forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
Modelers Lounge => Time to relax => Topic started by: Ian from Doncaster on July 22, 2020, 05:36:50 PM
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No real reason to ask, just curious. Also everyone has different budgets but there may be the occasion where there has been that special buy.?
I remember about 8-10 years ago wandering around the sales tents at the RAF Warrington air show, looking for unusual or rare models. In one tent - Hannants’ I think - I saw a big box, quite old and I can’t remember the manufacturer, of a Brabazon. I thought this must be very rare so I looked at the price tag. It was over UK £360.!!
I put the box down, carefully.. No way could I justify spending that on a model.
Edit - just found this kit on amazon - $468 - 1:72 by A Model.
But then a few years later I spent almost a year saving religiously each £2 coin I got in change, to buy the WNW Felixstowe, for about $270 plus vat etc on delivery.!
Just a casual thought as to what individual special buys you have made.
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Wingnuts Felixstowe I should think. But then I realised I'd never make it and sold for roughly what I'd paid for it.
Wish I'd kept it to sell it now though!
Also sold off my AEG and Gotha GIV too early :(
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$199 AUD on 1/16 hasagawa Camel ... if you broke it down on the number of hours I’ve spent on this still unfinished shelf of doom queen it would be a bargain!
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Is that the one which builds with exposed structure, wing ribs etc.? I have one of those received as a gift and opened the box to find an infinite number of injector pin marks to clean up, and promptly put the lid back on.!!!
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That’s the one - I gave up counting after a 1000.... maybe not infinite but certainly felt like it at times..!!
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I can't compete with you 1/32 guys...the most I paid for an old and rare kit in 1/72 was $70 + shipping.
It was the Aeroclub Short 184, an excellent injection molded kit with white metal parts and an extra resin + PE torpedo included.
I'm always after rare 1/72 WW.I kits but I see no reason to pay more than this.
Having said that, if someone has a Skybirds 86 Friedrichshafen G.II for sale...
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Prices in Australia/ NZ are higher than the rest of the world so the big kits have a big price tag. I paid over $200 for the Wingnuts AEG (early) and more than that for the Tamiya 1/32 DH Mosquito and Airfix 1/24 Hawker Typhoon kits.
Having been a heavy smoker before, I managed to quit and promised I could spend the cigarette money on models! What a great motivation to quit!
Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia
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500 for the Hase 1/8 Fokker Tripe, delivered. I managed a trade/cash deal for a Camel as well. I hope to retire in a few years, and build them.
Otherwise the WNW Felix.
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By a large margin HPH's PBY-5A Catalina in 1/32 scale.
I was lucky enough to get it second hand for a reasonable price, but still on the wrong side of 500 US $
On top of that I got the parts from the Cutaway kit, so...
Although it's a very nice kit with thousands of parts, I really would have difficulties paying todays full price of 720 Euro's.
Cheers: Kent
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$1800 for the Aeroworks P-51, but that was an 89" RC model, (Sally was the biggest hangar queen I ever owned). Most on plastic, WnW Camel/LVG duelist at the standard price prior to when WnW's spars folded and they augured in. Forgot the exact price, though $189 sticks in my head. Less than $200 for sure. A measure of how much I wanted the LVG.
Flying RC quickly gets you to the point where you realize money spent on a model is just like tying it to a wildcat and yelling, "SCAT"....it's gone. Hard to think of a model kit as something which holds or even increases in value.
sp
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Strange I put this thread up today only to find a few hours later that my work is consulting on redundancies.
I was hoping not to have to try and sell my stash - even with WNW values going to go up, but I might need to reconsider.
Sorry for putting a downer on my own lighthearted thread.!
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Price paid is but a snapshot in time ........ I tend to follow the school that breaks the amount spent into a formula including how many hours of enjoyment were realized in converting the box contents into a finished product. Several of my larger Wingnut Wings Builds (the "Fee" or AEG for example) provided a steady flow of building pleasure for under $2 per hour. I rate that as a pretty good investment, a good pint at any local watering hole runs to 3 times that, and I find the atmosphere generally more pleasant at home!
Cheers,
Lance
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Price paid is but a snapshot in time ........ I tend to follow the school that breaks the amount spent into a formula including how many hours of enjoyment were realized in converting the box contents into a finished product. Several of my larger Wingnut Wings Builds (the "Fee" or AEG for example) provided a steady flow of building pleasure for under $2 per hour. I rate that as a pretty good investment, a good pint at any local watering hole runs to 3 times that, and I find the atmosphere generally more pleasant at home!
