Another stash question

[LSP_Mike]

For those that have reached S.A.B.L.E.-

     if you are doing a bit of a "clear out" what mental process determines what gets sold, and what stays?

[Barry]

Man Mike if I knew the answer to that I would have a much smaller stash! Ever time I start to make a list of what I will NEVER built it starts out big and then ends up small.

I will be watching this topic for some good suggestions.

 

Barry

[LSP_Mike]

OK, "sold" is a bit harsh.... how about "exchanged for bits of brightly printed pieces of Fiat Currency."

 ...MUCH better....

 Question remains-

[TonyT]

Which you will just spend on more loft insulation

[CANicoll]

I just did that to my stash.  I look to see what is currently of interest, or why I bought/acquired the kit(s) in the first place.  I had some really nice armor kits, but honestly, they look great but for how I would want to build them, I'd have to go through a steep learning curve, acquire a bunch of new paints and AM stuff and I just decided I could do without that.

 

For aircraft, it is what do I really want to build in the next couple of years.  The thing about these kits is that for the most part, they get cheaper the older they get. Unless they go out of production or are limited runs.  Even the Tamiya P-51D 1/32 can be had for less than $100 easily these days.

 

So that's my thinking in stash reduction.  Having said all of that, I still have the Monogram 1/48 B-29 and 1/48 B-17 I'm not sure I'll build, but I don't want to part with just yet. 

[Jack]

Actually i've been fidgeting the same question/problem/situation for quite a while and haven't concluded yet, but looking at the prospect of NEVER being able to build all the kits in stash, i'll HAVE to decide which ones i'm compelled to sell or give away.

I use the term "compelled" because though it's not a life issue, it's almost (in the beginning and at the end of consideration) impossible to make a clear decission on what to let go and what not.

For instance: i've collected almost all revell "retro" kits in 1/32 scale simply because i HAD them in the past when first issued, built them and more or less got rid of them or forgot them, but just because of the box art and what their meaning to me were in the past (talking about age 15 and up) gives it some emotional attachment, so when much lateron i got hold of one of them again, i made every effort to collect them again and much more.

Now this collection  (for what it's worth) will NEVER leave my stash, even if the kits itself are not to modern standard anymore, but on the other hand other kits like aircraft belonging to different operators (mostly WWII) which i had interest in at some time and age, might be a subject of selling all together.

E.g. lately i'm mighty interested in contemporary aircraft and digging into it, to have a sound, smaller, collection of kits i would like to build, but that is (in my case) futile, because eventually they might go the same way as the others.....the way of the dodo so to speak.

 

In general i think we're too enthousiastic (which is not bad mind you) in LSP to be able to let go of these things, .........

 

just my 2 P's

 

Jack

[modelingbob]

I wish I could offer some sage advice, but I really can't because this is a tough job. I decided to reduce my stash by an arbitrary decision of 50% last year (going from about 400 kits to about 200) and sold them off via Ebay (mainly). That helped me focus on what I would really build, and I did a large number of "cuts" by putting kits into various piles with a lot of hard thinking until I met that goal. First cut was those I would definitely not build or really didn't want (and that pile was pretty small!). Then I got rid of "doubles" (identical kits, and that was a larger pile!). Then I went to the "nice to have" but not likely to build pile. Then I went to the "limited run but tough to build" kits that really didn't interest me. I just kept creating categories until I hit my arbitrary 50% goal. I also set a goal that my stash would be "frozen" at around the 200 kit number and no new purchases would be made unless I sold or built one. That ones been very tough, but my willpower is still holding strong! Eventually I plan to do the 50% process again at some undetermined point in the future but I have no clue how I will actually accomplish that!  

[LSP_Mike]

Good responses all.

Jennings, keep the mask on, and turn the knob.... breath deep.... it will all be OK.

 I had to evacuate my house in '03 for wildfires, and that was one stressful way to choose what stayed and what went.

[Bill_S]

Multiples of kits that I'll probably only build once are the first to go. I had several Revell Tonys - I put one in the Christmas raffle a couple of years ago. I bought three Hobbycraft Spad XIIIs in order to make shipping reasonable; I put one in last years raffle. This year, it will be a Revell Raiden.

 

I also have a 1/24 Bandai George that I bought years ago for research. I'll never build it, so it will be gone soon.

 

The expensive kits stay.

[LSP_K2]

I had a nasty tendency to start virtually every kit I'd ever owned (though I'm getting much better about that now), so the resale value plummets. Also, a few years back, I sold off roughly 60% (guess) of everything I had at the time, but still have gobs left and buy more all the time, at least when I can afford to. For me it's a "what do I think I'll never really work on", and it seems that I believe I'll actually work on them all, sooner or later, so I end up with very few kits that I want to part with.

