cost of the hobby

Boy do I know that feeling!!!

But I bet you have a pretty nice result. I am not really sure what to do about the cost tho. Donate it when you are done and write it off?? That only gets back a small part of the cost... can you write off the time you put in too if you donate it to a museum???

hmmm...

I find myself thinking the same way at times. Then I look at the time factor. IF you spend two months on a $300.00 diorama, that is only $5.00 a day.
Granted the start up cost of the hobby is quite a burden
It`s still easier on the pocket than many hobbies.

Compared to what some coworkers spend on golfing stuff, things for their boats, or what I spend on my Harley, modelling is a bargain. Yes a really involved project might cost a lot but those really involved projects typically generate lots of "mileage" in terms of many many enjoyable hours.

My first model was a 69 cent Aurora Me-109 kit, back in 1953 or 1954. I still build moslty 1/48th WW2 aircraft, and in today's dollars, $30 for a 1/48th single-engined fighter kit that has the level of detail we see today is not out of line. Per one of the other posts, start-up can be a burden, but in the long run I still think modeling is a real bargain. We get hours of enjoyment ( with some frustration thrown in ), and the satisfaction of having created something.

Jim

Yes, it can be expensive. If you start with one of the better kits (Hasegawa, Tamiya, or one of the new Trumpeter aircraft carriers) then add in photoetched brass, aftermarket accessories, etc. then you've got a sizable chunk of change tied up in one kit. But (as I tell my wife) I have friends who spend $25 - $50 a week on golf. And I have something to show for it when I'm done (other than a pencilled scorecard and grass stains on my shoes!)

Yep, I know the feeling too. I think the arguments comparing it to golf and other hobbies are good ones. The real justfication comes when you divide the costs by the time spent modeling. The guys on the golf course probably spend about $60-80 for three or four hours of entertainment. I'm sure that I put in way more than three or four hours modeling for the same investment. Now, if you figure that the hours and hours spent sweating over a model are entertainment (as opposed to just the pure frustration that it sometimes seems to be) then it is indeed a real bargain.

Add to that the endless oos and ahs as people admire your work for years and years into the future, and the payback is pretty darn good.

At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

Paul

Yup. When I built my first kit (an Aurora SNJ when I was 7!!!) You still spent a sizable portion of your income. Now, though, the costs have increased with time and the economy. I've spent as much as $200 just on one 1/72 B-24 or B-17 as a small part of a display or diorama. I stopped trying to figure out the totals. I got into thet hobby to have fun building kits. If I stopped to count the costs, I might be inclined to quit until you factor in the fun quotient. Don't forget the camaraderie you enjoy with others who share the same hobby interests, the new friends made because they saw something you did, or vice versa, and the pure enjoyment of starting a new kit or project. How can you quantify that? Don't try; just kick back and enjoy the opportunity to do something you love. Maybe you'll influence someone to begin the same quest. - Ed

It's all relative and depends upon the individual. I don't mind spending entirely too much on this part of my overall hobby because I'm only going to live once and I can't take it with me. I'm going to enjoy all this stuff while I'm here!

Fade to Black...

i hardly spend any money. i get everything cheap. ie my sheets of plastic: i went to the plastic suplier and looked in the scraps bin and found 2 identical large sheets 20in x 10 in for $3 canadian. i bought brass for expensive tho: $2.50 canadian for small sheet:(

I still can't believe how expensive the hobby is getting. The real danger is to new modellers. Remember when you were wee and pressed your nose to the local shops display case? I do and I also saved my nickles and dimes to buy my next treasure. If my son wants to get into the hobby he is going to have a harder time than we did! All the major chain stores have quit carrying kits because of high price and low profit margin. Walmart is not going to have 100 dollar Bear kits rummaged by children. You may say "I can afford it" but as the hobby becomes more exclusive it takes another step toward extinction. As with most things in life the future lies with the young.

The model hobby isn't the only thing going up in price. I remember buying fishing equipment many many years ago. Just to buy replacements now cost up to ten times as much. I also like to hunt. I thought I paid a lot for a Remington 1100 at $165 in the late 60's. Try to buy that gun today at that price.


