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Hasegawa Avenger. Say Whaaaat?


Meatbox8

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Jeepers.  Just came across the 1/72 Hasegawa TBM-3S2 Avenger kit on the Hannants site and it is priced at £74.99!!!!  Who would buy it at that price, especially when considering that the Sword kit of the same variant (more or less) is a rather inviting £17.99?  Didn't our lords and masters negotiate a trade agreement with Japan or is this Hasegawa ensuring the 'value' of their products?  Or maybe the kit parts are gold plated.  Doesn't seem to me to be much point in that if it means no one is gong to buy them.

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Alternatively, the Hobby 2000 TBM kits (Hasegawa mouldings, Cartograph decals and canopy masking) are available from Hannants at either £21.60 (TBM-3E/AS.4), £18.99 (TBF/TBM-1C) or £17.80 (TBM-3/3E).

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Been discussed before , consensus seems to be that sales outside Japan represent only a very small part of their business so they are content to leave import and distribution with hefty mark-ups to local agents elsewhere such as in the UK.     

 

While one might think that even for a small part of their business someone in Shizuoka might query the correlation between sales and prices in some countries but this has been going on for over thirty years that I can remember.        Back then a model shop owner told me that Hasegawa kits had become so expensive for what were even then often old mouldings constantly re-released with new decal sheets that he was dropping the brand because he could not even shift them at cost.

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6 hours ago, bootneck said:

Much of that cost appears to import, VAT and shipping etc., as the HLJ site is showing it at £32.58, so it's not Hasegawa that is at fault.

 

Mike

I'm not sure I understand the whole trade deal thing. I bought swmbo a piece of jewellery from a famous French manufacturer which cost about £220. About a month later I got a bill from DHL for a further £60 which included import tariffs and extra VAT. Doesn't seem like much of a trade deal to me.  The things one does for a quiet life.

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1 hour ago, Des said:

Been discussed before , consensus seems to be that sales outside Japan represent only a very small part of their business so they are content to leave import and distribution with hefty mark-ups to local agents elsewhere such as in the UK.     

 

While one might think that even for a small part of their business someone in Shizuoka might query the correlation between sales and prices in some countries but this has been going on for over thirty years that I can remember.        Back then a model shop owner told me that Hasegawa kits had become so expensive for what were even then often old mouldings constantly re-released with new decal sheets that he was dropping the brand because he could not even shift them at cost.

It's interesting to compare the prices of Hasegawa and Tamiya though. Hasegawa's Mosquito is considerably more than Tamiya's. Would anyone really pay £75 for a 1/72 Avenger though.

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3 hours ago, Meatbox8 said:

Would anyone really pay £75 for a 1/72 Avenger though.

 

I am guessing that there must be some or the importer would give up on that line but can see that there is some logic to importing fewer units to retail at several times more than a competitive price rather than having to deal with greater numbers at lower unit profit.   

 

As to why there might be a market for them can think of a few reasons , might be down to buyers not being willing to 'risk' importing more cheaply directly from Japan or elsewhere , not knowing what the competition offers , ego boost from buying what they see as others being unable to afford or maybe from a presumption that the cost makes somehow makes Hasegawa a niche brand.

 

Alternatively , I am sure that many of us have made the occasional ridiculously expensive 'got to have' purchase only to realise afterwards that it was not one of our finest moments and learn from the experience although personally cannot imagine £75 for a 1/72 Avenger or similar doing it for me.

 

 

 

 

 

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The kit has clear? Resin aft canopies and resin underwing radar with racks. Somewhat accounts for a very high price,  no matter how you slice it or who you blame. Sadly the resin “clear” parts are about as cleat as a frosted shower compartment door. Great if you want privacy but that, alas, is not the purpose of a canopy. Cannot be polished up. I tried. My advise is save your money. I fell for two.

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15 hours ago, Meatbox8 said:

I'm not sure I understand the whole trade deal thing. I bought swmbo a piece of jewellery from a famous French manufacturer which cost about £220. About a month later I got a bill from DHL for a further £60 which included import tariffs and extra VAT. Doesn't seem like much of a trade deal to me.  The things one does for a quiet life.

Well it’s not “extra VAT”. As you were importing from I presume France, the exporter there wouldn’t be charging French VAT. That is probably why it looked such good value compared with U.K. high street prices. But the taxman needs his cut somewhere. On £220 of goods imported to the U.K., U.K. VAT is payable (20%). That would be £44 for starters. And DHL would have a handling charge for the paperwork involved (including some VAT on that). So I doubt “import tariffs” even came into it.

 

And the lesson is? When purchasing on the net be sure to know where it is coming from and what is or is not being included in the price that you are being quoted.

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That's nothing, local NZ auction site price for this one...and the govt says we only have 7% inflation?.

 

Hasegawa 00984 1/72 TBM-3S2 Avenger 'J.M.S.D.F.',

 

a snip at

 

Buy Now

$164.95

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12 hours ago, Trenton guy said:

The kit has clear? Resin aft canopies and resin underwing radar with racks. Somewhat accounts for a very high price,  no matter how you slice it or who you blame. Sadly the resin “clear” parts are about as cleat as a frosted shower compartment door. Great if you want privacy but that, alas, is not the purpose of a canopy. Cannot be polished up. I tried. My advise is save your money. I fell for two.

