When is a kit 'vintage'? A bonkers example

[adt70hk]

Afternoon all

I have seen an increasing trend recently towards kits being labelled as 'vintage' and do wonder at some people's definition of the word.

In some cases I get it....a kit that is 40 or 50 years old, is in first class condition (for its age), that is long out of production and has never been reboxed, at least for a long time.

But you also get the likes of Tamiya that look after the moulds and are a still punting out kits that originally first saw the light of day in the early 70s - I have a two or three examples of this. Is the 1970s kit 'vintage' given that I can buy a new rebox of the same kit from any self respecting model shop, or God forbid Amazon at the drop of a hat. This we could have a genuine discussion about.

However, I did come across an example on Fleabay that made question one person's definition of 'vintage' as follows...........

So Christmas Eve I snagged a used Eduard 1/48 Fw 190A-8 Weekend Edition of 2014 vintage for a pretty reasonable £18 delivered. And exactly the same kit popped up this week for £20 delivered.

Now this particular tooling began life in 2006 and so with the greatest of respect, whilst not quite up to the very latest Eduard standards, it really is not that old. Plus they are still punting out reboxes as we speak.

Last week I saw a used Eduard 1/48 Fw 190A-8 Weekend Edition pop up on eBay. Whilst Scalemates does not have the exact boxing, it does have a very close one for this exact kit and of exactly the same style, suggesting.....wait for it......

......a veritable ancient boxing going all the way back to 2007!! I mean 2007.......that is sooooooooo old.....NOT!

So how much does does this individual want for this positively ancient kit......£45.50 + £2.90 p&p -that well over twice what I paid for mine. You can buy a Profipack version for a lot less than that.

I'm actually watching it to see if goes at that price......I bet someone buys it though!

Bemused of Milton Keynes signing off!

ATB

Andrew

[Waspie]

Now!! Is the term 'vintage' referring to the kit OR is it referring to the subject? The seller could be playing around or deliberately misrepresenting the kit/subject!!

[adt70hk]

Now!! Is the term 'vintage' referring to the kit OR is it referring to the subject? The seller could be playing around or deliberately misrepresenting the kit/subject!!

Definitely the kit......he's basically having a laugh, or waiting for someone gullible. Even allowing for the version of the box to be super-rare that's a stupid price for this kit.

[Waspie]

Definitely the kit......he's basically having a laugh, or waiting for someone gullible. Even allowing for the version of the box to be super-rare that's a stupid price for this kit.

Well it is Flea Bay!! Where vintage could be as far off as last week!!!! Personally I don't use the place. Some one on here suggested I find my Wasp on there but I just couldn't bring myself to do it!!! I'm patient - There is bound to be one out there!!

[Dave Ward]

I never take any notice of the titles people put on Ebay lots ( rare, vintage OOP ), and I've given up trying to understand the prices some people put on items. The only explanation I can come up with is that they were stupid enough to have paid that price & and are looking for another idiot to take it off their hands. Same thing with condition - OK, sealed is pretty definite, but saying part started, & not putting a piccy is ridiculous.
Personally I'm looking for those lots that people don't know what it actually is, ( never heard of Scalemates ) or have mislabelled it, or put it in the wrong section. 'Accepts offers' and finishing midweek are also things I check up on. It takes a bit of time & a lot of common sense, but Ebay is worth a browse
Dave

[Tim Marlow]

I wouldn’t worry about it too much Andrew. On ebay it’s worth what someone will pay. If they don’t do their homework then it’s their lookout really….

[yak face]

It always amuses me andrew , when you see ‘vintage’ or ‘rare’ on ebay it usually translates to - expensive, overpriced . Whenever I see it in the title I just skip straight over it to the next item . The sellers are just trying it on , hoping some poor mug will fall for it . Plus like you say a lot of the time the items are neither vintage nor rare

[KarlW]

I have never got this thinking, just because a boxing or edition is Oop, despite the contents still being available doesn't make it expensive.

But I am a sucker for Ltd editions........

