Is the Black Label Saladin really worth £49.99?

It only depends on you, your wallet and how badly YOU want it. Model's worth is totally subjective. Considering it does not seem to have any major flaws after the initial reviews, you have to answer your question yourself.

BTW, appropriate callsign

Cheers,
Greg

I guess if you happen to be vacationing in the UK or order it from a UK online shop, you'd pay that much.... but even the domestic US MSRP is ~$68. And there are Far East online shops that will beat that price, even including shipping.

The price of dragon stuff here in the UK is terrible. Much as I want the saladin that price is one I can't justify!

Just wait it out and build something else in the meantime. Before you know it, a year has gone by and that Saladin will be damn near half price. EBay usually will give up great deals. And, with over 300 1/35 kits in my stash, I've got nothing but time in waiting...

If you notice lately from dragon to trumpeter and hobbyboss meng etc all prices are going through the roof, I like you wont pay some of the ridiculous prices retailers want. The online ordering from asia now is getting far more expensive than it used to be too. We have a Canadian dollar that is worth virtually nothing and will wait till I see it discounted somewhere. and if you go into a hobby store in Canada it seems $70-$100 plus kits are the norm and what can you honestly afford.


rant over

John's got it totally right. Wait a bit and the kit will be substantially cheaper. That is... unless you NEED the kit right now.

I guess most LHSs will have the kit cheaper in a season or two. Because I can't see many people buying it at the RRP

Come on over to Switzerland and you'll learn about really high prices für model kits.

Most of the model shops in UK don't discount after a few seasons, hell i am still seeing £49.99 for dragon every where. Makes me laugh when the older kits get marked up!

And then, you must pay to play!

I just purchased and received the 1/35 Merit M19 to add to the stash. I paid $112 for the kit...free postage. Now, did I bust my own 'rule' of kit buying? I don't think so...but I was close!

My thought process on kit makers and the quantities they punch out of a certain kit came into play here. I don't know how it is today, but years ago the Tamiya's of the world were punching out less than 100,000 kits of any one design...with 85% of those kits staying in Japan: feeding that country's modeling appetite. The other 15% went out to the rest of the world...somewhat making that new kit rare to start with.

So, I got in the habit of purchasing early on to prevent me 'missing out' on a kit release.

Fast forward to today: I don't do that as much but buy when the mood and/or kit strikes me. The Merit M19 is one of those 'gotta have it now before the molds are broken' moments.

How soon will I build it? Who knows! I'm 60 years old now...so...maybe never or maybe later in the year. My mood of subject matter to build changes all the time. This week I'm still working on the 4 kits I have listed below this post...and in a whim, I could put them all away and start something else, but these 4 kits are campaign vehicles...so I force myself to stay with them.

I know, I know...way too many kits for so little time
But hey, I've got choices!! You think my kit stash is bad, man-o-man, you haven't seen my aftermarket part of the closest!!

In the end, build what you want and when you want. Yep, the price will hold some back...hell, it does me as well. For me, secretly, its the want of the kit that was just released and it hits my 'cool factor/gotta have now' button...other kits, well, they'll have to wait until I get an 'itch' and reconsider its' purchase with the hope of the price dropping like a rock a couple of years later.

The new Dragon 1/35 Tiger I Micheal Whitman kit is $84 at my local shop. The new Tiger/ Panther turret kit is $70 ....
I don't mind spending the $ because I know these kits will take me awhile to build & I will enjoy, appreciate the detail , craftsmanship that went into it . Not like a newer $80 Tamiya kit, that I will have built in an hour & left feeling "taken".

I've found the best deal is the Asian sellers on eBay. Shipping is the killer, so I usually buy three at a time. If you don't want three, get together with a few local friends and make a group buy.

Some good points and true observations (general rising kit process from many makers, etc.).

YES, seems like kits are getting pricier. So is about everything else. And rising prices are a part of life in market economies. And yes, prices may come down on many with time.

Model kits are a hobby - maybe two or 3 or even 4 different hobbies... Some buy and build, some buy and... just like to buy... some buy and look and enjoy seeing the boxes and the runners all neatly packed (crammed) inside... and some buy and accumulate!

It's ALL GOOD and all OK! I say "buy them if you want them when you want them and if you think that price is OK for the goods". DON'T feel angry or resentful about the price you decide to pay for it. ENJOY the purchase, whether it's to be a build or, as for many of us ( ), more likely to become closet - filler and eventual estate for your heirs!

Whichever way you approach the kits and the hobby, chances are it's a lot cheaper than buying new bass boats and burning gas driving around lakes and such, cheaper (and probably less controversial - both at home and in the public eye, and maybe in the eyes of some laws...) than getting deeply into guns and shooting, cheaper than cars as a hobby, cheaper than flying as a hobby, and probably long-run cheaper than spending it in the bars and pool-halls!
:D Safer than booze, and likely cheaper than gambling at the casino, too!