A TBM-3 kit with resin radar pod, ASW operator compartment, as you said, resin “clear” parts for a new back canopy. When it was first released in 2009, the price is 5,800 yen(about 45USD or over 300RMB in PRC), which equals to their 1/72 He111Z kit! Meanwhile TBF/TBM kits were 1,500 or 1,800 yen, but released much earlier. Avenger Mk.4 with metal parts(maybe RN type arrest hook) is 2,600 yen. 

I bought a second hand one in 2014 or 15 for 35USD, however as you mentioned I saw the "frosted shower compartment door", even turned to tan tone a bit. In the instruction, you can paint gloss clear to make it crystal...I believe experienced modellers would replace with vacu parts.

So, when Sword announced their post war TBMs, I put my HAS kit on bargain, finally it "exchanged" both -3S2 and 3W2......not 5 times price in PRC, twice is enough for me.

 

By the way, HASE also announced a Seaking AEW.2 based on SH-3D kit around 2009/10, with a huge amount resin parts and 9,800(or over 10,000) yen price on poster and website, fortunately to modellers, they changed their mind before release, with new metal molds instead, no need to tackle with poor fit or wrapped resin parts as 1/48th Bf109G-2 or 1/72nd DH Mosquito Mk.18!

 

Edited by fernandocouto
spell mistake
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Wonderland had these at Telford reduced to £35 which suggests they did not sell many at the original price, which yes is set by the importer. 

 

Must say it seems Amerang in the UK dont care much as their prices seem very high. 

 

I get most of my Hasegawa kits direct from Japan, even with shipping ad taxes it works out cheaper.

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5 hours ago, EwenS said:

Well it’s not “extra VAT”. As you were importing from I presume France, the exporter there wouldn’t be charging French VAT. That is probably why it looked such good value compared with U.K. high street prices. But the taxman needs his cut somewhere. On £220 of goods imported to the U.K., U.K. VAT is payable (20%). That would be £44 for starters. And DHL would have a handling charge for the paperwork involved (including some VAT on that). So I doubt “import tariffs” even came into it.

 

And the lesson is? When purchasing on the net be sure to know where it is coming from and what is or is not being included in the price that you are being quoted.

Quite.  The website from which this product was purchased (the manufacturer's own website) at no point mentioned any additional costs or shipping fees.  In fact it was, supposedly, free shipping. What it failed to mention was that the shipping firm would need to be paid for its importing services, including servicing the VAT.  There were, therefore, shipping fees but as the manufacturer wasn't itself going to be charging me for them they failed, in my view either deliberately or at least disingenuously, to mention this. As for UK VAT and European VAT I bought the same product for my sister during the transition period at exactly the same purchase cost and with no additional fees so, unless this company does not charge VAT in its own country, which I doubt, I actually paid the VAT twice on the second purchase - French and UK VAT.

 

What made this particularly annoying was that I could have sourced the product in the UK had I known about these charges.  Needless to say, and despite the correspondence I received from them when I queried this issue (all that 'we value our customers greatly blah blah blah but please bu**er off') I won't be buying from them again.

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2 hours ago, Julien said:

Wonderland had these at Telford reduced to £35 which suggests they did not sell many at the original price, which yes is set by the importer. 

 

Must say it seems Amerang in the UK dont care much as their prices seem very high. 

 

I get most of my Hasegawa kits direct from Japan, even with shipping ad taxes it works out cheaper.

Seems crazy that you can purchase something directly from Japan cheaper than from an importer.  Anyway, if I get round to buying this particular mark of Avenger it will be the Sword kit (from the UK, not the EU - see above!).  Almost a quarter of the price and their Skyraider AEW and Gannet AEW kits went together pretty well.

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On 5/1/2022 at 11:53 AM, bootneck said:

Much of that cost appears to import, VAT and shipping etc., as the HLJ site is showing it at £32.58, so it's not Hasegawa that is at fault.

 

Mike

Maybe so although, to be honest, £32 doesn't exactly sound cheap either.

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3 hours ago, fernandocouto said:

A TBM-3 kit with resin radar pod, ASW operator compartment, as you said, resin “clear” parts for a new back canopy. When it was first released in 2009, the price is 5,800 yen(about 45USD or over 300RMB in PRC), which equals to their 1/72 He111Z kit! Meanwhile TBF/TBM kits were 1,500 or 1,800 yen, but released much earlier. Avenger Mk.4 with metal parts(maybe RN type arrest hook) is 2,600 yen. 

I bought a second hand one in 2014 or 15 for 35USD, however as you mentioned I saw the "frosted shower compartment door", even turned to tan tone a bit. In the instruction, you can paint gloss clear to make it crystal...I believe experienced modellers would replace with vacu parts.

So, when Sword announced their post war TBMs, I put my HAS kit on bargain, finally it "exchanged" both -3S2 and 3W2......not 5 times price in PRC, twice is enough for me.

 

By the way, HASE also announced a Seaking AEW.2 based on SH-3D kit around 2009/10, with a huge amount resin parts and 9,800(or over 10,000) yen price on poster and website, fortunately to modellers, they changed their mind before release, with new metal molds instead, no need to tackle with poor fit or wrapped resin parts as 1/48th Bf109G-2 or 1/72nd DH Mosquito Mk.18!

 

For the sort of price being asked one could reasonably expect the resin transparencies to at least be transparent. 

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