Dave, the thread certainly wasn't a dig at retailers and I wasn't after a particular reaction. However, you can't deny that prices have gone up significantly over the past couple of years which was my point. Whether the prices are justified and (they may well be) is a different matter.

It may be that exchange rates, fuel prices, labour charges, material costs, increased VAT, shipping etc mean the manufacturers and retailers profit margins are lower depsite the higher end cost. It may even simply be that the longer an individual stays in the hobby, the more he is sucked into the ever increasing technology and 'bling' that really isn't necessary (and hence the increased cost is partly our own fault). I have tried buying items direct from distributors in bulk (the latest attempt was the little Robart airline connectors) and haven't really had much success in making money savings so am certainly not throwing stones suggesting high retailer mark-ups.

It does, however, make me value the bits I have already and make me less willing to part with them. It also makes buying second-hand with the current low used prices seem quite attractive.

None of this is new. I remember when I was about 15 going to a model exhibition and almost fighting over bulk cheap elastic bands only to turn around and spend a few hundred pounds on a new helicopter. Moaning about prices and wanting more for less is just human nature