i.e cost lets have some thought about this area.
Basic material prices i.e steel, copper etc have increased in value year on year increase the cost at factory
China Labour costs is increasing
Tooling cost increased
Shipping increased due to increase in fuel plus some fleets are stored up due to the current finical situation which means less boats moving on the seas so space can be at a premium
Increase business and corporate lending cost.
So people want high quality models at last years prices good luck to Hornby and Bachmann etc as this is the path of destruction, stock on sheleves dont make anyone money nor can you get cash out of it quick. The problem in this finical climate is cashflow have to little and the nails are being hammered in your coffin.
So ??150 for a limited run model of say 5000 units with the above increased cost areas plus use of laser scanner equipment, engineering a new chassis since there is not one of the shelf, same goes for certain paint and liveries. Higher than normal finical risk than say a T9 so for those of us who pay the price they can get a model they may not be able to build from kit or scratch. The manufacturer stays in business can use some of the profit on the normal range. The NRM get a cut for upkeep and maintenance of the collection a win, win situation and it is interesting that more shops and magazines are commissioning higher finical risk models than the manufacturers themselves.