This subject has come up on this board numerous times. I would like to put a little perspective on it.
Last week, I finally got around to cleaning up and organizing my train room. As part of that effort, I filed my old magazines by publication and date. I couldn’t resist leafing through some of these old magazines. I ran across an interesting item in the November 1981 RMC. In the new product section, Magnuson announced the release of their Merchants’ Row kit, made of cast polyester. The introducty price was $36.95. I wondered how that price compared to today so I found the same kit in the 2007 Walthers catalog (75th anniversary). It is now sold by Scale Structures Limited and been renamed Burlington Street and the MSRP is $49.95. Now I don’t have any inflation data handy but I think there is no doubt that adjusted for inflation, that kit is cheaper now today. In addition, Walthers now sells a styrene version of that same kit for $29.98.
One of the things I had saved was the Walthers 50th anniversary catalog from 1982 so I decided to do some further price comparison’s. I only wanted to compare like items. Here is a list of sample items.
Then Now
Magnuson Miner’s Union Hall (now SSL) $25.95 &n