QUOTE(staticghost @ Aug 14 2015, 10:59 PM)
I don't think a 1/35 or 1/24 kit needs a full metal frame. A few metal support parts would do to keep parts secure and in place. And you should remember that Daban listened to the feedbacks about the issue of the PG Strike Freedom so they made metal parts of those easy to break plastic parts that comes with the kit. These companies can simply make the plastic for the frame stronger and as for the armors, light, thin but not brittle would be nice. They are learning through feedback from the builders and as with DM, they don't simply copy everything from bandai kits now, they add resin-made-to-plastic parts for their kits to give a better design from what bandai offers. And if they are stepping-up their game by giving us better designs with only 1/3 of the price of a bandai kit, they can also try to produce kits in bigger scales by adding 2/3 more of the bandai kit's price. Again, if say, you are choosing a kit and there's a 1/35 Sazabi with tons of additional details made by tested companies like DM or Hobby Crazy or even Daban (if they actually decide to move away from bootlegging bandai kits) which costs 10,000 yen vs Bandai's MG Sazabi ver Ka which I think costs about 8,000 yen, what would you choose?
We're not in the 90's anymore... everything is possible.
If you're wondering I'm not mentioning companies like Mechanicore, well, it's just because their kits are so ridiculously expensive. You could say that it's because they are producing their own original kits with lights and photo-etch parts but still, they are asking too much for their kits unless they are actually paying rights to bandai for using the designs of the kits they make which I doubt. And it won't be too long before one of the other chinese companies makes bootleg versions of their kits to be sold cheaply.
b brand spent money in engineering using designers and that's why their price is higher.
china brand sell at lower price because they use reverse engineering to copy the kits using technology, even for resin kit it's still a copy and maybe create little own mould for freebies.
China company without b brand database and skills are investing at risk if they want to create original kits.
I don't think that scaling a kit directly with the previous design can ensure a perfect balancing, even if b brand itself has the balancing problem sometimes. For sure they are gonna throw in those failure cost during development into the kits. Plastic material cost occupies a less portion compared to the technology, which is the same as iphone, the price contributed from the technology.
There need considerations for space and market problem as well. If ur kit is that large, not every current collector/modeller will buy it, if a kit is sold at a higher price not everyone in china (main market) can afford. They are doing business not to consider only a small portion of collector/modeller.
If u are to choose between selling copy kits and design own stuff, both without legal problem, what would you choose? Definitely the answer will be the more stable and assured choice.
Proton can make a car with lamborghini engine actually, the problem is who is gonna buy?