[ssculptor]

My criteria as to determining if a model will be sold out of my stash:

1) Do I really like the airplane that much?
2) Do I think I can readily replace the kit when I get some more money later?

3) If I sell the kit now can I at least get my investment back? Like if I spent $45 for the $25 kit and $15 postage?

4) Do I already have a built one of these kits and/or one of the carved wood models from the Philippines. 

5) How badly do I need the model kit?

[DeanKB]

These rules do not generally apply to Wingnut Wings kits, which are a pretty decent investment in themselves:

 

Anything not a 1/32 aeroplane comes under scrutiny.

 

Anything postwar has to go - have to draw a line somewhere.

 

Anything by HpH is very vulnerable.

 

Multiples of the same kit (except WNW), especially any multiples where I have no alternative schemes.

 

Anything with no good schemes (except WNW Brit stuff. I've invested too much in green paint).

 

Any non-WNW kit where there is a decent chance WNW will kit it at some point (hence trading my Encore Fokker Dr.I for a KH Kingfisher recently).

 

Those kits that don't have a decent amount of AM invested in them. (not many).

 

Those kits with a poor reputation (KH P-39, for instance).

 

Keep harder to get hold of kits (Trump P-38 & Trump Avenger).

 

Keep thin on ground kits (e.g. Revell Ju88's).

 

Finally, just build a kinda "what order will I build these kits in?" list. Those towards the end of the list, especially if they appear in the points above, had better not get too comfortable.

[BiggTim]

That is a tough one. I judge what I buy or unload by the following criteria, with few exceptions:

 

1. I try to budget about 250 USD a year to modeling. I'm not saying I never break that, but if I do, then something has to go to make up for the overage. I have plenty of other hobbies to keep me broke, so that usually helps. (for example, I bought some WnW kits for 240 bucks recently, so I'm done for the year, unless I sell something to get the money back)

2: I stick to the larger scales, because there are fewer kits to choose from in the first place (though that is changing fast!). There are a few things in my stash that are not 1/32 (and not all aircraft) but they are all larger scales.

3. I stick to one type of aircraft. I'm a prop guy, so no jets (with Me 262 being the exception, but I may sell that). That's tough sometimes, because there are some jets that I LOVE, but I gotta draw the line somewhere. I do have a few vehicles. 

4. Only buy it (or keep it) if I truly like that aircraft, or have some personal connection to it. I don't usually buy stuff because it's interesting, or different, or just cheap, (even though I am obviously very cheap) and NEVER buy (or keep) crappy kits.

 

I used to have a much bigger stash, but I whittled it down years ago and kept it to about 35 kits by dumping anything that violated rules 2-4, and applied the money to stuff that didn't. If I find that I have something in the stash that doesn't fit that criteria anymore, it's the first to go. Your criteria may be different, but I definitely recommend setting some rules for yourself. No offense to some of the awesome and generous people here, but I don't ever want to become the kind of person who hoards thousands of kits. All that stuff just feels like an anchor to me, but that's just me. Good luck!

 

Tim

Edited May 3, 2017 by BiggTim

[Guest Clunkmeister]

I've successfully sold or disposed of all my 1/72 and 1/48 kits, with the exception of a very few cool subjects not available in 1/32.

 

Next comes multiples of continuous production kits. Multiple Tamiya Mustangs make NO sense to me.

 

Then dubious quality kits. (some Trumpy, etc)

 

Then odd scales. No more 1/35, 1/16, or box scale stuff.

 

Then 1/35 armor, with the exception of WW1 stuff.  WTF was I thinking when I bought that crap?   I'll never build it, even in 100 years.

 

Then jet stuff I'll never build. Jets I keep are a few cool Cold War jets: F-101B, F-106, F-86D, MiG-15, 17, 19, 21, all Russian stuff, and early jets. But if it's gray, has twin tails, and two engines, chances are it's stay in my stash is drawing to a close.

 

Then we replace empty space with:

1. WnW

2. HPH

3. Fisher

4. Silver Wings

5. Lukgraph

6. Any cool Limited Production stuff I want to build.

7. VVS aircraft.

 

I'm to the point of only wanting to build resin and WnW, with the odd newer thing thrown in for fun. T-28, Jaguar (please Glen?) etc.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Clunkmeister

[LSP_Mike]

A wide variety of great replies here gents. Thank you for the consideration. There are several points that resonate.

 Keep 'em coming.