Kits worth considerably more than you paid for them.

[Bassman]

I was wondering about my (rare) AMT 1/25 Kenworth Challenge Mixer. Bought from Grand Prix Models around 40 years ago (I used to go over to the shop they had then every so often). It was about 30 miles from home but was worth the trip.

I checked Ebay and one of those kits sold for around $200 including postage about a month ago.

With those sort of kits making that sort of money, would you keep them, sell them or make them?

[Paul]

If your interested in building it, built it, if not sell it

[Schoof]

Well yeah this one
http://s751.photobucket.com/user/s-scho ... f.jpg.html

It did once cost $100 i got it from eBay for €8.95

[Coen]

About 5 years ago I wanted to build Michael Wittman's Kursk Early Production Tiger I.
The only kit that seemed the closest match was an out of production Dragon kit that was only available on ebay (Kit# 6350).
Most folks were selling it for $300-400 US.
The only reason that it was selling for that much was because it was released as a limited edition (I hate it when kit makers do that) and it was of Wittman's Kursk Tiger I, which there weren't many of at the time.
I managed to buy one for $200 US including shipping.
Even that was way more than what it was worth.
It was just a normal high end Dragon kit that had a decal sheet that you could after marker quite easily. There was nothing about the kit that made it special, other than Dragon saying that it was special.

I've since built that same Tiger 4 more times using other kits and they've all looked the same, except for the last one... I didn't have the decals that I needed so they aren't correct...
The point is... It's all bunk.
I could have used any early Tiger I kit by several kit makers and added a couple of after market sets to it and it would still have cost less. They all would have turned out just as well.

I got sucked in by hype and bought the thing and I regret doing it all the time.
If the kit was better engineered than Dragon's normal line of quality and the box had a PE set, metal barrel and track, as well as a figure set... then that kit might be worth $100-200.

Some kits are worth a lot because the box is jammed full of goodies, it's well engineered and has many options that are really hard to scratch build or outsource... others are just intentionally marketed as the MUST HAVE kit... and they really aren't any different than a lot of similar kits that can't be made up nicely with a bit of work.
I guess that's what reviews are for eh?

[JayCub]

I got sucked in by hype and bought the thing and I regret doing it all the time.
If the kit was better engineered than Dragon's normal line of quality and the box had a PE set, metal barrel and track, as well as a figure set... then that kit might be worth $100-200.

i have been in the same position Mike sadly it wasn't even kits it was building pc's, and the point of selling, i wouldn't if it was me i would build it, unless i truly hated it so unlikely.
Tom

[Scruffy]

Kits were made to be built

[PhildaFish]

I was recently given a Merit Aircraft Kit German Fokker D.7 in 1:48 in a really old looking box and I've no idea what it's worth but I often wonder...

[gosselin2112]

Aaah, to collect or build? It's a personal choice. I build pretty much everything buy. I have one model that is still factory wrapped and I may keep it that way for a long while, as it is a first series run. That being said, I'd easily buy an old kit from the 1950s and 1960s (if the price was right) that are collectible; sell it; and buy more models that I want to build. I'm not much into the collecting and selling part of the hobby. The investment return is only as good as the demand at any given time.

Was it worth it? Try selling it on ebay. Minus the gas it cost you to travel thirty miles from the net profit, and you may have some extra cash to by some cool models for the stash. In the end it is a dice role. I used to be a fanatical wargame player. I sold most of the stuff on ebay. Sometimes I made out well with the sales; sometimes not. That's the nature of the hobby (well, the selling part).

Interesting thread question.

Russell.

[longlance67]

I never understood the whole limited edition lark, when all your getting is a new decal sheet, and double the price in some cases its robbery

shane