What Bronco kit is that? I have the ICM/IBG version.

Hi guys,

Having recently picked up the "old" kit at a show, I can say the new parts are in that first sprue pic at the lower right corner. (You can see where a new sprue has been pieced in to the tooling.) That's the radio gear - the first version was a plain people-carrier. They always had those vinyl tyres - the old formulation always cracked eventually...

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What Bronco kit is that? I have the ICM/IBG version.

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Hi, Bill! I believe Roman is referring to the BRONCO CB35175 Kfz.12 kit. ITALERI's is a Kfz.15. On the surface, it appears that ITALERI has given this "NEW" kit a set of VINYL tires; the original kit had the wheels and tires molded in plastic, in halves, if memory serves. You watch- TAMIYA will "pirate" and RE-BOX this kit, and charge more money...

I think I still have one of these buried somewhere in my vast inventory of un-built kits. I built one of these back in 1977 or '78, in the earlier Panzer Grau scheme...

Great reference sources for WWII German Kfz. (Kraftfahrzeug) wheeled vehicles are the 2 SCHIFFER books "Cars of the Wehrmacht" and "Trucks of the Wehrmacht". They're LOADED with info and photos...

Are you referring to the ICM Horch 108 Typ 40? That's a much newer and more advanced vehicle than either the Horch Kfz.12 and Kfz.15 vehicles. Looks a lot different too, with a lower and wider radiator, right off the bat...

Well, the Bronco kit is just a vanilla people carrier, while the Italeri is a communications vehicle.

I am not trying to remove FUN from anyone.
Will it disappear when you read that the kit is out of date and toylike?

:)

Hi, Bill! BRONCO has announced their version of the Kfz.15 Horch Communications Vehicle for 2016. .

A little bit of PE, resin upgrades and some selective scratch-building never hurt anybody...

Have to remember this perspective as we may price ourselves out of existence unable to attract youth to carry the torch. Bottom line cheaper alternatives are needed for the beginners. This is a good thing! I remember dissing the Tamiya Panther A to the local hobby shop owner. He said he can sell 5 of them to starter kids because of the price to every one of the DML super kits. No outrage for that.

The costs for producing the kits are going down so I am not convinced that kits are getting more expensive when the prices are adjusted for inflation.
/ Robin

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A little bit of PE, resin upgrades and some selective scratch-building never hurt anybody...

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I don't know - I've managed to slice my fingers while cutting Evergreen! And don't get me started on sharp edges and PE frets...

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The costs for producing the kits are going down so I am not convinced that kits are getting more expensive when the prices are adjusted for inflation.
/ Robin

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Are you talking about armor kits, or kits in general? Car kits aren't expensive, with the exception of Tamiya. Its kits, in my opinion, are overpriced for what's in the box. Revellogram kit prices haven't experienced a dramatic increase over the last 20 or so years. I paid around $12 for them in the mid '90s and the same kits can be had for $18-22 today. The same can't be said for armor kits. The kits that were first issued by Dragon, 3526 (MD 530G (MMS) Gunship), for which I paid $23 in the mid-late '90s, and is still available in its catalog today, costs around 100-120% more. If, according to your statement, the cost of production has gone down, shouldn't that translate to kit prices being less than at present? Factoring in inflation rates, car kits saw an approximately 50% price increase over a twenty year period, why doesn't that rate of increase apply to the cost of armor kits? Again, I'm referring to kits which were first available during that particular period and are still manufactured today.