Airfix 2022 range launched.

[Dave Ward]

Airfix aren't the only ones guilty of this - but in this day and age charging £8.99 for a paper catalogue seems a bit anachronistic!
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[rickoshea52]

Loads of Falkland Crisis re pops

I’m really disappointed with their Falklands Conflict era kits to be honest. There was a real chance to re-issue more of the Vintage Classic kits associated with the war, look what Airfix did with the Top Gun range.
All I see for this era is a Sea Harrier and HMS Fearless. No Pucara, Chinook, SS Canberra etc.

[BarryW]

Some interesting stuff there but jeez ! the prices !!? Theyve really shot up , probably about 40% from a few years ago . I mean yes the Buccaneer will be a beautiful kit but £ 72 for a 1/48 ? Even the new 1/72 is very steep at £33 .They’ll price themselves out of the market if theyre not careful . Ironic thing is their smaller 1/72 are great value and lovely kits .

I don’t think that the price is too steep, provided the quality of the kit is good.

Look at SMS, there are plenty of comparable 1/48 post war jets at this price and higher, the ZM and Tamiya F4’s and then the Kitty Hawk MIg25 and MiG 30. Trumpeter and even Revell have higher priced comparable kits as well

That’s without mentioning the ‘biggies’ of course like the Lancs and B17…

Sorry folks but this is about the right price for a quality kit. The only question is whether Airfix can produce it to a consistent high quality and overcome their quality control issues. Even so it cannot be worse that what Revell and Kitty produce in that price range.

[rickoshea52]

Rick,
quite agree with you, not a lot of surprises there! What did surprise me was the high prices - Airfix will have to really raise their standards & availiblity to compete. I know model prices are rising, but they seem a little OTT
Dave

A rise in prices is no surprise, it’s the huge leap that takes your breath away. I’ve been following this price creep over the years and see a comparison with the model railway hobby. What was very affordable to me ten years ago is now unjustifiable now which is why I no longer have a model railway.
I get all the reasons why prices are rising, but the reality is quite brutal.

[The Smythe Meister]

Airfix aren't the only ones guilty of this - but in this day and age charging £8.99 for a paper catalogue seems a bit anachronistic!
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I agree......
.... after looking up what "anachronistic" means !!!

[rickoshea52]

Sorry folks but this is about the right price for a quality kit.

So why can Eduard knock out profipack kits with etch, masks and up to eight decal options for much less than a comparable Airfix kit? Much as I like Airfix and the subjects they produce they are not (in my view) of a quality equal to Tamiya or ZM.
I think a large amount of the costs are to do with our geographical location and the high cost of living in the UK and Europe. A few years ago I went to Japan and could have filled a suitcase with dozens of Tamiya and Hasegawa at a fraction of UK prices. I saw the same thing in Estonia where Zvezda kits are cheap as chips - 1/72 Hercules for £32 compared to £50 here.

[yak face]

So why can Eduard knock out profipack kits with etch, masks and up to eight decal options for much less than a comparable Airfix kit? Much as I like Airfix and the subjects they produce they are not (in my view) of a quality equal to Tamiya or ZM.
I think a large amount of the costs are to do with our geographical location and the high cost of living in the UK and Europe. A few years ago I went to Japan and could have filled a suitcase with dozens of Tamiya and Hasegawa at a fraction of UK prices. I saw the same thing in Estonia where Zvezda kits are cheap as chips - 1/72 Hercules for £32 compared to £50 here.

Totally agree rick , you can get an excellent newly tooled ICM or Zvezda 1/48 modern jet or helicopter for around £40 so the Airfix bucc is still way too overpriced. As you say its the huge jump thats unneccessary , yes we all know things are going up in price but I think theyre getting a bit greedy .

[BarryW]

So why can Eduard knock out profipack kits with etch, masks and up to eight decal options for much less than a comparable Airfix kit? Much as I like Airfix and the subjects they produce they are not (in my view) of a quality equal to Tamiya or ZM.
I think a large amount of the costs are to do with our geographical location and the high cost of living in the UK and Europe. A few years ago I went to Japan and could have filled a suitcase with dozens of Tamiya and Hasegawa at a fraction of UK prices. I saw the same thing in Estonia where Zvezda kits are cheap as chips - 1/72 Hercules for £32 compared to £50 here.

