wonderland models have 1/350 mogami at 120.00 too steep for me. have nt tamiya heard of the credit crunch ???? time to hit the stash have to go back to model tanks

Thats what the stash is for. I can only wish I had a stash since I started building kits a few months ago, but I'm working at it.

but tamiya are nt doing themselves or the hobby any favours a lot of would be buyers will walk away from this . ive alwayswanted to see this class of ship in model form but i cant justify that outlay on a kit . it makes wonder how revell can turn kits out like the gato at half the price

There's always gonna be someone complaining about how much is too much. But really, Tamiya's Mogami is cheaper than many other ships in a similar size and scale. 11,000 yen is almost a steal to get Tamiya's well-known quality and "shake and bake" construction. I have no complaints with this price (or most others).

For comparison:

Fujimi's upcoming Shokaku: 22,000 yen
Fujimi's Kongo: 16,500 yen
Hasegawa's Nagato: 19,000
Hasegawa's Akagi: 24,800

True, some are bigger or more complex, but Tamiya's Mogami slots in nicely and will be a good seller.

These kits are all doing great sales and lowering their MSRP for some short term sales would be a terrible business maneuver. After all, these kits are made to be sold for the next 20 years or more. So if they lower the price to blow out for the short term, then what? Lose money and make no profit on what they do manage to sell? And then all of a sudden boost those prices back up overnight when someone decides the economy is good? Then there'd be even more complaints (and guys making very tidy profits on ebay, only fueling the bad blood). There is a law of diminishing returns-- just because something costs half the price of something else, does not always guarantee that it will sell twice as much.

It costs a LOT of money to produce one of these kits and the manufacturers are basically making an investment for the future. Even if someone can't buy the kit now, economies always rebound, and the money may be available later. This only hurts those who want to have all of the latest and greatest stuff **right now**. But if you're not trying to keep up with the Joneses, be patient, wait for all of the street prices, and in a couple years or less, you may be able to score one on sale-- or you may be in better economic conditions to afford the MSRP.

BTW, anything sold outside of Japan is just icing on the cake. Japan's sales alone will take care of this kit (and many others)-- thus the focus on IJN subjects.

Hear hear! Ferrari should lower their costs to that of Hyundai to help the automotive industry!

Where's a rolleyes icon when you need on....

Considering the exceptional quality of the Tamiya Mogami, I would say that it's a good deal. Ship models will always be expensive in relation to armour and aircraft models, it's a burden we ship fans have to deal with.

Frank

You can alays drop down a scale to 700. Things have improved astronomically since I first built these in the mid 70's.They all are what can be now called reasonably priced (back then they were $3 and $4 a pop) they don't take up as much space and are fairly well detaild with add on PE sets available

So long as the Mogami is a major release, it will be around long enough for the purchase money to be saved up....

--Karl

Dave,

Just because you can't justify spending the money for the Mogami doesn't mean the kit is over priced. I'm sure Tamiya spent plenty of money developing the kit - now they want a return on their investment. I'm sure the soon to be release Mikuma (with the triple 6" gun turrets) will be the same price.

I saw the kit in person at our local IPMS club meeting this past Friday. If I hadn't already started the 1/700 kit, I'd definitely be buying it - it looks really, really sweet in the box.

martin
my point is that in the present climate 120.00 for a kit is steep . i paid 100 for the nagato with both pe kits at yeovil model show so i will fork out but this one is just for the kit . id love to get the akagi but not at those prices . if this kit dosent sell then tamiya may go back to no new ship kits then we all suffer as new releases dry up . if u can afford it then good luck to you have fun !!!! but we all know that this hobby has a lack of new blood coming in and at these prices many may say no . the yamato kit was a big step for tamiya whenreleased and nearly broke the company . i hope it sells ive got all 3 1/72 scale subs and the bismarck is next on the list from revell . i cant do 1/700 my eyes arent good enuff now which is a pity.

I decided at the start of the year I would buy 3 1/350 ships. So far I have the ROG’s Tirpitz on pre-sell, Hasegawa’s IJN Yukikaze, and I am undecided. My main driver is cost. Sure the Mogami is not cheap, but compared to similar IJN cruisers, she is on the cheaper end of things.

In reality is comes down to each person and how they feel. I would love to get my hands on an Akagi or Ise, but those are a little hefty for me.

Is Tamiya doing the hobby any favors by pricing the Mogami as they did? In reality they are. They are using the Mogami to help bring us her sister ship and in reality that might be why their respective prices are below those of the current IJN cruiser kits.

Nobody is happy to see prices climbing they way they are, I remember freaking out when I paid $50 for my Tamiya New Jersey back in 1987. A person expressing their displeasure is fine as long none of us cross any lines.

And yes, there is always 1/700. To me 1/700 offer a double bonus, lower prices and less space.

Being a ship modeler who prefers the larger scales, higher kit cost is the 'price of admiralty'. Sure, I like bargains too, but I am realistic enough to know that bigger pieces of plastic will equate to bigger prices.

The rub comes with limited editions that are pricey and few in number, forcing a possible buy before the budget is ready. Since this is a hobby, kit purchases can be budgeted or simply put off. With a major release, a favored kit will be available somewhere when the money is finally in hand. For kits that are priced out of whack for what is offered, I always have the option to scratchbuild.

--Karl

Its a hobby!

