$41.99 cardboard building

[jerryl]

  Did I hear Coby right? does that cardboard barn really cost $41.99. It doesn't have any window detail & it looks as if the roof has no texture. IHMO it's a little steep...no it's really steep. Check out the video, "Coby's Office". What do you think? Jerry

[don7]

You heard right.

I am not familiar with this brand, but if it is cardboard then it certainly seems priced on the high side. I agree that while watching the video the item did not seem to have any texture as you pointed out.

If that is the MSRP the street price may be considerably less.

[loathar]

Maybe it's made by the same company that prints the Lionel boxes??

[simon1966]

At $41 I was not impressed, it does not even look very realistic.  Noch is German and so presumably Walthers is importing these.  I can't imagine that they will sell very well?  There are far better photorealistic paper and cardboard models from companys like Clever Designs. http://clevermodels.com/models_ho.htm far better detail and a lot less expensive.  I have to say that paper and card structures are not really to my taste anyway.

[markpierce]

I thought he made a "typo" when stating the price.  Surely, the kit isn't worth more than $4.99.  The structure shown was so unappealing I didn't and still don't want to waste time checking out the price.

Mark

[Rotorranch]

Maybe it's made by the same company that prints the Lionel boxes??

Rotor

[LD357]

Walthers sells a comp. program to print your own buildings and it's only $40. Who in their right mind would pay $42 for some cardboard? Even $4.99 sounds like too much to me!

[Anonymous]

Coby? Who's that? Did you mean Cody?

[LudwigVonDrake]

Well I went and watched the video - no way is that worth $41.99.

A quick search on Noch's website finds it RRP is €19 ($30) which is still hefty.

http://www.noch.de/en/produktkatalog/artikel_detail.php?shop_artikelid=1613957&navi_Kategorie1=&navi_Kategorie2=&navi_Kategorie3=&navi_Kategorie4=

And it doesn't even come in a box but a plastic bag!

 

[corsair7]

Well I went and watched the video - no way is that worth $41.99.

A quick search on Noch's website finds it RRP is €19 ($30) which is still hefty.

http://www.noch.de/en/produktkatalog/artikel_detail.php?shop_artikelid=1613957&navi_Kategorie1=&navi_Kategorie2=&navi_Kategorie3=&navi_Kategorie4=

And it doesn't even come in a box but a plastic bag!

 

For that price they could make out of polystyrene or even wood.

Irv

[MisterBeasley]

And it doesn't even come in a box but a plastic bag!

Yeah, but think of what that bag will be worth in 40-50 years!

There was another thread recently about "How to save money in tough times."  Well, I see a way to save $41.99 right here.

[ndbprr]

Well apparently there are a lot of people out there who are lemmings.  They just assume price = quality or rarity.  Somebody is buying Marklin GG1's that are more than $400.00 each when you can't tell the difference between it and and a Mehano or Rivarossi.  Probably the same people who plunk down their money as soon as something is announced.

[LudwigVonDrake]

There was another thread recently about "How to save money in tough times."  Well, I see a way to save $41.99 right here.

LOL You'd save even more if you didn't buy two.

[steveiow]

Oh dear...you've all missed the point,it said 'Laser cut'-surely worth 42 bucks

Steve

[loathar]

Oh dear...you've all missed the point,it said 'Laser cut'-surely worth 42 bucks

Steve

I thought lasers burned paper???

[vsmith]

I recently payed $34 for a German paper model kit:

 

Of course its 1/32 scale, detailed out the gazoo and is almost three feet long when complete, so its just a tad more substantial than this 1/87 kit

Blame the in-the-toilet Dollar, which is rapidly closing in on the Peso in value, its only 19 Euros overseas, not that terrible when you consider that the Euro use to almost equal the Dollar for years till recently, of course import that over here and once you add that hefty distributor profit margin you end up at $42. Says alot about how in the cr*pp*r our economy actually is...

I suspect this "cardboard" is more like a thin masonite hence the laser, like cutting balsa wood kits.

BTW no lasers on my kit, got to do it the old fashion way - xacto

[ereimer]

the product review videos are free for everyone this weekend so i went and had a look .

1st Cody reviews an illuminated tweezer set for $19.99 that , although it might not be a required tool for everyone's toobox , is certainly a useful addition since it contains 3 types of tweezers (all metal) and an LED light

then he reviews the $41 cardboard barn

and then he reviews an N scale hopper car , a very nicely detailed plastic model complete with trucks and couplers and a steel underframe (i presume to bring it to recommended weight) . price of the hopper car ?  $15.99

 

which one doesn't belong here ?

the barn is a rippoff . you could buy a sheet of textured paper to make the walls , and another for the roof from several manufacturers . i think they cost about $7 or $8 per sheet and would probably make at least 4 of these barns . yeah you'd have to cut it yourself and even fold the corners , but it is only paper , you don't need a laser . you could even add plastic windows and doors and still be way under the price of this kit and have a much better model

it's good to see things like this , but these are new product descriptions , they aren't reviews . and i think they should be a bit more discriminating about what they include . they only have time/space for a few reviews , they really should be showing us the best stuff available that really gets their recommendation as a product

 

ernie

[steamage]

Usually a laser cut kit is made of model aircraft type plywood and when assembled they look very nice. But cardboard, is prone to warping because of moisture. I sure wouldn't pay $41.99 for the same material that its box is made from! And the barn Cody showed didn't look very prototype anyway.

