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Post by Brandon on Jun 12, 2007 11:44:55 GMT -6
I mean, the kit is collectible in the eyes of modellers, but seemingly far from rare. At any given time there is at least two of them on Ebay, most with the boxes... they must have sold a ton of them in the day. And what kind of kid doesn't slam a kit together as soon as he gets home?  Why are there so many unbuilt kits and surviving boxes?? Was it collectiblity back then? Sheer volume that left plenty of unbuilt kits behind? I don't get it... and why after several years of these things *always* on Ebay do they continue to bring top dollar? More even? Are they all just being resold, (I'm sure that's the case for some) or is there a secret RR factory out there somewhere churning out originial issue kits? What's the deal? |
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Post by theflame on Jun 12, 2007 11:53:39 GMT -6
yeah, that IS weird. Maybe all the military building guys got them home, realised it wasnt a REAL WW2 vehicle, and never built em?
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Post by fredmellini on Jun 12, 2007 12:03:47 GMT -6
Your right Brandon, there is almost always one for sale everytime I check. The one thing I noticed is that they are either unbuilt, or very poorly built and painted. My guess is that they were either given as gifts to people back in the day (I know for a fact that I gave three as birthday gifts at my friends birthday parties growing up, but I myself never built one as a kid) and the other thing is that it really doesn't look like a "Hot Rod" and if you take the skeletons out of the kit, it is just basically a military vehicle. I do know that painting the one piece tracks, slotted boogie wheels is the most boring, time consuming part of the kit. Maybe kids just got overwhelmed and never got around to building them.....................I got about nine of these things (even after selling two built and one sealed kit) in various stages from unbuilt to glue bombs and the tracks/boogie wheels is what keeps delaying me from working on them  |
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Post by howardcohen on Jun 12, 2007 12:13:27 GMT -6
Monogram may have run 50,000 or 100,000 kits back them. If 10% of them survived somehow in whatever shape, and there is another one on Ebay every week...that is 10,000 weeks. Now, if only 10% of those remaining (1% of those sold) are offered on Ebay, that is still 1,000 units or almost 20 years, or 10 years of you take the smaller figure. Hmmm...
The same can be said for Uncertain T models.
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Post by Brandon on Jun 12, 2007 13:40:37 GMT -6
Monogram may have run 50,000 or 100,000 kits back them. If 10% of them survived somehow in whatever shape, and there is another one on Ebay every week...that is 10,000 weeks. Now, if only 10% of those remaining (1% of those sold) are offered on Ebay, that is still 1,000 units or almost 20 years, or 10 years of you take the smaller figure. Hmmm... The same can be said for Uncertain T models. and by that math logic, they should go for around $40 a piece, right?  I'm not convinced that they are rare, only that they were never reissued again... |
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Post by Tim Nolan on Jun 12, 2007 13:59:32 GMT -6
You guys are probably right on many counts. As a military model, it pretty much sucks. (the tracks ie:) As a hotrod, it really isn't. The skeletons are the "koolness factor" for many. I have one, but it isn't my favorite TD kit. I have it, because I am a TD collector/builder. It may be a lot of military guys bought it, and shelved it because of the lack of detail. It is 1/24th, which makes it unusual, because most of the military stuff is 1/32 I believe. That oddity may add to it's collectability by military guys. The Uncertain T on the other hand, was more of a builder. I surmise many of these kits were built, but did not survive the ages. If you have ever built this kit, it is not only frail in design, but the early plastic it was made from is very brittle. A lot of this stuff may have surfaced in recent years, mainly due to eBay I believe. Many of us guys are "coming of age", in our middle years, where we are either trying to recover the things we had as kids, like models, or cleaning house after parents have passed away, and these old treasures are recovered from those deceased parents attics and basements after years of abandon. In any case, it's good for those of us looking for these treasures, or for the kid in all of us who wants to build again.  |
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Post by davea on Jun 12, 2007 21:35:11 GMT -6
I think the prices it brings have to do with it being a TD kit, not that it was that great of a kit. It IS weird that there so many of them for sale, yet the prices keep rising.
