IPMS UK
Scale Aircraft Modelling|March 2022
One of the abiding themes within plastic modelling is the ever-rising cost of kits.
John Tapsell
IPMS UK

As someone who has been involved in the hobby for nearly fifty years, man and boy, I have seen that the cost of the average kit has very definitely increased over time. It's particularly noticeable in those kits that hail from the 1970s and that are still being rereleased in the 2020s. It's not that many of them are bad kits – if the moulds have held up over time they can still be excellent models to build. If they remain popular subjects with modellers, the model companies can still justify releasing them too.

Timmediately hear the screams of wrath from the Internet crowd, horrified that I should be condoning the continued availability of old kits when much 'better' ones are available - more detailed, more accurate, more parts (as if more parts automatically makes it a better kit). But they miss the fundamental point. The vast majority of models are purchased by the casual kit builder who is looking for enjoyment and pleasure rather than the obsessive pursuit of perfection.

This story is from the March 2022 edition of Scale Aircraft Modelling.

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This story is from the March 2022 edition of Scale Aircraft Modelling.

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