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Mauri Coors Melling Thunderbird, What is it worth NIB

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Anyone know what a nib shrunk wrapped is worth?

 

thanks, Cory

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Not much history on eBay but a body cut/started kit recently sold for £190; eBAY Link

 

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It varies. A rough guide is between US$300 - US$500. 

The Marui Coors Melling Thunderbird kit is not worth as much as it should be, in my opinion. Marui kits are every bit as beautiful and interesting as Tamiya's kits of the mid-1980s, and the Thunderbird is pretty great - it even came with on and off-road ability (and from memory, has tyres for both included in the kit). The kit presentation is beautiful too, as were all Marui kits. 

What works against it I think, is the level of appeal it has for collectors. Firstly, it's a model of an 80s stock car from the USA. So unlike say, a Porsche, it resonates primarily with US buyers. And people outside the USA, for the most part, have no interest in American stock car racing. And with many of the biggest vintage R/C collectors in the world also being from outside the USA, the nostalgia for it has always been slow. Secondly, it wasn't as well known in the 80s as some other models, and less memories = less people with personal nostalgia for it.

So in the end it's been one of the low/mid priced Marui kits, despite being a really nice kit.  If I look at it objectively, based on contents alone, it should be worth more than what it normally goes for. Longer term, I think all early Japanese R/C kits will become more coveted. Simply because the world is changing a lot, and the style and quality of these early Japanese toys will appear more special and unique as the decades pass.

The shrink-wrapped aspect is another issue, and you'll hear differing opinions about it. Shrink wrapped kits do sell for strong prices. Personally I consider them not worth the money if the asking price is more than 10% higher than normal. This often prices me out of them ^_^ but I don't mind. I concede that the shrinkwrap keeps a kit nice and clean, and that's appealing. But after 30+ years, all of these huge, old 1/10 R/C kits have been moved around a lot over the years. I prefer knowing that the actual contents inside are unbroken, unscratched, and un-leaked (oil), than owning a sealed kit just because it's sealed. Polycarbonate bodies in particular are regularly scratched while rubbing against chassis parts in kits - this is near unavoidable in all kits. But I still prefer an open kit, so I know exactly what I am getting ;)

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Thanks for all your info. It makes sense. I'm actually gonna post it on ebay for a friend of mine. We'll see what it brings.

 

thanks, Cory

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