New Kit Prices.......

Not just model kits.

Food, petrol, machine tools, hot water heaters.

I've seen prices on a lot of items going up since 2008.

Some fast stock turn-around machines are up 50 pct. at Harbor Freight since 2008.

Just wait for them to go onsale on ebay.

Blame Dragon. They kind of set the bar high for everyone else by cramming the box full of goods to make an out-of-box build complete, without having to buy additional AM kits. You're basically paying for everything, but it's now all in one box. Their latest gig has been the pre-zimmed kits that add another $10-15. Less then the cost of resin zimmerit, but you get the idea.

 I used to get a bit bent out of shape over kit prices. Not anymore, they can charge whatever they want, I'll still get em for 1/4 - 1/2 of retail, at vendor tables. It takes some time for the kits to get there, but eventually, they get there, and I save a ton of cash!

 They charge it, because people are willing to pay for it.

Vance recently did such a kit price score, didn't he?

Sprue-ce Goose

Not just model kits.

Food, petrol, machine tools, hot water heaters.

Hot water heaters? Why do you need to heat hot water?

Seriously though, 'Sprue-ce Goose' is right. Everything is going up but on the whole, this is still a pretty cheap.......er, inexpensive hobby when you get right down to it.

PaintsWithBrush

 

Sprue-ce Goose:

 

Not just model kits.

Food, petrol, machine tools, hot water heaters.

 

Hot water heaters? Why do you need to heat hot water?

 

Seriously though, 'Sprue-ce Goose' is right. Everything is going up but on the whole, this is still a pretty cheap.......er, inexpensive hobby when you get right down to it.

I thoroughly agree with PWB on that!

You should see prices on metalworking supplies.

BTW...thumbs up for Revellogram kit prices vs. other companies.

PaintsWithBrush

 

Sprue-ce Goose:

 

Not just model kits.

Food, petrol, machine tools, hot water heaters.

 

Hot water heaters? Why do you need to heat hot water?

 

Seriously though, 'Sprue-ce Goose' is right. Everything is going up but on the whole, this is still a pretty cheap.......er, inexpensive hobby when you get right down to it.

Based on how slow I build, you are correct. However, it really boils down to how much AM you want to add to the basic kit. I mean you could buy a $20 older Tamiya kit and add some $40 Friuls to it. Suddenly it's not so cheap anymore. For prolific builders such as wbill, whom builds at least one a month and all of his builds include countless AM kits that easily jump the price to over $100. That over time can and does add up.

I will agree that for the casual builder such as myself, it's a pretty reasonably expensive hobby.

tigerman

PaintsWithBrush:

Sprue-ce Goose:

Not just model kits.

Food, petrol, machine tools, hot water heaters.

Hot water heaters? Why do you need to heat hot water?

Seriously though, 'Sprue-ce Goose' is right. Everything is going up but on the whole, this is still a pretty cheap.......er, inexpensive hobby when you get right down to it.

 

Based on how slow I build, you are correct. However, it really boils down to how much AM you want to add to the basic kit. I mean you could buy a $20 older Tamiya kit and add some $40 Friuls to it. Suddenly it's not so cheap anymore. For prolific builders such as wbill, whom builds at least one a month and all of his builds include countless AM kits that easily jump the price to over $100. That over time can and does add up.

I will agree that for the casual builder such as myself, it's a pretty reasonably expensive hobby.

Doesn't  Hans make duplicate parts from Revellogram kits for his projects, for example, duplicate P-61 engines?

As with anything, i can buy a basic product and rapidly add expensive accessories.

Spring is here and I'm once again riding my bicycle.

I have a choice of buying a bicycle at Wal-Mart and leaving it stock for roughly a $100.00 or upgrading with extras like a better seat, etc and double the cost. Or I can  buy bike frames in various levels of quality  from a bike shop, fitted out with as much or little of  the extras I can afford.

