De Agostini ModelSpace Reviews
• High quality, detailed models
• Comprehensive instructions
• Cost distributed over time
• Large, helpful online community
• Customer service complaints
• Requires patience, as some models can take over two years to build
De Agostini's ModelSpace is a pay-as-you-build service which sells high end, finely-crafted models. Hobbyists who have a generous budget and an ounce of patience will most likely love the products available at ModelSpace. We find the models to be impressive in size and in detail.
ModelSpace
ModelSpace by De Agostini is a service which sells large and high-end toy models, typically offered as a monthly subscription.
Claims & Features
- Pay as you build models
- Large range of scales to choose from
- Online community of enthusiasts
- Models include ships, cars, planes, trains, motorcycles, remote controlled models, and other specialty items (such as the Star Wars Millennium Falcon)
- Founded in 1901
Cost & Availability
Models are typically sold as a subscription. The highly-advertised Millennium Falcon, for example, is offered as a 25-month “pay-as-you-build” plan for $59.99 per month, which totals $1499.75. Another popular product is the HMS Victory, which can be purchased in three ways: $199.99 per month for 6 months, $99.99 per month for 12 months, or a one-time charge of $1199.99. There are usually special offers, such as a 10% reduction off the regular price when paid in full.
There is usually a shipping charge of about $13 per order, or $40 if shipped in full. There are also special offers which sometimes reduce the shipping down to $1.
ModelSpace Commercial
The TV commercial below features the Millennium Falcon. Previous commercials have featured the HMS Victory and Sky Rider Drones.
ModelSpace Reviews
ModelSpace is a service which sells monthly subscriptions to build large, high-end models over time. Those accustomed to department store quality models may be caught off guard by the sheer size, detail, and price of ModelSpace products, but these are aimed more toward serious hobbyists and enthusiastic beginners.
Most models are sold on a pay-as-you-build structure, meaning you’ll pay for your model over a pre-determined amount of time (6 months, 12 months, 25 months, etc.) and receive monthly shipments which include sections of the model and comprehensive instructions, which read more like magazines. The instructions should be clear even for most beginners to handle easily.
Some of the more popular models include the Lamborghini Countach, HMS Victory, or the Millennium Falcon. The Falcon has been advertised with its own website, buildmillenniumfalcon.com. The amount of detail is impressive, even to those accustomed to building large-scale models, as seen in the Lamborghini below.
The primary complaint we’ve heard regarding ModelSpace isn’t about the products, but about customer service, which some have said is lacking whenever a problem arises. If you have attempted to reach customer service without satisfaction, we suggest posting to the company’s Facebook page, where reps appear responsive to customer concerns.
Despite its questionable customer service, ModelSpace has a large community of hobbyists who seem more than willing to help with general questions.
Similar Products
Toy models of all shapes and sizes have been available for hundreds of years. A cursory search of Amazon yields pages of results for Millennium Falcon models, for example. That said, the service offered by ModelSpace is somewhat unique when considering the pay-as-you-build option, size, and price range of the models available.
Epic Conclusion
De Agostini’s ModelSpace is a pay-as-you-build service which sells high end, finely-crafted models. Hobbyists who have a generous budget and an ounce of patience will most likely love the products available at ModelSpace. We find the models to be impressive in size and in detail.
If you’ve used ModelSpace, please give it a star rating and comment below.
After first subscription, the number of delays for shipping were unacceptable. Millennium Falcon kit was far from a accurate Studio Model Replica. Numerous short cuts taken in manufacturing resulting in pour an inaccurate details. Lat shipping extended subscription time from 25 months to 28 months. Delays resulted in having to set model aside for months waiting to receive next shipment resulting a loss of enthusiasm to every finish the Model. Lack of truthfulness from Customer Services result in much anger and determination to never use DeAgostini ever again.
I really want to love the DeAgostini kits. I’m happy to pay for an ultra-premium model such as the Countach, F1 cars, or Star Wars Models. I’m just finishing subscriptions for my 3rd, 4th, and 5th model. 2 years ago, I subscribed to 5 kits in order to build a stock of models to build on my impending retirement (Hamilton and Senna F1, Countach, Harley, and Millenium Falcon). As I write this, I’m still waiting for the final month subscription for the last 3 of these. The delays have been about 3-5 months for each. I’ve called DeAgostini several dozen times, and I never get a straight answer. They promise to ship kits, and they don’t. They never reveal why the delays are so excessive. It’s quite stressful to have over $5000 in investment, and no assurance I’ll ever recieve the complete kits. The Countach had huge problems from May to December 2016, not shipping a single month. Honestly, I’m done with them. The frustration and time required to just obtain these kits is excessive. If you must procur a kit, I highly recommend buying it all at once. The monthly subscription model is fatally flaweed due to Deagostini supply and customer service issues.
great model excellent CS