Cheers,
Lance
That’s a very good point Lance. For the price of a “basic” WNW kit plus paints and a contribution to tools etc, I could go to 4 football (soccer to some) games or 5-6 films at the cinema. Plus I probably spend more hours on modelling so as an investment in hobby time it is relatively cheap, even in the individual peak costs can be quite high.
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Corrected for the hours of fun I had, it would still be a WnW, or better 3x kits, as I did a triple build with the Jasta 5 Albatros pack.
Losts of $$ for hardly any extra time compared to a single build, or so it felt.
Other then that? how about a little over €500 for 3 not too big Verlinden kits, sadly years after they went out of business. When new, all three together would be no more then €120, maybe a little more. But most Verlinden kits and detail sets never returned anywhere and some are still the only game in town (in this case 2 river sampans and a set of Vietnam troops) so big money or no kit, no options left.
Hidde from Holland
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The problem is not the one that I paid most, but the continous heartbleeding on cheap kits....
well... as far as I remember it was the Felixstowe duellist boxe(s)
but they have been an investment, this is my usual justification
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For me it really depends on the subject matter . For Tamiya's 32 Mustang ( D/K) boxing the kit was 200 bucks , there is another 200 plus bucks of aftermarket items same for the Corsair . I have one Spitfire left and the was 200 bucks . There is also Revells new tooled FW 190 in 32 scale . Kit was only 50 bucks but I have added about 300 bucks in aftermarket items . Next is WNW Hallbie . 250 bucks and there is no aftermarket for it , but I really wanted the kit . It's my favorite two seater , will I pay this for other 32 scale kit's ... Yes !
It does come down to money spent on how much enjoyment you get out it . I can build a vac kit and detail the hell out out it for a very low cost or top of the line plastic one and I get my bang for the buck . I do try and stay within a budget and only subjects that I know I will build .
Terri
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Some fascinating posts in this thread but I'd like to add a question.
Using the Wingnuts Gotha G.IV as an example, with this kit now fetching $1000 plus in sales, if you bought such a kit, could you ever build it or would the price tag deter you from cutting plastic?
So at what point/ value would you be unable to "devalue" a collector kit by building it?
In a few years time it will be most interesting to see how many "rare/ collectable" Wingnut kits have actually been made and how many are wandering in model eternity as collector value objects.
Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia
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Collector value objects is the best description. WNW kits will move out of the kit building realm (for some) but whatever reincarnation will be the builders. The kits will rise again under a different label with different box illustration etc. Frog, Monogram, Accurate Miniatures, Hobbycraft, Matchbox - none of them disappeared, they just got new window dressing.
Steve
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I’ve collected many things over the years but can’t quite get my head around model kits being collected but not built. Stamps, coins, millitaria, antiques, art etc I get, but not models. So for me, I will only buy up to the point where I know I’m going to ‘consume’ this product. That said, I do tell my wife that if I head west one night, the stash of 20 WNW models in the shed is worth a fair bit! Helps justify another purchase😉. But that’s just me. Cheers Matt
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Some fascinating posts in this thread but I'd like to add a question.
Using the Wingnuts Gotha G.IV as an example, with this kit now fetching $1000 plus in sales, if you bought such a kit, could you ever build it or would the price tag deter you from cutting plastic?
i did buy one. it was long since sold out when i bought it, so i paid US$375, including $50 or so shipping, and about $100 worth of extras and books. it's a long way off in the queue but short of financial ruin i can't see me being interested in selling before i'm dead. that said if it goes north of US$3000 that might get my attention, but i still have a hard time imagining wanting to sell. bought it to build when my skills are up for it.
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I have the Aurora Gotha for which I paid 50 dollars 20 years ago and thought it a steal as they were going for 125 on E bay. I also have a Stakken vac kit that I paid high dollars for at the time. Subsequent releases made both hard to give away. That may well happen with some high priced WnW kits. Those who paid a ridiculous price will be out the money with a kit they likely can't build to show for it, (like Dave said, builders are unlikely to pay an outrageous price for a kit). All it will take is for someone to release a kit with similar or better design and engineering. The mold making technology for super high quality injection molded kits is out there and will be out there long after all surplus WnW hits have found homes with builders or collectors. Something better will come along and prices on old WnW kits will go from stratospheric to subterranean in a heartbeat.
sp
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I have the Aurora Gotha for which I paid 50 dollars 20 years ago and thought it a steal as they were going for 125 on E bay. I also have a Stakken vac kit that I paid high dollars for at the time. Subsequent releases made both hard to give away. That may well happen with some high priced WnW kits. Those who paid a ridiculous price will be out the money with a kit they likely can't build to show for it, (like Dave said, builders are unlikely to pay an outrageous price for a kit). All it will take is for someone to release a kit with similar or better design and engineering. The mold making technology for super high quality injection molded kits is out there and will be out there long after all surplus WnW hits have found homes with builders or collectors. Something better will come along and prices on old WnW kits will go from stratospheric to subterranean in a heartbeat.
sp
Well, there is another possibility coming on ...
with the evolution of 3D printers technology it is likely that no one will build kits in some years, so the WNW kits will take their place among the old things. And we are pretty old, so it is likely that our heirs will not know about their value and a lot of unbuilt WNW kits will show on the market in the next years, like it is happening now with toy trains... until some years ago they had crazy prices, while now they go cheap again and at times unsold.
