How many is TOO many!?

[DeanKB]

I buy pretty much every WIngnut Wings kits because I love WWI kits, plus - and perhaps more pertinently - they tend to sell out. Whether this is a brilliant marketing ploy I'm not sure, as if WNW wanted to maximise sales they'd have surely produced Sopwith Camels and Fokker Triplanes already, rather than a Pfalz or Salmson? Either way, it's working!

 

Silver Wings I buy because they are limited run, great subjects & great models. Same with Special Hobby, perhaps not so much the quality though. I'm struggling to justify Hasegawa, Trumpeter & Tamiya stuff, as they are hardly limited run or difficult to get hold of. The Hasegawa subjects are pretty cool, especially their Japanese WWII kits, the Tamiya kits I've heard are pretty promising and they are building up a decent reputation! Trumpeters success is down to the subjects. Full stop.

 

After market is easier to buy because you can do so in little bite sized chunks, although it's scary how quickly it mounts up. It tends to sometimes be a litte more difficult to get hold of than the corresponding kits.

 

Finally, kits & AM are both fairly marketable - indeed, Wingnut Wings kits seem at least as good as hard-cash.

 

Kits can be easily converted back to cash, albeit usually at a loss, but that also acts as an incentive to buy - or, at least, offers one less disincentive.

 

I've failed to convince myself! My stash is of embarrassing proportions & there is no real justification for it, or even a quarter of it. But it's harmless enough & the money I save by not drinking, partying, taking drugs or chasing women probably makes me about even.

 

Maybe.

[Out2gtcha]

I buy pretty much every WIngnut Wings kits because I love WWI kits, plus - and perhaps more pertinently - they tend to sell out. Whether this is a brilliant marketing ploy I'm not sure, as if WNW wanted to maximise sales they'd have surely produced Sopwith Camels and Fokker Triplanes already, rather than a Pfalz or Salmson? Either way, it's working!

 

Silver Wings I buy because they are limited run, great subjects & great models. Same with Special Hobby, perhaps not so much the quality though. I'm struggling to justify Hasegawa, Trumpeter & Tamiya stuff, as they are hardly limited run or difficult to get hold of. The Hasegawa subjects are pretty cool, especially their Japanese WWII kits, the Tamiya kits I've heard are pretty promising and they are building up a decent reputation! Trumpeters success is down to the subjects. Full stop.

 

After market is easier to buy because you can do so in little bite sized chunks, although it's scary how quickly it mounts up. It tends to sometimes be a litte more difficult to get hold of than the corresponding kits.

 

Finally, kits & AM are both fairly marketable - indeed, Wingnut Wings kits seem at least as good as hard-cash.

 

Kits can be easily converted back to cash, albeit usually at a loss, but that also acts as an incentive to buy - or, at least, offers one less disincentive.

 

I've failed to convince myself! My stash is of embarrassing proportions & there is no real justification for it, or even a quarter of it. But it's harmless enough & the money I save by not drinking, partying, taking drugs or chasing women probably makes me about even.

 

Maybe.

 

 

 

Well Dean, as we all probably are aware, there are many MANY other WAY more expensive hobbies out there, and as long as spending money on kits is not hurting anyone, there are a LOT worse ways to get rid of your money. 

[ssculptor]

I just did a really silly thing. I counted up the stash. In my head I had about 30. I actually have about 73 airframes-worth, most of which have additional detail parts, decals, figures and so on. There is another Tornado in transit, and there are about 8 kits missing from my current 'needs' list, plus the new releases due over the next year or so. With the odd billy bargains I am tempted with, this will mean my total collection will be pushing 100. I am currently actively working on 2 projects, two more on the bench sleeping, and I have 3 or 4 CAD projects on the go as well.

 

Am I barking mad?

 

Tim

No. You are perfectly normal. By my standard at least.

This is how a modeler becomes a "collector".

We call it a stash but nevertheless with a large accumulation we are "collectors".

If we go hog wild then we become "hoarders".

