Dear modelling world. The money that you’ve just handed over for that kit, is not just for the box, plastic parts, instructions and decals, any more than the 60 quid that fans stump up for a Triple-A PlayStation 5 game, is for the shiny disc and plastic case it comes in. You are paying for everything and everyone that has had a hand in its creation: production, transport, distribution and sale. I hope that this has cleared up why luxury goods can sometimes be expensive and why, like everything in the world, prices are going up and not staying at the levels you saw in your youth…
See you soon.
SPENCER POLLARD'S KIT BOX 
I was lucky enough to have a chat with the wonderful John Adams who owns Aeroclub models.
He once explained the reasons why the big manufacturers bring out the F16s ME109s Spitfires and so on.
It’s got to sell, at the time he was telling me this, early 1990s, the average price of manufacturing just one piece of plastic no matter how big or small on a spru would be about £1000. That’s each part when you break everything down. So the kit has to be a popular subject to get their money back.
Today we are being spoilt rotten with the choices out there and when you get all that enjoyment out of a kit that the manufacturers have put a lot of time and effort and money in then surely they’re worth every penny they charge for them.
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I can only begin to imagine the skill, effort and expense that goes in the production of the kits that today we consider as “standard” offerings. By the standards of even 20 years ago I think they would be hailed as wonder kits.
There is a type of person who is never satisfied with anything that does not match some absolute quality threshhold and who delights at picking on the slightest fault, citing this as poor value, (seemingly condemning the product as defective or unbuildable… even though such faults are often correctable with a modicum of effort). Allied to this group are those people condemming a kit at an early stage of its CAD design or complaining that the choice of subject is of no interest them or that a particular sub-type has not been modelled. These days we rarely hear the old complaints about a kit’s shape, level of detail, decal quality or fit of parts (except to say they are too precise…!) so we’ve definitely moved-on and critical comment absolutely has its place – just wish people could be more constructive and reasonable in doing so.
But all these improvements do cost, and I completely agree we’re spoit rotten and are living in a golden age (even if some consider this too literally!).
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Spot on Richard. We’ll put.
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I’ve had people who wanted me to build a model for them get upset when I quote the price to them. “but it’s just a plastic model!” to which I point out that they’re not paying for a “plastic model”, they’re paying to rent all the knowledge I have acquired over the decades to be able to build a model well enough to attract their attention and to want one. Most “get it” when explained that way, but it’s always amazing to me that “creators” – of whatever – are supposed to just do it because they love doing it, and then deliver the product for under $1, please.
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I will add my 2C to the above arguments if you don’t mind. I work part time at our local hobby shop, and if I had a buck for all the people who said kits are too expensive, I could BUY the damn store…! I have built commissions for some chaps and MOST are willing to pay the piper, but some will have a cardiac arrest when I call the price out. They expect to pay the same as the box price…!!! As if my skills, and years(45), of experience count for nothing. I get the same thing when I get asked to build a coffee table or display unit. Some folks are just so tight, they squeak…I can hear them now…! 😉
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Hi all ! There was a time when « luxury goods » were cheap as oil, our level of expectations for detail was lower, and we had less Netflix / Disney+ fees.
I bought 2 F-82 twin mustang because I am a fan of this airplane. But Iooking at the price , I said to myself : « wow » !
We are lucky enough to have more subjects than ever. But also count on economic inflation.
Cheers
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