Name me a hobby that doesn't cost an arm and a leg....I love the 1/350 scale kits from Hasegawa, Fujimi and Tamiya. I won't buy kits from the "others"! There's always gonna be "affordable" kits and "high end kits" just like any hobby or sport. IMO ...I will not settle for a cheaper kit with lesser quality..Those are the ones in my stash collecting dust...I've wasted money on these kits. You know you've bought that cheap kit...it was crappy and now its sitting in your closet!!!
I think scale models should be built not collected. I'll pay $$$ for the best. and acutally build them.
In fact I'm working on my 1/350 Akagi and typing this at the same time! ya I'm THAT good! jjk.

Incidentally, HWJapan has it for 20% off the Japanese price for a total of only 8,800 yen before shipping. Very nice. I'm waiting for the Mikuma, but man, this is a great price! There's a 7-14 day back order, but nothing really terrible.

http://www.hwjapan.com/sh/TAM78021.aspx

Dade,
I can't repeat what I first said when I saw this but, "Darn you!"

That is a killer price, even with shipping that will be much lower. Plus you get points!!

So tempting. I can order one and still have about 2 weeks to save for it. Some body have a coin I can flip?

I look at it this way, take the 700 scale Mogami price of about $30. To me a assembled 350 scale ship takes at least 4 times the space of its 700 scale counterpart, and 8 times or more if you count the lower hull, which gerenaly doesn't come wth 700 scale IJN kits. So, to me, that is at least 4 times the plastic, detail level, and possibly parts and frets the manufacturer has put into a good quality kit. $30 x 4 = $120 Looking at it from this point of view helps me to justify the MSRP of 350 scale ships which I think are generally a good deal. They almost always come with a lower hull and sometimes photoetch which makes them even more of a good deal.

I don't fault the manufactuers for there pricing. Comparatively you get more for your dollar in 350 scale with the new releases. I have space issues at my house and 700 scale is great for solving that.

Now if I could just convince them to take a break from 350 ships for a bit and retool the 700 scale Kaga and 1941 Akagi, I'd be in heaven. =)

Everybody has their price ceiling,everybody has their limit,everybody has the special dream build that they have been waiting for that they will pay anything for.
It all boils down to personal choices.One person can say "thats way to expensive"but someone elso will welcome a new release at any price.

Just a word of caution on this one. I went ahead and placed one on order. They had 7-14 backorder listed, that was Monday, I got billed today for mine. After using my points I got mine for just over $100 including shipping, SAL.

How do those points work. When I pre-ordered the Shokaku, I used my points. I didn't see the price any cheaper. I guess it will disappear on the shipping costs?

I picked up my kit of the Tamiya 350th Mogami,the price at my LMS was £78,this roughly corresponds with the Japanese Price of 11000yen,at an exchange rate of 137yen to the pound.
Hannants have it priced at £135,I raised this with the owner of the model shop,who checked the invioce and £78 was correct.
I must say it`s a bargain,an outstanding , stunning kit,worth every penny!
Cheers Phil

I think on a pre-order you will see the points taken off when you are billed. Dade can probably conforim this. I had close to 700, so that just about ate all my shipping costs.

I was hoping to have another week before that hit me because I am taking the day off tomorrow and heading over to Freetime Hobbies.

OK, back on topic. For me my big breaking point is $120 a kit. So far I have been lucky with any expensive kit I have wanted. I traded for my Leopold and got the Mogami for a nice price. There are ways to get those pricey kits out there. Do not give up on the big prices.

Research, research, reasearch

That is how to get the best bang for your hobby dollar. I always am searching the BST boards for deals, even if it something I do not build. I buy package deals and sell/trade off what I do not want. It can a good deal of fun as well.

Sorry guys, I've been super busy, so I just now saw the stuff about HWJapan. Jim, remember, you don't have to pay HWJapan's invoice right away. They give you a week before you have to "settle up", so you can always hang out for a little while longer (I say this from experience). BTW, good deal on pinning the Mogami down for only about a hundred bucks total!

Steve, regarding the points, they're usually taken away from the total price after shipping. So yes, if you had points and applied them to a pre-order, you may not see a price discount on the product itself-- but typically the shipping will get lower (I just recently had this happen a couple weeks ago). You can always email HWJapan and ask. They're very good about responding and very helpful.

I know I could have waited, but I paid up and got it over with. Now, I gotta wait about 2 weeks to get it. My last two packages took 14 days and 10 days to get here.

".......BTW, anything sold outside of Japan is just icing on the cake. Japan's sales alone will take care of this kit (and many others)-........"

I wonder how true this will be in say 12 months time?
Right now Japan is hurting real bad economically, and things will not get any better in the short term.

It wasn't too long ago that Tamiya 1/350 ships could be had for around the £30-£35UK mark, which was reasonable.

My ceiling is set thus.

£50 and upwards is just plain greedy, both on the part of the manufacturer, and his distributors.

Trumpeter and others should take note. Don't kill the goose which lays the golden egg.
People will only put up with high prices for what is essentially a hobby and not a necessity, for only so long before they suss that they are having the rise taken out of them.

How come Academy can still shove kits out onto the marketplace at reasonable prices?

I am looking forward to their Graf Spee kit - so long as it is priced reasonably.
If it breaches my 'ceiling' it stays on the shelf until one comes up on ebay (they always do sooner or later)