To our wives we say we are "investors".

But where does an "accumulator" come in? Well accumulate is a verb and we have to do that to become a collector or hoarder or investor.

Once in a while we actually construct one of these models. That makes us a modeler and this is where I came in.

Confusedly yours,

Stephen

[BiggTim]

No. You are perfectly normal. By my standard at least.

This is how a modeler becomes a "collector".

We call it a stash but nevertheless with a large accumulation we are "collectors".

If we go hog wild then we become "hoarders".

To our wives we say we are "investors".

But where does an "accumulator" come in? Well accumulate is a verb and we have to do that to become a collector or hoarder or investor.

Once in a while we actually construct one of these models. That makes us a modeler and this is where I came in.

Confusedly yours,

Stephen

Man, you crack me up!!

[KOTR]

I like to pretend that as long as I turn my back at the shelf behind me, its not an issue...

 

 

...oh wait, there's a shelf in front of me, and one to the left, and another one to the right...

[Radders]

I have somewhere between 120-150 kits, very little AM, and only a handful of decal sheets..... quite the amateur compared to some! I don't bulk buy one type of aircraft, I notice quite a few people do... I only buy kits I want to build too, I don't buy kits thinking it's going to make me a small fortune in the future, all my kits, even the stupidly expensive ones will get built at some stage. I'm working for an earlier retirement so who knows

[Adam]

I think i am the oddball here..

 

my stash is zero, nada, zip...

 

deliberately too, if I have something winking at me on a shelf, I WILL lose discipline and start something before finishing what I am working on..

 

that said I have a WIP 'pile' of a Ju188 and a HpH Hornet..

 

by the time I finish my current build all sorts of undreamed of kits will be out I am sure, but even then I am thinking I might scratchbuild for the rest of my life, then I can build anything in any scale..

 

I expect Mrs airscale approves of my approach too, though she just thinks I am weird anyway..

 

Peter

Hey Peter

 

I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy! Respect man!

 

Me, I've got about 25 kits (mix of 1/32 and 1/48) to build. Yep, pretty lightweight, but this small stash will take at least 12-15 years to get through! Then there are whatever irresistible kits pop up along the way (thinking 1/32 Revell 262 B, and the 1/32 Trojan coming soon) - AAAARRRGGGHHHHHHH!

 

Still, I'm proud of myself - I've resisted the 1/32 ZM A-1J and the Do-335 kits recently - must stay strong! I built the 1/48 Tamiya kits of these two aeroplanes, so that has helped me resist these great kits - so far that is.

[MikeC]

To me, stash collecting and building seem to have grown into two separate hobbies. To me however, I collect for two reasons:

 

- I figure that IF I have the money for something................and its available Id better snatch it up, as you never know that it might not be available or even produced tomorrow

 

- I build my stash (including AM) for kits I want and fully intend to build. I do not collect kits nor AM that I dont plan on building. That being said, I collect all of that with the notion that there is a possibility I may not always have the disposable cash to spend on my hobby like this - And if that time ever comes around where I cant afford to buy more kits, I will have a stash to build that will literally last the rest of my life, even if at some point in the future I can only afford to buy consumables to build the model. 

 

 

I'm with you there, Brian. With few exceptions, from this point forward, my LSP purchases and AM for same, will be much more limited than what they used to be. If I really believe I'll build it, I'll seriously consider a purchase, otherwise it's a no-go for me. At this point, there are probably (let's be real liberal with this number) 30 models (of all types) that I truly want, and that's about it. 

 

Yep, that's where I am now.

 

Many a time I've bought something because it may not be available in the future: so I have a pretty average sort of kit in the pile which will need a whole lot of work and tlc to make presentable, then someone brings out a wunderkit which will require 50% or less work to make a 300% better representation.  Think Revell Mosquito vs Tamiya for example. 

 

Just a thought on the subject of profit/loss on sales.  You buy a kit.  If you build it you get nothing back, the money is sunk costs.  So if you decide not to build it, anything you get for it could possibly be considered a gain. 

