The R/C kit industry was going full speed
from the late 70's
through the late
90's. It was a
roughly 25 year
time span when
hobby shops had
good inventory
and the mail
order/big box
catalogs were fat—making them good
bathroom reading material.
Flipping through an old 1989 issue of
RCM, I counted an astounding forty
different kit manufacturers—and I may
have missed a few!
With the majority of past kit manufactures
out of business, discontinued kits now
appear for sale on web sites like E Bay,
Craig's List, and others. Asking prices rage
from decent deals to are you freaking
kidding me!? I've seen bidding wars
escalate prices to stratospheric lunacy
more than once. It happens.
So what's an old discontinued kit worth
today? Ultimately, it's worth is whatever
one is willing to pay for it. But if you're
on a budget and looking for a fair deal, it
definitely helps to know how much a kit
sold for when it was in production.
Also, considering inflation vs. the original
sale price is certainly helpful along with
checking current prices on a similar size
airplane kit being sold today. A little
research will help you determine if you've
been hosed or paid a fair price. Old
magazine advertisements are a huge help
for comparing past sale prices. Check out
the guide below for a comparative analysis.
It's a bit dated but the figures will get you
on the right track.
New Kit Collector Price Guide
MY BRE-ZEE EXPERIENCE
My recent discontinued kit purchasing
venture begins with the BRE-ZEE biplane
designed by Joe Bridi. Similar to the Acro-
Star, it wasn't the best deal I've hammered
down. In fact, I paid $46.00 over the street
price calculated with inflation from 1989. It
was a mild semi-screwing I was willing to
accept. I finally bought it because I always
liked the BRE-ZEE, but never got around to
buying one.
R/C Aircraft Insight From Low Altitude
Additionally, finding a Bridi biplane kit
that hasn't been manufactured in over
25 years, which most likely sold in
relatively small numbers, can be more
difficult than Riemann’s Hypothesis.
After meeting Joe Bridi in 1984 at the
Quarter Scale Association of America
Fly In at the Eldorado Dry Lake Bed in
Nevada, I liked Joe’s designs even
more. My friend purchased an Aircruiser
60 kit from Joe at his sales canopy and
we spent some time talking R/C. Joe
was a true gentleman and certainly
deserves to be in a pack of R/C All Star
Bubble Gum Cards.
TO BUILD, OR NOT TO BUILD
Once you've purchased a kit for a price
you like, the question now is whether or
not you’ll build the kit as soon as you
you get it or wait to build it.
There may be other projects you need
to finish first, or perhaps wait for the
wintertime to build. Collectors will store
the bird in a collection and builders
might cut new parts to make another kit.
Reselling it at a later date to make a few
bucks is always a possibility too.
I will definitely build my BRE-ZEE. But
before I do, I’ll have the plans
reproduced at my local office store so I
don't destroy the original plans while
building. With an extra good set of plans
I can always build another one.
At any rate, the airplane needs to be
built and flown someday because that's
what it was designed to do!
The BRE-ZEE presents a rare slice of
modeling history penned by a great
designer. All of the Bridi designs I have
flown were/are excellent fliers. The
BRE-ZEE should be no exception.
Whatever you decide to do with your
newly acquired discontinued gem is
entirely up to you. Unless the kit ends
up a museum, or meets a tragic end by
fire or flood, eventually someday
someone will build it—and that’s
perfectly fine with me!
John W. Blossick
Johnb@tslidehaven.com
July 2021
tslidehaven.com
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Discontinued Kits And The BRE-ZEE
“Screw the kit, if I have the plan, I can always build another one.”
Anonymous