Why do you have a stash LARGER than you can build?

[scapilot]

I've only got somewhere between 30 and 40... and already looking to thin some of it out. Some of them, I really do look at and go, "just WHY did you buy THAT?" (1/72 An-2, 1/72 US-6 fire truck, etc).

Dude... that's not even funny as a joke. :angry:/>

Seriously??? I've read far worse in other subjects on this forum. Feel free to go give them the tongue lashing. I was in it for a joke, don't be so thin skinned.

Let me start with the current stash is ONLY some 450+/- plastic kits. Excluded are rubber powered free flight and RC kits.

And I just converted roughly 100 plastic kits back into cash at a local used toy store here in OKC (Toybase 10).

At times in the past I've had a stash that has hit over 1400 kits, shrank to almost nothing then back up to 1000 kits and then back down to where it is today.

Being an engineer involved in ISO certifications, I find the OP's question facinating and many of your answers don't answer the question. In the ISO world it's called a root cause analysis. Don't just answer the question with the first reason that comes into your mind. Keep asking questions until you find the actual motivation for why your stash is too large to build in your lifetime.

In my case, I was a spoiled rotten only child. My parents never said no to anything I ever wanted. Or if they did say no, it was only temporary and they'd give in if not with what I originally wanted but with something else.

This has affected EVERYTHING I have ever bought for my entire 57 year life! I get a psychological high from buying something new. My minde is programmed to spend the $10.00 in my pocket on a piece of junk instead of saving that $$ to buy something I really need like a car or clothing or a home. The delayed gratification of savings and getting a reward for saving is over whelmed by the need for instant gratification of having something now.

Like a lot of hte answers here I used "it's a part of a collection" or "it won't be availble again" as the rationalization to own it. But I never ever asked if I really needed it.

Do we actually really NEED the pieces of styrene that are our hobby? I hope that well over 99.9% of us should know the correct answer to that question is no; we don't need styrene to survive.

When I stop and look at the possibly tens of thousands of Dollars I've spent on this hobby in my lifetime I honestly have to ask what nicer home, better things needed in my life do I not have because I have a pile of plastic in a hobby room?

I'm moving to the point a couple of you have hit on. There won't be a stash for my family to elimiate. I'll probably sell most of this off in the next ten years and build one as I buy it from now on. None of the "collections" that justified all this buying in the past are a big enough need that needs to be filled anymore in my life.

My dad got me into both plastic modeling and RC modeling. He would often scoff at me, well at least after done with a flying model you can do something with it other than let it sit on a shelf and collect dust. I'm starting to agree with him more and more.

I envy you who have stashes that can be built in your lifetime. You control your spending. Your spending does not control you. Keep it up!

I like this answer right here. It's nice to see that at least you've recognized what's materialistic. Although I fully understand how this can grip some people to the point of having to have something right now, I often wonder where the ultimate satisfaction comes from if all one ever has to show for it is uncompleted builds. I think that would almost make me feel the constant fear of "never going to be able to achieve all of this." However, to each their own, and kudos on recognizing the issues.

For me it was the opposite. My mom was raised during the Great Depression, and had the mentality that unless you actually need it, there's no reason to have it. She would constantly criticize me for spending my paper route money on models. Then my first wife, while "tolerating" the hobby, still made it clear she saw no point in it.

After my divorce in 1993, I suddenly found myself with no one "guilt tripping" me about buying model stuff..for the first time I was free to indulge the hobby (OK..obsession) as much as I wanted. About the same time, a gentleman in our model club passed away, leaving a sizable stash of kits, books and decals. One of his friends sold it off on consignment (at 50% retail or less) and gave us club members first pick. I ended up with 4 big grocery bags of 1/72 WWII aircraft. That started my modern Stash building phase. Over the next ten years it grew to over 500.

I've slowed down considerably over the past decade, simply because I have most of what I want. My interest is pretty much exclusively 1/72 WWII aircraft..if I were into other scales/eras/genres as well, then The Stash could easily have been several times larger. It's now somewhere in the neighborhood of 600, and I'm seriously considering a cull..mostly kits in which I'm no longer interested, or have replaced with newer, better toolings. Even then, at my current build rate it would take me several centuries to get through the entire Stash.

Of course Mandie doesn't help..I call her my "enabler" as she always encourages me to buy whatever kit I want (probably so she won't feel guilty about her growing stash of 150 or so.)

