I'm getting impatient for the Italeri Bishop rerelease - and drifting round Ebay I found an ESCI-issue one going cheap. I reckon if I keep my final bid to within what I reckon to be the likely price of the re-issued kit (should it finally come out) then I can't really lose.

Or can I?

What are the perils of getting a old kit? Do the tracks become brittle? Do the decals degrade?

cheers

A

PS- Do any Bishops still exist? If not - what happened to them all?

....anyone? Ovbiously doesn't just apply to this kit in particular---what are people's experiences in buying old kits in general?


A

Can't help you with the Bishop kit questions but when it comes to buying old kits several factors need to be considered.
The age of the kit, where and how it was stored over the years. Those stored in attics, may suffer from warped parts due to temperatures changes, Those stored in damp basements may suffer from damaged decals. Those stored in a climate controlled house or apartment may fair a little better, but remember most closets do not have AC or heat, so they too are subjected to temperature swings. although not as drastic as the attic and basements.

I personally haven't had any problems with vinyl tracks but have had problems with Italeri vinyl tires etching/leeching into the plastic parts they rested against.

Hi Andronicus

I've retrieved a couple of old ESCI kits from the back of the wardrobe and the vinyl tracks seem to be okay, and I don't think that they have the same problems as Airfix tracks of the same vintage.

As Dave says transfers are vulnerable to storage conditions, especially damp, and may also yellow or become brittle. Or they may not. At least they can easily be replaced by aftermarket ones, and I think Skytrex among others do British markings in 1/72. And there are likely to be others.

Can't think of any surviving Bishops offhand.

David

Cheers both! I can see that it might be a bit of a lottery...I'm probably best off excercising a little self-control and waiting for the re-release. I've tried mailing Italeiri but their form doesn't work.

Happy new year!


A

Hi mate,

The "old" Esci Bishops are some of the best of their range imho. I built a couple, purchased from Ebay, last year and they are excellent little kits.. Also the tracks have great detail and are far better than most of the stiff silver-grey vinyl ones associtaed with the old Esci kits. The only issue I had was that the tracks were too short, by over half an inch. Easily hidden under the dust shields but a problem if you want to leave the skirts off ........

cheers
Brent

Hi Brent,

Those look fantastic. Thanks for the info - and those pics will be excellent reference for when I do get the kit!


Cheers!


A

Brent, those are indeed two beautiful Bishops!

Great job making them look like 1/35!

Hi Andronicus

Here's my two pence worth...

I'd take a punt on one of the two currently up for grabs on eBay - otherwise you might be waiting a long time for an Italeri or Revell re-release. My own (considerable) experiences with ancient kits bought on-line have been (almost) 100% positive and for the tiny amounts of cash involved you can't really go wrong...

Cheers

Karol

Generally, I have not had problems with second hand kits. It would be easy enough to ask the seller for some details if you aren't sure. Don't just bid, but inquire. I do all the time. If the answer isn't good enough, then I just don't bid. If its a little questionable to the exact condition, I bid low enough to justify if something is wrong.

I have bought damaged kits, but they were advertised as such and satisfied my needs. One of the only second-hand kits gone-wrong stories that I know personally was a friend who tended to pay more for sealed second hand kits. That way he didn't have to worry about lost pieces. He bought the kit at a model show then opened before we left. Inside he found bare sprues. No kit parts whatsoever. He cornered the seller who claimed he purchased the kit "as-is" but would refund my friend's money. Even before this happened, I preferred to buy out-of-production kits open so I could see what I was buying. Unless of course the price is VERY good.

Of course there was the one time on ebay I got a very good deal on a model I wanted dearly. Only thing is I didn't read the description till it was too late. By then I realized my great deal was for a mint-condition box. It was a very nice condition classic boxy that is now on display in my model area. So read the WHOLE description and the fine print. Only cost be a couple of bucks so I didn't mind, but lesson learned.

Hi guys!,

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I can certainly benefit from your advice--I'll especially make sure it isn't just the box!!! There's several days on the Ebay one I had my eye on so I've got time to weigh my options. I'll probe a little bit and see what response I get- I hadn't thought of doing that and it sounds like a good idea.

Thanks!

A

Just to say -- I got one on ebay for £9 which isn't so steep that if it does get rereleased by Italeri in the near future I won't feel sore about it.

Still in it's cellophane after x number of years and (despite our postman's determined efforts to get it through a letterbox patently too small for the box) in pristine condition - with link-and-length tracks too. Looking forward to building it!

Cheers all

A

You got a good deal there Andronicus. Now that you have the model kit, Italerie will anounce the release of the Bishop with in the next two years.
Charlie

Yeah --I'm quite chuffed! The devil take Italeri and their slow re-releasing schedule!

A