’t have paid the asking price from my own money. It’s a nice enough kit, accurate and fitting together very well, but the Dragon kits have a turned aluminium gun tube and a much more sophisticated level of detail. I’m also not convinced about the accuracy of some of Tamiya’s finish options, including Carius’ own vehicle.
That said, for modellers looking for a ‘diorama in a box’, it may well be an attractive purchase, and in both my LHSs, Tamiya kits continue to sell at a steady, if not speedy, rate.
Cheers,
Chris.