I rationalize it by the fact that I don't smoke or drink, and I've known people who spend far more money on booze and cigarettes than I do on models, with nothing to show for it but hangovers and emphysema (or worse.)

SN

I can relate to this on other issues in life as far as growing up being told "no" more often than not. Seems like either side of the fence is kind of in the mix with this. Those that grew up always being told "yes" to something are just accustomed to the nature of wanting and acquiring. Those who were always told "no" growing up finally like the fact that they don't have to be told no anymore, and get what they want when they want it. I find that this shows up a lot for me during the holidays when I do my kids Christmas shopping. My folks had dependency issues when I was a younger dude, and they made a lot of selfish choices, that looking back, affected the outcomes of birthdays and Christmases and other important things. Now, this isn't by any means a thread of self-pity. I took the good with the bad growing up, and let it influence me to make better choices as an adult, and these days, I like the fact that I"m in a spot where I don't have to worry about "no" when I want to justify spending $129 on a model kit. However, I do it in very big moderation. I sat and watched the Tamiya F-16 1:32 kit for almost a year, and had the money on plenty of occasions to pick it up, but only did here on Black Friday through Squadron where I got it 50% off. I've learned a bit about delayed gratification over the years and like it was stated in the previous thread, the impulse to spend little money now on something that's of low quality doesn't match saving and buying something nice. I put it like this. If you buy it cheap...you're going to buy it more than once to replace the low quality. However, if you save a little and buy it nice. You only buy it once!! I like that concept a lot better. Mostly I think because I just hate shopping. lol.

[Rex]

not a criticism, just a question

why do people only build one of the "great kits"?

it seems to me that if a kit was really great, as soon as one was finished, a person would want to get different markings and have that same enjoyment all over again

if that is a "difference in philosophy created by scale" thing, then I apologize for asking,,,,,,,,but, I know that when I build a kit in my scale that I thoroughly enjoyed,,,,,,I run out and get more of those to build

[Joe Hegedus]

not a criticism, just a question

why do people only build one of the "great kits"?

it seems to me that if a kit was really great, as soon as one was finished, a person would want to get different markings and have that same enjoyment all over again

if that is a "difference in philosophy created by scale" thing, then I apologize for asking,,,,,,,,but, I know that when I build a kit in my scale that I thoroughly enjoyed,,,,,,I run out and get more of those to build

Some "great kits" are of an airplane that I only want a representation of in the collection. I'll use the Airfix Seafire 17 as an example - loved building it, but was only interested in building one scheme.

Plus, you never have the same experience over again, as even kits from the same production batch can have variations. I've built, several times, a pair of kits side-by-side of the same airplane, same boxing, purchased at the same time, and on more than one occasion, one went together like a dream while the other had enough problems for both. Similar experience at times building the same kit separated by some time. One was a dream, the other almost a nightmare. Sometimes even the best kit will fight you every step of the way.

[Rex]

hmm, that sparks thoughts that might be a completely different thread

I did mean an actual "great kit" as the example

for instance, I have 6 different Corsair moldings still on the shelves to build,,none of which would be my first build of that tooling, plus there are a couple of other molds I will avoid building or buying any more of

I am pretty sure I will enjoy the next 2 Tamiya (great kits) more than doing another Airfix old tooling, and that wading into some more of the Hasegawa stack is going to be "more fun" than doing another Revell or finding some Frog kits

if a kit is "great" for one build, but "not great" for the next,,,,,,,,,maybe it was labeled as "great" just a bit prematurely?,,,,,or maybe there are a whole bunch of kits that were really "pretty good" or "okay" that got labeled "bad" just based on the first 12 online builds giving more than half the builders some problem or another

if they weren't really "great", they shouldn't have been labeled as "best kit of 2009" or whatever year, don't you think?

[volzj]

I'm not even close to worried about my stash. I have about 130 or so and build about 12-15 a year. With acquisitions I don't make a huge dent, but it doesn't grow much either.

[galileo1]

Interesting thread. I have 43 kits in the stash and I have to say that, on occasions, I feel like I shouldn't. I sit down in the cave in look at them and start asking myself why. Of course, it doesn't help having a wife who simply hates the hobby and is constantly reminding me that "I don't need all this pile of garbage." Perhaps that's good after all so it keeps the buying to a minimum ;) . Anyway, I have most of what I've ever wanted to have so my stash of 43 will suffice for the moment.