Best thing to do is wait and buy when JeffW's wife tells him to choose between the kit stash or her....

It was clear from the beginning that Dragon, etc couldn't keep the low prices and would have to fall in line with other makers.

Personally, I agree everything is going up in prices(we just had coffee & wheat raised at 18%) also Utilities are going up, etc.

Don't build much armor but with the raising prices I do enjoy the AM bits included  as it still works out cheaper than "basic Kit " and AM bits", said that prices cross all the genres I model went up.

Higher prices for me are just more of an incentive to put more into the kit and less likely to slap them together as a quick-build. Add in a nice base or basic Diorama and it i still worth it, for me atleast.

So few builds overall but higher quality on each build.

P.S.: People talk about the kit prices, no-one mentions the other major expenses like glue, paints, masking, etc that are also up. On some kits I need so much of them that those can exceed the kit-price easily.

I'd highly recommend playing around with the Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI inflation calculator. 

http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

While some variability obviously has to be built in for different industries and such, it gives a solid ballpark equivalency of how far a dollar went in a certain year versus today.

I find it helps combat "back in the day" fallacy...

If you were to listen to all of the "hand-wringers" who proclaim the death of our hobby every chance they get you'd think we are already extinct...isn't it interesting that today our choices of kits and kit quality have never been greater, yet the "prophets of doom" keep trying to convince us that the end is near...

And the health of "mom and pop" hobby stores is no more an indicator of the health of our hobby as the number of corner drug stores is an indicator of how much prescription drugs are taken...

Yeah, I can remember 5 cent cokes and 98 cent Aurora Spitfires.  I could buy gasoline for 33 cents a gallon too.  Everything is more expensive now than in the past.  Do what you can afford.  Redirect cigarette and lottery ticket money towards models.  Quit whining!

Mansteins revenge

If you were to listen to all of the "hand-wringers" who proclaim the death of our hobby every chance they get you'd think we are already extinct...isn't it interesting that today our choices of kits and kit quality have never been greater, yet the "prophets of doom" keep trying to convince us that the end is near...

And the health of "mom and pop" hobby stores is no more an indicator of the health of our hobby as the number of corner drug stores is an indicator of how much prescription drugs are taken...

Same can be said about newspapers. My newspaper's circulation has been hanging steady at 225,000 per day and upwards to 400,000 or so on sunday. We're not dead yet. Models aren't dead yet.

I introduce a lot of my sons friends to kits. Major complaints I hear are NOT the kit prices(they are a concern) but the tools and other stuff needed to build a kit well.

Plenty of cheap kits out there, anyone can get supplies cheap?

Take a leaf out of Hammer's book.  There are still cheap kits around, do you really need all the AM stuff ?

I think the hobby is still affordable, unfortunately I think people get sucked into the "keeping up with the Jones's" syndrome when it comes to aftermarket.  Bascically, If I cant make it from scratch, the build doesnt need it.  (IMO anyway)

Mad-Modeler

I introduce a lot of my sons friends to kits. Major complaints I hear are NOT the kit prices(they are a concern) but the tools and other stuff needed to build a kit well.

 

Plenty of cheap kits out there, anyone can get supplies cheap?

I've been saying the same thing for years.  I spent many years out of the hobby and only came back a few years ago.  When I went looking for my first new kit in almost 30 years, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the prices nowadays.  I mean, I expected a to pay a bit more with inflation but whammo...   Ouchie...   And finishing supplies had also inflated like one of those high altitude balloons.

A lot of people use the "Where else can you have that many hours of fun for the price" argument.  Others exhalt the fact that modern kits are to much more detailed and sophisticated...  I can see their logic, but the fact remains that a LOT of people have been and still are being priced right out of the hobby.  The first argument about fun simply doesn't hold water for me.  I could spend $100 or more for a nice 1/32 kit which will take me maybe 80 or so hours to build and finish, or I can get a new game or art program for my PC for half that which will last indefinitely.  3D modeling on my PC is my second hobby for the last 14 or so years.