[Out2gtcha]

Just a thought on the subject of profit/loss on sales.  You buy a kit.  If you build it you get nothing back, the money is sunk costs.  So if you decide not to build it, anything you get for it could possibly be considered a gain. 

 

 

Interesting way to look at it..................I guess Ive not really thought of it that way before.

 

I do NOT however consider my stash an "investment" as we all know none of these are or SHOULD be purchased for that, and should be purchased to be built IMHO.  

[Guest]

I agree Brian. Not an investment. I should add, AM for me is a must have for me. Every kit I have has AM. SOME MORE THAN OTHERS.....Harv

[ziggyfoos]

I don't have a count either but it has to be in the hundreds. It's spread out through multiple rooms of various scales/subject matter. I try to "hide" them in closets as much as possible other than the overflow of 1/32 Trumpeter/Tamiya big kits that are stacked from floor to ceiling - with many multiples of my favorites (A-4, A-6). Once the stash starts getting to overflow level it's time to purge some. My interest changes pretty frequently and I go all out on a specific theme that I'm currently fixated on, and as a result I usually end up doing a stash reduction every now and then - only to replace with the current interest kits. Then that subject gets superseded by something else as my interest goes on. Problem is nearly all of my interests are on a rotation, so I frequently find myself going back and finding out I sold something and then end up rebuying it. I think I probably bought/sold five Tamiya Wespe kits over the year easy as my interest comes/goes (yet I never even built one).

 

I'm trying (but not entirely succeeding) in trying to pick up aftermarket considering they're most likely to be OOP over mass produced kits. I can always grab the kit later (unless Wingnut Wings) but not necessarily find the resin/decal stuff.

[ssculptor]

Some fascinating replies here guys! And it is heartening to see so many who are clearly far worse, or better, depending on your viewpoint, than me!

This is probably not a good thing though, as I won't feel anywhere near as bad when I buy the next kit......

 

Ah well. It isn't booze, it isn't gambling, it isn't womanising, and it isn't golf!

 

Tim

Yes, and you can sell off the unbuilt kits when you get tired of looking at them. Maybe get your money back or even make a profit at times.

Furthermore, you can buy some blank stickers at the office supply store and print out "R Factor 8.3" and place them on each kit box. Next you store them by stacking them against the inside of an outside wall, like in your workroom or in the attic. Then when your spouse gets ticked off at you about all your expensive "toys" you can point out that it is added insulation for the house.

Hey, it works for me.

Stephen

[Jolly Roger]

This time last year my stash was right around 350, but after careful scrutiny I decided I could weed it out some and now it stands around 180.

[Chek]

I find I make up stupid rules for myself, like: I won't buy anything until the HKM Phantoms come out, then I'll start with two of them.

 

Except maybe for the Airfix Meteor F8. And their 1/72nd Whitley (I recall my dad who flew V-bombers when they really were V-bombers, telling me how when he was a kid the Whitley was the toppermost of modernity back in the day. Even with that big fabric wing). And then, post hard drive crash photo recovery I suddenly find I need an F-18C and E just to comprehend the difference between them, despite F-15s acquired for a similar purpose.

 

We'll have to see who wins out - the well thought out disciplined intentions, or the get-it-while-it's-there impulse.

[ironman1945]

I'm sitting around 390 (1/2 LSP, 1/2 armour), but I try to rationalize that "Well, I've been accumulating these kits since I was 14....of course I would have that many."

 

But reality looms and there is no way I will build all of them with me being 55.

 

I've been trying to weed them out/sell those I don't feel a passion for....but...its....like .....pulling...teeth....

 

Every kit I look at immediately sets off a plethora of ideas on how to finish it, what (if any) mods to make, what scheme it will look great in.....

 

The model gods must be getting back at me for burning all of those Revell 1/32 planes and taking the pellet gun to the old Tamiya tanks.....

 

Dave/Ironman1945