bigfiver69

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to bring up the issue of the ongoing value of RC tanks as collectibles, and get some insights from you all regarding the value of tanks now and what they might be in future.

The reason that I bring this up is that recently spent quite a long time trying to find a 1/16 RC WSN T34 here in North America (they seem a little more common in Europe, but they shipping costs are a killer.)

A couple of years ago, these were quite common. It's still easy to find the Merit version without the guts, but finding the RTR WSN/Torro version is getting tougher. To that point, I paid nearly double for one I just picked up versus a couple of years ago.

While there will always be mainstream availability for the Tamiya kits, because they are a large, stable company, does the viability of other producers make certain tanks collectible?

Again, I return to the WSN t34. Heng Long are slated to release their version, but from what I have seen it does not have the curb appeal of the WSN (though it certainly has better guts).

And what if Heng Long imploded and the availability that we sort of take for granted dries up?

So.. I throw this out to the community. What are your thoughts on RC tanks as collectibles that might increase in value over time?

I for one wish I had bought a couple of dozen WSN t34s a few years ago when you could get them for $80. I think there is enough demand that you could sell them quite easily for a significant increase now.

Love to hear your thoughts...
Shep

rivetcounter

I would seriously doubt that the WASAN T34 would increase in demand to warrant an increase in price as you have rightly said Heng Long will release their version soon then the demand and price will drop, as for being readily available in Europe, I have to say I haven’t seen one in a few years least not the original version the IR re-realise is rather thin on the ground but can be found for around 130€ occasionally they do go a little higher but not significantly, hardly a viable investment, the IMAI Elefant on the other hand was always in short supply and many years ahead of its time in terms of detail and quality hence after 30 years they are a worthy investment I doubt that the WASAN T34 will approach that the next vehicle that is collectable is the Tamiya Kübelwagen these can be found for around 150-200€ in RC form I don’t think the static version reached that high if you want an investment for the future the Xion SdKfz 222/223 and the Kettenkrad could be worthy, the 222/223 have never been seen in large numbers so could increase in value

mortak

Supply and demand. No supply, with a niche market asking for a t-34 (out of the box RC, not a static model) and you get a much higher price. WSN had some nice guts, but still needed mod for it to be a decent runner. Kinda like the 1/15 bandai models... now that a couple of other manufacturers came out with ferdi's, you don't see much of these on sale.....

jarndice

I think your idea has merit in principle but if you buy a HENG LONG for instance you will almost certainly upgrade it and my experiance with motor cycles is the more you modify it whether its cosmetically or mechanically you will not get the market price of the original, A tamiya almost never comes on the market unbuilt so if it has been built who did it and how good were they. I have a feeling that reselling 1/16 tanks will remain as it presently is a niche market with some of us wringing our hands and wishing that this or that particular maker or model were still extant. I am afraid that filling a warehouse with boxes of Tamiya Tigers 1 -2 and Heng Long ditto, locking the shutter for ten years, and then flooding the market will probably lead to bankrupcy shaun

ausf

I don't think HL or WSN has the quality to warrant collectible status, even if they did dry up. I tend to think this hobby has such a narrow, focused market, there's no pressure like that. If HL folds, less will enter the fray and the established guys will find alternatives or buy Tamiya. If HL never made another Tiger, it wouldn't be going for $300-400 in a few years.

By comparison, years ago Dragon released a 1/35 Initial and Late Tiger that was all the rage, groundbreaking for what was on the market it at the time. I bought and sold a crapload of them, but the market was so flooded that I had about a dozen left over. After a short while, they stopped producing the Late and modelers start clamoring for it. I put them up one at a time on eBay they all sold between $75-100. A month earlier, they all sat unsold on a table for $20 at AMPS.

Then Dragon got real cute and started releasing short runs of 2000 or so kits for $75 a piece, only available through their website as a preorder. The kits would be reserved and gone in days, then resold online for up to $300 before they even hit the street.

There's no comparion in quality with those though, DML is an excellent company with great design and detail.

bigfiver69

All good comments fellas!

Myself, I hope these DON'T become collectible. Anything that drives the prices further and further should be avoided.

When my new WSN t34 appears, it's going right under the knife to become a T-34/76... no collectibles here!

B

heavyaslead

Saw an Imai Elefant go for 710USD on Ebay few days ago.

Hoobens release of the Elefant definately affected this sale.

Collectables are generally the pricer fair models and must have some special uniqueness and reputation that no one else has emulated.

For a while years ago the Tam Gephard was quite pricey because of its OOP and no one produced a copy.

FreakyDude

I would say these are collectible just like anything else. A standard out of the box HL tiger not a chance. Give that tank to a guy that rips and shreds and comes back with a historical recreation or a one Off and Bob is your uncle.

Pah co chu puk

I could see two classes of tanks becoming collectable...   vintage, still in the box, and anything Rex Ross scratch built.

Tanque

That Elefant if it was this one to which you refer:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Imai-Elefant...p2047675.l2557

was in pretty sorry state, possibly missing pieces, not really representative of the value of a model in perfect condition or an un-built kit.

Jerry

YHR

I wouldn't hold my breath for any of these to become collectible. They are mass produced in quantities, that if they ever started going up in value, enough of them would surface to drive down the price.

i.e COX slot cats from the 60s. These become a hot item on ebay. Guys were paying $600. Once people discovered they could get $600 for their old cox slot car thousands of them started showing up, the shine was gone, and they fell in price. Same thing would happen with these tanks.


