Hasegawa

[B777LR]

Due to incredibly high prices and disputes with the importer, all 11 model shops in the Edmonton, Alberta area have stopped stocking Hasegawa.  Is this the sign of things to come?

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=194942&st=0

Hasegawa is hopelessly overpriced. It had to come. It's that adidas-effect. You buy a product because of who makes it, not for what you get...

[ChernayaAkula]

^ Yeah, Hasegawa is expensive, but not hopelessly so. I'd also argue that in Hasegawa's case you (mostly) actually get what you pay for and not just a "brand name product" (safe for the "special versions" that cost more and give you just a single marking option  ). What's making it expensive are the mark-ups the importers charge. HLJ seems to ask the recommended retail price Hasegawa give. Compare that to what you pay at your local LHS.

Hasegawa also seems to print their RRP on the boxes (at least if I understood one post on ARC right). Some give the RRP at the bottom right of the bar code on the (long) sides. As on the 1/72 AV-8B+ combo kit. There's 009936:003200, with 09936 being the kit reference number and 3200 the RRP in Japanese Yen. This kit would cost twice as much here in Germany thanks to the importer.
Others have the RRP on the short side. Again, there the kit reference number and then the RRP. #00862:3000 for the 1/72 RF-4E "501 SQ ACM Special". This one would cost about 50% more here in Germany.

[Amphion]

.....What's making it expensive are the mark-ups the importers charge. HLJ seems to ask the recommended retail price Hasegawa give. Compare that to what you pay at your local LHS.

Question is how much is the wholesale price (the price an importer pays)? Because here's how it works:

- You take the (wholesale-)price and ad shipping (i.e. all cost for freight, packing, insureance, etc. you pay to get the kits from producer to importer) to get a CIF-value.
- Ad appropriate customs fee (for plastic models I believe 4,7 %) to get a customs value (CIF-value * 1.047).
- Calculate appropriate VAT for your specific country (Germany 19%, UK 17,5 %, Sweden 25%). I.e. customs value * VAT = VAT-value.

So if a kit has CIF-value of 3000 yen, roughly 22 euro, you will pay 5,37 euros in importation fee (Germany). Ad to this advertising and other expenses (profit, how ever slim) + VAT between wholsale and consumer and you have soon doubled the price.

[chrisonord]

modellversium has provided an in-box review of the Hasegawa Aircraft Weapons set # VII (1/72nd scale kit # X72-12) for anyone interested in more modern aircraft weapons.


The set contains the following items:
3 x AN/AAQ-13 Navigation Pod + 2 Racks für F-15E
3 x AN/AAQ-14 Targeting Pod + je 2 Racks für F-14, F-15 E und F-16 C
3 x AGM-154 A JSOW
3 x GBU-31 JDAM
3 x AN/ALQ-184 ECM Pod
3 x LAU-138 Launcher for the F-14 Bombcat
efinitely not as much variety this time in comparison to the earlier weapons set kits and the excess of LANTIRN targeting pods means fewer weapons in the kit.  Definitely not a great value for your modeling dollar when compared to the earlier sets.

Another annoying thing about this set is that the weapons you do get are in three's, I mean, what kind of load out is that? so you have to buy 2 sets just to get a something like load out
Chris.

[Ed S]

Another annoying thing about this set is that the weapons you do get are in three's, I mean, what kind of load out is that? so you have to buy 2 sets just to get a something like load out
Chris.

That may not be such a big deal, since it has become quite common for many of the current fighters to carry assymetric mixed loads of JDAM's and LGB's.  A lot of the pics of F-15's, F-16's and F-18's in Afghanistan show mixed loadouts.

Ed

[ChernayaAkula]

Another annoying thing about this set is that the weapons you do get are in three's, I mean, what kind of load out is that? so you have to buy 2 sets just to get a something like load out

Yeah, another JSOW or JDAM wouldn't have hurt, would they?  Then again, that would have complicated things. And the days of fighter-bombers carrying half a dozen or more of the same type of bomb are (mostly) over. Most multiples you see are the smaller ones (500lbs class).

Hope Hasegawa will come up with a couple more contemporary weapons sets (AIM-9X, AIM-120C, GBU-39 SDB and some more JDAM types), maybe including some other targeting pods (even if they're available in other kits or resin).

<...>
So if a kit has CIF-value of 3000 yen, roughly 22 euro, you will pay 5,37 euros in importation fee (Germany). Ad to this advertising and other expenses (profit, how ever slim) + VAT between wholsale and consumer and you have soon doubled the price.

