This being no criticism of Meeta's prices, as they are all very fair, but of Tamiya's. I just noticed the Fiesler Storch retailing at $65 US. Am I missing something here? That is an incredibly high price for this model, as previous Tamiya 1/48 aircraft went for about $30 to $45 CAN at my LHS. You would have to be a real desperate hard-core die-hard modeler to buy one of these. At this price I don't expect too many sales (world-wide; not just Track 48). In general, Tamiya's prices have been gradually increasing, but this is a quantum leap!

It may not be that excessive, given the complexity of the kit and the inclusion of metal and p/e parts. One of the big mailorder outlets here in the UK, Hannants, lists the price as 29.99 GBP, and while this is substantially more than some other kits, there are plenty more that are much more expensive. For example, the Swordfish, another complex kit, goes for nearly 40 GBP. A Gloster Meteor and V1 also retails for 29.99, while the Me262 with Kettenkraftrad is about 25.

Gee, I thought Tamiya didn't make complex kits. That's why everyone likes them. Complexity and PE inclusion aren't really an issue here because DML routinely produces fairly complicated 1/35 AFV kits at $40 - $45 CAN. with enough included PE and accessories to put the AM companies out of business.

By complex,I was refering to the engineering required to produce the kits so they are easy to assemble.

An overpriced Tamiya kit?! No!

My full and final view on kit prices, which seems to be a constant topic, is this:

£15, the sort of average kit price here in the UK in places like Model Zone and my LHS, can get me:
-A pizza and DVD for the evening
-Entry for two to an outdoor fair
-A day's average shopping
-A third of a tank of petrol
-Two cinema tickets
-A haircut and some change
-A hardback novel or two paperbacks
-A cute "My first Christmas" outfit for the baby which he'll be too big for by New Year's (that's my girlfriend's £15...)

Or, ten-twenty hours of modelling and painting, plus doing all the research, reading about the subject and generally having a relaxing time. So for me, the cost of a kit is still quite cheap considering the joy I get from it. £30 for a 1/48 aircraft with the P/E seems ok, it'll take thirty odd hours to complete and you don't need to pay another £10 for the P/E set from elsewhere.

As a good example, the weather in the UK's been horrific lately, and I'm on the soutch coast were it's been plain miserable. So I dug out an old Schwimmwagen kit and have spent two enjoyable evenings putting it together. Well worth the £6-8 this kit goes for. And yes, they used Schwimmwagens in Africa.

Hi All;

When I first heard that the Fieseler Storch was coming out, I thought it would be neat to work into some Afrikakorps diorama at best, but WHERE would I put it.

Problem solved:... at that price I no longer have to find space for it, and will pump the money into several more ground vehicles. Problem solved.

GB

Nick... you're pretty lucky. 15 pounds Sterling here in Egypt make around 170 Egyptian pounds which can get :

10 tickets to the cinema
5 1/2 kilograms of ground beef
6 large pizzas from Pizza Hut
1/4th the monthly salary of a large section of the population

So, for me, this hobby is pretty costly... which is one of the reasons I'm hoping 1/48 scale never fades out!!!

Cheers
Hisham

I don't understand the "whatever the market will bear" attitude of the Asian manufactures. The Storch kit is excessive at the price they want, but....have you seen the latest Hasagawa ship kit??? $325.00 + for a 1/350 kit. That's the basic kit w/o photo etch (cumon guys-it doesn't cost that much to produce a sheet, I've done it). The full blown kit is a little over $400. THAT'S ABSURD !!!
Glad I'm into armor.

Bruce