How much does it cost you guys to produce a kit?

Depends on the build. Some are out of the box, have most paints on hand already, might have to buy a can of spray paint and the kit itself. Some builds can quickly reach the 200 to 300 dollar mark with aftermarket parts and exact color match paints and that's not with shipping if your sourcing from the interweb. It can get out of hand pretty quick.

I try not to look at the cost that way though, I look at it as 200 for a month or more of entertainment and stress relief, seems pretty reasonable!

There's no way to calculate paints,thinners,weathering materials,and glues.Since you get multiple models out of these different things.One jar of pigments can last years.A quart of thinner goes a long way,how do you break that down.

Why do you need to know,what are you trying to figure out.I don't get it.

Yeah, nearly all of my finishing supplies I've bought years ago and used on multiple builds. So their cost as an addition to any particular build are extremely minimal. Occasionally I may need to buy a new bottle or three of paint due to running out or not having a particular color needed for a project. But those colors are then available for future projects, so again, that full cost really can't be factored into a single project.

Good points from everyone, and a difficult question to answer.  Just making a rough guess glancing around my workshop I could easily say that over time I have accumulated $1000 worth of paint/finishing supplies and that again in tools.  Most of the tools will last forever and will be used on hundreds of kits.  It is fair to say that I don't often need to venture out for paints.  The supply that I have could probably keep me in business for years but I usually find myself picking up a jar or two of the more common colors (black or white) whenever I pick up a new kit.  No wonder I have 18 XF-1s on the rack?!?  Or sometimes I find myself purchasing a new manufacturers paint to try out.  We are kind of spoiled for choice these days.  I guess if you are just starting out in the hobby the costs may seem high but as your supplies build up that cost dwindles down very quickly.

As with otyhers, i have a stash pf paints, glues etc, so that cost does not really come into it. Its very rare i have to buy somthing like that for a build. My main extra cost is AM, which can tange from a tenner to £150 depending on the build.

I am the same as others here.  I bought the paints years ago, except when I have to buy a couple that used up.  I have all the tools I need and glue.   I don't need any more models, I have all I need, several hundred. I wish there were new kits, but how many Panther tanks, or P-51's do you need?  (15  each, more or less) I build OTB anymore.  Very rarely I'll use a resin kit or detail set I bought yeats ago, I can not recall the last time I used one.   I've been collecting and building like many here for 50 years or so.  Well, back to assembling one or two!

tankboy51

I am the same as others here.  I bought the paints years ago, except when I have to buy a couple that used up.  I have all the tools I need and glue.   I don't need any more models, I have all I need, several hundred. I wish there were new kits, but how many Panther tanks, or P-51's do you need?  (15  each, more or less) I build OTB anymore.  Very rarely I'll use a resin kit or detail set I bought yeats ago, I can not recall the last time I used one.   I've been collecting and building like many here for 50 years or so.  Well, back to assembling one or two!

 

X2 .

I too have all the kits I'll ever need. The supply of glues and tapes are replenished every Christmas and birthdays.

I build model cars, so I may need paint or chrome foil every year or so, but in most things, I am more than amply supplied like the rest of you guys here.

My builds can range from pennys to a few hundered dollars depending on what I'm building. The AM for the Bismarck I'm looking at costs over $200. The plane I finished a few months back was OOB so $0.

Like most I have several kits I don't really see ever getting to but once I get rid of it, I'll want to build it 

    Technically speaking, it doesn't cost me anything to produce a kit. I'm a " collector" and a builder, not a manufacturer. Odd question ya ask sometimes berd.

Armornut has a great answer.  I don't even think about it.  I get the kits and every thing else just I got the entertainment, and the cost doesn't matter. Oh several years ago I once built a Tamiya Stug 3 G putting a Verlinden interior and all the after market stuff I could find on it to just show off how much you could spend on a model.  I even kept the receipts.  But I did that on purpose.  You don't need to do that on anything.  ( it was close to $200).

Well, you can somehow calculate it. A kit is $X. Lets say you need 10 different paints at $Y per jar plus glue. If you use up 20% of this paint, 15% of that paint, whatever % of the glue and all other things you use, you can calculate the price of the paints/glue used. But why in the world would one do this? 

I have several kits, with some AM stuff in the box, that total over$250-300 each.  That's not counting the consumables like glue, paint, sanding, blades, etc.

I don't keep track of what is spent.  While I'm not a youngster on a tight budget, I don't have an unlimited budget anymore either.  I tend to look at what I want the finished product to look like.

Unfortunately, my current skill level isn't up to the quality of the sum of all the parts.  But for me, it's the time and satisfaction of what time I spent, not the $$$$ spent.

Hopefully in time you'll be in a better position to not have to count every penny in the hobby, and justify it.