RE: Sebastiano Silvestri new F3A plane
actually Derek the electric bipes like the Amethyst and the new Miss Wind are very difficult to produce and still make weight. These are electric bipes and still make weight. The techniques and materials used more expensive. Besides I don't think any pricing is available in the USA for the Miss Wind yet. If you look at the prices of the OXAI models in Europe or Asia you will see the Price in the United States is always cheaper by at least a few hundred bucks. In some cases even more.
As for the prices yes they have gone up in the past couple years but it has not been so much of an increase on the part of the factory as it has been a decline in the value of the dollar vs the Chinese.
These models are expensive no doubt. The reason they are becoming popular is because of the quality and attention to detail. Anyone that has built their own wood models knows the time it takes to produce a model of this quality. You hear gripes about the price, yet when it comes time to purchase the model many folks still find the value in Oxai models.
Oxai is a small operation. They can only make a few hundred models a year. Its not like they are producing a run of 300 planes at a time and they are stamping them out like servo wheels. They just produce a product and charge their fee. To some the fee is too high, and to others like myself you get what you pay for. There are lots of choices out there, and a modeler can always design and build his own.
When you go out to eat, you have a choice there is the Ruth's Cris steak house and then there is the Jack in the Box Sirloin Burger.
There are many choices to suit your needs. To me I am very thankful that these types of models are even available to us.
Troy Newman