Trumpeter F-35C at Sprue Brothers

[ScottsGT]

On 8/19/2022 at 5:37 AM, Violator1991 said:

The company I'm working at is often importing things from all over the world. We used to pay about $2.000 for a 40ft container from China in 2020. We had to pay $16.250 (yes, sixteen thousand two hundred and fifty) for the very same size and weight of a container two weeks ago. No, not for the contents, that is the freight cost only! 

 

The contents is another story because there is another 80% spike of price there as well in one year. And the shipment was about two months delayed due to how they handle things in China nowadays.

 

No intention to spread pessimism, just ringing a bell that "cheap kits" period may be over. Post-covid prices are fueled even further up with inflation now. I am collecting the kits I  can find and afford because every new kit will be coming with a higher price tag in the next few years. 

Exactly!  China is going through a hard economic time right now.   Could explain why we are seeing less new releases coming out.  Also might explain why we aren’t seeing any of the Trumpeter/Kitty Hawk line up on shelves as well.  No working capital to produce them.  

[Dave Williams]

Looking at the monthly Trumpeter product updates, they seem to list 4-6 new kits every month, same as it’s always been.  Plus, Hobbyboss still pumping out new stuff, plus kits from the offshoots like I Love Kit, as well as lesser known brands.  Also, Dragon constantly pumping out reissues of their armor kits (now with Magic Track replacing DS track!).  I don’t think economics is really putting much of a dent in new releases from Chines manufacturers.  Probably more effect from lockdowns that come and go.

 

Doubt that this has anything to do with Trumpeter reissuing the KH stuff (was it even officially confirmed that Trumpeter bought the molds?).  They probably have their own plan for when/if they release them.  If they needed money right now, releasing them now would make more sense than making new mold kits.  You have the completed mold, just squirt in some plastic, box it up, and you’re done for a whole lot less money than cutting a mold for a brand new kit.  Don’t think the KH reissues are going to be that huge of a seller anyway.  A lot of the kits already out there, and most weren’t huge sellers anyway, so other than a handful of people wanting a kit or two that they missed out on, don’t see a lot of potential there.  The demand for KH reissues isn’t anywhere near what the demand for WNW reissues would be.

[Dave Williams]

Got the kit today.  No real surprises as the instructions have been posted, plus the sprue shots are available on the web.  Surface detail seems nice, although the raised RAM panels are overdone like almost every F-35 or F-22 kit out there, regardless of the scale.  At first glance, the weapons don’t seem too bad, other than the AIM-9X not having any representation of an exhaust, and the thrust vector vanes are completely missing.  The kit also includes parts for the external gun pod, which are strangely marked “not for use”, although the pod itself is just a featureless shape.  I’m curious once the parts go together if there is an issue with the extended positioning of the AIM-120s in the weapon bay.  The assembly drawings suggest that the nose of the missile extends forward past the front edge of the bay and inner bay door.  From the few pictures of AIM-120s on F-35Cs that I’ve seen, I don’t think that’s right and don’t think the missile extends forward as it deploys.  Bays themselves look OK, and seem somewhat busy with detail, being made of multiple parts (sides, roof) instead of basically one piece like Italeri, although the wiring detail seems a little faint for the scale.  The exhaust looks OK from the outside, and looks big enough, unlike the undersized Italeri exhaust, but the inside is just smooth featureless petals.  There also appears to be a slight sink mark ring inside the exhaust.  One big disappointment is that there is no detail whatsoever in the afterburner tube between the flame ring and the exhaust nozzle.  It isn’t clear why Trumpeter couldn’t put something to represent the interior lining.  Trumpeter did detail the exterior of the engine, but since there isn’t any provision for displaying the engine out of the plane, or any open fuselage panels, it’s completely wasted unless the modeler does their own surgery.  To be fair, Italeri did some of the same stuff on their engine.  The wings (out to the fold line) are molded as part of the upper and lower fuselage halves, so there’s no wing to fuselage joint to deal with like on the Italeri kit.  The intake tunnels are refreshingly ejection pin mark free and the rubber tires look nice, not greasy vinyl and free of mold lines or flash.  Absent any bad building surprise or gross accuracy issue, it seems like a decent kit, overall on par with the Italeri A model.  