Rob

[PC12Driver]

Similar to other's responses, I am building IN retirement - and I wasn't prepared for that! So, you start nibbling around the edges and pretty soon you're face-deep in stytene! I had a focused, single-topic project that I was going to complete at all costs. This was to build the entire inventory of the 1st AirCav - going back to the H-13 Sioux medevac. I was going to end the run with the current-age UH-60L Medevac using Floyd Werner's mod. In the meantime, I found a slew of "gotta-haves" either because they were hard to find and/or they represented a notable event or idea in military aviation. You can never go wrong by looking at naval aircraft. They had a budget during the Cold War that could have supported an opposing air force just to have something to shoot at! (The F3H Demon comes to mind as a huge expense just for the sheer hell of it! Looking at he footage of the Demon during carrier trials still makes me pucker!)

Anyway, I am relearning the finer skills of serious modelling and I think I have everything I need - at least until spring!

Someone asked John D Rockefeller just how much more money could he possibly need or want. His response was "just a little more." And there you have it.

[scapilot]

not a criticism, just a question

why do people only build one of the "great kits"?

it seems to me that if a kit was really great, as soon as one was finished, a person would want to get different markings and have that same enjoyment all over again

if that is a "difference in philosophy created by scale" thing, then I apologize for asking,,,,,,,,but, I know that when I build a kit in my scale that I thoroughly enjoyed,,,,,,I run out and get more of those to build

To this question, I am often puzzled by just the opposite that I sometimes see which is "Why do people have 30 of the same kits in their stash, or only ever build one subject aircraft?" I have since learned that there's both sides of the equation to factor in here, and some people have different tastes that continue to drive the hobby. I built the Tamiya 1:48 F-16C after hearing all the rave about it, and yes, it was absolutely awesome to put together. I had purhcased the CJ kit at the same time as the C kit, but didn't do it because I thought the C kit was great, because I had not even attempted it yet. I did for the variety of having both. That's more or less what drives my 'stash' I suppose, is that I want to build a little bit of everything. Some people only build vintage, or modern, or helo's, but I want to build something from everything. I can't see how building the same kit over and over again stays fun, even if you are slapping on different decals at the end of the project. Then again, in the real world I come to work every day and work on the assembly line of the F-35. Perhaps that's enough of building the same type airplane over and over for me, hence it would feel like assembly line work to do it in my spare time as a relaxing hobby. I've found that it makes you a better builder (in my opinion) to also throw in a variety of subjects and kits. I've built F-16's from four different companies up to this point, and although I get burnt out on Vipers, I enjoy seeing how much they differ or share similar traits. I find more enjoyment out of applying learned skills and lessons to various builds, whereas I don't personally feel as though you do that very much when you build the same kit over and over. I've read some people don't even look at instruction booklets anymore since they've built the same kit so many times. I personally don't see how one challenges themselves to become better at their craft by doing this.

Some "great kits" are of an airplane that I only want a representation of in the collection. I'll use the Airfix Seafire 17 as an example - loved building it, but was only interested in building one scheme.

Plus, you never have the same experience over again, as even kits from the same production batch can have variations. I've built, several times, a pair of kits side-by-side of the same airplane, same boxing, purchased at the same time, and on more than one occasion, one went together like a dream while the other had enough problems for both. Similar experience at times building the same kit separated by some time. One was a dream, the other almost a nightmare. Sometimes even the best kit will fight you every step of the way.

I've sometimes done dual builds (Once on Italeri's Tornado IDS kits and once on their F-16A kits), and I have to agree with you here. No two kits really ever fall into place the same. I've seen two parts fall together with a perfect seam, and the same two parts in my opposing hand have a raging issue with fitting together with fault line style gaps in them. It's weird, and you wouldn't think that there could be that many differences, however, you have to factor in all the variable with injection molding. Even though I don't know very much about the entire process, I do know that molds wear, cooling temperatures affect the sprues, and a number of other things come into play. So yes, I can definitely agree on this.

