Frog re-release price?

[Typhoon]

In the uK, one of the site sponsers is suggesting a price of £129 for the Frog. The Hornet re-release came out at their suggest price of £80 and the Grasshopper is only £69 (all with ESC). Was the Frog really so much more expensive than the other 2WD buggies when it came out first time around?

Cheers

[usapirap(2)]

Tamiya probably realized they re-released the Hornet and Grasshopper at too low a price. I think we'll start to see higher and higher re-release kit prices.

[Wandy]

No chance. It will be priced between £90 - £95 with ESC, I'm sure of that. No way could Tamiya justify a price tag £45 more expensive than the Hornet.

[XanderP]

Well £130 is the pre-order price so it seems its roughly around that price.

[Monty]

after speakin to the site sponser in question ( I think as no site was mentioned??)about a month ago they said the pre order price was not yet confirmed just a guesstimate at the time so dont panic just yet guys, it could well get cheaper but if you do pre order one your card wont be charged until the models are ready to be shipped and then only at the actual sale price, as i had the same situation with my re-re lunchbox through them!!

[akihabaramallrat]

The retail price in Japan for the Grasshopper is Y7777, the Frog Y16800 so the price variation in the uK sounds right

[Typhoon]

quote:Originally posted by akihabaramallrat

The retail price in Japan for the Grasshopper is Y7777, the Frog Y16800 so the price variation in the uK sounds right

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Wow! So looks like the Frog's going to be twice as much as a Hopper and 30% more than the the 4WD Manta Ray[].

[DJTheo]

It was always a high spec kit and has more metal parts then the others, thats why a old 3 speed re-re is highly unlikely, imagine how much it would cost... [xx(]

Cheers

[terry.sc]

The Frog was quite a bit more expensive than the Grasshopper and Hornet. In 1985 these were the RRPs

Grasshopper £49.00

Hornet £62.00

Frog £79.99

Grasshoppers and Hornets were generally discounted quite a bit more by the bigger hobby shops as well the Frog being their top of the range buggy tended to get less of a discount.

It may only be £18 difference but the Hornet is only 77% of the price, using the same percentage compared to the Hornet re-release brings the price of the Frog re-release to around £105. Doing the same with the Grasshopper comes to a Frog price of £112. Considering there are more metal parts on the Frog I would assume that would make the difference in price.

After all the price is purely a guess, I suspect a guess on the high side as I'm sure there would be lots of complaints if they guessed at £100 for preorders and then asked everyone for an extra £30 before they could have their kit.

Although comparing the retail prices of the Grasshopper and Frog in Japan that would bring the price of the Frog out in the uK at around £165!

[Wandy]

I'm sticking to my guns....well almost. A max price of £100. Maybe a little more if fully ballraced. Wont make any difference if I'm wrong though, I'll still be buying one!

[Wandy]

quote:Originally posted by terry.sc

The Frog was quite a bit more expensive than the Grasshopper and Hornet. In 1985 these were the RRPs

Grasshopper £49.00

Hornet £62.00

Frog £79.99

Grasshoppers and Hornets were generally discounted quite a bit more by the bigger hobby shops as well the Frog being their top of the range buggy tended to get less of a discount.

It may only be £18 difference but the Hornet is only 77% of the price, using the same percentage compared to the Hornet re-release brings the price of the Frog re-release to around £105. Doing the same with the Grasshopper comes to a Frog price of £112. Considering there are more metal parts on the Frog I would assume that would make the difference in price.

After all the price is purely a guess, I suspect a guess on the high side as I'm sure there would be lots of complaints if they guessed at £100 for preorders and then asked everyone for an extra £30 before they could have their kit.

Although comparing the retail prices of the Grasshopper and Frog in Japan that would bring the price of the Frog out in the uK at around £165!

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Out of interest can anyone remember how much a Scorcher and a Bruiser cost back in the day? Gives me an idea how much I should start saving in preparation for that glorious re-re day.[]

I remember exactly how much my local Beatties charged for a Hotshot kit - £109.99. I think that price tag was burnt into my memory for the 6 months before I actually got one.[]

Suppose, using Hornet/Grasshopper re-re prices, that would make a Hotshot re-re price of roughly £145?

[terry.sc]

From the vintage reviews section, dated 1983. Notice most cars listed are the on road ones.

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/getarticleimage....200481929_1.jpg

Around the time of the Frog (1985) the SRBs were £80 and the 3 speeds were £129.00, with the Hotshot costing £109.

[Wandy]

Eh?? So the SRBs were less than a Hotshot, and a Hilux was roughly the same price?? So where on earth does the argument come from that the metal buggies will cost a fortune if re-released?

I'm sure a Bruiser cost a lot more than a Hotshot though, if my memory serves me correctly.

[terry.sc]

The 3 speeds were more expensive, £129 compared with £109 for the Hotshots £20 was worth a lot more back then. The argument about metal buggies is that plastics moulding technology has moved on a great deal so they can be produced in large quantities a lot cheaper than before, the Hornet re-releases really should be a lot more expensive. The expensive bit of a plastic part is making the mould in the first place, you then just drop it in one of your machines and you are making loads of cheap parts. To make metal castings today I expect would involve bringing in new equipment as they aren't set up for metal casting any more.

The SRBs were cheaper than the Hotshot as they were old technology, the price had stayed the same since they were first released 4 years previously. The Hilux and Blazer were £129 in 1985 and again they had been around a few years previously at that price, they were trying to get rid of them at that point. The Bruiser went on sale at £195, which is probably a more accurate relative value.

[Wandy]

So lets just, for argument's sake, say that they can re-use the original casts...does that mean we could expect the re-re SRBs to cost roughly the same as a Hornet?

That Bruiser price sounds right. I remember thinking at the time that it hugely expensive.

[theshopkeeper]

The pre-order prices we've guessed on the Re-res are based on what kits with similar yen prices are currently retailing for in the uK. It's all guesswork till around December though since I doubt the uK importer will confirm the price until they have ordered the first batch from the Japanese.

[DJTheo]

quote:Originally posted by terry.sc

The 3 speeds were more expensive, £129 compared with £109 for the Hotshots £20 was worth a lot more back then. The argument about metal buggies is that plastics moulding technology has moved on a great deal so they can be produced in large quantities a lot cheaper than before, the Hornet re-releases really should be a lot more expensive. The expensive bit of a plastic part is making the mould in the first place, you then just drop it in one of your machines and you are making loads of cheap parts. To make metal castings today I expect would involve bringing in new equipment as they aren't set up for metal casting any more.

The SRBs were cheaper than the Hotshot as they were old technology, the price had stayed the same since they were first released 4 years previously. The Hilux and Blazer were £129 in 1985 and again they had been around a few years previously at that price, they were trying to get rid of them at that point. The Bruiser went on sale at £195, which is probably a more accurate relative value.

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When HotShot was released in 85, Hilux and Blazer were outdated, out of production (Bruiser was just released) and had flopped, that's why retailers were giving them cheaply, also when a kit is just released its price is maximum, later HS also was sold much cheaper. In Germany 3 speeds were always around 300EU and HS around 150-200EU.

Cheers

[Wireless]

My estimate is also that the Frog will be somewhere between £115 and £130. It is an estimate though.

[stanmart]

if the bruiser gets re released i will buy one. I think its a cool truck. Very unique