The sophisticated kits argument also has some holes.  A LOT of kits today are still rehashes, repops or cleaned up versions of older kits.  Testors and Italeri are one example.  Italeri puts out the exact same F4 Phantom kits as Testors.  Neither kit is whatt I would call very sophisticated.  Some of the fits are nasty, the detail level is less than Revell, and they are just not worth the money.

There are some points I also would make.  Kits are supposed to be FUN.  Sitting under a bright light, with a magnifying glass and tweezers, trying for the fifth time to get a piece of PE detail to actually fit where it is supposed to is not fun.  There is such a thing as over engineering.  I look at modern kits sometimes and I have to ask what they were thinking when they designed it.  A level 2 kit should not require the eyesight of the Hubbell space telescope, and the dexterity of a Ninja to complete.  A good challenging kit is great, but there are limits... 

I am disabled and on a very tight fixed income.  99% of my kit's were purchased on eBay as open box, bagged and parts kits.  Soon I will have a mortgage to worry about, and I really am not sure if I will be able to continue with modeling once that happens.  The costs are simply getting too astronomical.  For instance.  I have over the last month seen the price of a 1970s vintage 1/32 Monogram/Revell F4-1B go from around $15 to $40, $50 and a few up to $100.  And that isn't including the shipping.  It's ridiculous.  But as long as people are willing to spend that much, these nimrods will continue to over-inflate the prices...

Most of the LHSs are gone.  There are none left around here in Toledo OH.   Just a couple of the big franchise stores.  It's not just the kit makers, it's the sellers too.

Maybe if the modeling community went on a model stoppage for a couple of weeks then the sellers would get back into realistic pricing brackets. lol

Just my 2 cents.

Rich

captain tk

Has anyone been noticing that recently the prices of new kits have risen dramatically???.......  While checking out various websites for new 1/35th scale AFV kits for my 'wish list', I couldn't help but notice that  new kit prices are getting higher each month both here in the U.S. as well as in the Orient.......  As an example, check out the newly announced AFV kits from companies such as Bronco, Hobby Boss and Dragon.......  Granted, the companies turn out really quality kits with unsurpassed detail and accessories but are they really worth the inflated prices???.......  We keep on hearing about modellers of all ages and experience levels who are leaving the hobby due to the high costs of kits and accessories such as P/E, tracks, etc........  In light of current economic conditions,we are simply going to lose more and more modellers due to the fact that they simply are priced right out of the hobby!!!.......  Not too many modellers patronize their local hobby retail shops nor can they afford to shop via the internet because of the high costs involved!!!.......  Eventually, local hobby shops are simply going to close their doors due to a lack of business.......  Maybe the kit manufacturers should take this fact into consideration when setting their kit prices.........

DoogsATX

I'd highly recommend playing around with the Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI inflation calculator. 

http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

While some variability obviously has to be built in for different industries and such, it gives a solid ballpark equivalency of how far a dollar went in a certain year versus today.

I find it helps combat "back in the day" fallacy...

Hmmmm, $50.00 in 1980 equals $133.63 today... Fallacy?? I guess I'm missing something...

Don't forget, this is a GOVERNMENT calculator, meaning add about another 50% to that figure to get a realistic picture.  I think this is the one they use to balance the budget..  Also known as the wishful thinking calculator.

bbrowniii

 

DoogsATX:

 

I'd highly recommend playing around with the Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI inflation calculator. 

http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

While some variability obviously has to be built in for different industries and such, it gives a solid ballpark equivalency of how far a dollar went in a certain year versus today.

I find it helps combat "back in the day" fallacy...

 

 

Hmmmm, $50.00 in 1980 equals $133.63 today... Fallacy?? I guess I'm missing something...

Even old kit prices aren't cheap some places........

Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum 'Dirty Harry' Gun Model

According to the government there is no inflation.  The government doesn't count fuel, food or "life's necessities" in their calculations (what else is there?).

FWIW Harry Callahan SAID he had a .44 magnum but in truth the props dept. couldn't get their hands on one so Harry had to make do with a .41 magnum S&W 629.  It's very noticable in the "down the barrel shot" as there is too much steel between the chambers in the cylinder.  Even the model company got it wrong. 

My workplace nannybot won't let me post a link to the info but you can google it up.

                                                                Pat. 

bbrowniii

 

DoogsATX:

 

I'd highly recommend playing around with the Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI inflation calculator. 

http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

While some variability obviously has to be built in for different industries and such, it gives a solid ballpark equivalency of how far a dollar went in a certain year versus today.

I find it helps combat "back in the day" fallacy...

 

 

Hmmmm, $50.00 in 1980 equals $133.63 today... Fallacy?? I guess I'm missing something...

Yes. The fallacy that kits were necessarily "cheaper" back when. 

Kits cost more in literal dollar terms these days, but so does everything. 

Now...whether they seem more expensive is an open question. I'd argue that there's a selection of pricier "premium" kits out there these days that cost more, but that offer a product that wasn't really available in the 80s, but pointing at one of Tamiya's 1/32 Spitfires or something and bemoaning the cost of models would be like pointing at a Range Rover and bemoaning the cost of cars. 

But I've recently picked up Dragon's new 1/32 Bf 109E-4 and RoG's 1/32 Arado Ar 196 for about $45 and $35, respectively. Adjusted for inflation, they are totally in line with what kits cost once upon a time, if not a better value. And I would argue that many of the Monogram kits Revell's reboxed are probably cheaper in absolute value than they've ever been.

Of course, that's not the whole story. For most people, wages have been stagnant for nearly 12 years now. During that time, the price of everything from gas to milk to models has gone up, sometimes way faster than inflation (I remember filling up for $0.93/gallon back in early 2000). And we've found more things we have to pay for. Computers, mobile phones, broadband. 

DoogsATX

Yes. The fallacy that kits were necessarily "cheaper" back when.  

Well, on the one hand, the fact that a $50 kit in 1980 is costing me $133 bucks... of course, the flip side to that is, how many $50 kits were there back in '80, so I think I get your point...

Hmmmmm....according the the Govt. calculater, a kit that now costs $229 did cost $2.29 in 1977...

I read your post and on the inflated prices of kits; especially re-pops of an earlier kit . I have been building models since 1959. I can not see a company charging 5 to 10 times what the orginal kit sold for. (example) the Tamiya Lola T-70 I purchased an original in the 30-40 dollar range when it first came out. The re-released kit is priced at msrp of $204.00. Is the includeing of a few pe parts and new decals really worth such a price increase?

Mesa Modeler

No  I don't think it's worth it, but what can ya do?  We no longer have oprices in line with the old Supply and Demand rule in this economy.  It's all based on perceived value.  In other words, they will soak you for whatever they think they can get away with. lol

Rich

orvallin

I read your post and on the inflated prices of kits; especially re-pops of an earlier kit . I have been building models since 1959. I can not see a company charging 5 to 10 times what the orginal kit sold for. (example) the Tamiya Lola T-70 I purchased an original in the 30-40 dollar range when it first came out. The re-released kit is priced at msrp of $204.00. Is the includeing of a few pe parts and new decals really worth such a price increase?

Mesa Modeler

The plastic kit bubble will eventually burst like all the other bubbles of recent memory.

Manstein's revenge

Hmmmmm....according the the Govt. calculater, a kit that now costs $229 did cost $2.29 in 1977...

Spooky!

humm.. wonder how much a digitally compromised Field Marshall from '44 would go for now ??

hummm....

some of my kit boxes on my box top wallpaper, have the prices still on them.. I think an Italeri kit of the MK IV was about $4.95 ... Now,, that puppy runs way more than that...