Subscription Modeling -Should you do it?

Tojo72

Well,everybody has there wishes and dream projects,but most also have their budgets.For me any that I have seen far outweigh the cost that I want to put out. But if it's someones dream build,then go for it.

 

Well See! 

There's a lot of us on a budget !

Interesting, I never heard of subscription kits. Quite pricey, but if its your thing and you can afford it, go for it. 

I guess I'm cheap, most of the kits I build cost less than $25, usually much less! And I try to use Amazon points as much as possible too. 

Hi Jay Jay;

   just so you don't feel bad. I couldn't afford that $2,600 kit now if I wanted to .I buy  real cars that cost that much now .LOL.LOL. Even 60 to 80 bucks a model is to rich for me. T.B.

Jay Jay

I am simply amazed and admitedly a little jealous that you men of ample means don't balk at a hobby model that costs $2600 bucks. GEEEZ I'm still trying to justify buying a 1/32 Tamiya Corsair for $160. Most of the modeling I can do is around $30 to 40 per kit. TY for listening to my rant.

 

Well,I didn't say I would spend that much on a kit,or any of my hobbies  But if you got it and want to,go for it.People spend excessive money in many ways.

Yea,I wouldn't spend that much on those 1/32 Tamiya kits as nice as they are,but again thats just me.

I agree. It's just a different way to get a project out.

It surprises me how many folks do not multiply the price per installment and the total number of installments to get the total cost.  As long as you do that, however, and are willing to pay that price, I see nothing wrong with it.

Hello!

Once I have been asked to help building a 1:200 Bismarck subscription model. Now I wouldn't recommend this one, for several reasons. One thing - the cost. For that money you could buy a kit or several, that are as good or better than the subscription one. If you want to finance it long term - go to the bank! The Bismarck I'm talking about had a plank on bulkhead hull (isn't that a little funny for a steel hulled warship?). It had wooden superstructures with large panels of PE for the outer skin. The build sequence was strange, you never knew what was coming to you in the issue after the next one. And my biggest complaint - you didn't get any drawings to check your build by. You just had to hope the parts are fitting right. While this could be OK with a plastic model, it just sucks on a model with wooden hull and superstructures. Plus ono way to reasonably plan your build until you get all of those 200+ issues. And like I said - for 1000+ dollars you could buy something better...

Based on this experience I say - don't do it, look around and you can find something better. Thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Well,everybody has there wishes and dream projects,but most also have their budgets.For me any that I have seen far outweigh the cost that I want to put out. But if it's someones dream build,then go for it.

It's definetely pricey, as places I've seen offering 'part work' kits in the US usually are charging about double the actual price of the kit for the conveninence of being able to spread it out over 12 or 24 months, like ModelSpace. It's probably a tough go for them, as this method of selling kits is much more common in Europe and Japan; I don't feel it has ever gotten to be a well established part of the modeling scene in the US, as it is over there.

That said, it is an option to budget long term, even if you are paying more. Frequently you are getting things like better instructions, too. The HMS Victory sold by ModelSpace is the Artesania Latina kit; ModelSpace's directions provided monthly are much more comprehensive and detailed. I'm not sure who made the original kit, but the same goes for the 1/250 carrier Akagi. The directions are almost a book in and of themselves. Way more than you get in most wooden kits I've seen. 

So I guess one must balance the pluses and minuses, like anything else. Higher cost, but ability to pay over time, and the directions and perhaps some components may be better than the off the shelf version when it comes from ModelSpace, anyway.