[PC12Driver]

To this question, I am often puzzled by just the opposite that I sometimes see which is "Why do people have 30 of the same kits in their stash, or only ever build one subject aircraft?" I have since learned that there's both sides of the equation to factor in here, and some people have different tastes that continue to drive the hobby. I built the Tamiya 1:48 F-16C after hearing all the rave about it, and yes, it was absolutely awesome to put together. I had purhcased the CJ kit at the same time as the C kit, but didn't do it because I thought the C kit was great, because I had not even attempted it yet. I did for the variety of having both. That's more or less what drives my 'stash' I suppose, is that I want to build a little bit of everything. Some people only build vintage, or modern, or helo's, but I want to build something from everything. I can't see how building the same kit over and over again stays fun, even if you are slapping on different decals at the end of the project. Then again, in the real world I come to work every day and work on the assembly line of the F-35. Perhaps that's enough of building the same type airplane over and over for me, hence it would feel like assembly line work to do it in my spare time as a relaxing hobby. I've found that it makes you a better builder (in my opinion) to also throw in a variety of subjects and kits. I've built F-16's from four different companies up to this point, and although I get burnt out on Vipers, I enjoy seeing how much they differ or share similar traits. I find more enjoyment out of applying learned skills and lessons to various builds, whereas I don't personally feel as though you do that very much when you build the same kit over and over. I've read some people don't even look at instruction booklets anymore since they've built the same kit so many times. I personally don't see how one challenges themselves to become better at their craft by doing this.

I've sometimes done dual builds (Once on Italeri's Tornado IDS kits and once on their F-16A kits), and I have to agree with you here. No two kits really ever fall into place the same. I've seen two parts fall together with a perfect seam, and the same two parts in my opposing hand have a raging issue with fitting together with fault line style gaps in them. It's weird, and you wouldn't think that there could be that many differences, however, you have to factor in all the variable with injection molding. Even though I don't know very much about the entire process, I do know that molds wear, cooling temperatures affect the sprues, and a number of other things come into play. So yes, I can definitely agree on this.

[PC12Driver]

Same thing, different twist. I have rebuilt 3 or 4 kits just because I thought that I could do a better job with better developed skills. Who would want a crummy P-51 on the shelf just for nostalgia? If you knew you could build a better representation of a "must have on shelf" kit, wouldn't you scrap the funky one and try to do better on its replacement?

[phantom]

Same thing, different twist. I have rebuilt 3 or 4 kits just because I thought that I could do a better job with better developed skills. Who would want a crummy P-51 on the shelf just for nostalgia? If you knew you could build a better representation of a "must have on shelf" kit, wouldn't you scrap the funky one and try to do better on its replacement?

Extreme truth here. I build to replace not so wonderful old builds all the time.

[The_Animal]

Of course Mandie doesn't help..I call her my "enabler" as she always encourages me to buy whatever kit I want (probably so she won't feel guilty about her growing stash of 150 or so.)

I rationalize it by the fact that I don't smoke or drink, and I've known people who spend far more money on booze and cigarettes than I do on models, with nothing to show for it but hangovers and emphysema (or worse.)

SN

Steve, that's the way I rationalize my spending $10,500 on a 600mm lens (Yes, I do saleable wildlife photography. Yes, I do have a need for it if I want to do photography that measures up to the professionals - close in shots of birds and other wildlife). I don't drink, I don't smoke, never have except for a two week stint in high-school to try it out. Bought two packs. tried half of one...and ditched the remainder. Not worth it. I drink on occasion, but not to excess. My photography is my chosen line of work. And Heather is my enabler. She has no problems with my going out and spending $10,500 for a supertelephoto lens. Yes, it's nice that we have enablers in our relationships. It all depends on what our "enablers" enable. That's the kicker.

[Joe Hegedus]

Steve, that's the way I rationalize my spending $10,500 on a 600mm lens (Yes, I do saleable wildlife photography. Yes, I do have a need for it if I want to do photography that measures up to the professionals - close in shots of birds and other wildlife). I don't drink, I don't smoke, never have except for a two week stint in high-school to try it out. Bought two packs. tried half of one...and ditched the remainder. Not worth it. I drink on occasion, but not to excess. My photography is my chosen line of work. And Heather is my enabler. She has no problems with my going out and spending $10,500 for a supertelephoto lens. Yes, it's nice that we have enablers in our relationships. It all depends on what our "enablers" enable. That's the kicker.

Maybe it's just me, but I think comparing a model stash to an investment in tools for one's profession is like comparing apples to banannas, unless the guy with the model stash happens to make his living building professionally.

