On the issue of prices, I try to think of how it compares with the 1:18 military figures and vehicles I collected... Their planes are scaled exact to the figures, so they make for pretty huge toys. The Y-Wing is pretty huge... And if it were an OT Y-Wing it actually would be considered to-scale I believe, according to the numbers on that ship's supposed dimensions anyway.
1:18 planes cost a low $50 to $75 more or less... It depended. My Avenger Torpedo Bomber was, I think, $75 at full price and that's the biggest plane I have, and plus it came with a crew of three unique figures, it was made of generally higher quality plastic than a lot of Hasbro's vehicles come molded in, it had elaborate paint application and decaling applied, and it's probably comprised of at least double (possibly triple or more) the number of individual parts that the CW Y-Wing is comprised of. It also features full cockpit details, etc., etc., etc. I can gush for hours on the positives about this. Oh! And its wings even fold up so it fits compactly in an Aircraft Carrier's hangar deck.
OK, so that was $75 a few years ago... The only argument against it that can be made is the license, but for $75 you got totally what you paid for there.
The Y-Wing looks like a sweet toy to me... It has a couple neat features, but Hasbro tends to make very simplified molds. The Falcon for instance is very cool, but the interior's comprised of as few pieces as possible. It's like an insert into a shell rather than many separate pieces. The Y-Wing, ARC-170, and most of their other items are like this... Streamlined to save costs. This is something I consider when evaluating the item's cost to its "value" as a toy.
Comparing the Y-Wing to the 1:18 plane then though, and they're not far removed from one another, they're similarly priced but the level of quality comparison isn't even in the ballpark. The licensing issue is the only arguable point then (and some of the planes I have, are actually licensed, sometimes double licensed as the manufacturer's name plus the specific pilot's plane can hold licenses).
Do I then feel the Y-Wing is worth it? Eh... I think it's cool, but $70's steep. If it had been OT and done to scale (say the YW, or an X-Wing or B-WIng or some other ship that hasn't been done to-scale), I'd probably be more willing to cave and say it was worth it to ME, but that's just to me and because I'm biased to the OT design, not because I feel I can compare the two and say they are equal. I just would be so giddy to get a to-scale version of a large OT fighter that I'd have blinders on I think.
I think the CW Y-Wing rocks as a toy... So does the ARC-170. Neither really is "worth it" to me though, as far as their full retail price. I think $50's more fair. And even then, that's steep IMO, but falling into my realm of value meeting the quality that's being delivered.
That's just sort of my outside opinion as I didn't buy the YW, mostly because it's underscaled according to what the EU is claiming that ship's size to be. I still think it's a cool toy though. Would a kid rather have 3 mid-size vehicles or 1 deluxe vehicle though? Sometimes when you quantify it in terms like that, it starts looking less cool as well.