Airfix engineering is nearly as good as Tamiya or ZM their problem is production quality and that dreadful plastic. Take a look at the SMS prices and what’s available at, around and higher priced than the Buccaneer.

Revell, Blackbird for £84, Trumpeter J20 for £81, Kitty Hawk £80 for a Flanker - None of those companies are known for quality, Kitty Hawk, the crappiest of them
all……..

Those, by the way, are SMS prices, look at the RRP instead and there are a hell of a lot more at it over £72 and we know we won’t actually pay £72 for the Buccaneer. And, by the way, there is an Eduard MiG 23 in that lot…. Do the price sort and you will see what I mean.

No, I am not at all surprised at the price of the Buccaneer, they just have to resolve their production issues.

[John]

I'm just going through the order form, they have very few new but lots of re-relases, so they have already covered the cost of the tooling, but for kits that had a RRP of £14.99 in 2020 they are now £23.99, all the kits seem to have gone up a massive amount, I know freight charges and other things have gone up, but not by that sort of a percentage.

[Gary MacKenzie]

I'm just going through the order form, they have very few new but lots of re-relases, so they have already covered the cost of the tooling, but for kits that had a RRP of £14.99 in 2020 they are now £23.99, all the kits seem to have gone up a massive amount, I know freight charges and other things have gone up, but not by that sort of a percentage.

I am hearing that a container from China is now approaching 12x the cost is was a year ago.
Airfix was shipping the models from India, so I don't see it being much cheaper from there. ( https://theloadstar.com/crazy-rates-...o-get-the-box/ )
Although the quick builds are moulded in the UK ???

[BattleshipBob]

The spray booth i bought a year ago is now £50 more expensive and yes from China

[Dave Ward]

Makes the big stash seem a little less unreasonable! :tongue-out3:
Dave

[The Smythe Meister]

Makes the big stash seem a little less unreasonable! :tongue-out3:
Dave

Indeed Dave,
I looked at my stash earlier and thought of what I paid for a lot of them,(lucky to have gathered some quite nice, quality ,kits over the past few years )
Must admit to feeling rather pleased with myself,(bordering on smug!!! ), When looking at some current prices!!

[flyjoe180]

So why can Eduard knock out profipack kits with etch, masks and up to eight decal options for much less than a comparable Airfix kit? Much as I like Airfix and the subjects they produce they are not (in my view) of a quality equal to Tamiya or ZM.
I think a large amount of the costs are to do with our geographical location and the high cost of living in the UK and Europe. A few years ago I went to Japan and could have filled a suitcase with dozens of Tamiya and Hasegawa at a fraction of UK prices. I saw the same thing in Estonia where Zvezda kits are cheap as chips - 1/72 Hercules for £32 compared to £50 here.

I wouldn't want to not have an existing stash where I am, the cost of new kits is now eye watering. If I were starting out again it would be difficult to justify the cost of nearly all the brands. Even paint and basic tools have gone nuts. Global supply issues and a weakening NZ dollar perhaps?

[Ian M]

Much the same here Joe. Model building is not high on the hobby list here in Denmark and physical model shops are few and far between.
All things model related are imports and now due to (insert political reason of choice here), Internet shopping is a minefield.
Plastic is public enemy nr.1, Thanks Greta! and the raw material price has taken a beating, the cost of freight has, taxes and duties.
I fear that the Buccaneer for £72 by the time it gets over here is going to be very near to the £90 - £100 mark and as good as it looks, I am never going to (be able to) pay that.

On a different note, The quick kit cars. Is it just me or is that a bloody daft scale they have put them to. 1/43! what is that O gauge? Why. I am sure that there are railway modellers that are pleased, but I think the market for them would be far higher if made in a more 'standard' model car scale.
Also I get the bit where they are aimed at the young new beginer to introduce them to the hobby... But... are they in for a surprise when they pop open the box on a real model and find nothing more than a box full of plastic bits. Unpainted, and they need to use tools and glue to put them together.