It took me several years to get to it, but now I can freely say that "hey! I LIKE to buy model kits! They are neat, relatively harmless, generally (at least the kinds I buy) related to history (which I love), and I can share that with many other pretty neat folks!" I even sometimes build them! As we say down in coastal "Cajun" Louisiana; "that's lagniappe" - a little extra on top!

Just my 2c worth - other's mileage may differ!

Bob

Bob,

Nicely put

I find the biggest reason prices are high is that modelers rush to purchase kits that aren't likely to sell out. So they are paying list price, more or less.

And 90% (??) of these kits will go into a stash and not be built for months/years/ever.

Outside of a few CRAZY items like the Cyberhobby Wittmann Tigers, there is simply no good reason for buying most kits straight out of the gate unless you plan to build it right away.

Most kits will be around a year/years from now. You may even be able to pick the one you want up from someone who bought in haste and repented at leisure.

Something forgotten in this discussion that matters to the OP and what Roy Chow stated is the place of purchase from a Tax perspective. VAT in the UK is close to 20% and that is included in the RRP. The US MSRP price that Roy mentions is ~$68 exclusive of sales tax. When you take that into account, the price is almost the same, in fact a little less in the UK with exchange rate. If you buy from the Far East, it is tax free until it enters the UK, then Custom & Excise rears its head again and you end up paying the same amount.

Take your choice but you pay the piper in the end

John is right, if you can wait awhile you can find it much cheaper than retail online somewhere. The sad part is when new kits come out, most people won't pay $60- $80 dollars at their local hobby shop, and will buy online. Then the LHS suffer. The best and only decent hobby shop near my home just recently closed down. I don't think they were selling many models at all.

The day of the LHS selling kits is probably nearly over. I have spoken with the owner of my favorite (Avenel Hobbies in NJ) and he's naturally upset with the fact that many people purchase online, but the difference in price is often brutal between what he has to charge and what online outlets charge.

I'm not taking sides in this discussion, just stating what seems to be a growing reality.

What? Dragon have produced one more 'new' kit? How can they? No adequate Marder/Brummbar kit 5 years ago and 3 slightly different kits of each today? What a shame!!! Do they torture modelers until they are officially agree to buy the kit? No? What's the problem than? Prices are too high? OMG!!! Are you guys kidding? Can't you see the difference between what you get in boxes now in comparison to what there used to be some 15 years ago (maybe not from the authentic point of view, but from the number of parts, PE, clear parts and such). You can use Siemens A50, but why would you when there is an Iphone???? I'm not even asking how much do you guys earn to say the kits are expensive.No satisfactory prices - no new kits in the stash - good opportunity to build what you already have!!!!!

Cheers and happy modeling everyone

Agree. I just purchased a few kits from an ebay seller, including a 18Bravo Legends figure, and I sent them a message asking if I could wait a day or two to pay them since I was trying to win a few more auctions they had up to save on shipping. They did not have an issue with it. I purchased two kits and three figures and shipping was about 23 USD.

Jeff

I agree, wait it out the price will come down. If you go to some of the shows you can get them a little cheaper. Tamayia is way up there in the overpriced range too. Ive got 20 or so kits on deck. I can wait. What's bad,in my opinion, is ,whats going to happen to the hobby in the future? How are kids going to be able to afford to get interested in our hobby ? When I was a kid Id buy a Aurora, Revell, or Monogram model for a buck or two. the little Testor paint jars were 10 cents. Id save my allowance and buy a kit every 2-3 weeks . What kid can afford $50-$60 for a kit then the additional cost that goes along with it? I think the industry might be shooting themselves in the foot .

"I think the industry might be shooting themselves in the foot."

I think they're making money hand over fist at the moment and will adjust to whatever trends come along in the 10-20 year timeframe. The fact is the bulk of model sales occur in Japan where the hobby is more commonplace -- and they don't seem to shy away from spending their discretionary income on these kits. True, it's not a cheap hobby -- but it certainly pays the bills at the model company corporate offices.

Due to taxes and customs regulations I purchase my kits at my LHS - apart from PE sets.

I remember very well when once people here brought the prices of DML kits in relation with the high oil price (=styrene).

Now the oil price is at a low level and scale model kits' prices are being kept on a high level and are still about to increase.

My guess:

1. Dragon started around 2005 their attempt to dominate the scale model market. And that happened via the most efftive instrument: Low price (kits).

2. Just take a look at any instruction of a DML kit: A LOT OF PARTS you won't need ever - but you still pay for.
The poorly configurated sprues provide a mass of styrene what are useless. The latest Wittmann Tiger 6730: What to do with three (3) turret roofs though I only need one? Four(!!!) turret mantlets, two front plates etc, etc.

A very expensive spare parts box...