[Steve-the-Duck]

I wouldn’t worry about it too much Andrew. On ebay it’s worth what someone will pay. If they don’t do their homework then it’s their lookout really….

Now, we do quite a bit of stuff on eBay and you do see ludicrous prices for some things. You also see frankly daft postage too. I'm talking UK only here as that's where we sell.
Ball park, we can price something at half- to a third of other people's pricing, and usually, not always get a sale. Look at actual shops to find the genuine asking price, and always search on 'lowest price plus p+p.'
But the maxim is, indeed 'it's worth what someone is willing to pay' NOT 'I can ask silly money and someone will buy it'

As to 'vintage', only if it's last century, AND an older boxing / issue, I'd say. But that's my 'reality'
Always remember, most people selling stuff have no idea of the ACTUAL value or worth - which aren't the same thing

Here's a recent example. The P-38 I just posted here is on eBay mint-in-box for twenty quid. I got mine at a show four years ago for six. We sold the empty box for &12.50, after starting at &2.50, AND we asked the buyer if he realised it was just the box. He did, and was very happy

eBay is weird and many users have no idea

[Guest]

just because a boxing or edition is Oop, despite the contents still being available doesn't make it expensive.

That depends on whether you’re a modeller or a collector (or which hat you have on, if you happen to be both). To someone wanting to build, say, a Tamiya Panzer II it won’t matter if it’s a kit that came out of the factory in 1971 or 2021. To a collector, though, a provably-made-in-1971 kit would probably be worth a lot more than the “same” one made in 2021.

[Gary MacKenzie]

If you are Airfix, vintage is a way to sell models from moulds that were poor when they were brand new, of a scale that really doesn't exist ( i.e. ho/oo ) ( 1/72nd/1/76th) or someone else's old moulds ....... and have your fans say ''you have to expect some fit-issues and inaccuracies.

[rickoshea52]

My daughter was born in 2008, is she vintage?

[rickoshea52]

I saw a 1/48 Tamiya Mosquito with spoiled decals in an antique shop in Cullen last year, the shopkeeper wanted £25 for it!
I spent my money on three decent sized fancy plaster pictures frames instead for £15 - a shop round the corner was asking £60 for a smaller tattier frame.
That says to me that the buyer isn’t always the mug.

[Tim Marlow]

I saw a 1/48 Tamiya Mosquito with spoiled decals in an antique shop in Cullen last year, the shopkeeper wanted £25 for it!
I spent my money on three decent sized fancy plaster pictures frames instead for £15 - a shop round the corner was asking £60 for a smaller tattier frame.
That says to me that the buyer isn’t always the mug.

Now that kit is overpriced for what it is. I built one for the group build last year and it had plenty of fit and mould line issues, so perhaps it really is vintage now though

[Tim Marlow]

If you are Airfix, vintage is a way to sell models from moulds that were poor when they were brand new, of a scale that really doesn't exist ( i.e. ho/oo ) ( 1/72nd/1/76th) or someone else's old moulds ....... and have your fans say ''you have to expect some fit-issues and inaccuracies.

OO/HO isn’t a scale but it is an accurate description of a hybrid model, and was how model trains were originally marketed. All OO British outline ready to run model railways run on HO (3.5 mm/foot) track but have OO (4 mm/foot) bodies. It’s why they just look wrong when compared to the real thing. To see what I mean compare end on shots of any OO model loco with an end on photo of the real engine.

4mm/ foot equates to 1/76.2, by the way, and it’s why Airfix braille scale stuff was originally scaled that way. It fits in with the railways, which was the biggest market when they started up in the late fifties/early sixties.

I agree that some of the ropier examples should probably be retired now, but having built the lineside Church a few years ago and having the Garage in the stash I can say they are still as good as any plastic buildings on the market at present…..fit and finish were good, and flash on seam lines minimal.. Ive built many examples of the rolling stock kits as well, and found them as good as anything around once you dispense with the crude working hinges etc. The engine kits should have gone years ago though.