Hasegaw 1/350 Akagi

Look's like it's going to be a sweet model. Just looked at great models and they have it listed for $204.45. The wood deck kit and A,B,C photo etch kits run $91.00 each. I usally don't build ships, but might have to get it. Thanks for the heads up guys.

Mark

subfixer wrote:

Those prices for the photo etch are just plain crazy! Period!  As for the other prices:

I don't feel like I'm in a position to comment intelligently on whether the price of a particular kit is reasonable or not.  The pricing of merchandise like this has to be based on a business decision by the manufacturer.  Somewhere there's a balance between the admittedly enormous cost of designing, producing, and marketing a kit, on the one hand, and the modeler's willingness/ability to pay the price, on the other.  Just where that balance lies I, at this point, have no idea.

I am fairly certain about two things in this context.  One - this new Hasegawa Akagi will be an outstanding kit.  (Surely Hasegawa has learned not to engrave cross-sections on the hull, like it did on the Nagato.)  Two - I (with a mortgage, a car payment, a stepdaughter's student loan to pay off, etc., etc.) can't afford it.  I might, just might, be able to justify spending that kind of money on a kit if I could honestly tell myself that I was going to start it immediately and work on it, extensively and exclusively, during all my spare time for several months or a year.  But for a kit that would take me a few weeks - and in practical terms would go into a disgustingly large stash of unbuilt kits - No Way.

I wonder sometimes at the number of folks who, if posts in the Forum and on other websites are any guide, seem to be spending hundreds of dollars a month on kits.  Surely I'm not the only model enthusiast who just can't do that.  I feel like I probably spend too much on my hobby as it is.  But I don't think I've ever spent $100 on a single plastic kit - and it's unlikely that I ever will. 

These are great times - probably the best ever - for ship modelers, especially modern warship modelers.  I do wonder, though, if the bubble may burst one of these days.  What will the current economic crunch do to sales of those $100+ kits from Trumpeter, Hasegawa, Tamiya, etc.?  I suspect a fairly high percentage of them are being bought by people who - like me - already have plenty of other kits awaiting their attention.  Personally, I'm not the least worried about a recession's effect on my kit-buying habits; I've got enough in the stash to last me, quite literally, for the rest of my life.  But if I were a dealer, I'd be worried.  If all the guys with stacks of $100+ warship kits waiting to be built decide to build those kits, and buy gasoline rather than additional kits....

To each his own.  Anybody who buys the Hasegawa Akagi will certainly have my best wishes.  But it's just not for me.

Think about the following concerning the increased cost as a multiple of 3-4 times.  It is true that a 1/350 scale kit is twice the size of a 1/700 scale kit, but dimensionally a 1/350 scale kit is 8 times as large as a 1/700 scale kit.  You have to double not only the length, but also the width and the height.  The volume of this kit is 8 times that of a 1/700 scale kit.  So, that's one of the reasons.

 Jon 

The styrene from which a kit is molded accounts for only a tiny fraction of the total expense of producing the kit.  (Back when I was working in a hobby shop - which admittedly was a long time ago - it was said that the typical 1/32-scale aircraft kit had between 10 and 25 cents worth of plastic in it.)  But what ironship says about volume is just as applicable to various other aspects of the kit:  the sheer size of the steel molds (which are extremely expensive), the amount of expert (and computer) time needed to design it, the number of pages in the instruction book, etc., etc.  As I understand it, the actual number of parts in a kit is directly related to the expense of producing it - and it's safe to assume that a 1/350 aircraft carrier will have a lot more parts (probably considerably more than twice as many) as a 1/700 one.  Even the size of the box has to be a factor - in terms of shipping expense as well as production.  There's no doubt whatever that it costs a lot more to produce a 1/350 kit than a 1/700 one.

I'm not qualified to pass judgment on what the fair price of a kit is.  What I can pass judgment on is whether I can or can't afford it - and I can't afford a $300 kit.  Maybe - maybe - I could think about it seriously if I could commit to building it right away and spending a year or so worth of spare time on it.  But since I can't do that, no 1/350 Akagi for me.

If you add the 4 PE accessory sets offered by Hasagawa, plus enough hasagawa spare enough aircraft sets to put a full flight on deck, the cost goes up to over $600.

Someone somewhere continues to buy expensive kits no matter what the price and the manufactures know they have a reasonable chance of selling these kits to meet their projections to a global audience.

The one thing I would like to add to this dialogue is that there is generally a great disparity among retailers as far as price, and if you look hard enough and are not in a hurry you can get deals that are much more reasonable on a particular kit. I just bought the Trumpeter Chinook D, and paid $89. Most other reputable sites have it for $134. That is $44 saved on 1 model. A lot.

