aviation456
Member
Even here in the UK, the price difference betwwen these labour-intensive qantas examples on the BA exclusives is quite large.
At least the models have turned out great.
Pictures of the new ARD Models 1:400 Boeing 747 Range.
- Thread starter hasanabbas01
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Even here in the UK, the price difference betwwen these labour-intensive qantas examples on the BA exclusives is quite large.
At least the models have turned out great.
MIAv8Diecast
Well-known member
Can someone with knowledge explain to me why an ARD exclusive BA A380 on the AV400 mold in 1:400 scale would cost $114 before shipping once itās already inside the US??? Phoning a friendā¦
abdulmohiuddin
Well-known member
ARD needs to make money as a store since it has a physical location as well. The licensing fees from BA on top of that are probably quite expensive, so both of those are going to add up on top of the model production costs. I'm not sure if there are any tariffs to worry about but market speculation might push your shipping costs up as well.
Your only option is to suck up the cost, since no one else can retail these(much to my dismay) or wait for someone else like Gemini or Phoenix to release a BA A380.
Now I am mildly confused about where you got the $114 USD from, Ā£49.95(Unit price for an ARD BA A380) is around $69USD, where are the other $45 dollars going to?
bakejobb_23
Well-known member
tarrifs and fees probably. Both BA 747s I want are broken down by these costs:
Model 1 - 68.02
Model 2 - 68.02
Tarrifs - 40.81
Shipping - 33.90
Total is 210.75 usd for two models....
Its kinda stupid just how expensive that is.
MIAv8Diecast
Well-known member
The one Iām referencing is at MTS Aviation Models in Dayton Ohio. Thatās what itās listed at online and in store.
Serratedtrout
Active member
Imagine if youāre a collector living in Foshan, where HX is based and have to order from ARD just so they can ship the models all the way from the UK back to Foshan. Kind of counter-intuitive if youāre from Foshan, nearby Guangzhou, the Greater Bay Area or just Asia in general.
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danwashere
Active member
HX is not based in Foshan?
Serratedtrout
Active member
Incase if thereās any confusion, HX is based in Foshan, which is right next to Guangzhou. You can even take the metro from Foshan over to Guangzhou. Itās that close. Theyāre all part of the Greater Bay Area, which is highly interconnected. This includes Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Foshan etc.
planes_on_a_shelf
Well-known member
This is what the B-308T special livery is celebrating.
(CZ is based in Guangzhou) A network of cities. And of course the public transportation network outclasses anything in the rotw
reggiehunt
Member
The number of people grumbling in this thread, whilst somewhat understandable is bizarre to me. ARD likely has to pay a hefty premium on these releases to secure the brand rights, trademarks usage rights, etc. that go into producing these models in an above board manner. Obviously weād all love for models to be more affordable, but such is life. I donāt understand the animosity.
Jazajia
Well-known member
As someone who hates paying high prices for models, I will say this: Making custom models and then starting up a retail operation opened my eyes to why models are so expensive.
They are basically mass-produced kits. They require a high level of skills to make. By default, they are not cheap. While mass-production does bring the cost down significantly, we have to take into account that these are non-essential quasi-luxury items, so manufacturers have to make up for the inherently low demand with higher prices.
When you have a distributor in the middle (which ARD is acting as one with these releases), prices start to get pushed up even further as all parties involved are looking for a profit. Like anything else in life, the gains have to be significant enough for the whole thing to be worthwhile for everyone involved.
I will say this again: The gains have to be significant enough for the whole thing to be worthwhile for everyone involved. Be reminded that this includes you as a collector/consumer. The gain of paying X amount of money for a model needs to be enough for the collector to justify the expense. Will the happiness that the model will bring you justify the expense? If yes, drop the cash and don't look back; if not, don't buy it and move on.
In the end, the market will set the right price over time, but we all know that with some models, that price can end up being higher than MSRP. I know many praise the AV400 A380 mold, but aren't there plenty of good alternatives? I wouldn't be too concerned with an A380 in a current livery in 2026. In the case of the Landor 742, I would not be taking my chances.
They are basically mass-produced kits. They require a high level of skills to make. By default, they are not cheap. While mass-production does bring the cost down significantly, we have to take into account that these are non-essential quasi-luxury items, so manufacturers have to make up for the inherently low demand with higher prices.
When you have a distributor in the middle (which ARD is acting as one with these releases), prices start to get pushed up even further as all parties involved are looking for a profit. Like anything else in life, the gains have to be significant enough for the whole thing to be worthwhile for everyone involved.
I will say this again: The gains have to be significant enough for the whole thing to be worthwhile for everyone involved. Be reminded that this includes you as a collector/consumer. The gain of paying X amount of money for a model needs to be enough for the collector to justify the expense. Will the happiness that the model will bring you justify the expense? If yes, drop the cash and don't look back; if not, don't buy it and move on.
