The High Cost of the Hobby

[ratdoggy]

2 hours ago, Plowboy said:

Exactly! I bought one for my son that was over  $400 with taxes. Worth every penny! About the only sets under $100 are the small vehicles. Now there's a TV show called Lego Masters! It's unreal how Legos has exploded over the last few years! 

They still hurt like heck when you step on one in the middle of the night

[ratdoggy]

Then again you could go racing...Even in a cheaper series a weekend is not for the faint of heart...

$500 car my a55!

Edited March 9, 2020 by ratdoggy

[Bill Eh?]

Greg (NOBLING), I guess that I must be somewhat on the other end of the spectrum from you. I do enjoy going to swap meets, flea markets and using coupons. However, a group of us make the pilgrimage to the NNL East on an annual basis. We do buy numerous kits and resin pieces there. When you factor in meals along the way, hotel expense and cost of gas, we really are overspending for the items we buy. Going to the NNL East goes way beyond buying kits. It is the fun of an extended road trip. It is the wonderful experience of the NNL and the hospitality of the Tri-State model groups (Diversified Scalerz as well) and all of the fantastic people that you might only see once a year. So in this respect, a few of the kits that I have purchased have been a little bit on the expensive side of things! LOL

[Dave Van]

Being in Canada your cost is higher than ours. The exchange rate, transport, taxes and tariffs all pile on. 

But of the hobbies I have and am active in plastic models is by far the cheapest. 

My O scale model railroad is pretty costly. New locomotives are in the $2,000 range with the high end locos more toward $3,000+. Control system, track and electronics to run them all $$$$$$

Then to the 1/1 scale car hobby. I am looking at painting my 46 Ford SuperDeLuxe this Spring....a simple no body work semi gloss black will be $6,000 and that's a driver paint job....not collector, paint.  And don't think about new tires, carb or radiator....brakes...maintenance. 

So it's all relative.  For me it's my cheapy hobby. 

[Tom Geiger]

Thanks Bill for the kind comments regarding NNL East!  I’ve often said this hobby is just an excuse to have lunch with friends.  I’m very good at lunch!

[Nitrobarry]

Great answers and conversation! My thanks to all who commented.

[Roadrunner]

2 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

I am on the “cheap” end of the spectrum. I find it hard to spend $45.00 on a new model, more for a Tamiya or...?  So I bought just about everything at Michaels with a coupon, and frequent the flea markets. I haven’t bought much aftermarket stuff yet either.  That said it is definitely one of the more affordable hobbies if you break it down to dollars per hour, especially if you scratch build parts.

I'm in the same boat, basically inexpensive car models, even though many are 60 years old, usually 40% off at HL and virtually no AM for any of them. Building, as I do, mostly curbside, my overall outlay is peanuts compared to my aviation and armor related modelling hobby. I'm working on a 1:32 Bf 109G-14/AS right now, and between the kit cost and all of the AM I'm dumping into it, will end up being well over $150 before I'm through, vs the average cost of $20 or so per car model. I have no complaints.

[Bill Eh?]

2 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

Thanks Bill for the kind comments regarding NNL East!  I’ve often said this hobby is just an excuse to have lunch with friends.  I’m very good at lunch!

Tom, I've got a small surprise to give you as a gesture of thanks for all of the years of enjoyment that are associated with this event. I know there are hundreds(?) of individuals with involvement, however you are the"face" of the event to me.

[mikemodeler]

If you are finding this hobby to be too expensive, then you are right in getting out of it. It isn't going to get any cheaper and if you can hardly afford to build now, I doubt you will in the future. You would be doing yourself a favor by getting out now instead of hanging around and complaining about the costs, knowing it won't improve. I have yet to find those $2.49 model kits I used to buy with my allowance back in 1972, but I sure am having fun building nearly 50 years later, despite the increased costs.

[Dave Van]

A AMT kit that cost $2.25 in 1970, taking only inflation into account, should cost $16 today. So according to that kit cost has out paced inflation. But the retired analyst in me has to look at all the factors. Inflation, raw materials, operating cost, market size and the ROI the price of kits is totally in line. 

Yes...I want 99 cent JoHan kits at my local Pic n Save but it ain't 1967 any longer.

[Snake45]

45 minutes ago, mikemodeler said:

I have yet to find those $2.49 model kits I used to buy with my allowance back in 1972, but I sure am having fun building nearly 50 years later, despite the increased costs.

PREACH IT, Brother Mike! Can I get a AY-men from the choir? 

[peteski]

I have chuckle at people who compare today's prices of the hobby to the "good old days" 40 or 50 years ago.  Sure when you compare the price of a model kit now, to the '60s prices (when a kit cost $2 or less, little bottle of Testors paint was 20 cents, and a spray can was probably around a dollar), then yes, the price is really high.  But back then you could also buy a new car for just few thousands of dollars, and average house cost probably around $20k.   Those days are long gone and never to return.

But if you compare the cost of this hobby to other contemporary hobbies, then it is not very high cost at all.

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

I've always considered this hobby relatively inexpensive. Perspective, I guess.... -RRR

[CabDriver]

I’m not sure why, but this topic made me think of a sign I see by my wife’s place of work:

It’s MUCH cheaper to die than to get divorced or go bankrupt, apparently!  

