It is a moot point.

Last night, the reality was that the kit sold for 525, so that is what it was worth, to at least one guy.

My guess is it took someone about 30 hours to cut the originals, not including the data research and scaling - maybe even more time, then there was the quality molding process on top of all that, and the marketing channels.

Lots of guys go broke making stuff like that.

I don't know about the guys here, but scratching that would be a complete waste of time for me, if I was really into the B-50, $525 would have saved me a lot time and money, and I am sick of wearing 3M or NIOSH masks, I have scars on my face from those things, been there done that.( ruined my Stallone face.....LOL)

It all boils down to the individual and what a guy is into. Kripes, I saw a guy drop over $900 for a train engine the size of your thumb......egads, what we do is cheap compared to that lot. But it is not cheap when you can't pay the bills.

To Rich's point, hey, US is still in a serious recession, so yes, hobbies don't make a whole lot of sense when so many folks are scraping by just for expensive food and rent.

I didn't check the bids, but imagine being sniped by 50 cents for that puppy....LOL.....

Good points all around.  If some guy did get sniped by 50 cents, I bet he's crying in his beer this morning.

I started my Viper last night while I was waiting for some future to dry on the F86 canopy to hide a nasty scratch I accidentally put there.  I'm going to give it til tonight before I mask and paint.  I am trying that parafilm, but not having much luck with it.  The directions say to stretch it to 4-5 times it's normal length, but I can't even get it to double it's size before it tears.   Either I'm doing something wrong or I got a bad batch.  Any suggestions.

The Viper is a nice kit after you get the fit right.  It has kind of soft details though.  The cockpit 

instruments are all decal based.  Even at 1/32, some of the instrument decals are so small I can barely see them.  It's going to take me all day to finish them.  Every single instrument has a separate decal. ARGH!!

Rich

Bockscar

It is a moot point.

Last night, the reality was that the kit sold for 525, so that is what it was worth, to at least one guy.

My guess is it took someone about 30 hours to cut the originals, not including the data research and scaling - maybe even more time, then there was the quality molding process on top of all that, and the marketing channels.

Lots of guys go broke making stuff like that.

I don't know about the guys here, but scratching that would be a complete waste of time for me, if I was really into the B-50, $525 would have saved me a lot time and money, and I am sick of wearing 3M or NIOSH masks, I have scars on my face from those things, been there done that.( ruined my Stallone face.....LOL)

It all boils down to the individual and what a guy is into. Kripes, I saw a guy drop over $900 for a train engine the size of your thumb......egads, what we do is cheap compared to that lot. But it is not cheap when you can't pay the bills.

To Rich's point, hey, US is still in a serious recession, so yes, hobbies don't make a whole lot of sense when so many folks are scraping by just for expensive food and rent.

I didn't check the bids, but imagine being sniped by 50 cents for that puppy....LOL.....

Well $525.50 sounds a little crazy to me but it's your money and if you want it that badly more power to you! I've spent more money on crazier stuff!

Dom: No reason to be embarrassed whatever you're playing. Unless it's 'Custer's Revenge'.... *

*Old game for the Atari VCS 2600, sick as h#ll, probably not work-safe to look up....

Sparrowhyperion

Yeh but a car requires years of design and testing.  And with a car, you have numerous employees working with multi-million dollar machines, that need to be paid for.  Yes some research is needed.  but not that much.  Figure this manufacturer made even 1000 of these,  if they are all going for this price, that's $525,000.  Even saying it only averaged for $100, that's still 100,000.  Assuming it's the manufacturer that's selling it, Quite a profit.  Once the first production run is done, I am guessing the expenses are made up for.  So further runs would be almost pure profit.  I  have worked with resin occasionally.  Not for model add-ons, but for other things.  Mostly props for people going to Sci-Fi conventions back in the 70's and 80's.  Stuff like the DS Gun from Logan's RUn.  The Blaster from the original Battlestar Galactica, the CommLock and Laser from Space 1999.  Things like that.  And believe me, accuracy was needed there too.  But the pricing on this item was just crazy.  Some kits are just as bad.  Again, some of these kit's have been being produced for 30-40 years or more.  They have long since paid their initial expense, so now you have only production and shipping costs to deal with.  But they still sell for a large amount of cash.  This I think, is why so many people have stopped modeling.  There are still a lot of us, but a lot of folks can't really afford it.  I'm on that borderline phase.  Between kits and supplies, it's starting to get too much.  I mean with shipping, you are going to pay at least $10 on eBay for Testors MM Black Bottle glue.  HobbyTown in our city is about $12.  For glue.....  Paint Jars that once cost $0.50 to $1.00 are not up around $6-$7.  At that rate, it's no wonder why sales at hobby stores are slow.  Especially in this economy.  I tell ya.  I wish I could sell something for $525 right now.  

