HpH news - 1/32 Kate, Marauder, Ventura and 1/48 B-47

[Greif8]

$225.00 is pretty steep; I have been interested in building a 1/32 Kate for sometime now and if the kit does not have any serious issues that make constructing it a massive chore I will have to think hard to plonk down the cash for it.  Based on Brian's experienced comment though, it remains to be seen if the kit can be built without buzz killing issues.

 

Ernest   

[nmayhew]

22 hours ago, Zola25 said:

It is priced very similar to their other 1/32 kits of the same size - I think that was to be expected. What would be the reason why this kit would be priced differently?

I have not really ever seen HpH kits drop in price unfortunately - I wish thye would because I would love to build both the PBY Catalina and the C47

Hmmm…that price (~£215) is more than a Tamiya Mosquito, a kit bigger, more complex and infinitely superior to anything HpH are going to put out in terms of detail, accuracy and perhaps more importantly, engineering and fit.

 

The whole Infinity thing has been a complete mess from the start, but it’s always easy to criticise a) from the outside and b) with the benefit of hindsight, so ultimately I just feel sad for them and sad for me (lol) because I won’t get to build a kit of a subject that I’ve always liked in my scale (1/35 can go do something obscene to itself).

 

I have said for years that HKM’s next big monster should be the He177. If it ever sees the light of day from HpH it will probably be as expensive as the Border Lanc, if not more so.

 

i guess I just need to focus on building whatever Kotare churn out and ignore all these pipe dreams?!

[Zola25]

40 minutes ago, nmayhew said:

Hmmm…that price (~£215) is more than a Tamiya Mosquito, a kit bigger, more complex and infinitely superior to anything HpH are going to put out in terms of detail, accuracy and perhaps more importantly, engineering and fit.

 

The whole Infinity thing has been a complete mess from the start, but it’s always easy to criticise a) from the outside and b) with the benefit of hindsight, so ultimately I just feel sad for them and sad for me (lol) because I won’t get to build a kit of a subject that I’ve always liked in my scale (1/35 can go do something obscene to itself).

 

I have said for years that HKM’s next big monster should be the He177. If it ever sees the light of day from HpH it will probably be as expensive as the Border Lanc, if not more so.

 

i guess I just need to focus on building whatever Kotare churn out and ignore all these pipe dreams?!

I agree that they are very costly kits - and I have backed down from buying their Me-410 for the very same reason as you mention. There are other (superior) kits out there with a lower price tag that I have not built yet. All I mentioned was that compared to all the other HpH kits the price tag was not very surprising (to me at least)- If it is worth it is another matter entirely and very individual. The same discussion is ongoing on the JetMads kits as well. I guess it comes down to which aircraft you are passionate about.

 

I am very very excited about the prospect of getting the He-177 in 1/32. I am sure it will cost the same as the C-47 @ 750 EUR ($820) or even more than that- Will it be worth it for me? I am thinking yes for that model

 

/Niels

[Bill M.]

I guess I am more motivated by subject matter and scale, more than financial considerations in making my kit-buying decisions. Probably, a poor way to go about things, but that’s just me. For many years, I have wanted a nice Kate in 1/32 scale. If I would have been satisfied with a smaller scale Kate, I could have bought a nice 1/48 Kate, or would be getting the 1/35 Kate.

But the scale is important to me. I have long been interested in the 1941-42 Pacific air war and bought kits of most of the protagonists— all in 1/32 scale. However nice, or inexpensive the Border 1/35 Kate is, it just doesn’t work for me. I’m not willing to start in another scale at this point. But for those for whom scale is not important, I say go for it. The Border Kate looks like a beautiful kit— it just doesn’t work for me and my needs. I’ll be buying the 1/32 scale Kate….

 

[Bill M.]

Well, I decided to put my money where my mouth is and went ahead and placed the HPH 1/32 B5N2 Kate on back order with Hannants. It cost me (or will cost me) about $227 USD. I also bought a set of CTA 1/32 scale B5N2 Kate Decals for it— the decals had markings for a Kate that I want to build. 

I guess I’m committed now!

 

[Bill M.]

Is there any more news on the HpH Kate? I certainly hope they are still coming out with it. The last I heard was that it was likely coming out this January or February. 

Please tell me it is still coming…

[BloorwestSiR]

On 1/15/2024 at 6:34 AM, Zola25 said:

It is priced very similar to their other 1/32 kits of the same size - I think that was to be expected. What would be the reason why this kit would be priced differently?

I have not really ever seen HpH kits drop in price unfortunately - I wish thye would because I would love to build both the PBY Catalina and the C47

 

My LHS has a Catalina ithey got in from a collection for $675 CAD. Not sure how much cheaper that is compared to new. 

 

https://wheelswingshobbies.com/hph32021l-mph-models-1-32-pby-5a-catalina-wwweb10110852/

[quang]

HPH kits always remind me of what’s called ‘dentist’s guitars’ in collector circles. Expensive guitars which only the rich (i.e. dentists) can afford and would never get played. 

[Steve Eagle]

I can assure this dentist is not paying $600 for any model but don’t tell my wife 

[ScottsGT]

13 hours ago, Steve Eagle said:

I can assure this dentist is not paying $600 for any model but don’t tell my wife 

Naa, tell her. She might realize there is a touch of common sense up in that noggin.  I tell my wife about the big expensive kits all the time. No way I’d spend that kind of money even though we could easily afford it.  My max is usually around $300 with AM added in. 
Hell, I have a hard time facing reality with kits I have that have gone up in value since I bought them. Ex: Tamiya Thunderbird. I’d never pay market value for it, but do I build it or sell it?  

Edited February 15 by ScottsGT

[coogrfan]

5 hours ago, ScottsGT said:

Ex: Tamiya Thunderbird. I’d never pay market value for it, but do I build it or sell it?  

  Or, you know, you could trade it. 

 

 

[ScottsGT]

7 hours ago, coogrfan said:

  Or, you know, you could trade it. 

 

 

What!?  You didn’t grab one of those off eBay?  

[coogrfan]

I would never spend that much money for something without a prop. 

[CRAZY IVAN5]

On 2/13/2024 at 6:48 AM, quang said:

HPH kits always remind me of what’s called ‘dentist’s guitars’ in collector circles. Expensive guitars which only the rich (i.e. dentists) can afford and would never get played. 

Yeah, I know what ya mean . Kind of reminds me of the "Geddy Lee signature" Fender Jazz bass that I paid waaay too much for. That's about as close to Geddy Lee as I'll ever get. Difference is that I actually played the thing on a regular basis though not at the level of Geddy Lee unfortunately, but I digress.  

[ChuckD]

15 hours ago, CRAZY IVAN5 said:

Yeah, I know what ya mean . Kind of reminds me of the "Geddy Lee signature" Fender Jazz bass that I paid waaay too much for. That's about as close to Geddy Lee as I'll ever get. Difference is that I actually played the thing on a regular basis though not at the level of Geddy Lee unfortunately, but I digress.  

 

So by extension, we can then hypothesize that dentists build HPH resin kits to virtuoso levels.  Is that what where we're going with this?