Kit Form Services are known for there big scale models, well the have another big truck on the way. Take a look.
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Big Truck from KFS
SgtRam
Contributing Writer
#197
Joined: March 06, 2011
KitMaker: 3,971 posts
Armorama: 2,859 posts
Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 10:15 AM UTC
Paulinsibculo
Joined: July 01, 2010
KitMaker: 1,322 posts
Armorama: 1,239 posts
Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 05:41 PM UTC
Holy sh............!
A very promising model! But the price!
approx 280 euros.
Let's face it: most of us are fanatic collectors, a lot of us do even start building, a part finishes their models, but whom of us will spend so much money on a relatively small model. Accurate Armour offers a very high quality for less.
Why didn't they consider normal plastic? The investment in the molding would have been recovered in the first month of release.
A very promising model! But the price!
approx 280 euros.Let's face it: most of us are fanatic collectors, a lot of us do even start building, a part finishes their models, but whom of us will spend so much money on a relatively small model. Accurate Armour offers a very high quality for less.
Why didn't they consider normal plastic? The investment in the molding would have been recovered in the first month of release.
jimbrae
Joined: April 23, 2003
KitMaker: 12,927 posts
Armorama: 9,486 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 12:37 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Accurate Armour offers a very high quality for less.
Why didn't they consider normal plastic? The investment in the molding would have been recovered in the first month of release.
I agree with the first comments about AA but I certainly take issue with the second part...
Point by point. Tooling for an injection-moulded kit (even in China where it's the cheapest) is still frighteningly expensive. To invest in tooling like this is a real gampble. I can think of several companies who've had their fingers scorched with the kind of investment necessary.
Subject? For me, yes and, almost certainly for you, a styrene Matador would be a mouth-watering prospect. Would they sell enough though to recover their costs?
KFS is a VERY specialized manufacturer they don't do mass-market kits like others, so, yes it's expensive. Is the market there? Well, they're still in business...
casper
Joined: August 01, 2005
KitMaker: 395 posts
Armorama: 173 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 02:13 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Holy sh............!
A very promising model! But the price!
Accurate Armour offers a very high quality for less.
Why didn't they consider normal plastic? The investment in the molding would have been recovered in the first month of release.
You do realise this is 1/24th scale not 1/35th ?.
To compare the Accurate Armour cost to the KFS offering is somewhat naive.
Plastic !, while 1/24th trucks have a small following to begin with, to even consider doing a military 1/24th truck in plastic would basically be the death knell of a small company like KFS - there is only a very small following in military 1/24th in comparison to 1/35th (just have a hunt around for AM parts).
AlanL
Joined: August 12, 2005
KitMaker: 14,499 posts
Armorama: 11,675 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 04:48 AM UTC
It is a leap of faith to say how well anything will sell. But should a 1/35 scale Matador appear in plastic then I will get one if not two, so good luck to the 1/24 scale but I'll stick with 1/35 and continue to live in hope.
Al
Al
badger42
Joined: August 08, 2011
KitMaker: 12 posts
Armorama: 9 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 09:15 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Holy sh............!
A very promising model! But the price!
Let's face it: most of us are fanatic collectors, a lot of us do even start building, a part finishes their models, but whom of us will spend so much money on a relatively small model. Accurate Armour offers a very high quality for less.
Why didn't they consider normal plastic? The investment in the molding would have been recovered in the first month of release.
I understand where you are coming from but, the quality of the KFS kits are second to none. The castings are the best i have seen in years with no big pour plugs to remouve like other manufacturers. I am currently building my first KFS kit, the Austin champ and am already looking to get another of Howards kits later in the year. I have built many resin 35th kits over the years and none of them have been as good a quality as those kits. The interest and active building of 24th scale military is quite large. Bigger than you might think. Basically, you get your money's worth and more. Personally, i came across KFS after following a build on another forum last year and took the plunge and am enjoying this scale.
Barrie.
ChrisDM
Joined: January 01, 2010
KitMaker: 717 posts
Armorama: 697 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 02:01 PM UTC
I think sometimes people don't appreciate just how high the material and production costs are on resin kits 
In sheer weight or resin alone, a large casting like a 1/24 Matador would probably be enough resin to do two in 1/35 scale
Then there is the very large amount of silicone required to mould something that big. Silicone is pretty expensive and moulding this will require a LOT of the stuff
Then there is the fact that the moulds will cast a maximum of around 50 casts before they give out and you have to pay to make new moulds all over again for the next 50 (unlike a set of plastic kit moulds that will pop more than you could ever sell, even for tiger and panzer kits)
I know the company KFS uses to get there casting done. They produce bubble free castings with only a trace of the pour on them and generally no flash, but that kind of casting is expensive
Honestly, if people understood the costs they wouldn't moan about the price of resin kits
OK, so they are too expensive for some people; no-one is holding a gun to your head to make you buy it, and no-one needs to for a lot of modellers who appreciate the availability of a model no-one is going to do in plastic and when it as well done as KFS do them
In sheer weight or resin alone, a large casting like a 1/24 Matador would probably be enough resin to do two in 1/35 scale
Then there is the very large amount of silicone required to mould something that big. Silicone is pretty expensive and moulding this will require a LOT of the stuff
Then there is the fact that the moulds will cast a maximum of around 50 casts before they give out and you have to pay to make new moulds all over again for the next 50 (unlike a set of plastic kit moulds that will pop more than you could ever sell, even for tiger and panzer kits)
I know the company KFS uses to get there casting done. They produce bubble free castings with only a trace of the pour on them and generally no flash, but that kind of casting is expensive
Honestly, if people understood the costs they wouldn't moan about the price of resin kits
OK, so they are too expensive for some people; no-one is holding a gun to your head to make you buy it, and no-one needs to for a lot of modellers who appreciate the availability of a model no-one is going to do in plastic and when it as well done as KFS do them
vonHengest
Joined: June 29, 2010
KitMaker: 5,854 posts
Armorama: 4,817 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 03:26 PM UTC
Honestly if I had the money I would feel good about buying this kit. But I don't so it makes me a little queasy thinking about. I agree that their kits look stellar though, and they lose no detail by going up to such a larger scale which is usually what happens to balance cost. Instead they upped the detail and you really don't need anything for the kits I've seen. In the end I'm sure they save you money by already including everything you could ever want in such a large and nice kit, rather than leaving you to buy a lot of expensive AM that only sees a very limited production run.