My first job, I made $0.50 an hour. I payed $0.98 for a model car. That was two hours of work. The model kit you bought ten years ago did not have the detail that one does today. You have to pay for that extra detail. The model builders asked for better kits. You can't expect to get them at the old price.

The compamies have to make money to stay in business. They also have to pay their workers. It all adds up. We can ignore them or continue to buy their kits.

Yes the price of models and their accessories have been on the rise....what hasn't. When compared to a supper with friends at an average restaurant -$100 to $150...no drinks included. A night at the bar....won't even go there. Take the family to the movies and get them each a pop and a box of popcorn... WOW. The $300 that you spend on a couple of kits and figures suddenly doesn't seem so bad when it gives you many many many nights of entertainment and enjoyment.

At the time I bought that first Aurora Me-109 for $0.69 at the local 5 & 10 store, my regular allowance was $1.00 a week. With tax, the price of the model came to $0.72. That left $0.28 which was usually used to buy a cold drink and maybe a candy bar at the liquor store that was next to the 5 & 10 - to be consumed on the way home.! The cost of accessories and the overall quality of the kits these days is why even after almost 50 years of building 1/48th scale aircraft, I still build straight out of the box most of the time.

A Remington 1100 for $165 ??? Cannot even imagine that !

Jim

I see things this way. When you have company who release an A-10 kit in 1/32 scale for around 50 to 60 bucks then start charging over 100 dollers per 1/32 kit scale shortly after their first release.Tthat tells me ther is something very wrong .Do these companys think we are stupid! How can you justify a 100% price increse in less than two years .This is not the only company that does this there are many others that are more asablished that do this only not as extreme.I think the reason they do this is they know that people WILL pay the money to buy the kit.I for one who is insulted by this behavior and will not allowed to get soaked by them.Dont get me wrong .I love a good quality or "new and unusual kit" but IF we pay these prices where will it stop??????? Thats just how I see it..........

I guess it all just depends on what you want to put into your hobby, both in effort and financially.
There's one section in Armour Modelling magazine that features a guy who does all old kits, no airbrush or resin or PE. Just spray cans, bottles and brushes for painting, and all kinds of cheap, readily available household stuff for detailing. And it all looks great!! Granted, this guy is amazingly talented, and he could probably whittle a fantastic Tiger II out of a bar of soap, but it just goes to show what you can do with a little effort and ingenuity.
I'm lazy, so I just buy the PE and resin!
Heck, shopping for it is half the fun for me!

If you want an expensive hobby buy an airplane. The running joke in aviation is: How do you make a small fortune in aviation? Start with a large one! In the grand scheme of things, this hobby is pretty cheap.The benifits are priceless.

Don't forget that these companies are here to make a profit. The cost of a new mold is ridiculous. The quality of the kits today is far better than when most of us were kids. We no longer assemble toys, they are highly engineered precision model kits. I gladly shell out big bucks for Tamiya stuff because I know what I'm getting. Consistent quality. Go buy a crappy model and struggle with it for a few weeks. I bet you will forget all about the rising costs in our hobby.

As far as needing to be extremely talented to scratchbuild parts, I don't think that is the case. I am an average modeler that produces good looking kits (usually). I do a good amount of scratchbuilding. I normally will have to make a piece several times before it looks the way I want, but I get it done. Hey, it's only time. I'm currently scratchbuilding a cockpit for Tamiya's F4F-4. Everytime I do something like this I learn a lot and improve my skills.

I do admit that I was quite shocked at the price of an Aires resin/pe engine for Tamiya's F4F...40 dollars!!! I decided to pass on that one. Anyone got some good photos of a P&W R-1830-86? It may be time to try my hand at resin casting.

It's a supply and demand market. How many companies are producing the little jewels of our delight? Considering the capital investment that is involved with tooling up to produce the production versions, the time & talent involved with producing a master, artwork, research, marketing, shipping, customs, logistics, documentation, etc. etc. I think it is all still pretty cheap.