I probably spent less than $500 all told last year on kits and supplies, and it was WAY more fun than dying, getting divorced or going bankrupt so I guess it was pretty good value all told ?‍♂️?

[slusher]

Some of us buy new kits because they give us new inspiration like an artist.  We have ideas for most of the kits we own.

[majel]

Every hobby costs money, some hobbies more than others.  I think we all try to do as much as we can with the available resources.  I started the hobby in the early seventies, quit it in the late seventies and came back in the early nineties.  Naturally everything is more expensive, but the sheer amount of choices in the kits, glues, paints, and aftermarket make it more enjoyable than it ever was when i was in my early teens.  

[moparfarmer]

8 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

I am on the “cheap” end of the spectrum. I find it hard to spend $45.00 on a new model, more for a Tamiya or...?  So I bought just about everything at Michaels with a coupon, and frequent the flea markets. I haven’t bought much aftermarket stuff yet either.  That said it is definitely one of the more affordable hobbies if you break it down to dollars per hour, especially if you scratch build parts.

Gregn notice you live in Winnipeg..How about coming to our meeting this Sunday at St.Alphonsos Church bingo hall..Its on Monroe off Henderson Highway..11:00 till 1:00  See me at the front table..I look like my avatar..Hope to see you..We have some good buys at the meeting too..

[Plowboy]

Personally, I don't keep track of what I spend on the hobby or any one build. If I have the money and want something, I get it. If I don't, I don't. I will spend whatever it takes to make my vision become a tangible object. It may cost $40. It may go well over $100. Doesn't matter to me. 

[slusher]

47 minutes ago, majel said:

Every hobby costs money, some hobbies more than others.  I think we all try to do as much as we can with the available resources.  I started the hobby in the early seventies, quit it in the late seventies and came back in the early nineties.  Naturally everything is more expensive, but the sheer amount of choices in the kits, glues, paints, and aftermarket make it more enjoyable than it ever was when i was in my early teens.  

Totally agree!!

[SfanGoch]

13 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

Personally, I don't keep track of what I spend on the hobby or any one build. If I have the money and want something, I get it. If I don't, I don't. I will spend whatever it takes to make my vision become a tangible object. It may cost $40. It may go well over $100. Doesn't matter to me. 

That's the ticket.

[Pete J.]

I guess at 70 I have traversed into a different part of the hobby.  I don't buy so much any more.  The stash of kits I have accumulated over the years will keep my grand kids building well into the next century.  I have aquired pretty much every tool I will ever need(except an occasional specialty tool for my Sherline mill and lathe) to build models. After all who really needs 15 different scribing tools and 5 airbrushes?  I have a ton of aftermarket detail sets that I will never use.  All total I know my supply of hobby stuff costs well into the 5 digits, so I don't buy much.

  So from that perspective this hobby is super cheap.  This all happened over 30+ years of active modeling as a adult.  This means that I don't worry about the cost of my builds.  If I use a couple of hundred dollars worth of stuff to build a kit, it is irrelevant and my cost was paid a long time ago and doesn't come out of my pension or social security.  

I accumulated this stuff slowly and in a way that was pretty painless.  I just hope all of you, like me, get to the point that you can enjoy the hobby, without worrying about the cost. 

When you buy something today, look at it as an investment in your retirement happiness. ?

[highway]

29 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

Personally, I don't keep track of what I spend on the hobby or any one build. If I have the money and want something, I get it. If I don't, I don't. I will spend whatever it takes to make my vision become a tangible object. It may cost $40. It may go well over $100. Doesn't matter to me. 

 

15 minutes ago, SfanGoch said:

That's the ticket.

Yes, exactly! Also, in the case of this build mostly because of my build speed being slower than molasses in winter and this being in progress for 10 years now:

between kits, kits bought for parts for an engine donor, resin and aftermarket pieces, and paint including colorshifting paint on both truck and trailer and different colorshifting paint for the frames of both and also shades of Alclad including Prismatic Chrome for the roof and floor of the trailer, I would say a rough estimate I have probably close to $300 or $400 into this model at this time. I'd say $150 of that is for kits alone, including the parts kit that donated the engine, and since the project still isn't finished there is no telling what else I my find that I might want to dress it up with. If someone thinks about $80 (which is what I figured out the $120 CD would be in USD) is too expensive for someone to be in the hobby for the car portion, which I've got that in or probably more in a few of my car projects with donor kits, resin bodies, and accessories, then definitely stay away from the big rig kits because you'll have just that much in just most of the base tractor kits out of the box! 

[SfanGoch]

Wow! That is a swell looking rig, Matt. You couldn't get that result squeezing Jefferson off a nickel.

[Mark]

7 hours ago, CabDriver said:

 

It’s MUCH cheaper to die than to get divorced or go bankrupt, apparently!  

 

Why is divorce so expensive?  Ask the people involved, they'll tell you it's worth it!

I'm here all week, folks...try the veal, and don't forget to tip your waitress...

[disabled modeler]

7 hours ago, slusher said:

Some of us buy new kits because they give us new inspiration like an artist.  We have ideas for most of the kits we own.

Well put Carl....some of us dont have the resources to spend much on them so we have to work within our means best we can too..just takes longer to do them and get what is needed for the build.  I love building and restoring older models but the new re-issues are the same to me its the vehicle or project of them we want to make of them after all.  Older kits/models are very cool but the prices make some go for the re-issued ones they can find of the ones they want.