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1/144 - Lockheed C-5B & M (Super) Galaxy by Roden - C-5B & C-5M released - upgrade sets by Metallic Details


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On 13/08/2017 at 7:58 PM, snapper_city said:

If it gets below £50 I'll probably buckle and get it. Even if I think that is still too much for what it is. 

With you on that! Normally,I wouldn't pay more than £35 -£40 for any 1/144 kit but,the price is definitely heading the right way. 

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On 15/08/2017 at 11:08 PM, Homebee said:

Still £100 + if you include postage. Be interesting to see how many retailers follow the Lucky Model example  

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I see the Academy KC97 senario all over again (Much wanted kit, but no-one buys it as they percieve the cost too high, then manufacturer stops making that sort of kit as they don't sell)

 

It also shows how much of a bargain the Revell 1/144th kits (C-17, An-124, A400M) are

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Indeed but Revell has a different marketing aproach and sells, quite agressively, on a world wide base. They produce the first batch (usually 10 000) to get back the money, only the reissues or second boxings are making any profit for them. As they mix kits from other manufacturers in their range which cost them of course much less in developement they not only have a viable range but also an income to finance these projects. When a project fails they sell off the stock, take their loss and won't reissue the kit anymorre. Roden sells far less kits on a global base so more R&D money has to come out of each single kit to cover costs and Roden also does not have kits from leased moulds in their range.  So they will have to have higher prices. But you do get value for money with both.

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I can understand Roden needing to sell at a higher price than say Revell. But a 4 - 5 fold price jump from their C-141 or C-123 kits is too much to accept. Not even rail season tickets have that kind of inflation. 

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I fully agree. I do not know why the Galaxy kit is suddenly so much more expensive. Only Roden themselves can answer that I can only explain why there is a difference in marketing and pricing strategy between Revell and Roden. But i suggest not to buy the kit and Roden will have to decide what they are going to do next. Consumers power.  

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I have left a little message on Roden's guest book on their Web page. It has not been posted as I guess they have to approve it. We will see if they put it up. 

 

Why is the price of the C-5 four times the price of the C-141? It's a crazy price for a 1:144 kit. A lot of people were looking forward to this and I have seen maybe 99% negative comments online about the price. The vast majority of people who would have bought the kit now not bother. You are even pricing out the impulsive buyers. Roden please get real and charge a realistic price otherwise this kit will flop.
I would love to know the reasons for this price being set and hope this isn't a sign of things to come otherwise I can see Roden not surviving. 
Kind regards 

 

Let's see if it gets posted or if I get a reply.

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On August 20, 2017 at 4:22 PM, Killingholme said:

Gutted. I'm sure it will find a natural price in the market place, but sorry Roden, I think you're going to take a kicking on this one...

 

 

OTOH a $130 kit is better than no kit at all. Roden wants to make money or they go out of business. They have done their sums and figured that this is what they need to sell the C-5 at to make money. The alternative is not doing the kit at all. In which case, the other option is a second hand and decidely inferior Otaki kit or repop at nearly the same price.

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37 minutes ago, VMA131Marine said:

OTOH a $130 kit is better than no kit at all. Roden wants to make money or they go out of business. They have done their sums and figured that this is what they need to sell the C-5 at to make money. The alternative is not doing the kit at all. In which case, the other option is a second hand and decidely inferior Otaki kit or repop at nearly the same price.

 

Absolutely, but I can't believe for a moment that Roden actually wanted to retail this kit at that price! This is resin kit territory, and recent kits from Roden show a definite aspiration to becoming a more mainstream manufacturer. I doubt Roden in 2017 would invest £££££ in metal toolings expecting only to sell a handful of kits to the sort of die-hard C-5B enthusiasts (no offence!) who would otherwise be willing to buy an Anigrand kit for the same price. No, I remain convinced something has gone wrong in the bean-counting department at Roden. I hope it is just a rare miscalculation and not symptomatic of any deeper trouble in the company, because I really rate the recent toolings from this company.

 

"The alternative is not doing the kit at all."

 

Unfortunately, that's the option I'm taking... My wife would blooody kill me if I bought this kit at that price!