Paulinsibculo
Joined: July 01, 2010
KitMaker: 1,322 posts
Armorama: 1,239 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 09:21 PM UTC
Dear all,
First: yes! I have seen the scale.
Second: to my opinion, a 1/24 scale model certainly will be very attractive, resin allows the smallest detail.
But what I wanted to make clear is the fact that a 1/35 model in plastic would certainly have had a large amount of modelers purchasing it.
Now, we see an absolute top quality model for a very small amount of modelers.
My remarks are intended to steer up a company which will take the challenge producing a plastic model.
A quality discussion on this forum may wake up a product developer at Bronco or MiniArt!
First: yes! I have seen the scale.
Second: to my opinion, a 1/24 scale model certainly will be very attractive, resin allows the smallest detail.
But what I wanted to make clear is the fact that a 1/35 model in plastic would certainly have had a large amount of modelers purchasing it.
Now, we see an absolute top quality model for a very small amount of modelers.
My remarks are intended to steer up a company which will take the challenge producing a plastic model.
A quality discussion on this forum may wake up a product developer at Bronco or MiniArt!
jimbrae
Joined: April 23, 2003
KitMaker: 12,927 posts
Armorama: 9,486 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 09:52 PM UTC
Quoted Text
But what I wanted to make clear is the fact that a 1/35 model in plastic would certainly have had a large amount of modelers purchasing it.
Now, we see an absolute top quality model for a very small amount of modelers.
My remarks are intended to steer up a company which will take the challenge producing a plastic model.
A quality discussion on this forum may wake up a product developer at Bronco or MiniArt!
I've spoken to several styrene manufacturers about this. I've provided them with plans, photos and even some scans of workshop manuals. There is an interest but it's NOT as an economically attractive proposal as you might think.
Remember, it's about recovering costs by selling enough to make it profitable. That's the absolute bottom line...
MacTrucks
Joined: November 12, 2006
KitMaker: 285 posts
Armorama: 228 posts
Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2012 - 05:48 PM UTC
KFS kits are second to none. They cater to the 1/24 scale model truck builders, so this kit is coincidentally a cross-over to military kits. They have an extensive line of British trucks (or lorries if you prefer), but mostly civilian. Were I to win the lottery there are several KFS castings I would need to get my hands on right away.
Personally, I'm a guy who will wait to buy a kit until I get a good deal. At least generally speaking. But I do own a very expensive KFS excavator. Granted I've not build it, but the quality of the castings, packaging and instructions is incredible. Think of the best injection molded kit you can, then imagine something better. If you can find flaws in KFS castings then you have a microscope and WAY too much time to look at the small details. Very expensive, I agree, but if you really want a 1/24 kit you can't go wrong. The quality is so good, it would surprise me if someone used it to scale down to 1/35.
Personally, I'm a guy who will wait to buy a kit until I get a good deal. At least generally speaking. But I do own a very expensive KFS excavator. Granted I've not build it, but the quality of the castings, packaging and instructions is incredible. Think of the best injection molded kit you can, then imagine something better. If you can find flaws in KFS castings then you have a microscope and WAY too much time to look at the small details. Very expensive, I agree, but if you really want a 1/24 kit you can't go wrong. The quality is so good, it would surprise me if someone used it to scale down to 1/35.
samkidd
Joined: January 06, 2006
KitMaker: 530 posts
Armorama: 450 posts
Posted: Saturday, March 17, 2012 - 01:53 PM UTC
KFS releases another masterpiece! As soon as I can stop pouring money into my hopeless venture I will be ordering one of these. Honestly, I've never heard anything but praise for the quality of KFS kits and the interesting nature of it's releases. How many AMs can make that claim?
I will add this bit to the earlier discussion on the cost of kits in this scale. A simple rule of thumb is take what you think it will cost to produce a kit like this. Now quadruple it. A production silicone costs over $100 a gallon and 1/24 scale pieces are nearly 150% the size of their 1/35 scale siblings.
That mold that you spend many hours making IS going to break after about 20 to 35 uses. So it will have to be replaced with more of that $$$ silicone. Add to this the greater quantities of resin, larger equipment needed and all the other necessary additions and costs can really add up very quickly.
I think Howard at KFS has shown real guts to offer the things he has in this awesome scale. Why 1/24 scale and not the cheaper 1/35? Once you see one of his completed models sitting on a table then you'll know.
Jim
Large Scale Armory
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