Small Scale Military Headquarters

Bong P-38, only 374.00....

http://www.militarytoyshop.com/product.asp?P_ID=1562

I considered making this one myself a while back. It seems like a fairly straight forward custom.

ttthhrreeeehhhuuunnnddddrrreeddd sseevvennttty-fffooouurrr dddooolllaarrs can anyone afford this hobby anymore?

mikeg wrote:ttthhrreeeehhhuuunnnddddrrreeddd sseevvennttty-fffooouurrr dddooolllaarrs can anyone afford this hobby anymore?

mikeg wrote:ttthhrreeeehhhuuunnnddddrrreeddd sseevvennttty-fffooouurrr dddooolllaarrs can anyone afford this hobby anymore?

No.

prices have climbed to what one would have expected them to be when this hobby started years ago, but weren't because of good ole 21 century toys.

i miss them more and more all the time..

Sorry, you cannot convince me a repaint is worth $400. No way. If the price of these toys continues to increase the way they have over the last 2 years or so this hobby is not long for this world.

$300 extra to do a repaint.

The market niche for this would be very small.And I would not be part of it.

Supply and demand.

And demand for a Bong P-38 is substantial,but not at this price.

I would like JSI to do a Bong "Marge",and not just do planes that have already been done by 21 Century.
Putt Putt Maru,Pudgy.

If JSI did a Bong "Marge" collectors that already have the 21 Century P-38 would buy it.

I have all the 21 Century P-38's,and bought the JSI Putt Putt Maru.But I passed on Pudgy.I will pass on any other JSI rehashes of 21C schemes.

Funny that you guys get all excited when something you have goes for big bucks on Ebay, but someone kicks out a repaint for big bucks and you're miffed??

I, for one, whine because even though I have more than enough, I can't afford the new average pricing of the new or repainted old stuff- I don't want anything new in box so I find little to crow about on ebay, i just accept that all my displayed stuff will never get my kids through college; therefore, once again, I whine.

I have never sold anything on ebay, but I will admit I enjoy seeing the few rare 1/18 planes I own go for big money. However, you have to remember, those prices are not set in stone and can vary considerably. The high dollar models are usually long out of production with very limited quantities ever produced. My gripe is with these companies that offer repaints for $300 above the original retail price of the plane and the ever rising costs of standard 1/18 scale releases. You just cannot convince me a repaint is worth a total of $400. If people buy them, great, I just don't see the value is all. Plus, standard 1/18 aircraft releases are between $70 and $100 a piece now and many of them are also repaints. My whole point is this hobby is getting far too expensive to enjoy anymore. For those of you that have the cash to enjoy this hobby, by all means go for it. I hope you can support this scale and help it grow. I will just have to sit on the side lines and hope the prices come back down to reality.

The reality is, the $70-$100+ price range is where 1/18 scale models should have been from the begining........also remember that these custom painted pieces are usually limited in initial production numbers too and can be considered rare. The customizer may make a certain number of a scheme to put out on the market and when they sell out, that's it. You generally don't see the scheme done again.

Airacobra wrote:I have never sold anything on ebay, but I will admit I enjoy seeing the few rare 1/18 planes I own go for big money. However, you have to remember, those prices are not set in stone and can vary considerably. The high dollar models are usually long out of production with very limited quantities ever produced. My gripe is with these companies that offer repaints for $300 above the original retail price of the plane and the ever rising costs of standard 1/18 scale releases. You just cannot convince me a repaint is worth a total of $400. If people buy them, great, I just don't see the value is all. Plus, standard 1/18 aircraft releases are between $70 and $100 a piece now and many of them are also repaints. My whole point is this hobby is getting far too expensive to enjoy anymore. For those of you that have the cash to enjoy this hobby, by all means go for it. I hope you can support this scale and help it grow. I will just have to sit on the side lines and hope the prices come back down to reality.

Well, a custom repaint isn't just the cost of the model, but the work and materials that go into creating a custom piece. If this company is commissioning these from a builder, they have to pay the cost of the initial plane, the painters time/materials (which can get pricey) and then they have to make a certain dollar amount over that to make it worth their while. I paint custom planes for Eagle International and they have sold many 1/48 customs for $350+. Yes, it is expensive, but for those that buy them its a chance to have a one-off piece of art that could be the prize/centerpiece of your collection.
I guess people just don't understand that there is a lot of time and money invested in making custom painted planes..

hworth18 wrote: I guess people just don't understand that there is a lot of time and money invested in making custom painted planes..

Such an understatement......

The TIME and money is more then most will know. With all the model kits I have built in the past, I could be a billionaire if I were paid for the time I spent buiding and finishing them.

Birddog wrote:The reality is, the $70-$100+ price range is where 1/18 scale models should have been from the begining........also remember that these custom painted pieces are usually limited in initial production numbers too and can be considered rare. The customizer may make a certain number of a scheme to put out on the market and when they sell out, that's it. You generally don't see the scheme done again.

OK, I get the whole time and effort thing. I have built model airplanes of all scales, including r/c, off and on for nearly 30 years but I personally don't see the value in those prices. That's just my opinion since I know how to run an airbrush myself and wouldn't consider anything offered from those companies as a collectors item because they only made 50 or 100 or 150 of them, etc. I will just paint it myself, that way I have #1 of 1. Very rare indeed . As far as the price range for current standard 1/18 releases; could someone please explain why they should be twice what they were two years ago? Not arguing here, I seriously want to know why everyone thinks $100 should have been the standard for years now. I know 21st had Wal-Mart as a distributor and how they more or less dictate the prices you offer your products for, but BBI had similar prices and only went through TRU (at least as far as I know), who is no where near the size of Wal-Mart. Now two years later we are told that $100 is where it should have been to start with. Can someone please explain how that works?

move along folks, nothin to see here, jus' a lil' price difference, that's all. My, ain't some of ya'll spoilt, though. damned walmart...

Who the Heck are PWP do they have a website????

see military toy shop under 18th ac offerings....

Repaints are cool, but when you already have one, two , or three of each and every piece repaints don't get me excited because of space issues. If I'm going to continue in this hobby I would expect *new* items ...repaints don't do it for me.

prices are going up - but are people paying them???

I was all about paying $100-150 for some of the things I missed but not anymore -

Just looked. Price now is 299. What does an issue P-38 go for now? 150, 200? So, for a little more you can have a high quality custom. Not too bad considering the prices these things are going for now.

I'm with the rest of you in regards to how high the prices have been climbing for 1/18 scale items, but seeimg that as consumers we have no control over what is charged for these items, one just has to ante up if one wants the piece bad enough to be part of their collection.

mikeg wrote:see military toy shop under 18th ac offerings....

I know...but WHO are they...there is no website, nothing....

I kinda figured you knew that, but I was just looking for an excuse to post somthin...

mikeg wrote:I kinda figured you knew that, but I was just looking for an excuse to post somthin...