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Post by Honest Charlie on Jun 16, 2007 14:25:40 GMT -6
I mean, the kit is collectible in the eyes of modellers, but seemingly far from rare. At any given time there is at least two of them on Ebay, most with the boxes... they must have sold a ton of them in the day. And what kind of kid doesn't slam a kit together as soon as he gets home? Why are there so many unbuilt kits and surviving boxes?? Was it collectiblity back then? Sheer volume that left plenty of unbuilt kits behind? I don't get it... and why after several years of these things *always* on Ebay do they continue to bring top dollar? More even? Are they all just being resold, (I'm sure that's the case for some) or is there a secret RR factory out there somewhere churning out originial issue kits? What's the deal? |
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Post by A.J. on Jun 16, 2007 21:12:14 GMT -6
I've had this discussion countless times with still no understanding why people pay so much for a Rommel's Rod, Tijuana Taxi, or a Dragon Wagon. None of which are rare and can be found in various forms over and over again on eBay. I can't imagine that there are that many TD fans out there that we don't know about but who knows, maybe. Anyway, I don't think we'll ever have a good answer to any of the questions on this subject. Honestly speaking the Rommel's Rod shouldn't be any more than a $75 buck kit give or take a few bucks. There are so many of them floating around out there.
Oh well, that's just the way it goes.
A.J.
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Post by modelcitizen on Jun 16, 2007 22:32:54 GMT -6
How true A.J.!!! Then prices will only start to fall back into the realm of reality when the "investors", who don't know what the heck to do with them, start to realize "they" are the only ones interested in them. In other words, once "they" have scooped most of them up and 6 months or a year later, "they" try to off them on "Evil Bay" and the kits only bring $50 - $75, there will likely be a panic flood of "Rare" kits available. Then again maybe I'm way out in left field  , but I've said it before and I'll say it again, "It's just a small box of styrene!", and if you don't know what you're doing with it, it becomes a really screwed up, small box of styrene! ;D ;D ;D Good luck "investors"!!! ;D ;D ;D "Paulie" |
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Post by A.J. on Jun 17, 2007 5:01:12 GMT -6
Hey Paulie, I don't think you are wrong but in the 10+ years I've been collecting kits, I've never seen any of the big 3 that I mentioned get soft. At least in the aspect that makes them affordable to build. There has always been fluctuation as in the say $150 (maybe $125) up to the $300 plus mark but rarely less than the low amount. It is a crazy mixed up deal. I had known one guy back in the day that would quite literally buy every Rommel's Rod that came up. I think at one time he had somewhere around a dozen factory sealed Rommel's Rods. He never did tell me why he wanted that many. Anyway, I hope that when (if) that reissue comes out that the originals soften up a bit and people realize that it's not a rare kit, just a popular one.
A.J.
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Post by modelcitizen on Jun 17, 2007 17:10:15 GMT -6
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Post by stevehammann on Jun 18, 2007 6:39:44 GMT -6
My rule of thumb has always been if you can't eat or drink it, it HAS no real value, only a perceived value. I have bought and sold in various hobbies over the last 20 years as a business (some say scavenger, whatever) and as mentioned before when interest wanes the price falls through the floor like a ten ton safe.
If you want something buy it because you like it and pay what you are comfortable with, not because you think it will rise in value. There will ALWAYS be another one coming down the road.
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Post by Paul B. Canney on Jun 18, 2007 9:17:56 GMT -6
I think you missed one My rule of thumb has always been if you can't eat or drink it, it HAS no real value, only a perceived value. I have bought and sold in various hobbies over the last 20 years as a business (some say scavenger, whatever) and as mentioned before when interest wanes the price falls through the floor like a ten ton safe. If you want something buy it because you like it and pay what you are comfortable with, not because you think it will rise in value. There will ALWAYS be another one coming down the road. |
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Post by Brandon on Jun 18, 2007 11:03:48 GMT -6
I think you missed one HAHAHAHAHA! |
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Post by modelcitizen on Jun 18, 2007 11:56:27 GMT -6
Paul, You've gotta remember , "If it's got t-ts  or tires  , it's gonna be trouble!"  ;D ;D ;D "Paulie" |
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Why are there so many unbuilt kits and surviving boxes?? 
, but I've said it before and I'll say it again, "It's just a small box of styrene!", and if you don't know what you're doing with it, it becomes a really screwed up, small box of styrene! ;D ;D ;D Good luck "investors"!!! ;D ;D ;D
. Most all of us "Styrene Suckers" would have to die off or take up other hobbies/interests 
. One can dream though 
. I too hold the same hope that the re-release will "soften" the market on the originals 
