Stash or Not to Stash, THAT is the question....

[Juggernut]

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

I put a question to you as a fellow plastaholic about why we do or do not stash kits.  Just about all of us have a stash of one size or another but the question is, why?  Are we afraid that if we don't get it now and hoard it that it might not be available in the future?  Or, is it that we see great potential in any given kit and acquire it to partially fulfill our minds ambition of that kit in a great setting/diorama but yet never embarking on the construction of that great idea?   Maybe we just like the subject but never quite get around to actually building that particular kit, another kit interest has superceded it.  Speaking for only myself, I realized a little bit ago that even though my stash pales in comparison to what it once was (when I was a great deal younger) I am wondering why I have a stash at all.  I'm a very slow builder, having many hobbies and spending many hours doing historical research and then there's the internet games....sheesh, I don't have time to work!  I still buy kits and put them away.  Granted, not nearly as many as I used to but I still manage to acquire most of the newer releases.  Maybe we buy some kits for collector value and prize it like a gold coin.  I know I have, in the past, bought kits for their collector value/potential.  They were the first to go when a cull was in order.  Are we hoarders that should be in therapy?  Could it be a new affliction that needs inclusion in the DSM IV book?  Modeler's Hoarding Syndrome perhaps?

 

I spent some time thinking about it and I've come to the conclusion that at least in my case, MOST of the kits I acquired were on a fancy when I was doing something that involved a particular subject or researching something about a given aircraft, armored vehicle and/or ship and just started looking at what was available.  Furthermore, I would say to myself, "Wouldn't that look great in the display cabinet or on a shelf?"  Then, I go out and buy the kit and put it in the stash...and then the idea slips to the back of the mind.  Also recently, I've decided to sell off some of my stash after I realized what I was doing and not doing...

 

So, why do you stash?

Edited May 5, 2014 by Juggernut

[Guest Peterpools]

Excellent question and I have to admit my stash is rather humble and reflects purchases of kits I have every intention of building in the near future. With the exception of resin and limited run kits, all were purchased on sale, at a rather nice savings. With my return to the hobby after nearly a 30 year hiatus, I swore off the temptation of building a stash and buying for the sake of buying. I've seen the folly of justifying purchases for the retirement years, as newer kits always come along, far distancing themselves from present kits in detail and quality. And of course, we've been down the road that creating a stash as an investment; as there are far more better ways to save for the future and golden years.

Peter

[marauderdriver]

OR we do it cause we think they are ..cool..and  if we don't spend the money on models we will have to much disposable income

 

 and we will start to  Smoke ... and Drink ...and Don't Come Home At All.......Sounds like song lyrics.......Oh wait they are song lyrics

 

And you know the rest     You get fired for not showing up at work...  Kicked out......divorce.. lose the house.......car...childsupport 

 

Broke ....Homeless........Dreaming back to the DAY it all came apart....... The DAY You put that Tamiya F-4 Phantom II .......

 

BACK on the shelf......Thinking ..You saved money and won't have to sneak it passed THE WIFE...Little did you know

 

Or we just think  they are COOL!

[ScottsGT]

Because we can!

When I got hooked again, I went nuts buying a lot of kits I had as a kid. But then it dawned on me I couldn't afford the nice Tamiya 1/32 kits then, so I started stocking up. And yes, God willing I live long enough, I will be building the majority of them.

I've forced myself to quit buying on every urge I have, but every now and then, oops. Couldn't help myself! Just recently I gave one away for a museum project that I realized I would probably never build it. I've also sold off some of the early purchases I know won't come to fruition too. I'm starting to look at quality over quantity.

I also buy out of fear that one day soon the kit will no longer be available. I'm still kicking my butt for not dropping that $75 on the CE 1/48 AWACS Tu-4 conversion when I could.

[mywifehatesmodels]

 ...and we will start to  Smoke ... and Drink ...and Don't Come Home At All.......Sounds like song lyrics.......Oh wait they are song lyrics...

Oh, man. Should I even admit that I know what song that's from?