Rich

I wonder what I could get for my C57D kit... hmmm...

Hold on Rich, don't be under estimating research.  It is a very time consuming matter.  When it comes to these after market conversion kits, the main purpose is to convert an original kit into a particular version.  No one is going to spend any money on a conversion kit that does not have any accuracy or there would not be any point to it.  And it does take a lot of time to do this research.

As to how many kits may be sold of a particular subject, it depends on its popularity.  For a B-50, Academy did one in 1/72 scale but it wasn't a very good one.  So if you want a decent B-50 in 1/48 scale, this conversion kit is the only way to go.  But how many people are willing to build a plane this big?  Not many.  So you are not going to sell a lot of these kits to begin with.  So I doubt the market was 1,000.

Anyway, the original selling price for this kit was close to $150.  The guy who was selling the one on eBay started it at $110 and I am sure he was not the one who made the kit.  The kit stopped being produced 11 years ago.  Put all those factors together, and that is what is going to drive the price.  This was the first kit I have seen on eBay in 2 years!  There probably was not that many produced to begin with.  The chances of seeing another are pretty slim.

If you wanted to build an accurate 1/48 B-50, you would need this kit or the skill to scratch build it yourself.  And as Dom said, $525 to me is worth about 30 hours of my time.  It would take me longer than that to scratch build what was in this kit (if I could do it at all!).  And that is not including the research to duplicate what was already done in this kit.

Ken

Holy Makinaw Ken,

Now I feel like an idiot for not stoking at 600 buck$$$!!!!....lol

Prawley never see another one......

Hey guys,

Here's my first section of the revetment. I haven't decided on what filler material to show at the top yet, but I'm leaning toward something like fishbowl rocks (painted) since it will provide more texture than duplicating piles of sand. What do you think?

Striker8241

Hey guys,

Here's my first section of the revetment. I haven't decided on what filler material to show at the top yet, but I'm leaning toward something like fishbowl rocks (painted) since it will provide more texture than duplicating piles of sand. What do you think?

 

I think it looks awsome!  Nice work Russ!!     

Ken

Hi Everyone,

I just got back from our monthly IPMS meeting.  Another great time!  Don brought in his collection of official model planes that the USAF used to give the pilots when they checked out on each aircraft.  Very cool.  The SR-71 even had a serial number on it.  It was very impressive to see how many planes he had flown while he was in the service.

I was looking through one of the many modeling magazines that some of the members bring for everyone to look at and saw where Zoukei-Mura announced that they plan on releasing the A-1J version of the Skyraider late this month.  Very cool!!  But I looked on their website and there is no mention of it.  That is a little confusing.

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

I think it looks awsome!  Nice work Russ!!     

Ken

Thanks, Ken! Turned out better that I thought it would

Russ

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

I just got back from our monthly IPMS meeting.  Another great time!  Don brought in his collection of official model planes that the USAF used to give the pilots when they checked out on each aircraft.  Very cool.  The SR-71 even had a serial number on it.  It was very impressive to see how many planes he had flown while he was in the service.

I was looking through one of the many modeling magazines that some of the members bring for everyone to look at and saw where Zoukei-Mura announced that they plan on releasing the A-1J version of the Skyraider late this month.  Very cool!!  But I looked on their website and there is no mention of it.  That is a little confusing.

Ken

Striker8241

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

I just got back from our monthly IPMS meeting.  Another great time!  Don brought in his collection of official model planes that the USAF used to give the pilots when they checked out on each aircraft.  Very cool.  The SR-71 even had a serial number on it.  It was very impressive to see how many planes he had flown while he was in the service.

