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Discussion: Star Wars Model Kits - why so expensive?

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Why are Star Wars vehicle model kits soooo expensive to buy now. Is it because of the 2021 “May The Fourth Be With You” Day Celebration or is it because of something else?

I Am The Way, The Light, and The Force.

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Have they jumped up in price of late mate - or is it a thing that being going on for a while?

What sort of lines of models are you looking at?
 

I used to be somewhat up on the Star Wars models - though there were so many differing toy and model lines… they all began to blur into one, and I began to lose interest. Especially given the prices of some of them, or lack of availability as collectors and scalpers would snap many of the more intriguing models and toys up.
 

A little patience goes a long way on this old-school Rebel base. If you are having issues finding what you are looking for, these will be of some help…

Welcome to the OriginalTrilogy.com | Introduce yourself in here | Useful info within : About : Help : Site Rules : Fan Project Rules : Announcements
How do I do this?’ on the OriginalTrilogy.com; some info & answers + FAQs - includes info on how to search for projects and threads on the OT•com

A Project Index for Star Wars Preservations (Harmy’s Despecialized & 4K77/80/83 etc) : A Project Index for Star Wars Fan Edits (adywan & Hal 9000 etc)

… and take your time to look around this site before posting - to get a feel for this place. Don’t just lazily make yet another thread asking for projects.

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 (Edited)

oojason said:

Have they jumped up in price of late mate - or is it a thing that being going on for a while?

What sort of lines of models are you looking at?
 

I used to be somewhat up on the Star Wars models - though there were so many differing toy and model lines… they all began to blur into one, and I began to lose interest. Especially given the prices of some of them, or lack of availability as collectors and scalpers would snap many of the more intriguing models and toys up.
 

Mostly I am looking for the AT-AT I saw them on Amazon for $74.90 early this year 9since then they have shot up pretty good to $150.00 im still going to one. I just a Snowspeeder but its very small I thought I would be bigger. plus I am going to have to paint it silver cause its a dull plastic grey colour. So after those two I will get more rebel ships. but I do want the Slave 1 That ship is a very exotic design. don’t you think so?

I Am The Way, The Light, and The Force.

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Yeah, Slave 1 is an iconic design - and looks great across the toy ranges.

The snowspeeder size thing is weird - as it was somewhat oversized when it was available via Kenner / Palitoy back in the day - something the toy companies have ‘rectified’ in making it considerably smaller / to scale (less plastic - though costing more money 😉)
 

This may be of some interest to you (as to the numbers of models made, making it to store, & scarceness of them on the shelves)… likely resulting in price rises for the few models actually available? Not to mention Hasbro’s recent price increases - and also the rise of scalpers…
 

Rise of Evil, Fall of the Toy Industry’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azaFs60N6oM - a 25 minute video at the RetroBlasting youtube channel.
 

I think similar could be said for the availability of comics in stores too.
 

A little patience goes a long way on this old-school Rebel base. If you are having issues finding what you are looking for, these will be of some help…

Welcome to the OriginalTrilogy.com | Introduce yourself in here | Useful info within : About : Help : Site Rules : Fan Project Rules : Announcements
How do I do this?’ on the OriginalTrilogy.com; some info & answers + FAQs - includes info on how to search for projects and threads on the OT•com

A Project Index for Star Wars Preservations (Harmy’s Despecialized & 4K77/80/83 etc) : A Project Index for Star Wars Fan Edits (adywan & Hal 9000 etc)

… and take your time to look around this site before posting - to get a feel for this place. Don’t just lazily make yet another thread asking for projects.

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I don’t really know what’s going on, but I think regarding the Bandai Star Wars model kits that the pandemic affected the manufacturing and so a lot of kits became unavailable, especially via the official US distributor. So the prices are for direct Japan imports, for what was left of the pre-pandemic stock. Hopefully the situation will soon improve. Be patient, young padawan!

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The Bandai kits are generally not hard to find for reasonable prices. Bigbadtoystore (among others) regularly adds new stock every few months. The trouble can be if you’re looking for a specific model and it’s been a while since they’ve done a production run of that particular kit, then the aftermarket prices can be high. But usually if you’re patient you’ll see another production run pop up.

The one kit I keep hoping to see restocked is the 1/12 speeder bike w/scout trooper. That one has been OOP for a few years now I think and is tough to find for a decent price.

The best advice is to find some reliable online retailers and keep an eye on their stock at least weekly. The popular kits can sell out fairly quick when they show up. Also, check hobby lobby (they usually have some Bandai kits, but the selection is very limited). And last, if you have any local hobby shops nearby, go scope them out. I’m lucky to have quite a few mom and pop type hobby shops in driving distance and I often see plenty of Star Wars kits for retail prices on their shelves. Including plenty that have become scarce online and command premiums if you do find them.

Oh, regarding size, check the scale of the model. It’s read as a fraction so the larger the second number is, the smaller the kit will be. (1:32 will be a fairly large model whereas 1:144 will be quite small. Basically 1:144 means it would take 144 copies of the model to add up to the length or width of a full “life sized” ship)

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Well all I can respond is that its a calmanation of situations Yes its anniversary time and its the market of rarity of model kits have become. I just purchased a full size (or there of) Millennium Falcon Model kit but haven’t even opened the box up yet and and I have 144 scale AT-AT Walker built with wear and tear paint on it its OK but I still want the bigger one also I have the T-47 Snowspeeder i painted mine all silver (looks better that way to me) yes the small one as well ive seen a lot of YouTubers showing off thier wares or model kits. So what do you have in your repertoire?

I Am The Way, The Light, and The Force.