Why can't I build a 1/72 B-24 without remortgaging the house?

[TonyOD]

The Hasegawa kits are crazy expensive, the Eduard derivatives even more so, and even the old Academy/Minicraft, Revell and Airfix kits fetch silly money for what I understand are some very ordinary kits.

 

Surely if Airfix or whoever did a new tool of this, the world's most produced bomber (18,000+ manufactured), they'd make money hand over fist? Or am I missing something?

 

Sorry, just grumping out loud.

[pizzapaolo]

I had the same thought trying to find an Minicraft Martin PBM-5 Mariner - seems like if you can find one, they are crazy expensive. But maybe its fair enough, is not exactly a mainstream choice compared to B-24.

 

Maybe Hobby 2000 will rebox a B-24 as they seem to rebox a lot of Hasegawa? Still unlikely to be cheap but may increase supply and drive down prices a bit

[lasermonkey]

I remember a time when the Academy kits were relatively cheap. I bought five (one D, an H, two Js and an M) but now wish I'd bought a whole lot more. I'd definitely be up for an Airfix Lib or two.

[ckw]

27 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

The Hasegawa kits are crazy expensive

Yes - but I had one on my Amazon 'wish list' for ages. One day it suddenly dropped in price by nearly 50% to £39. Not cheap, but the cheapest I've ever seen it, Yes I bought one.

 

I find that with many things on Amazon that the price can fluctuate wildly over time. I place items I'm considering on a wish list, and check them daily (it needs to be daily). I've got some great bargains this way - mostly vinyl at the moment. Often the price drop only lasts a day, so you need to act quickly. Of course the challenge comes in guessing when the price reaches rock bottom - sometimes an item will drop in price for days in succession then suddenly skyrocket up again.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[RobL]

I had the Jolly Rogers boxing of the Academy B-24.  Wishing I hadn't sold it now.  The issue of an affordable half decent Liberator isn't exclusive to the Liberator though.  But the thing is, despite it being produced in great numbers that doesn't really count.  It's only us nerds who know that, meanwhile the masses all think the B-17 was the US's primary/most used bomber.

 

It's the Spitfire effect - ask any Joe public what was the workhorse (in fact ask them to name any aircraft) of the Battle of Britain and you can guarantee that they'll say Spitfire.  Ask them to name a US WW2 bomber, and assuming they don't struggle, they'll say B-17.

 

And lets face it, kit manufacturers sell to more less knowledgeable (politest term I could think of) customers than they do people like us.

Edited May 6, 2021 by RobL

[Tcoat]

It has been my experience that as soon as I pay top money for a kit (non returnable of course) the market becomes flooded with cheaper versions of the exact same thing. Maybe I will pick up kit from EBay and drive the price down for everybody!

[busnproplinerfan]

I want to get the 1/72 B-50 and boeing 377 but they are up around $150 Cdn then shipping, the few hobbyshops here don't have them anymore in stock. I'll have to save up for them. Not long ago they were $60-$70. I did get a B-29 from the shop for $69 last year. I don't think they moved production.

[janneman36]

Indeed silly prices even for a Minicraft/Academy rebox.....bought a few once in the pre euro era.....when I convert the price from then in guilders to euro’s now I have paid a silly 10 euro’s 🤪they used to be very affordable and very welcome kit on the market as it was one of the first then new tools B-24’s....

I wouldn’t mind though when Airfix would come with a new one 😁

 

cheers, Jan

[TonyOD]

42 minutes ago, ckw said:

Often the price drop only lasts a day, so you need to act quickly.

 

I check in almost daily to see what's on "limited time deal" and there are decent prices to be had. Just picked up a new tool Airfix Sea king for £12 delivered in this way.

 

27 minutes ago, RobL said:

the masses all think the B-17 was the US's primary/most used bomber.

 

As indeed did I until just a few days ago! You're absolutely right though, in any line of business the mass market is where the money's at. My main passion in life is getting out on the hills, and I see this in outdoor clothing and equipment. The pricey equipment aimed at the "serious" user (mountain guides, mountain rescue, serious alpinists) is outsold by the stuff aimed at the recreational rambler by a factor of a thousand to one.

 

34 minutes ago, RobL said:

The issue of an affordable half decent Liberator isn't exclusive to the Liberator though.

 

I don't doubt that's the case, the Lib is just the one that I want to build 😁 

[RJP]

Is this recent price increases?  I haven't been in the market for anything model-related in so long I've lost track.

 

I wonder if it's lockdown-related.  The massive price increases in lumber have been all over the news lately, a combination of restricted supply as mill operations closed down and increased demand as people spent vacation money on house improvements.  I shudder at the cost of my current garden shed project.  What had been a small weekend affair has had to evolve into serious construction technique to optimise payback on the material cost.  The higher prices won't stop me but supply might become an issue.  

[TonyOD]

3 minutes ago, RJP said:

Is this recent price increases?

I don't know, I've only been back in the game a year and it's only very recently that I took a bit of a shine to multi-engined bombers. I haven't noticed "across the board" price increases. I think it's just a supply/demand thing with a subject that is under-represented in current kits. 

[tempestfan]

11 minutes ago, janneman36 said:

Indeed silly prices even for a Minicraft/Academy rebox.....bought a few once in the pre euro era.....when I convert the price from then in guilders to euro’s now I have paid a silly 10 euro’s 🤪they used to be very affordable and very welcome kit on the market as it was one of the first then new tools B-24’s....