 

I think that all of those reasons probably cover it for most of us. For me, I fully intend to build everything in my stash when I buy it. I'm not a collector. But, what I mean by that, is that I don't buy them with the intention of "collecting" the kits. It just ends up that way, unfortunately. What prevents me from building them, though? Time. That and the fact that I'm VERY indecisive about what markings/variant I want to model. Or, perhaps, I'm more finicky about it. I don't like doing the same markings that have been done by everyone else. I like mine to be different and it has to have "the look" I want. It has to be "The One". So, I either spend time searching for that perfect scheme, or, I have the scheme figured out, but not the references, parts, decals or skills to do it, yet. Therefore, the base kit sits on the shelf, waiting to be built. I have to admit that starting to scratchbuild some parts, casting resin and making my own decals has helped some. But, I'm still working on thinning out "the stash" through building them. The problem is that for every one I build, three or more cool 1/32 kits get released! Ten years ago I wouldn't have thought that to even be possible!

 

John

Edited May 6, 2014 by mywifehatesmodels

[ssculptor]

There is a need in some people to collect things; doesn't matter what, just so they are collecting something, anything.  It is a compulsion and as far as I can tell psychiatrists are still looking into it.
Some of us have this compulsion and some do not.
Unfortunately, I am one of the afflicted. However, periodically, I lose interest and start selling off the stash. Then I become a dealer rather than a collector and that is fun too. But then I need to collect something new so I do. The cycle starts all over again.
Once I discussed this with a psychiatrist and he said it is a better mania than gambling, drinking and the like  because when it is all over I can sell the stuff and get some if not all my money back. He said don't worry about it.
Over the years I have had a number of collections. Finding the goodies, buying them, accumulating them then finally selling them off is a pattern many collectors are familiar with. Is it sick? Who is to say? But I had a lot of harmless enjoyment over the years and made a profit when I sold off the collections.
Now I have sold off much of my model kit stash and am still selling more. Problem is when I find the time I make sculpture, often using these kits as part of the art work. I am still selling a lot of my model stash, but I am placating my collection person within me by concentrating on WW1 aviation. I am  hooked on WNW kits. Will I build them? Uh, it is hard to tell as I prefer to scratch build my models and am now creating my own airplanes for the Vulgarian Air Force.  Well, I am not doing this, one of my multiple personalities, Heinrich Schtinkfinger is doing the dirty deeds. The Vulgarians have erected a statue to him. But since his work is top secret, as is his very existence, the statue was installed in one of their lakes under 40 feet of water.  Security is very important to Vulgarians.
So, to all my fellow collectors, I say let yourself go, within monetary limits of course. Your wife and children probably should come first. I once sold my gun collection so I could buy a house in a town with excellent schools. The needs of my family (wife and 2 small children) came first.
Look guys, if you spent all your money on gambling you would have nothing to show for it by now. The odds always favor the house. If you indulged in drink you would be a wreck if not dead, by now. Same with drugs. DEAD. If you spent all your time chasing women, and succeeding, by now you would be living in a worn out body and all you would have to show for  all those years of bedroom athletics would be a permanent blissful smile, permanently engraved on your face.

Life is just a journey from birth to death and all Mother Nature wants from us is to procreate and makes some babies to keep the species going. After we do that and the little critters leave home Ma N really dont care what we do. So relax and enjoy the ride.  
Stephen
                                                

                                
                          

[petrov27]

I take a fair amount of joy in just getting kits of subjects that I am interested in, especially if it is a high quality kit with good instructions, content, etc. Along with that goes a significant amount of enjoyment in researching the subject, deciding on a scheme I wish to build it in, sometimes the creation and printing of the decals for that subject, the research and acquiring aftermarket, the review of other's builds of said subject, etc.

 

That being said I have put a limit on my collecting to filling a single closet in my basement - the stash is limited by what I can fit in there. Lucky it is a very big closet....

[98Wrangler]

It is inevitable for this hobby. Just too many good models that take too long to build, and others that come out whilst building down the stash.

[LSP_K2]

Simple, I buy faster than I complete, so a backlog is inevitable.

[BradG]

Several reasons, at least for me;

 

1 - a good price, especially at a swap and sell. Might was well buy it for 20 bucks now than 50 bucks later.

2 - availability, if I really want it, buy it because it might go OOP and never return.

3 - because I have no other vices,. I don't really drink, don't gamble and I don't smoke thus I can justify spending money on a hobby.

4 - because I can't take my money with me when I'm dead.

