Tamiya's New BT-7

You should have waited, Tamiya is ripping you off in the price department. A retail price over $60 is ridiculous in my opinion(even if the sale price may bring it down a little.)

What do you get in this kit any PE, resin, extra decals, or etc.? Yeah you get some figs' but $60, that's way too high, if I want this kit I'll just pick up the nice and cheap Zvezda kit. Sure it may need some TLC, but at least I'll have money in my pocket afterwards.

Point taken mg.mikael...but I prefer Tamiya over Zvezda and money/waiting is not an issue here. Thanx for your comment any whoo...BTW, what extras come with the Zvezda kit? Tamiya is introducing a new alloy for their PE and requires no tools to bend/form the grilles that are included in this kit... http://www.hlj.com/product/TAM35309

Respectfully,

Dom

No extras come with the Zvezda kit, but hey it's dirt-cheap. Would I rather pay $10 versus $60, yep every single time.

Even if it is a new alloy in their PE, that's no excuse for jackin' up the price if you ask me. At most this kit should go for $30, but then again that's false hope in today's modeling world.

$5.00 for me. Think of what you could do with the other $55.

And here's what you can do with it.

For more pictures,  click on the dot .

I'm with you guys as well. I'm sure that the Tamiya is fantastic but there is no reason to be charging $60 for such a small kit. I'll get the Zvevda and use the left over money to dress it up.

Erik

I saw an advance release of this kit in a LHS here a couple weeks ago and took a peek in the box. Lets just say I was somewhat disappointed. It looked to me like Tamiya had taken the Zvezda kit (I built one of those when first released some 17 or so years ago), added a figure sprue and released it with a HUGE price mark up. I did not have a Zvezda kit there on hand to compare it with, sprue by sprue. But the parts breakdown and moldings looked extremely similar. If this in fact is nothing more than a dress up and re issue of the Zvezda kit, I cant see paying the huge price difference.

I'd buy the cheap kit long before the Tamiya kit, ONLY if it A) came with indy tracks or B) indy tracks were also available.

The Tamiya kit is most certainly a newly tooled offering and is not just a modernization of the Zvezda kit. Given the fact that it's not all that complex/complicated of a vehicle design, it's not that far fetched that there would be similarities between the two in terms of kit design and parts required.  

Having said that, a $60 price tag would certainly put me off as well. That's about what the Char B1 was going for as a brand new release and I waited a good long while for the prices to come back to a more "sane" level. Patience and diligent searching of online suppliers for sales is the best bet if you want this particular kit IMHO.

I'm almost finished with it.  My LHS got a test shot of the kit and the owner gave me the copy to build.  It had everything except the decals and photo etch.  It is nothing like the Eastern Express kit, having built one a few years back.  Quite a few detail differences.  The fit is lots better as well.  Sure the directions were incomplete (you think Dragons are bad, try instructions as a work in progress)  Anyway, if it's worth the money, that's only up to the buyer to decide.  I think it would be worth it, but I can afford such luxuries, and this kit didn't cost me anything, whoohoo! 

Double D

Sure the price is too high---they all are when they're 1st released and in demand--but I'm sure its a good kit- one I'd like to build but I'll be waiting for a sale like Bill was sayin

NICE FLIPPIN BUILD STEVE !!  

IT !

Yup, I agree. Just wait for the price to drop and scoop it up off of ebay.

Not that I have any interest in this one,but Greatmodels is pre-prdering it for $46.45,still steep for a small kit but not $61.00

I'll say what I always say when it comes to price. Just wait a little bit for a sale!

Well, this is pretty interesting.  I have an interest in the BT-7, but when I did a search for available kits a couple years ago all I could find was a somewhat expensive one (I think it MIGHT have been resin, but I am not positive).  I got excited when I saw this thread and the new Tamiya offering, and then also the Zvezda.  So I went to work on Google.  What I found is that the cheapest I can currently find the Zvezda kit is on ebay at something like $17, but with $12 shipping.  Squadron has it for around $27, and it would not be inconceivable to get it with free shipping by taking my order to $100 (there is always plenty of other supplies that need purchasing ).  The Tamiya version I see can be had on Hobby Link for about $46 before shipping.  So as of right now the Zvezda is up on the Tamiya.  However, I can wait.  And with the waiting if I can find the Tamiya on sale or available around $30 my pick would then go Tamiya.

Either way, I think I will build one of these up in the future.  The first time I ever saw one of these was in the Eddie Bauer World War 2 Encyclopedia, and it looked sufficiently oddball enough for me to say "I want to build one."  Looking at Steve's built up kit is relighting that fire!

Brian

I'm a BT-7 freak (well, early war Soviet armor stuff of just about any kind), so I'll get at least one.  Not at $60 though.  I don't think I've spent that on a kit since the old Gunze-Sangyo days of early "hi-tech" and it was a little more than that.  Never built any of those though-I sold them before I did and got the newer more user-friendly Dragon offerings (or Tamiya) and aftermarket for a good bit less than I sold them for.

I've got a BT-7A on the long-term Shelf Queen pile that I need to finish up.  It's the EE kit and I think it looks great with the Eduard PE set.

Steve, I forgot how stunning your build is. Your weathering is First-Class!

I don't mean to jump in, but for god sakes, the guy didn't ask you what you thought of the price tag, he was talking about the kit.  The Zvezda kit is cheap, but old and very outdated. Sure you can fix it up, if you have time! As amazing as this sounds, most modelers don't have scores and scores of hours to spend on their hobby, and a simple and very well made, although expensive kit may be the only answer.  Too many people on these forums are obsessed with their own arguements and vendettas, and post them where they weren't intended. This is just a tad bit silly, seeing as his finances aren't your concern, he was asking about the KIT! Anyways, I hear it's an amazing model from Tamiya, but I have too much going on right now to attempt anymore stuff that isn't already in my stash.

StreetFightingMan

I don't mean to jump in, but for god sakes, the guy didn't ask you what you thought of the price tag, he was talking about the kit.  The Zvezda kit is cheap, but old and very outdated. Sure you can fix it up, if you have time! As amazing as this sounds, most modelers don't have scores and scores of hours to spend on their hobby, and a simple and very well made, although expensive kit may be the only answer.  Too many people on these forums are obsessed with their own arguements and vendettas, and post them where they weren't intended. This is just a tad bit silly, seeing as his finances aren't your concern, he was asking about the KIT! Anyways, I hear it's an amazing model from Tamiya, but I have too much going on right now to attempt anymore stuff that isn't already in my stash.

Point taken, but there are nicer ways of conveying it.

Not all of us read every post in a thread, I know I'm guilty of it and some might have missed that line where the OP stated money wasn't an issue.

Sure money may not be an issue for the OP, but for the most part I think everyone likes to save their hard-earned dollars.

tigerman

Steve, I forgot how stunning your build is. Your weathering is First-Class!

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10114484  sells only at USD35.... Excluding shipping.

Yeah but shipping but from one of those overseas online hobby shops can knock the price right back up to where it costs at a LHS. If that is the case, I would rather buy a kit at the LHS and help keep him in business.

Personally, I just wait for the LHS to close and I break a window and ransack the place. Prices are so much lower this way, and shipping and taxes are nonexistant!

(Obviously this is a joke, I don't want to get blamed if some jerk breaks into my favorite store!)