Jump to content

How much are you willing to pay


Worldway

Recommended Posts

I was curious if you are a budget modeler or one with no limit.  I was poking around the net today already thinking of what to build after the Bluenose.  I decided to perhaps build Amati's HMS Pegasus. Then I saw the price and for me it would be close to $1000.00.  I figure that is way too rich for me and I'm not yet willing to sell the Admiral or deck hands.

 

So what do you consider to be a reasonable budget for models.  I understand that we all have different financial backgrounds.  I mean, if I had a few million in the bank then I wouldn't be writing this post.

Derek

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea  

Antoine de Saint Exupery

 

Current Builds

Bluenose - Model Shipways - 1:64 Scale

Fair American - Model Shipways - 1:48 Scale

HMS Winchelsea 1764 - Group Build

On Deck

Guns of History Naval Smoothbore Deck Gun - 1:24 Scale

Finished Builds

Mare Nostrum - Artesania Latina - 1:35 Scale

Guns of History Carronade - Model Shipways - 1:24 Scale

 

Member of the Nautical Research Guild

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i guess if you invest 1000 dollars that s gonna be for a period of 3 years anyway the time to built your model but the problem is what does SHE think about that ?

 

Oh gosh, yes you're right.  One does have to consider the Admiral and I don't think there is a clean way to smuggle one into the house.  But you have a good argument, I could tell her it's only $333 per year.

 

I like your thinking.

Derek

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea  

Antoine de Saint Exupery

 

Current Builds

Bluenose - Model Shipways - 1:64 Scale

Fair American - Model Shipways - 1:48 Scale

HMS Winchelsea 1764 - Group Build

On Deck

Guns of History Naval Smoothbore Deck Gun - 1:24 Scale

Finished Builds

Mare Nostrum - Artesania Latina - 1:35 Scale

Guns of History Carronade - Model Shipways - 1:24 Scale

 

Member of the Nautical Research Guild

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...glad I have a couple waiting on the shelf for me.... it's a constant battle with the cost of living in general that has me wide eyed!!!

 

 

JP

Built & De-Commissioned: HMS Endeavour (Corel), HMS Unicorn (Corel),

Abandoned: HMS Bounty (AL)

Completed : Wappen Von Hamburg (Corel), Le Renommee (Euromodel)... on hold

Current WIP: Berlin by Corel

On Shelf:  HMS Bounty (Billings),

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing to consider

The first ship I built was reasonably exspensive I learned a great deal from building it but now working on my second that was a tenth the price I now find myself beginning to resent things I did on the first learning new things thinking I wish I new that when building the first ship

I now wish I got a few under my belt before spending the big bucks

I'm still happy with my first build don't get me wrong but there is a lot I could have done better if I'd have known and an investment like your considering is fairly big

I would instead maybe consider investing in tools like miniature table saw or planer so you can buy raw materials for very cheap and make your own parts as hobbie shops tend to be very expensive for the material you get

I hope this helps it's just meant to give you something to think about and ocourse the decision is yours and yours alone to make

 

Steve

Edited by Steve 12345

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's totally relative to the overall. For instance I started out with NO scale craft tools. So after machines, laser cutter and books....and since this is my first build it is costing me nearly 8 grand to build the Triton Cross Section. But with capital outlay already invested, the per project cost will come down ....eventually. I don't drink, smoke or party so that helps. I have friends that spend much more than that a year in bars. The satisfaction is worth it.

Dupree

 

"A slow steady hand conquers a fast shaky mind" - me

 

 

HMS Triton 1:32 Cross Section

Link to comment
Share on other sites

my girl could be tought sometime but for birthday or christmas i can do almost what i want : last birthday november proxxon  milling machine mf70 and 1 month after christmas proxxon disk sander 125 e so maybe wait for your birthday and you will be able to get what you want ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harold Hahn built his models with an 8in table saw, hollow ground Sears blades, a Unimat lathe, and his drawings were hand drawn. Today, using his drawings that include lofted frame shapes, one could build an accurate model without buying an expensive kit. A step up would be to order original drawings from a museum source and do your own lofting. Ships have been lofted by hand for 100's of years. CAD, laser cutting equipment etc is not necessary. Based in the talent shown on this forum used to build model kits, I am amazed modelers shell out big bucks to purchase model kits.

