I've been saying the same thing for years. I spent many years out of the hobby and only came back a few years ago. When I went looking for my first new kit in almost 30 years, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the prices nowadays. I mean, I expected a to pay a bit more with inflation but whammo... Ouchie... And finishing supplies had also inflated like one of those high altitude balloons.
A lot of people use the "Where else can you have that many hours of fun for the price" argument. Others exhalt the fact that modern kits are to much more detailed and sophisticated... I can see their logic, but the fact remains that a LOT of people have been and still are being priced right out of the hobby. The first argument about fun simply doesn't hold water for me. I could spend $100 or more for a nice 1/32 kit which will take me maybe 80 or so hours to build and finish, or I can get a new game or art program for my PC for half that which will last indefinitely. 3D modeling on my PC is my second hobby for the last 14 or so years.
The sophisticated kits argument also has some holes. A LOT of kits today are still rehashes, repops or cleaned up versions of older kits. Testors and Italeri are one example. Italeri puts out the exact same F4 Phantom kits as Testors. Neither kit is whatt I would call very sophisticated. Some of the fits are nasty, the detail level is less than Revell, and they are just not worth the money.
There are some points I also would make. Kits are supposed to be FUN. Sitting under a bright light, with a magnifying glass and tweezers, trying for the fifth time to get a piece of PE detail to actually fit where it is supposed to is not fun. There is such a thing as over engineering. I look at modern kits sometimes and I have to ask what they were thinking when they designed it. A level 2 kit should not require the eyesight of the Hubbell space telescope, and the dexterity of a Ninja to complete. A good challenging kit is great, but there are limits...
I am disabled and on a very tight fixed income. 99% of my kit's were purchased on eBay as open box, bagged and parts kits. Soon I will have a mortgage to worry about, and I really am not sure if I will be able to continue with modeling once that happens. The costs are simply getting too astronomical. For instance. I have over the last month seen the price of a 1970s vintage 1/32 Monogram/Revell F4-1B go from around $15 to $40, $50 and a few up to $100. And that isn't including the shipping. It's ridiculous. But as long as people are willing to spend that much, these nimrods will continue to over-inflate the prices...
Most of the LHSs are gone. There are none left around here in Toledo OH. Just a couple of the big franchise stores. It's not just the kit makers, it's the sellers too.
Maybe if the modeling community went on a model stoppage for a couple of weeks then the sellers would get back into realistic pricing brackets. lol
Just my 2 cents.
Rich
captain tk
Has anyone been noticing that recently the prices of new kits have risen dramatically???....... While checking out various websites for new 1/35th scale AFV kits for my 'wish list', I couldn't help but notice that new kit prices are getting higher each month both here in the U.S. as well as in the Orient....... As an example, check out the newly announced AFV kits from companies such as Bronco, Hobby Boss and Dragon....... Granted, the companies turn out really quality kits with unsurpassed detail and accessories but are they really worth the inflated prices???....... We keep on hearing about modellers of all ages and experience levels who are leaving the hobby due to the high costs of kits and accessories such as P/E, tracks, etc........ In light of current economic conditions,we are simply going to lose more and more modellers due to the fact that they simply are priced right out of the hobby!!!....... Not too many modellers patronize their local hobby retail shops nor can they afford to shop via the internet because of the high costs involved!!!....... Eventually, local hobby shops are simply going to close their doors due to a lack of business....... Maybe the kit manufacturers should take this fact into consideration when setting their kit prices.........
In the Hangar: 1/48 Hobby Boss F/A-18D RAAF Hornet,
On the Tarmac: F4U-1D RNZAF Corsair 1/48 Scale.