What keeps the Bandai price up is that they never made many, and there just aren't any around.

cleong

The very size and price of each one of these kits, unbuilt, precludes hoarding by most people. Keep in mind serious collectors will want to store them in ight- and climate-controlled environments for the mint in box condition status. Most kits once bought would be built and enjoyed as they were intended. Perhaps paradoxically, then, MIB 1/16th tank kits would be comparatively rare.

It would be hard to call which way it goes but I would say its likely of limited collector value:

- first Tamiya RC Sherman (also their first RC model, 56001, It should be The Holy Grail, but its not. Yours for a mere $935 BIN: http://www.ebay.com/itm/RC-Tamiya-Pa...item232bedadaa)

- the clutch-type 1/16th tanks, King Tiger, Leopard 1A4 and Gepard traded at roughly double of their retail prices until Tamiya re-released them.

- case in point, the re-release KT featured only the production turret with modern electronics. The Porsche turret version by virtue of rarity, is currently still collectible.

- with Tamiya's current trend to re-release, and other brands' molds being shared, perhaps big-tank collecting isn't worthwhile?

Tanque

I'm not sure that Bandai ( a HUGE company in Japan) didn't make a lot of their 1/15 scale kits. In their day, the early 1970s they were everywhere. Also if memory serves
there was an an American importer that brought in at least their PzKw IV and marketed under the name Entex. My Hummel kit cost $42 in 1972 ( I remember it well)
and I remember seeing the kits at many hobby shops and toy stores. Either Bandai made a boatload or just the local shops imported a bunch. I also recall their Tiger was the last
of the line. The local distributor's representative one day ( ~1976 ) at Franciscan hobbies in San Francisco said that Bandai had plans to make both a Sherman and T-34
( neither sub-variant was spoken to) in the line but these to my knowledge never materialized at least I've never seen them. If they did THOSE I'm sure would approach
collector status.

Collectable status is surprising. At the very same Franciscan hobbies I once purchased a small Japanese made electric Evinrude outboard motor they happened to have
in a box of similar motors. I picked this one as it looked the part. Small price, $15-20. some years later, perhaps 10 years ago I put it on eb^^ as I knew I'd never
use it. The price it ended up selling for was mind boggling. Yes, I later came to realize there's an entire collector's market around those things. Some sell for thousands.
I had not bought the thing on speculation, it just happened.

Jerry

Tanque

It's true, several of the Bay area tank club members would tell you how desperate many were in the early 1990s before Tamiya went on to re-release their 1/16 kits and then expand the
lineup. Sorry examples of original Shermans and assorted Bandais were being hoarded like gold.

Jerry

gyrate

I have a 1979 original release leo 1 from tamiya.. i also bought a brand new old stock replacement gearbox for it as the one in the tank has seen some use. when i bought it, the whole bruiser round up was going on. it was a great deal at the time. now i think they are rereleasing it? meh.

i consider this to be somewhat collectible. i have not touched it other than rebuild it and parked it on the shelf. i want to get the geppard variety as well but all i see are the static kits. no time to convert one of those atm to rc

the leo 2 is the runner that i try to run but is on the shelf most of the time getting parts added to it. i have an insane amount invested in it that there is no way i will ever get back.

the rest are just toys lacking details or body heft.

i can however see some of the 1/8 all metal ones holding their value, not all of them, but some. i wish i could justify the cost of picking one up, but after freight and all, not worth it. i went into rc construction models and that is a whole world of sticker shocker.

in 1/24 the original marui bb tanks with the upgrade plastic tracks i consider now rare. have a few of these and asfik you cannot get the tracks anymore. there are copies now all over, but all with the rubber tracks.

the vs pro proportional ones i can't locate either..

what collectors do is they buy a few of each and put one on the shelf. then years down the road they see what the trends are.

Rex Ross

I agree with a lot of what has been said so far.......... In my own case, I have paid a lot of money for something I just couldn't live without because it was out of production, or I wanted to be the first kid on the block to have one (pride of ownership). Some of my purchases are downright embarrassing ...... but I never bought anything thinking it would might worth a lotta bucks someday. I enjoy a hobby, I don't run a business (thank goodness!!!).

Conversely, I have a couple of HL BB shooters I can't give away, let alone recover a few bucks. I offered an HL BB tank as a gift to a lady I know who has an 8 year old son who really wanted one because his friend had one. She asked me if that would include a lifetime supply of BBs and batteries? ..... and would I come over to clean up the BBs from the floor of the house and yard? And would I fix it when it broke? And would I would I pay for Vet fees for injuries done to her cat during a battle?

Sooooo ... If you really want one, it's worth a lot. If you don't want one, it's worthless.

Rex

Onondaga

The majority of the tanks in my collection aren't high dollar specimens, but I enjoy their uniqueness and plan on building a room with built in display cases to showcase either the progression of RC Tanks or group them by model type ie, 1/72,1/35,1/25,1/16,1/12, and 1/6 King Tigers. Needless to say most tanks have been made in Asia. I never thought there would be so many different  models or scale sizes. Once eBay added their RC Tank section in 2003 things really got going. First tanks got smaller, then they got BIGGER, now is seems there are a huge number of 1/16 models available with many full metal models as an option too. Mr. Tanque on here probably has one of the better or best collections of large scale quality tanks that I know of!