 

Roger

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure I would fit into the no limit category, but I just looked over what I've spent for my current build so far.   The initial kit was about $250.00 about 30 years ago.  To date I have spent about $3000.00 on books , tools, aftermarket parts, and supplies.  And the ship is only half done.

 

Regards,

Henry

 

Laissez le bon temps rouler ! 

 

 

Current Build:  Le Soleil Royal

Completed Build Amerigo Vespucci

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Being naturally a cheap guy I look for interesting kits, materials and tools used or on sale.  I have picked up some amazing bargains from eBay and garage sales.  All depends on what you want.  If you have your heart set on a particular kit you are probably going to have to bite the bullet and pay the going price for a new one or wait a long time to find it for sale on eBay cheap.  Same goes for tools.  Over 40 years of looking for deals I have accumulated a pretty good workshop but I didn't spend a great deal of money on it.  Same for my stash of models.  I have some very expensive model kits that I picked up cheap.  Cheapest way to go is to get plans and build scratch using found materials (salvaged wood, etc.) and building your own specialized tools.  For me that is part of the fun and interest of the hobby but I don't expect it is for everyone.

My advice and comments are always worth what you paid for them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me, the most overpriced kits are the ones that remain on the shelf or were never finished, so that my golden rule n°1 is to never buy a kit (anymore)unless the former one is almost finished. Rule n°2 is not to start a project that could prove too difficult for me, because the chance is great that it will end up on my (overcrowded) shelf. Rule n°3 is to get in love with your next model, because you will need it to overcome the challenges to come.

 

As said, the price ou pay is fairly irrelevant compared to the numerous hours you will have spent on your project, and also considering your legitimate pride about the end result.

 

Happy building and...yes, Pegasus is a good choice and a splendid model. But... there are so many fantastic builds of her on this forum, that you may find it difficult to reach their level...

 

JP

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its really not a fair question.   It depends on what you will be satisfied with in the end result.  The old motto is true...."you get what you pay for".

 

You can spend 5 bucks for a chisel or you can spend $150 for a better one.   My guess is you will not be happy with the $5 chisel and will end up throwing it away.   You can spend $30 for a bandsaw blade or $225.   Etc. Etc....

 

You get what you pay for.  This hobby is certainly not going to allow you to build models like this one below for $200   - $300.  Its an expensive hobby once it grabs hold of you.  It just depends on what you will be satisfied with in the end.  Again its not really a fair question because some folks are willing to invest much money (if they can) and much time tobuild a model like this....but many are just as satisfied with a less ambitious result.  

 

If you are going to spend $1000 bucks on something that will take you maybe three years to complete I would say that is a very reasonable and inexpensive hobby.   How many people spend just $335 dollars a year on a hobby for decent results.   Especially if its something that will give you years of pleasure and enjoyment.   I know guys that drop 100's every month bowling on a league......for me its just not worth it.  I think that kind of money is better spent on ship modeling is.....so again....its not really a fair question.  It more about how much do you really want it.   You spend money on what you are passionate about and everyone is different.....I spent 200 dollars on a cheap saw once because I couldnt afford a good one.  It was a terrible decision.  Finally I saved enough to buy a Byrnes saw and it makes the hobby much more enjoyable.  And that saw will last me a lifetime while the cheaper one was good for nothing out of the box.

