how much do you spend on a model

Durr,

It really depends on the kit.

My current kit, a Glencoe MB-2, was $5 at a show (retail is around $12).

Two Aeroclub white metal Lewis guns: appox. $5

Paint: $10

Needle nose tweezers (a must for rigging a biplane): approx. $4

Invisible thread: $2

Wedding tulle (a fine mesh fabric): $3

Sanding sticks: $7.50

Orion Pilots of WWI figure set (24 figures, of which I've used three): $11

Testors Decal Making System: $5

Various strip and rod styrene packs: $8

Total: $60.50

That's not too shabby considering that I'll use the remaining paint, the tools, the thread, the tulle, and the figures for other projects.

Regards,

I have to agree. While a modeler can give an average cost - X total cost divided by Y models - the number derived is just that...a number. For example, I have a Polish armored car on the shelf that cost me $7.00 total since I built it OOTB. Right next to it is an M4A3 Sherman that probably cost $63.00 with all the aftermarket parts on it. Can we say that I average $35.00 on a model based on these two examples? Sure, in the strict sense of the word "average". The range of costs (for me) is just WAY too wide to try and quantify with a single figure. I have $10.00 kits in my "waiting to build" stash with no aftermarket parts. I also have $120.00 kits in my stash with over $100.00 in aftermarket parts waiting to be built. I really depends on the kit.

I tend to build mostly OOTB, with scratched improvements, if any, so that, plus paints and glue, runs to about $50 on average. That's Canadian dollars. However, some kits I bought for very cheap, and some kits have cost me more than $100.

The most I spent on a model is $34.95 for my Tamiya Me 262, but going by MSRP, I spent $86 on a Bandai MG 1/100 Zeong, which I paid only $33 for including shipping. I don't spend much on AM details unless absolutely neccessary. My paint costs vary per project due to the paints I have, and the paints I need. The tools are used over and over again.

for my latest project

testors f4 phantom $15
paint $5 ( i had most of the paints already)
Total $20

Really depends on the kit and the finish I try to achieve.
But as a rule I try to keep the AM parts as few and low as possible.

It's not often that I pay more then €5 for a 1/72 kit or € 10 for a 1/48 kit. But I only buy at swap meets and shows. And I seldomly buy Tamiya, hasegawa or any new kit for that matter. So my 80+ stash has probably cost me less then € 500 (and al my expensive kits were presents!)

i'm about to spend $180 ++ on a millenium falcon for x-mas..Katching!$$ and ouch!

all my academy kits i got for $10 at Lewiscraft(a craft store) the kits are awesome and for such a low price too!!!

Been thinking about this question and have decided it is something of a trick question. Very rarely do I buy something other than the model because I have most of the additional items (Paint, decals, photo-etch etc). In most cases, I buy a bottle of paint (cement, thinner etc) because the bottle I have is getting low. And just because you bought a bottle of paint or cement specifically for that model, do you use the entire bottle of paint on that model? Or does it get used on two or three more models after you've finished the particular model you origionally purchased the paint for?

Perhaps a more apropo question would have been, How much have you invested in your hobby? Try this - take a paper and pencil and sit down at your hobby area and look around. If your house burned down tonight (God forbid!) what would it cost you to replace everything you have that you use in your hobby. The tools, the decals, the paints, the kits you have in your stash, your finished kits, the paints and glues, the scratch building materials, the after market items and the reference materials. Write down each item and then what you figure it would cost to replace them. Then add them all up. The final figure will either amaze or scare you (or both). And then think about those items you have to replace from time to time during any given year (Exacto blades, paint, thinner, cement etc) but aren't for a given project.
What I'm trying to say I guess is that this is a hobby and like any hobby there are expenses we don't think about when we participate in it. As long as you can afford it, then do it. But if you ever get to the situation that you have only enough money to buy the baby some food and Pampers or buy the latest Tamigawa release and the new PE for it and you buy the model, then it's time to step back and take a look at your priorities. And like my wife says, "I don't mind him spending money and working on models. At least I know where he is and the money isn't being spent on booze and broads." (I overheard her tell that to my mother)

Too much, I would say! Although you can entertain or aggravate yourself for a month for a mere $30.00.

I'm still pretty new at the modeling game. I started basically from scratch in late April of this year, and so far I've easily invested over $1000 in models, paints and supplies, spraybooths, and airbrushes. There are now few paint colors I don't have, so now I only have to replace them. I'm pretty well stocked up on tools (I don't do a lot of PE, so no special tools for that. Yet.), have a bunch of kits to build in the stash so I probably won't be spending any more money this year. Well, maybe the odd jar of paint!

I expect to spend maybe $500-600 per year on new kits and replacement supplies. If I spend an average of 1 hour per day (365 hrs per year) at $600 that is only $1.64/hr. That's little more than 7 hours per week, which is probably too little. I figure it's closer to 10 hours per week, or $1.15/hr. That's cheap! Even if I doubled the budget, it's only $2.30/hr.

The average green fee around here is $65. Figure 5 hours to play the round, that's $13/hr, and doesn't include any beer, hot dogs, lunch, dinner, or payoffs on bets that usually happen.

As qmiester's wife says "At least I know where he is and the money isn't being spent on booze and broads".

Yes Bill, booze and broads (pardon me, female forum members) are costly-in more ways than one. Plus, I have never had a model kick me in the groin.

My upcoming project

Academy Tiger I early w/interior Free
Paint Let's say 13 bottles at $2.30 a bottle $30
Resin Engine and Transmission $53
Tiger I early breech Jordi Rubio barrel and brake $15
MG34, AA mount, canvas, ring ammo bag, ammo belt mount $16
Fu2 and Fu5 radios PE $14


Grand total------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $128


I expect to get over $100 in B-day money on Nov 1st and I put the Mayback engine at the top of my list. so I'm looking at spending $10

Average kit= $25-30
Scratch building materials= $3 at most (so far...)
AM $0 - I scratchbuild!(I'm gonna order a ton PRETTY DARN soon for my M-36 Jackson though...)
Xtra Paints=$10
total= $43 at most.
I have my own math tutoring job now, so I can spend more money on models now! YAY!

