The Halberstadt has been out of production since the late '60s I believe, and along with the other five of the 18" WW I kits that we're discontinued at that time (six more remained in production until the mid-late '80s), they fetch upwards of $70-80 on eBay. Fortunately, Dave Cowell at DPC Models Aero-werkes http://dpcmodels.homestead.com/SRKS.html sells short kits of all the 18" WW I series for a very reasonable $18, so I didn't have to break the bank to build this one. The short kits came with beautifully laser cut parts that were of much better quality than any die cut wood I've found in old kits, some prop hardware and patterns to make a prop and cowl, and a CD with a PDF of the plans and decals. I printed the plans on my regular inkjet printer and taped them together, so there was no need to pay a bunch of money getting them printed. As for strip stock, I have plenty of that.
The kit so far has gone together beautifully. The laser cut parts are a joy to work with!
Now that the frames are done, it's on to covering. I really love the WW I kits, and can't give a more ringing endorsement of the work Dave Cowell is doing to keep them affordable to build. I'll have updates soon!