I wouldn’t mind though when Airfix would come with a new one 😁

 

cheers, Jan

I can top that - Academy once issued a couple of limited "Zodiac" boxings. Apparently they didn't sell well, and were ditched at DEM 10... I got a couple 🙂

14 minutes ago, busnproplinerfan said:

I want to get the 1/72 B-50 and boeing 377 but they are up around $150 Cdn then shipping, the few hobbyshops here don't have them anymore in stock. I'll have to save up for them. Not long ago they were $60-$70. I did get a B-29 from the shop for $69 last year. I don't think they moved production.

A chap on another forum I frequent is from Calgary, and there is a shop there that has taken in a huge load of old/second hand kits over the past couple years. I have no idea what the name of the shop is, but it may be worth a try, even if it's not exactly next door (looking up maps, I confess I thought the Jets had a lot less distance to travel to play the Flames...)

[TonyOD]

6 minutes ago, tempestfan said:

and were ditched at DEM 10

 

Deutsche Marks? That dates it... must have gathered a bit of dust in your stash by now! 😉

[WV908]

It's the same story with the Hasegawa B-26. I think I paid £40 for mine three or four years back. 

 

I've managed to end up with two Academy B-24's - one was the Liberating Beauties Eduard boxing (I forget the cost but it was reasonable) and another was an absolutely battered one from Telford six years ago that I managed to get for £23 I recall. 

 

Whilst the Eduard Boxing came with some goodies and a rendition of @Procopius's better half on the box (why do I remember this?), opening the academy box was akin to opening a packet of walker's (Lay's) crisps and finding you've been had even by their standards.

 

Cheers,

 WV908

 

[Fukuryu]

Hasegawa's B-24D and J are US$ 43 right now in HLJ. I know that shipping from abroad will increase that price by a considerable margin once the kit is in your hands, but since there are no hobby shops in my country I am used to that. My particular situation has indeed coloured my views, but 43 for me is pretty cheap, considered the US$ 103 that the Eduard's (if you can find any of them) costs at the bare minimum, albeit with a nice selection of goodies inside the boxes.

Edited May 6, 2021 by Fukuryu

[TonyOD]

Seems I can get a Minicraft B-24D Formation Ship from US Amazon for $44 delivered (plus import duty, possibly), but I'm not a fan of those zany colour schemes so once I've got some aftermarket decals the cost is bumped up again. Think I'll have to wait until Airfix retool it, or I win the lottery, whichever comes soonest. 

[busnproplinerfan]

44 minutes ago, tempestfan said:

I can top that - Academy once issued a couple of limited "Zodiac" boxings. Apparently they didn't sell well, and were ditched at DEM 10... I got a couple 🙂

A chap on another forum I frequent is from Calgary, and there is a shop there that has taken in a huge load of old/second hand kits over the past couple years. I have no idea what the name of the shop is, but it may be worth a try, even if it's not exactly next door (looking up maps, I confess I thought the Jets had a lot less distance to travel to play the Flames...)

Would be nice to hop the Jets plane and use it like a bus. Like to find out which store. Calgary's not to far away, only about $25 shipping from there usually.

[Paul Alan Bardell]

 

 

Every year when Airfix announce their next years new kits, I have my  fingers crossed for a new B-24, to the same standard as their newish B-17, Whitley, Wellington etc.

 

It will happen one year just hope I'm still above ground to see it! (and buy 2 or 3!)

 

Come on Airfix you know you want too.

 

 

 

[TonyOD]

1 minute ago, paul bardell said:

I have my  fingers crossed for a new B-24, to the same standard as their newish B-17, Whitley, Wellington etc.

 

You and me both.

 

I thought I'd try going to source... maybe I should snap up a B-24J while they still have one in stock.

 

[Paul Alan Bardell]

 

 

Now that's slightly too much even for me!

 

 

 

 

[tempestfan]

1 hour ago, busnproplinerfan said:

Would be nice to hop the Jets plane and use it like a bus. Like to find out which store. Calgary's not to far away, only about $25 shipping from there usually.

I will ping him. Something like 1350km would be about right across Germany north to south, but if you say it's not too far, it's just as well 😉

[theplasticsurgeon]

19 hours ago, lasermonkey said:

I remember a time when the Academy kits were relatively cheap. I bought five (one D, an H, two Js and an M) but now wish I'd bought a whole lot more. I'd definitely be up for an Airfix Lib or two.

I remember those times.  I bought this Zodiac for £12 - in 1996.

Then this PB4-Y1 for £12 - in 1998.

And begrudged spending £16 on This Dragon - in 1998.

 

 

In 2010 I found this glass-nose D, for £10.

Got to grab those opportunities as they present themselves - so glad that I did.

[TonyOD]

Ah, you're just rubbing my face in it now, @theplasticsurgeon 😉

[busnproplinerfan]

45 minutes ago, tempestfan said:

I will ping him. Something like 1350km would be about right across Germany north to south, but if you say it's not too far, it's just as well 😉

Yes it takes a long time to get anywhere out here. Thanks for asking him.

[Paul821]

Just looked on Amazon UK  for 1/72 Liberator and this came up

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Atlantis-AMCH218-Consolidated-B-24-J-Bomber-Buffalo/dp/B07MZM87C4/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3ROW8UAML165Y&dchild=1&keywords=b-24+liberator+1%2F72&qid=1620325050&sprefix=b-24%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-3

 

Then I noticed it is a 60 piece puzzle (sic) in 1:92 scale!!!

 

But you can get it by Saturday