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The costs for producing the kits are going down so I am not convinced that kits are getting more expensive when the prices are adjusted for inflation.
/ Robin
Are you talking about armor kits, or kits in general? Car kits aren't expensive, with the exception of Tamiya. Its kits, in my opinion, are overpriced for what's in the box. Revellogram kit prices haven't experienced a dramatic increase over the last 20 or so years. I paid around $12 for them in the mid '90s and the same kits can be had for $18-22 today. The same can't be said for armor kits. The kits that were first issued by Dragon, 3526 (MD 530G (MMS) Gunship), for which I paid $23 in the mid-late '90s, and is still available in its catalog today, costs around 100-120% more. If, according to your statement, the cost of production has gone down, shouldn't that translate to kit prices being less than at present? Factoring in inflation rates, car kits saw an approximately 50% price increase over a twenty year period, why doesn't that rate of increase apply to the cost of armor kits? Again, I'm referring to kits which were first available during that particular period and are still manufactured today.
Prices for brand new Armor and AFV kits are not going down; if anything, they keep rising. Prices for the newer AND older kits that have been on the market for a while tend to go down because the retailers are trying to move this older stock to make room for the more expensive brand new stuff.
CAD, Slide-mold technology, the cost of plastic (a petro-chemical substance, which in the last 30 years or so has risen quite noticeably) PLUS a "tiny" bit of greed have something to do with it. Then, add the high parts counts of today's Armor, AFV and Soft-skins kits and compare that to what was available to us in the 1960s-1980s, and I think you'll have a reasonable explanation for the high costs of kits in this genre.
Prices for Aircraft and Automobiles have increased, but not to the point of being un-affordable. And for the Train Fans, specialized Locomotives, in both Steam and Diesel types, manufactured in plastic, brass, or brass-hybrid types have gone right through roof in price. I've seen certain HO brass Steam Locomotives selling for just under $3000.00 on ebay.
Conversely, just yesterday, (kind of off-subject), I saw a DRAGON "Wittmann's Last Tiger" being listed for $299.00. Sorry, not me!!! I don't GIVE A RAT'S ASS FOR WHOSE "last Tiger" that is! $300 bucks is way too much for THAT THING! You can buy a late-production Tiger I and get aftermarket parts and decals to replicate "Wittmann's" Tiger for under a THIRD of the cost that that rip-off artist is listing his "Wittman's" Last Tiger for... But, as they say at some unscrupulous auto dealers, "There's an ass for every seat"...
I checked my stash-register and found three Type 90 tanks (Tamiya) purchased in the period 2000 to 2014 and I paid more or less the same amount of money for them. Compared to the price for milk which has doubled in the same period I would say that the increase for these Tamiya kits hasn't increased much. Increased parts count of a kit is another matter, more plastic costs more money (the price of crude oil has been going up and down the last 15 - 20 years)
The labour cost for designing the molds and cutting them has definitely not increased since CAD and modern production methods have made it a lot cheaper and more efficient.
Comparing an older kit with lower parts count with a modern kit with a lot more details isn't exactly fair either.
A possible value to compare could be the modelling hours, or joy/entertainment, that the modeller gets for a specific amount of hard earned cash.
Going to the movies in Sweden could be used as a comparison: Example: The Martian, 2 hours, 140 SEK = US $ 16:47 = Euro 15:16 = £ 10.91)
The Bronco Sd.Kfz 15 would cost me Euro 56:50 so I would need to get 6 hours and 40 minutes of building joy out of the kit (the local hobby shop is more expensive but that is caused by our taxes et.c.). On the other hand I can wait for the film to turn up as a DVD for a lot less ...
I don't remember what I paid for the Italeri Kfz. 15 more than 20 years ago but Italeri kits at that time were somewhere around 140 to 160 SEK which was about 2.5 movie tickets. I think that the Bronco Kfz.15 will give me more fun for the money than the Italeri one (fever parts).
I think that we are actually getting better kits for inflation adjusted money even if the individual kit seems more expensive due to increased parts count.
/ Robin
