jwscab wrote:Eau Rouge, I think the point is that there isn't a whole lot of complexity to demand an absurd price tag. I started a thread the other day, you could technically have a whole system of parts for the cost of a set of CVD's, a belt, 2 pulleys, the guts and part of a case from a stealth trans, an idler pulley from something(I didn't investigate that), and the upright/caster block setup from a b44.
We're not talking about mass produced parts. We're talking about limited production items for a
very limited market. Not to mention the fact that if you ask 100 people if they will buy a t-shirt for the website, and 100 say "yes" you are guaranteed only to sell about 30 of them. The fact is, reproducing a kit like this has ENORMOUS risk for
MIP, regardless of what anyone says or thinks. It's not just a few parts slapped into a bag and stuffed into a box.
I'm not commenting one way or the other about the supposed retail price of the repro, all I'm saying is that some of you guys really have no idea what "actual costs" are when it comes to producing something like this for a limited production market. This isn't Tamiya we're talking about.
Back when those kits were made, bear in mind that CNC equipment didn't exist in the volume it does today, and some of the 'high' dollar stuff can be made much more cheaply now.
1986 wasn't the dark ages in the machining world. Yes, things can be done more cost effectively today, but that doesn't change the fact that producing something in triple digit quantities is never cost-effective.
Oh, and if you ever talk to a machinist, most of them will say that it 'only takes a few minutes' to do anything, since they are well aware of capabilities of their equipment.
In my 39-odd years, I have never heard a machinist say that "it only takes a few minutes" do do anything start to finish. Maybe the time that the machine is actually cutting, but the set-up, programming, fixtures, production, and finishing required for anything CNC machined is NOT a simple plug-n-play process. Ask me how I know.
Just remember, Tamiya's 930 RSR Anniversary kit retailed for $918.00 and how many of them are available today?
Which would YOU rather have?