Most interesting stuff! Thanks for the insight! There a few problems, though. First off, what HLJ charges (apparently the Hase RRP) must also get HLJ some profit, beside covering their advertising and storage costs. So I reckon the importer as well as HLJ pay about half of the RRP. Then, an importer imports large volumes of stuff, which means shipping is not that expensive (especially today, when every forwarding agent is happy to fill a container). Then there are no import taxes for plastic scale models (strangely enough, model railroads are another matter ) here in Germany.
Lastly, if I as a private person importing one or two kits at a time via (comparatively expensive) airmail can get the goods cheaper (despite paying VAT at customs) and faster, an importer pretty much forfeited his raison d'être. Why should I pay someone for doing a job I can do better? In the end I have to think about supporting the manufacturer and not some middle man.

[Amphion]

I'm not one to let actual facts stand in the way of a good argument, so I'll not comment on your post as a whole (lets just say we're on the same plane as far as the money-grabbing middle-man is conserned).
One little pointer though, the 4,7% customs fee is a EU thing. Germany is part of EU....ergo for importation from Japan to Germany you'll pay a customs fee (for plastic models, but not for model railroad trains).

[ChernayaAkula]

Ah, I see! Thanks for the heads-up! Didn't cross my mind that there's a difference between importing stuff as a retailer and as a private person. I don't remember whether they ever asked me if I wanted to sell on the things.  If I got anything else wrong, feel free to point it out.

It's not that I don't understand that the importer and retailers here also want to make their cut. I'm just afraid that the (unreasonably) high costs jeopardize not only the importers existence, but also that of the LHS and, above all, the manufacturer. It'd be interesting to see how the current situation in Canada will affect Hasegawa's sales. I figure some will go the internet route and get their Hasegawa stuff from abroad, but I guess Hasegawa will still lose a fairly large number of sales, such as impulse buyers, people not wanting to import stuff because it's a hassle.

[Amphion]

We're a bit OT here so I'll end with this. The law is the same for a private person and a business, fees and VAT are due on all import. Only, a single package to a private person is likelly to "slip by" (it's the postal service or eqv. that declares the package for you) but the smallest of shipments to a commercial importer must be declared. Thats why if you buy a single model kit from Japan and it arrives by mail you might not pay anything  Then again, don't be suprised the day that you'll have to.

As for importers (i.e. local wholesalers), LHS's etc. over-charging, it's the ol' system of supply and demand. If only one company imports your product of interest (and you don't know of the internet) they can charge you pretty much what they want. 'Till the consumer is fed up that is, I imagine that's what's happend in Canada.

[ChernayaAkula]

<...> The law is the same for a private person and a business, fees and VAT are due on all import. <...>

Ah, okay. Thought so. In that case there really is no import tax on plastic scale models. I've had to pick up a fair number of packages directly from the customs office and I never had to pay an import tax. VAT, yes (and 19% at that!  ), but an import tax, no. Actually, for my first purchase from HLJ I did have to pay an import tax because the customs officer mixed them with "toys", which indeed have an import tax of 4.7%. But once I found out the proper tax code (9503 00 30) that states that "plastic models for assembly, made to scale" have no import tax, I never had to pay a tax. The tax code for "other kits, plastic" is 9503 00 35 and they are taxed with 4.7%.
Apparently, the catchphrase is "to scale", which one may have to point out to a customs officer. If you don't know about it, it's very easy to miss. Also, HLJ constantly seems to give the wrong code on their packages.

And I made a mistake above. Model railroads also come under the TARIC-code 9503 00 30 and are tax-exempt. Sorry for that mistake.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

modellversium has provided an in-box review of the Hasegawa Aircraft Weapons set # VI (1/72nd scale kit # X72-11) for anyone interested in more modern aircraft weapons.


The set contains the following items:

6 x GBU-10 Paveway II
9 x GBU-12 Paveway II
3 x GBU-16 Paveway II You have the option to use the rocket motor parts to create 3 x AGM-123 Skipper II LGM (LASER Guided Missiles)
3 x GBU-24 Paveway III
3 x TER (Triple Ejector Racks)
6 x Bomb rack adapters for the F-14 Bomb Cat

[kitnut617]

I got a Newsletter from Akatombo Works out of Japan today, the owner had just returned from the JMC Model Show and he posted a list of new kits he had seen:

Hasegawa
1/350 Imperial Japanese Navy Light Cruiser "Agano"
1/32  Messerschmitt Bf109F-4 Trop
1/72  Lockheed Martin F-16I "Israeli Air Force"
1/144 JAL EMBRAER ERJ 170
1/72  Junkers Ju188E German Bomber

1/20  Lotus79 F1 racing car
1/72  Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

[ChernayaAkula]

<...>
1/72  Lockheed Martin F-16I "Israeli Air Force"
<...>

Woohoo!

[Green Dragon]

Great news, finally a 1/72nd F-16I out of the box! Like the ERJ170 in 1/144th too.

Paul Harrison

[nev]

Pics are up on the Hasegawa website of their forthcoming 1/48 Raptor.  Lots of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth on ARC over the highly pronounced surface detail that requires a belt sander.  Especially since it will cost almost as much as the real thing.

http://www.hasegawa-model.co.jp/F22/F22.htm