model kit subscriptions

[bobthehobbyguy]

Recently I've seen kits being offered on a subscription basis. Some have options for buying over 12 months or to buy it all at once. The kits are 8th scale and the total price is about 1200 dollars.

Just curious on others opinion on this.

[Greg Myers]

Looked like a good idea to me, not being able to afford a detailed kit like those offered. I could never find where they were offered here in the states.

The kits offered, mostly aircraft are truly unbelievable.

Bob, do you have any links?

Edited November 14, 2014 by Greg Myers

[Tennessee Dave]

Here is one from RB7 http://www.model-space.com/us/build-rb7-f1-red-bull.html

[bobthehobbyguy]

Yeah that was the outfit I've seen.

[chunkypeanutbutter]

How about this.

A model is around $20-$26.

$23x12(months)=$276

Knock a little off, $250.

A subscription for model kits! Pay once a year and they'll send you one every month!

Thought I'd give the idea.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Autoworld is doing a subscription program.

I'm talking about getting parts for a single large scale model over 12 monthsl.

[cobraman]

I would worry that perhaps as I go along parts packs would not be available to allow me to finish the build. Maybe nothing to worry about but that's just me. I would only buy if I could afford to buy all at once.

[Mike Chernecki]

I looked at the site for the subscription kits and I don't think they are worth it. If I was to spend that kind of money, I would get a large scale Model Factory Hiro kit which are amazing. I would love to get the new MFH Ferrari 250 GTO.

[MsDano85gt]

How about this.

A model is around $20-$26.

$23x12(months)=$276

Knock a little off, $250.

A subscription for model kits! Pay once a year and they'll send you one every month!

Thought I'd give the idea.

I'm in!! c'mo n round 2 ? anyone?

[landman]

They do a Shelby in subscriptions like that. In Brazil, I think.

[jbwelda]

why would you want to subscribe to a series of unknown to you kits? I would much rather just buy what interested me as they came out. its not like they are exclusive or anything. (edit to add: plus you know the postage would kill you. there used to be a record "club" like this and you received a record each month that you were obliged to either buy (at list plus excessive postage "and handling" cost) or return, at your own cost for postage. turned out to be a major hassle and the records they sent rarely matched anyones interest. might turn out the same with a "model club" like that. just sayin'. end edit)

to the true topic of the thread though (wow that's 7 words beginning in "t" out of 8!): what I would worry about with these kits is whether the manufacturer is still going to be around when it comes to supplying all the parts. things could look rosy now with expectations of lots of sales but then they taper off and the company goes bankrupt. what then? you have a considerable investment sitting there that's going to require an awful lot of scratchbuilding to complete.

I would like to see someone subscribe and then start up a continuing thread maybe in on the workbench forum, detailing what he gets and how it goes together. I think it would be a very interesting and long running thread especially if the author really kept at it as new installments arrived. it could be a great marketing concept, depending on execution.

jb

Edited November 15, 2014 by jbwelda

[bobthehobbyguy]

Has anybody gotten one of these subscriptions?

At minimum a review would be interesting.

I have to agree with the concerns that I woukd be able to get all the installments.

[landman]

Here's the one I was talking about. It is Tùlio who is doing it.

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=91919

[Tom Geiger]

What happens if the place goes out of business before delivering the last two sets of parts? Then everyone has an incomplete kit.

[Jim N]

I saw the videos on the Senna F1 kit and they send you a parts pack every month through out the subscription. These kits are more of an assembly of pre - finished parts. There do not seem to be many parts that require painting or the application of decals. That being stated, I would be extremely concerned about making a catastrophic mistake and sending $2500.00 down the drain.

[bobthehobbyguy]

You know I was thinking about missing months parts, or the company going out of busness but I hadn't thought about a build error.

[lordairgtar]

This method of buying a model is popular in Europe. Well, at least it started there. There were several builds talked about on Britmodeller.com . D'agastino is the name of the company doing a lot of this and are currently being advertised on the "other" mag's publication.

[aurfalien]

It would be awesome to get MFH kits this way but I suppose you can get a dedicated credit card just for the purpose. Plus you build credit to boot.

In Europe, credit isn't as easy to get as it is here so vendor prescription models are the only way to buy something you really can't afford.

[robertw]

One of the English aircraft modelling mags has a monthly feature on a subscrption build of a 1/12 scale Spitfire. Most of the model is made of balsa. By the end of your 32 month subscription you will have laid out nearly 900 pounds which makes it a pricey model.

[Brizio]

DeAgostini is very famous for sell model cars, In Italy I think that they start in the 80's, to sell model cars in this way, and they sold trough book store, gas station and newsstand.

The problem, like the F1 Ferrari kit years ago, was that they usually make available the first numbers and you can find them everywhere. After it is very difficult to find them, above all if you live in small towns, also the first numbers you can find them each month, after they seems to slow down, one each two months, sometime they skip a month and you don't have the parts.

I remember back in the 90's, when I was into 1/43 scale cars, they came out with some cool Fiats. On TV and every where a lot of ads about it, and the first car was a Fiat 500, so I got it, it was very cheap ($5) (compared to other famous brand 1/43 scale maker) but very well made, on the little magazine that came with it, there was all the specifications, history about the Fiat 500. Also a ads with the next month exit, a Fiat 600 that I was able to get it, the price went up little bit ($6,50). When it came out, there on the next month ads there was a Fiat 127 (for $8,50), not the best Fiat, but not so many made in 1/43. I went to the usual book store, but they didn't had it, I ask and the girl check the shipment, and told me that they did not receive any magazine. I went to check other book store, newsstand, but same story. They also told me that I had to subscribe for receive them, but I dint do it. My uncle also collected model cars, he subscribed for the "cars of the 60's" and he had trouble to get some numbers too.

Plus the price start cheap for the first model, and goes up...

The moral of the story, when I saw something interesting on those collection I got the first and second model. Did not trust them too much.

[John Goschke]

One of the English aircraft modelling mags has a monthly feature on a subscrption build of a 1/12 scale Spitfire. Most of the model is made of balsa. By the end of your 32 month subscription you will have laid out nearly 900 pounds which makes it a pricey model.

And that's a ton of money for a "model" that, judging by the photos, looks a badly-proportioned toy.