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With more bands on plastic products taking place around the world it could be only a matter of time as they improve on 3D printing and the cost will come down as it is now within the industry .
Terri
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Here is a slightly oblique view of this question: I do not buy kits because I do not build them any more. Some years ago I sold all of my stash because I realised that i would never build any of the many kits that I had in my roof space. However a couple of years prior to doing so I did buy some kits, including the Roden 1/72 Gotha GV and I thought that £20 sterling was a great deal! (That reflects the fact that I had not bought a kit in the previous 30+ years).
I have to model on a fairly low budget and I follow Lance's formula of time spent per £ invested in materials for scratch building. When I costed the Dornier RS II it worked out at between £80 and £90 which surprised me. When I costed the Vickers FB 5 Gunbus the cost was a little less, even with some aftermarket parts. However what is striking is that the costs of these models would be approximately what I would reasonably expect to pay for a kit if one were available, which they are not. But given the cost per hour spent I am getting some excellent value for money, not to mention some much needed stimulation for the few remaining grey cells which are functional. Would I pay more than this? Probably not because I simply cannot afford to, but I do have quite a large stock of materials to make sure that I have what I need for the moment, and when I think about my next project and have to buy some more materials or aftermarket, in my mind the new model will only cost a few £! And for me that is the bottom line!!
Stephen.
Stephen.
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I know my wife doesn't read this forum so I am safe at the moment ;D
I am like Kent, its the 1/32 HPH Catalina... I paid just over $1000 kiwi peso's for it. The second one isn't far off that, Anigrand 1/2256 Imperial Star Destroyer around $700
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Interesting thread! And it's OK if my wife Vanessa (Lady V) reads it! Yeah, I spend a fair amount on models, in many different modelling scenarios... and yes, many will never get built unless I produce a new record for longevity! And in terms of WW1 models - (well that's what you were waiting for) is the WNW Gotha IV... and well, I have 2.. There is also a Trumpeter Panzer IV that topped this... and a Tamiya 1/16 Panther.. so I won't be bored.. But it's really not about what we spend in real money, it's what we put into the hobby.. much more into promoting our hobby, our club, displays... and most of all enjoying the hobby! And I will continue to do this.... Marc.
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Interesting thread, indeed.
But as for me, the answer is obvious - WNW Felixstowe. And with extra I paid for quick delivery from NZ, which still was not quick enough to get it for Christmas, and unevitable VAT added here in Poland, it was well, well over the basic called price of USD269... Yet, I do not regret any cent spent on it - building this model was and will long remain the best modelling experience I had in my 40+ years modelling time. 8).
BTW, at the Lance's point on value per time spent on building, I do not count per hours but per weeks. And some of you may remember my count which I showed when completeing that 5-month project, where it turned out that price per week of modelling was lower on WNW Felixstowe than on any other WNW kit I built.
As for Dave's question, regarding buying the kits as collector, I do not understand that attitude at all. Me, I buy exclusively with the intention to build, I am lucky to limit my stash to about 10 boxes. Right now I have 10 WNW kits and two other 32nd scale non-WNW ones, and I would have not exceed 10 if it was not for the demise of WNW and my decision to get those kits, which I still would like to complete and add to my collection. I learnt that if I exceed this number, I may change my mind and decide not to build a particular kit. Then I attempt to sell such a kit as soon as possible, for space issues, among others. I prefer to have a cabinet full of completed models, rather than a storage of boxes with untouched sprues. ;)
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My most expensive model is the Camel/LVG Duellist I picked up from the local equivalent of Ebay for 150€ sent to my home a year ago or so. No way that would happen now! (the Albatrio was actually more expensive but I split that with a forum member)
Other, for me, expensive models are the WNW Rumpler, DH9, and DFV C.V (mid). I wish I could afford another DFW, quite a few were interned in the Netherlands and this is one of kits that just looks like a labour of love. There's so much packed in there!
I was lucky in the sense that the Weta warehouse is in Amsterdam, so when they had those stock-taking or black friday deals I sometimes took advantage.
Jeroen