 

post-505-0-51297700-1438647687.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the most expensive kit I've ever bought,  was like $249.00.   I've got this habit of saving the parts panels and tracing out the hull parts for other hulls.          I outfit them any way I want.   all I buy is wood and fittings.   I did get a kit for Christmas........that keeps the 'gene pool' fresh.  he...he...he

I yam wot I yam!

finished builds:
Billings Nordkap 476 / Billings Cux 87 / Billings Mary Ann / Billings AmericA - reissue
Billings Regina - bashed into the Susan A / Andrea Gail 1:20 - semi scratch w/ Billing instructions
M&M Fun Ship - semi scratch build / Gundalow - scratch build / Jeanne D'Arc - Heller
Phylly C & Denny-Zen - the Lobsie twins - bashed & semi scratch dual build

Billing T78 Norden

 

in dry dock:
Billing's Gothenborg 1:100 / Billing's Boulogne Etaples 1:20
Billing's Half Moon 1:40 - some scratch required
Revell U.S.S. United States 1:96 - plastic/ wood modified / Academy Titanic 1:400
Trawler Syborn - semi scratch / Holiday Harbor dual build - semi scratch

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I say if you likie it buy it, as it has been said it is extremely cheap entertainment. If it is the Pegasus you want talk to Rick at Modellers Workshop, he is located in Montreal and is great to deal with. I bought my Pegasus from him

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chuck's words are golden. My budget is not unlimited contrary to what my wife says. But a hobby should never come down to buying a hobby item or paying the bills or eating. It should only be what I call disposable income or money that doesn't need to be spent some place else. Like for me, I limit a couple hundred bucks every couple of months to buy hobby items or when I buy ANYTHING on ebay, I call that disposable money and I won't have a stroke if I lose it on a bad deal.

 

I will also ad here that a ship model kit, is a ship model kit, is a ship model kit, after building thirty or so of them, I have come to the realization that a kit is just a box of sticks and it's up to the modeler to make something incredible out of it. My point here is this, no matter how expensive a kit is, it's still a kit. I would only buy a kit if it's a subject that I'm really wanting to model and then I would use the kit as a basis for beginning the build and then go from there and try and build the best representation of that model as I can with research, changing things like castings, even parts of the ship if during your research you find that the kit was off in some areas, which quite a few are.

 

 

 

mike

Edited by mtdoramike
Link to comment
Share on other sites

These are long term projects, but of course, there is a pretty big upfront cost (particularly if you get into buying power tools, etc.).  Annualizing the cost of the hobby, even with power tools, better wood, etc., you are still probably well south of $1000 a year (even better would be to compute the cost on a per hour basis).

 

I'd second eBay as an excellent place to buy kits for a fraction of retail.  Same for buying directly from people on this site (both of which I have done).  You can also look into buying those packages where they send you a portion of the kit in installments over time.  

 

Just don't buy from the Chinese pirates!   :10_1_10:

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72  IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

my girl could be tought sometime but for birthday or christmas i can do almost what i want : last birthday november proxxon  milling machine mf70 and 1 month after christmas proxxon disk sander 125 e so maybe wait for your birthday and you will be able to get what you want ?

Yeah, I tried that on my last birthday, it wasn't no hobby stuff and when I brought it up to my wife, she said get out here :huh: Then I went for the hobby stuff. ;)

 

mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One place you can do fairly inexpensive and perhaps free, and it will last a long time and many different model vessels is books.  The online used market is pretty good, all those old guys passing and their wives wanting to sell the books, and some places have really good library loan programs to locate the unusual titles.  You don't need the pristine copy still in the original wrapper, so should be able to find good quality for a fraction of original.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

grsjax

 

Good point, I'll keep my eye on Ebay.

 

Kevin,

 

I think that it's a fantastic idea to offer kits with a monthly fee. I believe I saw a YouTube video of a guy building such a kit. They shipped a portion of pieces every month with the instructions on how to assemble that portion. I think it's a great way to reduce the cost plus to isolate building sections at a time. I wish it was available in Canada, I would seriously consider it.

 

Chuck,

 

I completely agree with you, I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for.  However, I had the Admiral read your post and it didn't convince her to let me spend the money. She's a tough old bird.  ;)

 

Popeye,

 

I like your idea of saving the parts panel then scratch building from there. I'm certainly no where close to being able to do that.  Perhaps someday, but not today,

 

Don,

 

Thanks for the heads up.  I may just call Rick to see what he can do for me.