Edited August 21, 2022 by Dave Williams

[Confusionreigns178]

On 8/19/2022 at 10:37 AM, Violator1991 said:

No intention to spread pessimism, just ringing a bell that "cheap kits" period may be over. Post-covid prices are fueled even further up with inflation now. I am collecting the kits I  can find and afford because every new kit will be coming with a higher price tag in the next few years. 

I'm sure you're right. This whole situation makes buying kits "under the table" at model-shows so much more appealing, now. I think my days of buying brand-new kits are long gone...

 

Chris. 

[ScottsGT]

And it justifies my current stash.    I’ve got more than a lifetime of kits to build.  I’m sure when and if I get the AC model I’m going to have to pick and choose which in the stash never gets built. 

[John1]

I'd suggest this scheme for all you folks who just bought this kit.   It'll provide years of fun.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CiLxAb1v5RN/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

 

 

[32scalelover]

Scalehobbyist has the kit for $162.99 but I think it just went on back order.  A good price.

 

Greg

[32scalelover]

On 9/9/2022 at 6:12 PM, 32scalelover said:

Scalehobbyist has the kit for $162.99 but I think it just went on back order.  A good price.

 

Greg

Back in stock if you want one

 

Greg

[Jack]

Ordered mine for €141, including postage, from Germany. Delivery time around 4 to 5 days, was waiting for this one a long time.

 

 

Jack

[ScottsGT]

Mine will be here tomorrow.   Even better, it was free.  When I retired in April I was given a $250 gift certificate for Mega Hobby and they just got it in stock last week.  I also threw in another 1/32 Revell Stearman kit to burn the remaining $50.

 

Cant wait to see the wife’s reaction when I show her it only cost me $3.85 for all this. (Total order came to $253.85) 

[thierry laurent]

I'm not really a F-35 fan but if there is finally a nice Navy scheme I could change my mind... 

[Zola25]

22 hours ago, Jack said:

Ordered mine for €141, including postage, from Germany. Delivery time around 4 to 5 days, was waiting for this one a long time.

 

 

Jack

Where did you find it in stock in Germany?

 

Thanks

Niels

 

 

[Jack]

Hi Niels, the website is:  www.haertle.de

Look for 1/32 flugzeuge and you'll see the aircraft list available.

For the F35C it says €140,99  and now comes the "glitch": only for Germany, Austria and The Netherlands no P+P is charged, so there will be P+P costs for other countries, but you'll have to check how much.

 

Good luck,

 

Jack.

[Zola25]

47 minutes ago, Jack said:

Hi Niels, the website is:  www.haertle.de

Look for 1/32 flugzeuge and you'll see the aircraft list available.

For the F35C it says €140,99  and now comes the "glitch": only for Germany, Austria and The Netherlands no P+P is charged, so there will be P+P costs for other countries, but you'll have to check how much.

 

Good luck,

 

Jack.

Thanks Jack - MBK just pushed their delivery to Early-Mid November. Don´t know what went wrong for them

 

Niels

[LSP_Matt]

On 8/19/2022 at 7:37 PM, Violator1991 said:

 We used to pay about $2.000 for a 40ft container from China in 2020. We had to pay $16.250 (yes, sixteen thousand two hundred and fifty) for the very same size and weight of a container two weeks ago.

I heard this was going to be a global problem in early 2021. Due to the pandemic, there were too many shipping containers in the wrong parts of the world and it was having a huge impact on prices.

 

Then again, I can recall when the Tamiya 1/32 Tomcats and Phantoms used to routinely retail for $200.

 

Matty