I was looking through one of the many modeling magazines that some of the members bring for everyone to look at and saw where Zoukei-Mura announced that they plan on releasing the A-1J version of the Skyraider late this month.  Very cool!!  But I looked on their website and there is no mention of it.  That is a little confusing.

Ken

 

Cool, Ken!  You're lucky to have Don in your group. The IPMS group here in Melbourne seems to be defunkt. I left a message on their website but have never gotten a reply.

 

When I was at Kadena, I had a chance to briefly walk around an SR-71 up close and then watch them start engines - in those days, they used two Chrysler V8 engines in tandem to start the beast. Sounded like a drag race :).

 

Russ

Hi Russ,

That is too bad about your chapter.  Actually, that is sad.

That had to be very cool to be there when they started up that SR-71!  You are among a very few who were fortunate to be witness to that event!

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

Striker8241

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

I just got back from our monthly IPMS meeting.  Another great time!  Don brought in his collection of official model planes that the USAF used to give the pilots when they checked out on each aircraft.  Very cool.  The SR-71 even had a serial number on it.  It was very impressive to see how many planes he had flown while he was in the service.

I was looking through one of the many modeling magazines that some of the members bring for everyone to look at and saw where Zoukei-Mura announced that they plan on releasing the A-1J version of the Skyraider late this month.  Very cool!!  But I looked on their website and there is no mention of it.  That is a little confusing.

Ken

 

Cool, Ken!  You're lucky to have Don in your group. The IPMS group here in Melbourne seems to be defunkt. I left a message on their website but have never gotten a reply.

 

When I was at Kadena, I had a chance to briefly walk around an SR-71 up close and then watch them start engines - in those days, they used two Chrysler V8 engines in tandem to start the beast. Sounded like a drag race :).

 

Russ

That had to be very cool to be there when they started up that SR-71!  You are among a very few who were fortunate to be witness to that event!

Ken

45-60 degree angle on take off????

How lame.....lol...

I heard it could go supersonic straight up.......

Russ that's a great story, loved that plane, and hek, those Chrysler engines could of come in handy in the civilian world. Like Ken said, not many get to see that.

i saw one once in flight at an air show here in Toronto, early eighties, it's one of those planes that can make the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

by the way, great looking revetments, any chance a pal at the ole AFB can send you local rocks to fill them with?......

Given the time period when it was designed and what was required for a decent thrust to weight ratio, 45-60 degrees isn't so bad.  When we eventually do get to the Museum someday, I definitely want to see the YF-12 in the main hangar.  And the Valkyrie which is my all time favorite jet bomber.  Too bad they only built two.

Rich

Bockscar

45-60 degree angle on take off????

How lame.....lol...

I heard it could go supersonic straight up.......

Russ that's a great story, loved that plane, and hek, those Chrysler engines could of come in handy in the civilian world. Like Ken said, not many get to see that.

i saw one once in flight at an air show here in Toronto, early eighties, it's one of those planes that can make the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

by the way, great looking revetments, any chance a pal at the ole AFB can send you local rocks to fill them with?......

Russ:  That had to be a cool sight to see that Blackbird going straight up like that!  Man, I sure would have liked to have seen it!

Mike:  Nice video, really wierd how thin it looks when it gets parallel, it almost disappears!

Rich:  Yeah too bad about there only being one Valkyrie bomber left out of the two originals.  But it is cool to be able to walk right underneath it in the hanger at the National USAF Museum.

Ken

Bockscar

45-60 degree angle on take off????

How lame.....lol...

I heard it could go supersonic straight up.......

Ahh, you didn't read the whole sentence - that was just for starters (probably to comply with FAA regs)  then it went full vertical

Bockscar

by the way, great looking revetments, any chance a pal at the ole AFB can send you local rocks to fill them with?......

Thanks for the good words, Dom. Rocks would be good. They also used broken coral and sand. Sand is difficult because you have to sculpt the way it mounds and flows. With rocks, they just lie there in a heap. I think it will be rocks .

Striker8241

Bockscar

45-60 degree angle on take off????

How lame.....lol...

I heard it could go supersonic straight up.......

Ahh, you didn't read the whole sentence - that was just for starters (probably to comply with FAA regs)  then it went full vertical

Bockscar

by the way, great looking revetments, any chance a pal at the ole AFB can send you local rocks to fill them with?......