I think we can all safely say that the enjoyment time per $ spent is pretty much worth the money and we get plenty of bang for our buck (pound, yen, mark, euro, peso...). Much more than the $16.00 spent to take in a movie, $50 for a day at a theme park, (I'm sure you get me). To us old timers, who pressed our noses up against the glass yearning for that Aurora model for $3.00, our prodginy can press their noses up against the glass for that $23 Tamiya. The rate of inflation and the quality has only gone up.
Think of the historical re-enactor that has a few thousand dollars invested in his gear and uniforms (regardless of period portrayed) and the time involved to get to the event, pay to get in, supply his food etc. and does this but twice a year. We get to spend hundreds of hours (if not more) involved with something we paid a fraction of that for. And have something tangible to show for it when we're done.
Paintball, Scuba, flying, hunting, kayaking all come at a price. It is the joy of living in a consumerable society with time to kill or devote to something.

Mike

I don't know, I still think the hobby companies are doing a fairly-good job of price gouging... I mean, ten to fifteen dollars, even for most 1/48 scale models, I think is a fair price. The company is able to recoup losses, and even make a little extra on the side(especially when you consider that most of the actual assembly takes place in china, where labor is dirt cheap!). But, let's get real! 45.00$ for a 1/48 scale F-8 Crusader? I can buy the Revell-Monogram 1/144 scale Air-Power Combo for half that! And I get three models for that!

Dear Friends, don´t cry...
Here, in Brazil (U$ 1,00 = R$ 3,50), the kit of an Aircraft (1:48) U$ 18,00, we pay U$ 40,00 because the incomes and taxes....it is expensive....

Yeah but Tenchi, you get to work on those three micro airplanes at 1/144th scale vs. 1/48th scale (making you go blind three times as fast) with less detail and consider the price of those model kits if they were produced here in the U.S... ;-)

Mike

For me, the big expense in this hobby isn't the kits I build......it's the unbuilt kits I've bought and had in storage for years. But one of these days, I'm going to have more free time, and I'll get 'em all built. Gotta snag that rare(ish) kit when you can; it might not be available when you're ready to build that subject.

Well said, Lawrence!

That's what I tell my wife when she wonders why so many kits. If I wait till I'm ready to build it, it won't be here.
Lee

I don't mind paying more for high quality kits, however what does bother me is having to pay high prices for low quality kits. This trend seems to be common with a few eastern european companies. As much as I like modern russian armor, I won't pay $35 for kits that have bad tracks, poor fit and excessive sinkholes. Another frustrating aspect of high prices is when resin companies offer products that are supposed to improve kit detail but end up being exact copies of the kit parts or are worse than what is in the kit. For example, a certain aftermarket company markets a resin detail set to improve the Tamiya T-55 kit. I thought about buying this kit until I found out it was originally designed and meant for the Esci kit several years ago. The only thing that has changed on this conversion set is a higher price.

To add to what Lawrence said - I read someone's post on another thread that said as long as you've got a kit to build you'll never die. I've got one HECK of a lfie insurance policy in the next room then!!!

I think that alot of us are who are comparing our hobby with others ,fishing,hunting,etc,etc.This by no means should justify the rising costs of this hobby.Perhaps we should set our focus on the overseas distributers.I dont think they would let the manufacture charge them that kind of money per kit.I dont think that tariffs would make that kind of dent either.Ask your self this,Why does a kit cost half the price in other countrys than it does here? one company has made great improvments in cost reduction with out comprmised quality.Kudos to verliden..keep up the good work....

QUOTE: Originally posted by renarts Yeah but Tenchi, you get to work on those three micro airplanes at 1/144th scale vs. 1/48th scale (making you go blind three times as fast) with less detail and consider the price of those model kits if they were produced here in the U.S... ;-) Mike

Whoa, where's the hate for 1/144 scale airplanes coming from?
Besides, YOU try and make a 1/48 scale B-52H!!! Not all of us are millionaires with enough display space for a practical 1/1 scale B-52!!(Or the cost, mind that!)
I'm just saying that for us who are dead-broke, the hobby has gotten a little expensive, and I don't think it can all be covered by the "failing economy"(whatever that's supposed to mean...)

.The fact is that the cost of the hobby is going up (again) and will likly go even higher with the current conflict.I dont want to sound like a socialist but I believe good kits should be enjoyed by all.Lets see ,kits manufactured in china for mere pennies,a couple of bucks for shipping per kit ( a 1/32 scale aircraft for example) tariff fees (more pennies),Now it is on sale to you for $110.00.You do the math.......

Not to mention rising oil prices!
Plastic is made from oil, after all.