Costing a Fortune

Over the last few years, prices for models have been slowly increasing and with more and more choice from a growing number of manufacturers, the collector is left having to make the right decision on what to purchase.The hobby can be split into several sections, with the top of the line models from the likes of CCM costing thousands of dollars for a very limited run of exquisite, all brass replicas. While these models are out of the reach for most collectors, there is still a demand which sees the models pre-sold before release.

For the rest of us, there are several manufacturers producing very highly detailed "Museum Quality" models for a more reasonable amount of money, like TWH, CCM and now WSI. The level of detail has increased dramatically while the actual cost of the models, while relatively high, offer good value for money in my opinion. The small run numbers help to keep the model more exclusive and this could go some way to explaining the higher selling price.

The traditional model manufacturers like Conrad and NZG continue to produce the main range of construction models combining good detailing and functionality with reasonable prices for what you get while companies like Norscot, Joal and Motorart continue to mass produce models which should allow them to keep costs lower.

The latest model releases from Norscot have had a number of collectors questioning the price increase, with the latest models now costing over $100. Norscot are still known as a mass manufacturer of diecast models and have come a long way in the last 6 or 7 years. Gone are the big silver headed rivets, overscaled handrails and rubber tracks to be replaced by metal tracks, realistically scaled, and is some cases metal handrails and painted rivets. The main question still remains that for a mass produced model, do the enhancements demand such high selling prices, especially here in Europe where the 374D is rumoured to cost 135 Euro (More expensive than the Hitachi ZX870 from WSI). The build quality and detail level from Norscot is still lagging behind other manufacturers and i have to admit that it is sometimes hard to justify their current prices for what you get.

When model companies started producing models in China, costs were very low, resulting in highly detailed replicas at very low prices. Just look at the prices for the Motorart Volvo line where most models in the range were around £20-£25 in the UK. Updated versions of these models are now, in some cases more than tripple what they once were. There are a number of factors causing the price increases, from changes in the China employment laws, increases in raw materials, increased shipping costs and recently, the lack of skilled workers in China causing delays in production schedules.

Limited edition company decorated models have been a good option for a manufacturer to help recoup tooling costs by offering low run series but even this side of the collecting hobby is now becoming highly priced. As an example, Nagel have, until recently had a good model program producing limited edition models commissioned for the Bauma trade show with prices for these models being very reassonable. Only costing a little more than the standard versions, they have become a favourite for collectors however their latest offering, the black painted Liebherr R916 at 149 euro has been priced at almost double the cost that similar companies are selling their decorated R916's for. From this pricing, it is obvious that Nagel have seen an oportunity to demand as much money as they can from the collector and if this is the start of a new trend, it will be time to stop collecting the limited edition coloured models.

With everyday prices rising all the time, the amount of disposable income has reduced dramatically and collectors are now becoming much more selective in what to collect. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next 12 months.

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