The deal with the US Dollar comes to this: When the importer gets their order fulfilled from China, they pay in Chinese currency, not US dollars and so they have to convert. Well, if the dollar is worth less today than yesterday, then you need more dollars to fill the gap. Maybe a better example is Accurate Armor. Say they sell a kit for 100 Pounds. (Sorry, no currency symbol). 2 years ago in the USA that would have cost me $150.00. Now, it is nearly $200. Did AA change their prices? No. But anyone who used US dollars to buy anything from them, customer or importer, had to pay more. And then there is the added cost of transportation that has gone crazy. HOWEVER, I will not deny that there is some price gouging on the part of importers and distributors. They want higher profit margins and now they have a percieved excuse to hide behind. PHEW. Now, I can't wait to see this kit so I can mount one on a KV-1 chassis!

Jacques, I understand how being in the states will force me to pay more when buying from say, Europe but that really wasn't my question. Perhaps I mis-understood your first statement, or wasn't clear in my question. One Dragon kit shipped to Britain cost that customer 39.99 GBP The very same kit shipped to the states cost me 39.99 USD Conversion of 39.99 USD to GBP = 20.53 GBP My question was, how is it the fault of the weak USD that my British friend is paying almost twice what I pay ? Shouldn't it be the other way around if it is all about the value of each countries currency ? Shouldn't his almost twice as powerful GBP give him almost twice the purchasing power ? Mr. Rae's post is the best explanation I've seen so far but I would love to hear other ideas/opinions as well.

As far as the UK go, I think there is also a lot factored in for extra taxes, tarriff, fee etc. Also, I know that the USA imports more models than the UK, and that the UK is farther to ship things to so I would assume that the bulk rate "break" is lower on the prices. And I am sure that the importers are doing their thing, thought I understand that more goes to the Govt. than you may realize. Hopefully all this "globalization" will lead to more uniform prices for all. Now, where is my Heavy Russian Artillry piece?

That is a must for the collection - and there is even a campaign coming up that fits it very well. The campaign can be seen HERE

Jeff--where did you take/get this photo? Very nice and one which should be kept as a reference to work on this model when it hits the store. thanks DJ

I recently bought a book about the Battle of Kursk and there was a photo of one of these that was used there. I don't know how many but thought it was interesting Bob

Technically true, but also not a valid explanation. One of the issues between the US and China has been the latter's reluctance to revalue the Yuan relative to its buying power and the sinking value of the US dollar. The Chinese want their billions of dollars worth of exports to this country to out-compete everyone else, so they keep their currency artificially low. http://www.wikinvest.com/concept/Revaluing_the_Yuan Your explanation would work for the Euro (which has appreciated almost 100% against the dollar since I last went to Europe in 2001), but not with China or Hong Kong, where the HK dollar continues to be close to the same exchange rate as when I first started traveling there in the 1980s. The Yuan has sunk slightly in the last year, but nowhere near as much as most experts think appropriate to the strength of their trade.

Heck, I am just impressed that I am still in this conversation about the value of the dollar, considering all my education on the workings of international currency comes from watching CNBC. I understand what you are getting at vs. the dollar, although there has to be more to it...the Chinese economy has a fairly serious inflation problem right now (5-10% annual?). I know that the cost of labor in China is skyrocketing and that transportation of bulk materials has also soared. And then there is the cost of doing business in the USA. I also know that not all of the players involved from manufacture to distribution get paid in Yuan, so there must be a changeover somewhere. International monetary policy in a thread about a Soviet heavy artillery piece noone every thought would be put in plastic coming out from a Chinese manufacturer. WHo would have thought?

According to Ian V. Hogg the running gear was taken from a tracked tractor already in production which might explain why it looks as if it was driven. I think some other guns could be powered from a PTO on the tractor. A little engine to move the gun is I think mostly postwar – and maybe from a few late war German designs. Could you use a captured German prime mover as a tractor for one of these in a diorama? It would be a rather big diorama though. This is the most exciting kit I have seen since the railway guns were released by Trumpeter and Dragon. Prices in the UK are unusually high for most things. For example with software a 1:1 dollar:pound exchange rate is not uncommon.