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10 hours ago, Killingholme said:

 

Absolutely, but I can't believe for a moment that Roden actually wanted to retail this kit at that price! This is resin kit territory, and recent kits from Roden show a definite aspiration to becoming a more mainstream manufacturer. I doubt Roden in 2017 would invest £££££ in metal toolings expecting only to sell a handful of kits to the sort of die-hard C-5B enthusiasts (no offence!) who would otherwise be willing to buy an Anigrand kit for the same price. No, I remain convinced something has gone wrong in the bean-counting department at Roden. I hope it is just a rare miscalculation and not symptomatic of any deeper trouble in the company, because I really rate the recent toolings from this company.

 

"The alternative is not doing the kit at all."

 

Unfortunately, that's the option I'm taking... My wife would blooody kill me if I bought this kit at that price!

Agree with you on that. I'd rather they didn't bother if that's the sort of price that's going to be asked. Much as I'd like a new tool C-5, I can live without it. Certainly would not pay any more than £35 -£40 for any 1/144 kit. Of course, not doing the kit at all would leave the field open for any other company to produce a kit. If Roden get seriously burned on this (and I think they will) it would be ironic indeed if another manufacturer then released a brand new tool C-5 at around one half to one third of the Roden kit price.

 

 

Allan

 

ps - my wonderful partner ( looking for ideas for my Crimbo gifts) was told bluntly that I would be most displeased if SHE wasted her money on that kit at that price!!😁

Edited by Albeback52
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2 hours ago, Albeback52 said:

ps - my wonderful partner ( looking for ideas for my Crimbo gifts) was told bluntly that I would be most displeased if SHE wasted her money on that kit at that price!!😁

 

Not when if she is willing to spend that much she could get you maybe up to 5 or so kits for that price.

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27 minutes ago, snapper_city said:

 

Not when if she is willing to spend that much she could get you maybe up to 5 or so kits for that price.

Lol!😁 Way ahead of you there my friend! The Revell 1/32 Heinkel HE-111 and 1/32 F/A - 18E are now on the list! Not exactly 5 or so but, what the hell!😁 

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1 hour ago, ICMF said:

 

That's not how margins work at all.

No argument here. Roden ( as the earlier poster said) may very well have done their sums and figured that is what price they need to set in order to make money on the kit. However, No matter what price they deem sensible, if the customer simply refuses to pay that price then that kind of business logic falls flat on its face. Rather than make money on this one. I think they will lose heavily

 

Allan

Edited by Albeback52
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Give 'em a few months or so and Trumpter will magic up a C-5 Galaxy family...

 

Just messing of course, the Revell AN-124 can be had for around £25-30 today and that's one 'big mutha' of a kit, so this Roden pricing strategy does come off as a very late April Fools joke.  

 

Would love to build the elegant grey/white AMC scheme with the black nose :wub:.

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13 hours ago, LeVi Tophatter said:

Give 'em a few months or so and Trumpter will magic up a C-5 Galaxy family...

 

 

I wouldn't be at all surprised if that turned out to be true!!  

 

Allan

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Here's a thought - Roden have looked at the fact that people are prepared to pay $120 for a 1/144th C5 from Anigrand and thought 'If people are prepared to pay that. then that's the price the amrket will support for an injection one'

 

Why would people be prepared to pay more for a resin one?

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Don't forget that you get four resin kits in the Anigrand box, not just the C-5.  The others are:

Fairchild T-46 Eaglet  - Light jet trainer.

Cessna O-2A Skymaster - Forward Air Control prop aircraft.

Boeing-Vertol YUH-61 - Twin-engined helicopter.

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58 minutes ago, Dave Fleming said:

Here's a thought - Roden have looked at the fact that people are prepared to pay $120 for a 1/144th C5 from Anigrand and thought 'If people are prepared to pay that. then that's the price the amrket will support for an injection one'

 

Why would people be prepared to pay more for a resin one?

Interesting point Dave. Maybe some people will pay these prices because, they desperately want a C-5 kit and, the  Anigrand kit is, effectively the only game in town? Thing is though, are resin kits not usually limited items with high production costs - reflected in the RRP? Modellers understand that and probably accept the higher prices for said items. But, should that apply to an I M kit potentially capable of being turned out by the thousand and at much lower cost? If, as you suggest, they were looking at the Anigrand kit as an example then possibly they were doing so from a false perspective because, resin kits tend to have limited appeal also compared to the bog standard I M kit?. I don't really know the answer and, I guess the only people that do are Roden themselves

 

Allan

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