The same with vac-form aircraft in the 70's/80's - real garage businesses, made by enthusiasts as a sideline...................
Dave
How big is too big and how expensive is too expensive?
- Thread starter KarlW
- Start date
Dave
An interesting topic folks. I was one that always frowned at spending hard earned cash on expensive kits as I usually didn't have the money for them. I would scour evilbay for days/weeks to find something I really wanted and then took the chance to win it at a good price. Won a few, lost a few or let a few slide by (price too high). My first expensive kit was €125 and was an auction win of the Zoukei Mura He-219. Could I afford it? Not really, but the price was too good and it was on my wish list for a long time, so 3-2-1-Mine!!!
I also still had 3 or 4 kits on my wish list and they too weren't getting any cheaper. But, I had also set a limit of €150 for a kit, max!!! As I retired back in 2021 (unofficially), but still working, it gave me more pocket money, but didn't change the rules of spending for kits...
That changed when MBK, here in Germany bought the last container of WnW kitsets from New Zealand late last year. They threw them up for sale 3 January and I only bought the one that I wanted. It was for €449 and contained 2 kits in it. One of them was the one I had wanted for over 10 years, the Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 (check out the latest Acqusitions). Expensive, but I had to have it. I did buy 3 more WnW kitsets and even if they don't get built, they won't lose value anytime soon...
I guess that makes me a collector too, Or?...
On a final note, I only have 8 kits in the stash that did cost over €100 and it will stay that way..................
Prost
Allen
And only 3 of them were over my set limit. 1 was only €14 more...
I also still had 3 or 4 kits on my wish list and they too weren't getting any cheaper. But, I had also set a limit of €150 for a kit, max!!! As I retired back in 2021 (unofficially), but still working, it gave me more pocket money, but didn't change the rules of spending for kits...
That changed when MBK, here in Germany bought the last container of WnW kitsets from New Zealand late last year. They threw them up for sale 3 January and I only bought the one that I wanted. It was for €449 and contained 2 kits in it. One of them was the one I had wanted for over 10 years, the Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 (check out the latest Acqusitions). Expensive, but I had to have it. I did buy 3 more WnW kitsets and even if they don't get built, they won't lose value anytime soon...
I guess that makes me a collector too, Or?...
On a final note, I only have 8 kits in the stash that did cost over €100 and it will stay that way..................
Prost
Allen
And only 3 of them were over my set limit. 1 was only €14 more...
Too big for me, but on a side note, probably the most expensive kit in my stash is around £120 - that's for the 1/72 Dora railway gun which is big, complex and has lots of parts and would be a very, very long build for me - at least a couple of hundred hours - so the cost comes down to about 50p an hour. It's sure as eggs is eggs I can't get entertainment that cheap anywhere else!
But my entire stash at one time was worth around £10 000 so comparison of individual kit prices seems irrelevant to me. If I really want one, I'll buy it regardless of cost.
But my entire stash at one time was worth around £10 000 so comparison of individual kit prices seems irrelevant to me. If I really want one, I'll buy it regardless of cost.
Not me.So who's up for it
Personally I struggle with myself to pay more than £40 for a kit,(although I have pushed the boat out on a few that I'd wanted for a long time,and paid about £55-£60). The past twelve months or so I've started getting mask sets, and the odd bit of etch too mind,so that bumps the overall price up.
No particular reason, it's just me,and I don't blame anyone for splashing out large amounts.... if you can afford it,then why not?!
No particular reason, it's just me,and I don't blame anyone for splashing out large amounts.... if you can afford it,then why not?!
WELL Dave when will we see this dora rail gun built then ? as Dave gove started to build his but his mojo went awol so be nice to see your one bein built on here an how are your hands now over the shakes ?
chrisb
What really scares me :fearful:about those high priced kits is the idea of messing it up while building it.
I'm really unnerved when I mess up a cheap kit, I cannot imagine my reaction at badly breaking a wing or fogging the transparencies of a 1500 € Kit.
That's an idea that really keeps me at a distance from such kits.
About the specific Gigant kit, there's a second negative point: CA and me are always on very bad terms.... :angry:.
Anyway, for those inclined towards such a brobdingnagian kit, the completed model, with motorized propellers, greenly powered by some solar panels, could refresh your garden during summer by providing both shade and breeze with a touch of originality. In this perspective, it could be considered a rational expense, but falling under the "house maintenance" budget chapter, not the "hobbies and amusements" one :rolling:
Andrea
I'm really unnerved when I mess up a cheap kit, I cannot imagine my reaction at badly breaking a wing or fogging the transparencies of a 1500 € Kit.
That's an idea that really keeps me at a distance from such kits.
About the specific Gigant kit, there's a second negative point: CA and me are always on very bad terms.... :angry:.
Anyway, for those inclined towards such a brobdingnagian kit, the completed model, with motorized propellers, greenly powered by some solar panels, could refresh your garden during summer by providing both shade and breeze with a touch of originality. In this perspective, it could be considered a rational expense, but falling under the "house maintenance" budget chapter, not the "hobbies and amusements" one :rolling:
Andrea
My recently finished F-16 has been the most I’ve ever paid for a kit coming in at just over £150 but it gave me 7 months of blood sweat and tears and some bits to sell on so worth every penny to me
You just keep telling yourself that Dave
:smiling5:
I'm happy buying cheap kits I can tweak. But I might be tempted for a good resin kit, but it would have to be a good one.
That's what the Nazis did with the original Volkswagen, except you made weekly payments, minimum 5 Reichsmarks, up to a certain threshold. Not one 'Beetle' was delivered to a customer, though the German Labour Front (DAF) took 275 million Reichsmarks in down payments. Some customers waited until the 1960s for some compensation.
Just sayin'
For me it would be about 200 quid. I'd rather spend less, I don't believe I've ever reached that threshold, though I may have peaked at something a bit over 100 quid.
Each to their own! If you can afford 1000-1500 quid for a model then go for it. It's just too dear for me.
What's a stash Dave? :tongue-out3:
G
No matter your spending pattern I think you'd need to be like Pete Waterman and other well known people to warrant spending that sort of money. If you have the room as well , why not.
Pete Waterman?
I'm either;
A) Too old and forgotten
B) Too young and never knew......
Wasn't there a similar scheme in cold war East Germany for prospective purchasers of the Trabant?
I think the most I've ever paid for a kit was under £20, and I can't see myself breaking that limit... but you never know!
Pete
Stock, Aitkin, and Waterman not ring a bell then…..one of the most successful songwriting partnerships of all time! Not saying the best, before everyone starts kicking off…..just the most successful…..
Pete Waterman spent his money on railway companies, heritage engines, and model railway manufacturing, by the way…..look up “Just like the real thing models”. They were the railway modelling equivalent of Wingnut wings……and more or less went the same way….
Hitman and her. Itv with Machaela strachan, 1988-92, your teenage years!
Or .....C) Too interested in PROPER music to take any notice
G
Karl , Pete Waterman used to be a record producer, now has interests in model railways, along with Rod Stewart and Jools Holland . They all have superb model railway layouts . When some idiots destroyed a model layout at a venue in Stamford ,Rod Stewart was one of many who contributed to the club .
G
Thanks Tim, these youngsters are sadly lacking knowledge about such things :smiling2:
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