In the end, the market will set the right price over time, but we all know that with some models, that price can end up being higher than MSRP. I know many praise the AV400 A380 mold, but aren't there plenty of good alternatives? I wouldn't be too concerned with an A380 in a current livery in 2026. In the case of the Landor 742, I would not be taking my chances.
I agree with a lot of what Jorge just said as someone who's been involved in this myself recently. Licensing properly with the airline and manufacturer adds a significant extra cost. Then the middleman (in this case ARD) needs to see a return on their investment too. None of those costs exist when HX just make the things themselves.
This is the downside to the 'exclusives' pathway that Panda, HX, Kylin and JC are taking. The original manufacturer gains security as they get paid up front. There is no risk for them. For the collector however it can mean the price of the models at retail are higher and they can be hard to acquire outside the original market they are made for.
The real thing here is HX ought to be just making these models under their own brand rather than just sticking to their all Asian (with a bit of LH and KL) schtick. But they don't have the vision, knowledge or reason to do so and are happy to wait for others to just make the models from them as exclusives - risk free.
This is the downside to the 'exclusives' pathway that Panda, HX, Kylin and JC are taking. The original manufacturer gains security as they get paid up front. There is no risk for them. For the collector however it can mean the price of the models at retail are higher and they can be hard to acquire outside the original market they are made for.
The real thing here is HX ought to be just making these models under their own brand rather than just sticking to their all Asian (with a bit of LH and KL) schtick. But they don't have the vision, knowledge or reason to do so and are happy to wait for others to just make the models from them as exclusives - risk free.
Jazajia
Well-known member
But, in this particular case, would ARD have allowed them to? I know ARD has been actively shutting down any non-licensed BA models. Only PH and AC seem to be grandfathered in.
ARD know which side their bread is buttered. They don't have an issue with NG BA releases either. Basically if the brand is big enough they appear flexible.
Also, ARD's licensing controls only reach as far as the borders of Albion. HX could easily make these and sell them everywhere but the UK. I'm sure that UK collectors would be able to get them.
Macsergey
Active member
if licensing is a huge part of the price why not suply shops in China and other countries with price that includes ARD profit, but without licensing payment? just allow HX to make few spare items and left them in China. I would buy it from China and ADR would get their profit from my purchase. I will not buy them from UK because it end up paying 80gbp for me to buy from ARD shop
Because the licensors don't look kindly on that when they know the models exist, you pay the licensors in bulk as a % and it creates a secondary market for UK buyers too. I wouldn't look kindly on the models being available cheaper elsewhere being a UK buyer and I might look to buy them from abroad and import. It isn't good for ARD to do that.
TrijetBlast
Member
Since we are talking about strict licensing, it reminds me of the Emirates A380 NBA release. I think everyone can tell that the "secret" version being sold somewhere in Asia is obviously made by HX/YY (just by looking at the packaging and model - I have a copy with me here btw), and I know Emirates is always tough when it comes to licensing. I heard a rumor that Emirates prohibited the NBA A380 from being sold in Asia 
The thing that you don't see printed on the box of the "secret" NBA A380 is the logo, and that's likely because it doesn't want to get caught by the airline or licensor.
I'm not sure what made the courage of HX/YY to release the "secret" version of the NBA A380, but probably good to some collectors who want the NBA A380 badly especially those who can't buy the official version where it is not sold. Also, the "secret" NBA A380, unlike a store licensed exclusive, sells it at a somewhat more reasonable price than the official, mostly because there's no middleman or exclusive license fee involved.
Based on the "secret" NBA A380 release, I wonder in the future if we'll see the "no brand" secret releases of the BA classic 747s that look exactly same as the expensive ARD licensed versions popping up somewhere on Taobao or other places.
I might not be picking up these ARD exclusives all because of the high price, but will see. I think to pay something at the high price for these exclusive releases the quality and accuracy have to be grade A. When it comes to that price level I think I can be more picky and cannot have misaligned upper deck windows (like someone pointed out on the Landor 742) or other errors, etc. For the price you are charging you better deliver a product that matches whatever you charge
The thing that you don't see printed on the box of the "secret" NBA A380 is the logo, and that's likely because it doesn't want to get caught by the airline or licensor.
I'm not sure what made the courage of HX/YY to release the "secret" version of the NBA A380, but probably good to some collectors who want the NBA A380 badly especially those who can't buy the official version where it is not sold. Also, the "secret" NBA A380, unlike a store licensed exclusive, sells it at a somewhat more reasonable price than the official, mostly because there's no middleman or exclusive license fee involved.
Based on the "secret" NBA A380 release, I wonder in the future if we'll see the "no brand" secret releases of the BA classic 747s that look exactly same as the expensive ARD licensed versions popping up somewhere on Taobao or other places.
I might not be picking up these ARD exclusives all because of the high price, but will see. I think to pay something at the high price for these exclusive releases the quality and accuracy have to be grade A. When it comes to that price level I think I can be more picky and cannot have misaligned upper deck windows (like someone pointed out on the Landor 742) or other errors, etc. For the price you are charging you better deliver a product that matches whatever you charge
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