 

Mike,

 

Your post makes so much sense.  A kit is just a bunch of pieces of wood and fittings.  That makes it harder to justify the expense.

 

Landlubber Mike,

 

I would never buy a Chinese kit. I expect quality with my kits and you will only find that in North America or Europe.

 

Joel,

 

I have purchased several books from Amazon at anywhere from $0.01 to $4.95 plus a usual $6.50 shipping and handling.  And the used books I received have always been in good to great condition.

 

Thanks for all your advice. They always say that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.  I am likely a year or so away from needing another build.  A lot could happen in that time.

Derek

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea  

Antoine de Saint Exupery

 

Current Builds

Bluenose - Model Shipways - 1:64 Scale

Fair American - Model Shipways - 1:48 Scale

HMS Winchelsea 1764 - Group Build

On Deck

Guns of History Naval Smoothbore Deck Gun - 1:24 Scale

Finished Builds

Mare Nostrum - Artesania Latina - 1:35 Scale

Guns of History Carronade - Model Shipways - 1:24 Scale

 

Member of the Nautical Research Guild

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Derek:

 

         $1000 is not expensive if this is the model you desire to build. Remember, after three years and you have completed the project you will stand back and say it was well worth it. If you proceed let me know as I want to follow you from Atlantic Canada. Go for it.... Pat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes IT IS relative indeed.

 

$1000/3 - so $330 per year so far. So $27.00 per month is your cost so far after three years. Let's say that you spend 40 hours a month on the project; Your build hobby is costing you .69 cents per hour. Yup that beats bowling indeed ha ha

 

However - YES the upfront costs are very high AND one needs to add tools and so on into this mix. That said this hobby is so satisfying that IMHO it's all worth it. And yes the Admiral needs to be -- well not too informed indeed.

 

Cheers,

 

PS:  http://seagifts.com/hmspewomoshk.html?utm_source=googlepepla&utm_medium=adwords&id=18283950120

 

your cost just dropped to .35 cents an hour (;-)

Edited by md1400cs

Michael

Current buildSovereign of the Seas 1/78 Sergal

Under the table:

Golden Hind - C Mamoli    Oseberg - Billings 720 - Drakkar - Amati

Completed:   

Santa Maria-Mantua --

Vasa-Corel -

Santisima Trinidad cross section OcCre 1/90th

Gallery :    Santa Maria - Vasa

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started to receive maritime history books as gifts soon after learning to read and have buying them since I was a young adult. As soon as I bought my first house I set up a small shop in my garage and began to outfit it with tools as projects required. My first table saw was one of the "simple power tools" that used to be advertised in Popular Mechanics for about,$35. Fitted with the right blade it did a great job sawing planking from rough stock. A few years ago I bought a used Delta 10in contractor's saw for $150 from a canoe builder that lives nearby and he threw in a trailer to haul it home. I have a set of Stanley bench chisels that I inherited from my father. They hold a good edge.

 

The point of all this rambling is that I consider a good library and good selection of tools to be the key to good modeling. I find many old, used tools to be much more to my liking than the modern "hi tech" lightweight ones, and some old used hand tools are high quality. As jbshan pointed the Internet is a great place to find reasonably priced used books and quality reprints of old works.

 

With these resources you don't need kits.

 

Roger

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  I am likely a year or so away from needing another build. 

 

If that is the case maybe start putting away some money every month now and when the time comes if you are still short then see if you can incorporate the difference as a Christmas or birthday present.

 

Slightly still on topic;  I started to feel guilty as I always seemed to be ordering stuff on-line or disappearing to the hobby store randomly and coming back with various goodies.  So came to an agreement with the Admiral that on the 1st of each month I get a cash hobby allowance handout to do with what I like.   It is plenty for normal consumables or various hobby hand tools but if necessary I can save it for larger purchases.

