Sorry if this is poor form but I find it encouraging to see a healthy market for well built models. This T-34 was built by Mike Kirchoff for the Osprey book. It is a stunning piece of work. Old news to those who have the book I suppose. But the fact that the model sold for a fair and substantial price is noteworthy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170095913059&fromMakeTrack=true

I would congratulate Mike on his tremendous work as well as the buyer who recognized the value of the piece.

Regards, John

Nice model but still not worth $500.00

If maybe in 1/16 scale.

My 2 cents worth

Somebody know how to post live links here or not allowed???

Interesting build. Since it sold via "buy it now" I would say it was worth more actually as the person buying it figured that with 6 bids there was obviously some interest and maybe it would go higher.

Things are worth what people are willing to pay for them. This is why our gas prices are so high. The oil industry figures that if we have $40K for Ford Expeditions and cars with 200+ hp (like my Accord that only gets 19mpg) then we are willing to pay the price for those things. They are right obviously.

That's my $3.03 cents per gallon,
Jim

PS: For links either BB code or HTML works.

Most single painted figures sell for around $500.00 to start and go up to several thousand depending on the person. Why is a tank of that quality not worth $500.00? I think it went cheap.

Why do we model builders continue to mock those that buy finished models? Don't we usually complain that our hobby is not taken seriously? If we truly believe our hobby, like oil painting or wood carving or any other craft is an art, then we should be thrilled people are willing to pay for our completed works. We may not pay those amounts because we have the skills ourselves. Still, while I consider myself pretty good at what I build, I wouldn't hesitate to plunk down a considerable amount of money for an original Shep Paine diorama.

Jim is right. There is no better appraiser of value than a free market. The seller got his "Buy it now" price so he should be satisfied. And if you take into account the materials used in the model, the considerable amount of time in research and construction and the fact that the builder is in the upper percentiles of skill, the price seems quite reasonable. Do the math!

Now I could take the same parts and make a model that is pretty neat and mostly right and if I'm lucky I could sell it for the cost of materials. That is the difference between a good model and an uncommonly good model.

The reason I posted the link was not solely to pump Mr. Kirchoff up into an intolerable modeling tyrant , but to hold up evidence that there is a market for a well built model. I find this encouraging. Not that I intend to make a living this way, but at least I know that if I build well enough, I have added value to a kit and not just used it up.

Regards, John

Okay don't get me wrong.

It is a great build.

I could never have the patience or time to do it.

Maybe I need to rethink my ideas after looking again at it {morning}

A wonderful build but hard to explain to the wife where $500.00 is now sitting in a 1/35 scale tank.

Heck could have the 3 or 4 1/16 scale Trumpeter T-34's on the table with interiors.

Whoever bought it thought it was worth the money and had the money to spend on it.
End of econ lesson.

Shaun

The difference with the two points of view (both of which are valid) is that:
a) you probably wouldn't be willing to throw $500 at a piece of art (this isn't a slag. I know I don't have $500 for that sort of thing at the moment) no matter what it was, so the percieved value of $500 is very large to you.
b) you look at any model and say, "Jeez, I'm not paying for that. If I really wanted it, I could do a good enough job myself for way less money." which also reduces the percieved value in your eyes.

The buyer a) has enough money that the $500 doesn't bother him and b) doesn't think he could ever do as nice a job on the model and c) wants that kit pretty badly.

Lets face it, when Museums commission models for display, it's not unusual for them to spend 10-15K for a scratchbuilt vehicle. A friend of mine used to get $15K for scratchbuilt aircraft from the Smithsonion back in the 80s! The cost of a model, if paid for as a craft or profession is in the range of $30-40 per hour worked. However the modelling community can not support that price. Professional modellers, though, get that kind of money for architectural and film models all the time.

Paul

I dont know the gentlemen who built the model, but if he does it for a living, and has the time to constantly build, this model probably took him around a week to build, depending on his speed. At $600, minus supplies, kit, etc, Ebay fees, probably Paypal fees, brings ht eprofit much lower Id say the buyer got a pretty good deal (I do know the buyer,and $600 is play money easy) ,but the point is...could you live off less than $600 a week? as a pay check? well built models from the general public can get $600, if the models good, but this being a published model, they usually gain way more than that.

Egads,

I guess that's why I never think about selling my dioramas. If 500 bucks gets you one vehicle (which is fine by me, more power to him considering the time it takes to build a first class model) what would I have to charge for a dio !?

That's why when my little case gets filled I burn the oldest one in there - nothin' else to do with them.

Barry

I was tallking with a dealer who was looking into having one the the more famous sculptors create a master for him to sell. The master could be worth $10,000. A friend of mine who is a master scractchbuilder in 1/16th armor (many of you have seen his works on-line, as well as on the covers of FSM and the IPMS Journal) had one of his pieces appraised at $18,000 and has a hidden GPS tracker in it.
So $600 for a tank of that quality is small change.
To equal my real pay, at the rate I can produce a figure (assuming full time) I'd have to charge $750-$1100 dollars each for a 54mm figure.

Jeff, look at it from the other direction, wouldn't you love to tell the wife you just sold one of your built kits for $600.00 (the selling price for this one was $599.00) Regardless of whether or not you would or could pay that much, someone did, (and from what Tim said, could easily afford it) so in the free market it was worth that much at least. Personally having seen Mike's in progress pics posted here and elsewhere, and having seen the finished product in the book, as others have said and alluded to, I think the guy who bought it got a bargain.

Cheers,
Mike

One thing for sure ... it wasn't a modeler who bought it!

I have a hard time with spending 500 on a 1/16th RC!


Jeff

Ebay has recently decided to hide the identity of bidders from all but the seller. Security etc...

Alternatively, you could pay a bargain $89 for this "professionaly" build model...
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-35-GHOSTDIV-BUILT-WWII-GERMAN-SD-KFZ-234-2-PUMA_W0QQitemZ110108450893QQcategoryZ2588QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

Marvel at the "professional" mould lines, and working suspension...

Cheers
Henk

Hey, the builder wants you to get all the plastic and decal carrier film that came with the kit. What's so wrong with that?

Coming from you, Dave, this statement is hilarious!!!!

Mike Kirchoff

How many modellers have $500 + worth, sitting already in plain view of the wife, only its plastic, resin and etched parts? (See the recent thread about stashes).
Good luck to whoever bought it ... they got a bargin!

C'mon guys, this thread started to point out a fantastic piece of work that happens to be from one of our staff members. I say that if it can sell for that much, go for it. no reason to knock or accuse is there?

Excellent model there Mike.
At least some one is aware of what a decent buying price is for an oustanding piece of craftsmanship.

I have no qualms to admit I have bought many built models and have paid to have some built. $600 for a high quality model is nothing. When a model is built to that level, it is no longer a model. It is art. Anyone who thinks art is cheap is fooling themselves.

I have a huge stash of models that I truly hope I have time to build some day. I can afford the models, the tools, and the supplies I need to build them. The only thing I cannot buy is the free time to build them myself. So for now, I put my free time into my website and admire the work of others.

Don

Hi guys -

Don't underestimate the value of published work. The price paid is a steal by all accounts. "Sniper" is a very special T-34 and it will undoutbedly be a centerpiece to the buyers collection, among his many others.

If anything, those of us that have sold similar work are underpricing them. If you're counting, or as a meaningful reference point, I'd bet Kirchoff made less the $5 an hour for it. It is extremely difficult to accurately obtain a fair market rate for this kind of work.

As his name grows in the hobby as a professional modeler so too will the value of that model. The collector knows this and has purchased accordingly. It was "well bought" as they say at the auctions.

Best,

Mike