[alfadawg01]

Maybe it's the lost Cody's April Fool's video?

[ereimer]

And the barn Cody showed didn't look very prototype anyway.

 

the manufacturere is Noch , it might be a german prototype

 

ernie

[galaxy]

Well, heck, I have an empty cereal box. That must be worth at least $12.95 easily!

[marknewton]

Usually a laser cut kit is made of model aircraft type plywood and when assembled they look very nice. But cardboard, is prone to warping because of moisture. I sure wouldn't pay $41.99 for the same material that its box is made from! And the barn Cody showed didn't look very prototype anyway.

It's German, so it probably doesn't look prototypical to you if you're only familiar with American barns.

I can't understand why this topic has generated so much impassioned comment. No-one's forcing you to buy the thing.

Mark.

[simon1966]

Mark, I suspect it is because it is so clearly a poor value that it makes Walthers, and for that matter Kalmbach, look like they are trying to put one over their customer base / audience.  I am rather surprised that this was even the subject of a video review, and even more surprised that Cody could do the review with a straight face!  In my view this sort of thing really undermines the credibility of product reviews.

[lvanhen]

Right about Cody - if you believe he actually saw what was in front of him, you'll buy any other review they do!!  BAD MOVE MR!!!  Can't wait to see how subscriber reviews compare to MR reviews - or is this their way of not directly insulting advertisers?

[tomikawaTT]

When I visited the copper mining museum at Bisbee, AZ, the gift shop had cut-and-fold cardboard models of a large number of local buildings in 1:96 scale.  Nicely-printed, authentic colors, easily adapted to the installation of raised cornices and such.

Had I wanted to, I could have bought all of downtown Bisbee for about the price of this one barn...

I have nothing against this style of building - but not at a higher price than I paid for a well-detailed styrene model of a mine complex.

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

[markpierce]

When I visited the copper mining museum at Bisbee, AZ, the gift shop had cut-and-fold cardboard models of a large number of local buildings in 1:96 scale.  Nicely-printed, authentic colors, easily adapted to the installation of raised cornices and such.

Had I wanted to, I could have bought all of downtown Bisbee for about the price of this one barn...

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

Those Bisbee cardboard models could possibly be great background structures for a period Western town in HO scale if one could find figures and vehicles in 1:96 scale to occupy the town.  Having seen them, Chuck, do you agree?

Mark

[dknelson]

I watched Cody's Office before I checked the Forums -- wondered if someone was going to mention that particular item.  I suspect late June/early July are rather thin months for new products to be sent in.  Having said that the camera did not really zoom in.  I am not turned off by cardstock per se. 

I do most of my hobby shopping at Walthers headquarters, but I also go to a local shop that has a fair amount of Maerklin.  At both places I have asked "does anybody really buy all this European stuff that justifies how much catalog and/or shelf space it takes up?"  The answer is the same: "you'd be shocked."  I guess I am if someone is spending $40+ on a very very modest little shed.

Ah well.   Chacun à son goût, eh?

Dave Nelson 

 

[marknewton]

Mark, I suspect it is because it is so clearly a poor value that it makes Walthers, and for that matter Kalmbach, look like they are trying to put one over their customer base / audience...

But Simon, is it poor value?

A number of thoughts occur to me on that point.

1: None of the people who are whingeing their little hearts out on this thread have actually seen the product, so they can't make any objective judgement about it's value
2: It's only seems expensive to you Yanks - and expat Poms - because the US dollar is so weak compared to the Euro, and
3: Based on those I know, the sort of people who model European railways and would buy this sort of thing tend to be rather well-off, and wouldn't think to quibble over the price... Maybe that's what's all the fuss is about? :-)

In my view this sort of thing really undermines the credibility of product reviews.

Have magazine product reviews ever had much credibility? Given some of the second-rate models that have been given favourable reviews by all of the model railroading press over the years, I've always tended to take them with a grain of salt...

Any, in the best Australian tradition of stirring the possum, here's another laser-cut card model for the folks to moan about - one I intend to but myself when they become available. I'm always on the lookout for something that will pass muster as a Japanese building.

http://www.eurorailhobbies.com/erh/eurorailhobbiesdetail.asp?pageid=&erh_find=workshop&MN=12&stock=BU-1411

With a minor bit of kitbashing, it will become the depot/garage of the Hokutetu bus lines:

http://www.geocities.jp/rabuca2003/hokutetu.htm

All the best,

Mark.

[markpierce]

Cody's Office consist largely of introducing new products.  It is basic marketing, undoubtedly driven by the magazine's advertisers.  Cody does not evaluate the products.  Take it for what it is.  I find the program interesting but it has yet to motivate me to purchase an item.  I am, however, curious of what new products are made available.  Cody's modeling tips are helpful too.

the other Mark

[simon1966]

Mark, (the one not called Bruce!)

You have me chuckling away to myself, as always I do enjoy your posts! 

Comparing your rather complex and large workshop to the diminutive and simple barn seen on Cody's office, the $3.06 price difference in the bog paper, currently known as the USD, makes the structure you are planning on purchasing a bargain!  I think your comparative example further illustrates the poor value of the little barn! 

Now at this point I should use some cutting metaphor exquisitely pointed at the Aussie lack of observational skills, but much as I try I simply can't.  It is rather humiliating really and feels a bit like the end of most Ashes series.  I do however think that the term POM (Prisoner of Mother England) is a bit of a misnomer for someone who has lived in the US for 20 years!