[LSP_Matt]

I've stashed a few kits.  Some of them I fully expect not to build but by the time my daughters are 30-40 they might be worth something. I suspect they'll be somewhat sentimental like me. They might like to build a kit I put together for them when they were young or possibly it'll be something for them to sell for a few $$, or something they might give to their children.

 

Thoughts?

• Most kits purchased at a discount.  Either much reduced purchase price but often also with free/low cost shipping
• Fiscally and logistically it barely seems to make sense to stash more than you can build. What $$ are in kits isn't in other things.
• It can be good for using stash kits as currency or if appropriate as a gift. Trading kits can be useful.
• Browsing your stash with friends can be fun as is building models.
• Some kits seem awfully hard to find if you do wait too long - Hasegawa P40's.

 

Matty

 

Ps The only thing other than injuries and worries that I collect are ANZAC biscuit tins.  They each have a theme of where Aussies have served.  I had pondered why I bother or feel any compulsion.  I do tend to use them as they stack nicely and store well. 

[ironman1945]

Well, up to about 30 years or so ago I only had about 30 or so aircraft kits (WWII only), all 1/32 scale, all the reasonably priced/available ones from Hasegawa and Revell.

 

So at that time I thought "What the hell, they will never make more 1/32 scale aircraft" so I branched out into WWII armour, all the while keeping my eyes out for some of the old Revell kits that had yet to be re-popped.

 

Then Hasegawa started making new 1/32 WWII kits, Tamiya made some, Trumpeter came along, Hobbyboss, Azur/MPM/CMK, a few Hobbycraft, along comes ZM, the monsters from HK, and then oooohhh along comes Roden and Wingnut Wings therebye breaking my "WWII only" rule.

 

Never in a million years did I think this would happen, back in the day I really believed 1/32 WWII was dead, a goner, kaput.  And of course every time a new kit comes out, I try to resist the urge to buy it....but it always comes back to "Remember the early 80s when you couldn't find anything", I get paranoid, and the next thing I know I'm pulling out my credit card.

 

So I blame the manufacturers.  Its all their fault.

 

Dave/Ironman1945

[Vitali]

When I immigrated recently to Australia from Ukraine I had to sell my collection of about 500 kits. Now I have about 4 1/200 scale ships and about 12 1/32 scale kits and I have less stress about what to build and I can afford to spend more on each kit. Really much happier as every kit I have I can't wait to build. I'm now I'm very selective in what I buy as I do not want to return to the past stash size. Really it's each man to his own and most important is what makes you happy.

[Vandy 1 VX 4]

I was talking with my Hair stylist the other day about this   Her Husband was a big time modeler when they meet. Now he is getting rid of all of it.  We came up with the reason for his and my collections. At the time it was hard to find anything Israeli Defense force or 1/35 and 32 aircraft. The other was the quest to find say projects book's and References.  Then comes all the aftermarket items for say project. Then the right decals, and it grows and grows.

        For example I read and looked for a Revell F-4J to make a 1/32  Vandy1 Black Play Boy Bunny of VX-4. I wanted this to be in a Diorama with different bombs and rockets. It had to have a Man with two young kids in hand. It needs take place in the early eighty's. As the Man is my father and the boys are my brother and I at Point Mugu air show.   Now I have Doubles of every thing for the Tamiya F-4J. Said Decals, Cockpits, Intakes ( all cutting edge Also a F-4S conversion ) Eduard photo etch, Weapons with Decals, Verlinden camera crew ( as a local news station reporters ). The reason for doubles is if I screw up something I have a back up   I just missing the figures for my little brother and I. Also the nerve to build it as it really means some thin to me.  So this hobby can get out of hand.

But I am meeting great people (LSPers) and not out hurting people or damaging property.

 

Cheers

Danny

[Jeff Herne]

I build, therefore I am. While I enjoy horse trading with my fellow LSPers, I do enjoy the process of deciding what to build as my next project. As I've gotten older and a little more financially secure, I have caved to desire to always have something spectacular on the shelf to build. I am at a point though, where my "have" list far outweighs my wish list. This stupid accident has actually had an upside in that I've had tons of time to actually build. Hell, I've done 6 models in 3 months, with another 3 scheduled for completion by the end of this month. I probably won't live to see all these built, but I really don't think about it too much. The value of my stash is still less than a classic car or 59 Les Paul, so when the time comes my wife will have a giant model garage sale.