Oh, BTW, that baby in your sig box is the only one that I think is cute!

qmiester I think I would definitely be in the scarred out of my wits category if I did as you suggested. $20 here and there adds up pretty quick to a lot fo $$$$$ when one doesn't think about it.

Overall I'd have to say that I'm on the conservative side as I generally stick to 1/72 scale but I've spent as much as $100 on some models and as little as $15 on others (not including paints and other materials that get used from model to model). I am currently working on a 1/700 scale Essex (the old Hasegawa kit) that I bought fo $12 and I bought a PE set for it on sale for $10. That kit has kept me going for a long time, lots of tiny pieces, so if I used Bgrigg's formula It's probably more like $0.10/hr. Pretty cheap for a hobby I'd say.

Razordws, I think you mean scared, don't you? Then again, maybe you did mean scarred. You know your wife the best...

Well my spending depends.

$20 kit, like and old tamiya or italeri, I may treat my self to some PE or/and resin.
$30 kit, usually oob.
$40 and up kit OOB.

I spent about $90 on my tamiya tiger project and I dont think I will spend that much again. Way too much for me.

this is a general thing. I have yet to use PE, I have bought some for cheap kits, but I havent built anything yet.

Wellllllllllllllllllllll, I spend until the model is done - i.e., on the shelf or given away. Because there ALWAYS seems to be one ... more ... thing ...

It varies. Sometimes it is just the kit, the paint, and the after market decals. While others may get very intensive. I build in many areas; armor, aircraft, ships, auto, and sci fi. I'm getting ready to do a model of the 66 Mustang my brother and I had when we lived in Alaska. Hardtop, white, blue interior, with a factory installed 302. The kit cost 12.00,but did not have the engine options. So hunted down mustang kits until I found what I needed. Second kit 8.95. Paint and primer about 15.00. A trip to J-----n's Fabrics in the crafts section for different thicknesses of felt for carpeting and rear window decking, a thin square of black latex for floor mats and blue for the trunk floor 10.00. A match for the Cragar wheels ran about 23.00 Wiring and plumbing under the hood will come from the garage. I found tires in my spare tire bucket that match our photographs of the car. So approx. 70.00 to build my 66 Mustang.

QUOTE: Originally posted by trowlfazz Yes Bill, booze and broads (pardon me, female forum members) are costly-in more ways than one. Plus, I have never had a model kick me in the groin.

i never got kicked there but i dropped my razor tool there once ouch

Durr-were you not wearing your modeling cup??

QUOTE: Originally posted by 207xx3ssmitty It varies. Sometimes it is just the kit, the paint, and the after market decals. While others may get very intensive. I build in many areas; armor, aircraft, ships, auto, and sci fi. I'm getting ready to do a model of the 66 Mustang my brother and I had when we lived in Alaska. Hardtop, white, blue interior, with a factory installed 302. The kit cost 12.00,but did not have the engine options. So hunted down mustang kits until I found what I needed. Second kit 8.95. Paint and primer about 15.00. A trip to J-----n's Fabrics in the crafts section for different thicknesses of felt for carpeting and rear window decking, a thin square of black latex for floor mats and blue for the trunk floor 10.00. A match for the Cragar wheels ran about 23.00 Wiring and plumbing under the hood will come from the garage. I found tires in my spare tire bucket that match our photographs of the car. So approx. 70.00 to build my 66 Mustang.

But that's not building a model but recreating a memory!

Average spending on a model, ie model and the paints and other accessories, £35 ($70)...but we pay more for stuff is this robbing country.

recent one was 1/400 uss enterprise with paints /thinners etc, cost about £90 ($180).....

sasarchiver

Hhhmm, my latest project:

* KIT: 1/48 Academy Su-27 UB: € 37.50
* RESIN: L&M resin nose cone: € 2.50
* PE: Eduard detail set: € 9.95
* DECALS: Hi-Line decals: € 10
----------------------------------------------------------
* TOTAL: € 59.95

This is the first time I use PE and resin.
Usually I just scratchbuild or build OOB

Cheers,

Jürgen

I have to agree with what everybody else has said, its hard to say, but I generally build ootb, so it is a little easier to figure for me. My SuperHornet kit was around $60 from my LHS. I bought a F-18 Walk Around book, that was $15, and paint, that is probably $10 at most! I have car kits that cost me $10 and thats it, I use the paint I already have unless it is a special kit or it needs a special color that I don't have or don't have anything close.

Interesting threrad this, I spend a different amount on each project, depending on how much detail I want or how much I have to spend on it in the first place.
On average it would be the price of the kit plus the cost of echted parts and AM decals, anywhere between £20-£40.

Mind you, there are the odd exceptions to the rule, I plan to build a 1/48 Desert Storm RAF GR.1 Tornado. So far, heres the shopping list:

kit-£10.00
decals-£7.00
PE-£5.00
Resin-£30.00
Masks-£1.50
Paints-£5.00
Base-£5.00

So far I'm in for £63.50! I hope this one turns out to be a good one!

Darren.

It depends on the model. For my latest project, a 32' Ford hot rod I'm building it OOB with just an aftermarket distributer kit ($5.95) and money spent for paint ($5.99). My next project is  going to be a Ferrari 360 Modena broken down like this:
Kit- $ 11.99

Carbon fiber decal- $ 8.99

Bare metal foil-$ 5.99

Total-$ 26.97

Enjoyment-priceless