I don't have a huge stash, maybe ten models that are in the $100 each range. Overall I probably spend a $1000. a yr on this hobby including supplies beyond models, which is pretty tame compared to some hobbies, for normal people.

I would have to say my Revell VIIC and the 3 CMK interiors (not built yet) is the most expensive model I've ever bought, and probably will not do it again.

My last finished kit was the Trumpeter BR-52 wich took 7 months to complete, and was worth the $103 delivered, that I paid for it I generally will build two big models a year and thats it.

Everything is relative, I guess. One thing that is sad is that I just simply cannot afford to buy kits at the LHS when I can save over $50 a kit average online.

My two cents  

Chuck Fan wrote:

If you add the 4 PE accessory sets offered by Hasagawa, plus enough hasagawa spare enough aircraft sets to put a full flight on deck, the cost goes up to over $600.

Gosh,  400 bux for a full-hull Langley, with full brass (incl lattice work), wooden flight deck, full airwing (with decals) doesn't sound so bad anymore

Mansteins revenge wrote:

subfixer wrote: Those prices for the photo etch are just plain crazy! Period!  As for the other prices: Ditto...I'll stick with the 1/700th scale version...you can get the kit, wooden deck and PE for about $100 dollars at that scale---doesn't make sense why the 1/350th is 3-4 times that much??? Besides, it will fit better on my shelves at that scale...

Just received my 1/700 Akagi and it is everything that the hype claims it to be...and more. I got it actually a bit cheaper at Pacific Models than what Great Models was advertising if for---around $40 bucks.  However, the odd thing is that the wooden flight deck was TWICE the cost at Pacific than it was at Great Models...go figure. Needless to say I ordered the deck from GM. So...I have a bit over $70 in the kit so far and have back-ordered the PE upgrade from GM as well.  Even with that, I'll have less than $100 bucks in it and for 1/700 scale it is still a very good sized model.  IMO, a much better deal than the 1/350...and more managable in space-terms...

I must say that I am VERY impressed with the wooden flight-deck sections. Not sure how they made them but they appear to be laser-cut into VERY thin wood---so thin that they easily flex 'em with no real worries of damaging them. The have an adhesive backing, so you just peel and stick them to the plastic deck...too cool. The detail is sublime: individual planks w/ a really nice natural wooden color. The set also comes with very comprehensive (even the red-white barber pole end markings) dry-transfer deck markings for two different versions of the Akagi. About the only colors I am gonna need for this thing are grey, black, white and metal!!! Oh, and I also dropped $30 on that soft-cover book on the early to mid Akagi from Troja? Sweet ref...

sigh

 Yes, this is a "dream kit" for me, too.  But what used to be a dream in the sense of "if they ever make it, I'm there!" is now a dream in the sense of "I can only dream of affording this one, let alone doing a decent job of building it and then finding a place to display it".  I've always been a major league nut for anything IJN-related, and used to annoy the heck out of Tamiya with requests for a 1/350 Kongo.  But that was when I was young, single, and without responsibility.   Now, I have money woes just like most others - I was unemployed for almost a year and now I'm working at 2/3 of what I used to make; with a mortgage that doesn't care; and a kid set to go to college next fall (and another waiting in the wings).  So I'll be content with my stash, until such time as I find Bill Gates' wallet on the street, or I win the lottery (I guess I should really buy lottery tickets, if I want to win) - so to whomever can afford this beauty of a kit, more power to you.  You'd better post plenty of pics, though!

I'd LOVE to get that kit. But like Jtilley I just can't justify the cost of the whole package.

Hasegawa is getting top dollar for their ship kits. I just finished the 1/350 Yukikaze, and while it's an excellent kit, it's overpriced. You can bet that Hasegawa will be watching the sales of the Akagi very closely, for following soon is the Shokaku. It'll be interesting (and maybe scary!) to see what they want for her.

paulnchamp wrote:

I'd LOVE to get that kit. But like Jtilley I just can't justify the cost of the whole package. Hasegawa is getting top dollar for their ship kits. I just finished the 1/350 Yukikaze, and while it's an excellent kit, it's overpriced. You can bet that Hasegawa will be watching the sales of the Akagi very closely, for following soon is the Shokaku. It'll be interesting (and maybe scary!) to see what they want for her.

searat12 wrote:

On other updates, it appears the 1/350 Akagi will also be produced in 1/350 scale in its original three-deck mode as well,

searat, could you link to where you found this info?  I'd like to read more about it.

thanks,

m@

Watchmann wrote:

searat12 wrote: On other updates, it appears the 1/350 Akagi will also be produced in 1/350 scale in its original three-deck mode as well, searat, could you link to where you found this info?  I'd like to read more about it. thanks, m@