 

Thanks for the good words, Dom. Rocks would be good. They also used broken coral and sand. Sand is difficult because you have to sculpt the way it mounds and flows. With rocks, they just lie there in a heap. I think it will be rocks .

 

Russ

 

 

my understanding is that after it went vertical and with balls to the wall, it could go mach one and more, so as Rich mentioned, that's a pretty good thrust-to-weight ratio alright, better than 1 anyways. So they have new engines for the Raptor, and correct me, they are now pushing 60,000 lbs!

I'll bet that can stand on its tail and hit mach .....for a lame bird, that is........lol.......

Yeah Mikey.....that is low alright, love those ground effects,

the guy at the airshow cut so low it went behind a berm that hundreds of us were sitting behind in a park, and the crowd all went running to the top of the hill just as the bastige pulled that AB maneuver and permanently damaged all of our eardrums........yeah....lame alright....lol.......

Bockscar

Guys I mean't 'how lame' sarcastically......lol....either that or you're messin' with my neuron.....lol....

my understanding is that after it went vertical and with balls to the wall, it could go mach one and more, so as Rich mentioned, that's a pretty good thrust-to-weight ratio alright, better than 1 anyways. So they have new engines for the Raptor, and correct me, they are now pushing 60,000 lbs!

I'll bet that can stand on its tail and hit mach .....for a lame bird, that is........lol.......

Russ;

I suppose as it gets higher and accelerates, the drag falls off rapidly. There's probably a 'sweet spot' altitude as well, when you think about it, if it's true speed of sound falls smoothly as you go up, because of things like temperature, and we are only talking about 1,000 KPH, I think it probably happened.

Put another way, that little Komet the Germans launched could attain speeds approaching 600 mph at an attack angle around 50 or more degrees, back in the 40's.

I still think we don't have the real goods on the true capabilities of the SR-71 or The Thing. i have no problem imagining the beast hitting between 700-800 MPH in a full power climb, and going booooommmm.

Finally got my bomb truck tractor finished. I had to modify an Academy 2.5 ton cargo truck (see below). Had to shorten the chassis and make my own fifth wheel but it doesn't look too bad - if you don't look too close . If you're into scale model trucks, this kit is very nicely detailed for the price (around $15) but it's very delicate and difficult to build - at least for someone like me with 10 thumbs. I was glad to get it done.

Now if I can just force myself to finish painting and detailing 24 bombs...

Nice work Russ!      You are on a mission!  Do you have any pictures showing how you converted the truck?  What did you use?

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

Nice work Russ!      You are on a mission!  Do you have any pictures showing how you converted the truck?  What did you use?

Ken

 

Oops - forget the mud flaps! They normally glue to the bottom of the cargo floor, but since it's not installed, I attached them to the frame using some thin scrap pieces as shown below.

 

 

Thank you Russ for showing that.  That is very cool how you thought of using that truck to convert it to what you needed.  It turned out really nice!

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

Thank you Russ for showing that.  That is very cool how you thought of using that truck to convert it to what you needed.  It turned out really nice!

Ken

Thanks again, Ken. Unfortunately, there aren't too many 1/72 truck tractor or semitrailer kits available, and all the civilian ones I did find were long-haul versions with sleepers. This was the only version that was similiar to the military tractors used by the Air Force.

Russ

Looking good striker. Maybe some Matte on those wheels?

No building over the weekend. Cleaned the house, bought my mum a birthday present, had a panic attack. yay. Havent had one of those since i was 15.

Scorpiomikey

Looking good striker. Maybe some Matte on those wheels?

No building over the weekend. Cleaned the house, bought my mum a birthday present, had a panic attack. yay. Havent had one of those since i was 15.

I assume that you are okay now?

Yeah, went and had a chat with the cause of said panic attack. She explained things. Not very satisfactorily. but i know where shes coming from.

Scorpiomikey

Looking good striker. Maybe some Matte on those wheels?

No building over the weekend. Cleaned the house, bought my mum a birthday present, had a panic attack. yay. Havent had one of those since i was 15.

Thanks, Mikey. I agree - however, I'm going to wait until I start assembling the diorama and then do all weathering at that time.