 

The beauty is, apart from being guilt free, that there is no questions asked or to be justified when parcels rock up to the door or I return from the shops with a bag of stuff.  Perhaps you can settle on a similar agreement with your Admiral.

 

Cheers

Slog

Edited by Captain Slog

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

HM Bark Endeavour (First Wood, On Hold)

Borodino (1:200 Card, Current Build)

Admiral Nakhimov (card 1/200)

Mazur D-350 Artillery Tractor (1:25 Card) 

F-8 Crusader (1:48 Aircraft, Plastic)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Michael, that's the cheapest I've seen so far.

Derek

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea  

Antoine de Saint Exupery

 

Current Builds

Bluenose - Model Shipways - 1:64 Scale

Fair American - Model Shipways - 1:48 Scale

HMS Winchelsea 1764 - Group Build

On Deck

Guns of History Naval Smoothbore Deck Gun - 1:24 Scale

Finished Builds

Mare Nostrum - Artesania Latina - 1:35 Scale

Guns of History Carronade - Model Shipways - 1:24 Scale

 

Member of the Nautical Research Guild

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Calculate your Admiral's daily/monthly hobby and guilty pleasures expenditures.  If yours is like most admirals, including mine, model ship building is a mere pittance  ;)

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72  IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This may not be the correct place to post this. But here it is anyway.

As a corollary to the above. My 20 y.o.daughter came home 2 days ago. I was working on my Vanguard frame.

Upon entering she asks, "Is that another new boat"?.

I said. "No, its the one i got last year. Remember, you took the delivery. I am just having a bit of fun with it before...."

"This is the pattern Dad, you start a boat, and then, when you get to the fart arsey bits, you start another one". "Finish the other ones first!".

 

This actually happened.

Cheers

Martin

p.s. Fart arsey is young Australian slang for small troublesome bits like blocks and stuff.

p.p.s. Guilty as charged.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe someone's suggested this already, but since it takes long enough to build even an inexpensive model, you can use that time to squirrel away a bit of money for the next one. My first model was the MS Phantom which took 3 months to build and cost about $100. While I was building it, I put away 50$ a month and then used that to buy the Sultana which took me about 4 months to build - during which I saved 75$ a month for the next one....etc.

 

Now I have basically  budgeted some money every month that automatically goes into a savings account that I use exclusively to support the hobby - and I have a priority list of goodies - not many kits on the list anymore, just tools and such.

 

From my perspective it's easier to save the money over time than to try to rationalise to the Admiral why I have to spend (at a poor Canadian exchange) 500 or so USD on a Byrnes saw or even 100 USD for a volume from the TFFM series.....but since patience is so necessary in this craft (though I'm not a naturally patient person) I can wait a little bit and treat myself once I've saved my shekels...If you can wait, even a $1000 kitty is not unattainable - as long as no one else (Admiral and Little Lubbers) goes wanting!

hamilton

current builds: Corel HMS Bellona (1780)
 
previous builds: MS Phantom (scuttled, 2017); MS Sultana (1767); Corel Brittany Sloop (scuttled, 2022); MS Kate Cory; MS Armed Virginia Sloop (in need of a refit); Corel Flattie; Mamoli Gretel; Amati Bluenose (1921) (scuttled, 2023); AL San Francisco (destroyed by land krakens [i.e., cats]); Corel Toulonnaise (1823); 
MS Glad Tidings (1937) (in need of a refit)HMS Blandford (1719) from Corel HMS GreyhoundFair Rosamund (1832) from OcCre Dos Amigos (missing in action); Amati Hannah (ship in a bottle); Mamoli America (1851)Bluenose fishing schooner (1921) (scratch)
 
under the bench: Admiralty Echo cross-section; MS Emma C Barry; MS USS Constitution; MS Flying Fish; Corel Berlin; a wood supplier Colonial Schooner Hannah; Victory Models H.M.S. Fly; CAF Models HMS Granado; MS USS Confederacy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...