Your 600mm lens is, by your own statement, a tool that you use to make your living with and as such falls into a different category in my mind than a stack of 100/200/more kits that one accumulates for one's avocation. I would expect that you plan to recoup the cost of the lens and then some by the sale of the images captured during its use, whereas most of us don't plan to recoup any of the costs of the model stash (ideally, since we seem to all plan to buid them all) or at best hope to maybe break even selling them off at shows/ebay/online, but more realistically get back maybe 50 cents on the dollar spent. An investment to further one's business isn't the same thing as ammassing a collection of unbuilt kits that we plan to build "someday".

[Rex]

if I actually built the same kit over and over without there being any difference in the finished product, then I guess it would be easier to understand criticism of the project

the truth is that there are more than a dozen ways to correctly assemble the F-4B/N Phantom kits, without repeating, if a person wants to

one config was never used by this squadron, but was used by another,,,,,,one squadron used 4 or 5 of the different configs possible over their lifetime

the same thing happens with some long serving USAF aircraft, Spits in the RAF, -109s, you name it

building all of the varieties of an aircraft, or the whole Air Service, is hardly "building the same kit over and over again"

I merely was musing aloud about the modeling attitude that seems to say "wow, that was fun, but, I will never build one of those great kits again, what a shame"

but, after 47 years of modeling, I guess I won't be reaching that "fully developed set of skills" that a true zen modeler is "supposed" to be striving for,,,,,,,,,so, I will just plonk along with my little goal, after cutting hundreds of kits from the stash and the display shelves

[The_Animal]

Maybe it's just me, but I think comparing a model stash to an investment in tools for one's profession is like comparing apples to banannas, unless the guy with the model stash happens to make his living building professionally.

Your 600mm lens is, by your own statement, a tool that you use to make your living with and as such falls into a different category in my mind than a stack of 100/200/more kits that one accumulates for one's avocation. I would expect that you plan to recoup the cost of the lens and then some by the sale of the images captured during its use, whereas most of us don't plan to recoup any of the costs of the model stash (ideally, since we seem to all plan to buid them all) or at best hope to maybe break even selling them off at shows/ebay/online, but more realistically get back maybe 50 cents on the dollar spent. An investment to further one's business isn't the same thing as ammassing a collection of unbuilt kits that we plan to build "someday".

Point conceded. :) Joe. True. And I have amassed a small "stash" (about 58-60 model kits) myself. I keep telling myself "I do want to keep them and work on them on the days that I don't feel the photography muse strike." However, I realize that with my business taking off, I don't have a whole lot of time left for scale modeling and I wonder if I am smart in hanging on to the kits. I've come up with excuses like "it keeps me close emotionally to my father"...who enabled me in my scale modeling hobby when I was young - could it be that I have some major attachment issues to those kits - thinking maybe one of these days I'll get around to building them and they'll sit on my shelf as testament to finally being able to build them properly than "slapping them together with an excess of glue like I did when I was a kid". Maybe my standards have gotten excessively high, but like my objective in doing my wildlife photography professionally, I want my models to be a work of art to me. I guess for me scale modeling has become an "obsession" rather than a relaxing hobby.

[Litvyak]

building all of the varieties of an aircraft, or the whole Air Service, is hardly "building the same kit over and over again"

It may seem so to us (i.e. those in the hobby), and this may indeed be true.

But the best thing I've seen in reference to this was written years and years ago in a German model railway magazine; the author of the article recounted a story of his wife complaining about him buying another steam locomotive: "You already have so many black locomotives with red wheels..."

What may be significant differences to observers from a certain in-group may have no significance at all to someone outside the group. Another example of that is my grandmother's comment whenever my dad gets on about cars: "If it has four wheels and it moves, that's all that matters".

So to an outsider, building one of each variant of, say, the F-4, is indistinguishable from "building the same plane over and over again"...

[Bigasshammm]

I find that the larger it is makes it easy to hide dead prostitutes when those meddling kids and feds come snooping around. Oh wait....wrong forums. :jaw-dropping:/>

lol.

Craig James?

[Rex]

I was answering "one of us",,,,,,,not an "outsider",,,,,I thought, anyway

[Litvyak]

Rex: you were (at least, I interpreted it that way), however, several commenters have pointed out the reactions of their SO/partner/word-of-your-choice to the hobby/size of stash...

[fulcrum1]

I think someone else said it best....."because I can".

[Aaronw]

At my current building pace (0-15 finished per year) my stash could easily last me 40 years. However I am 5 years from retirement and have a family history of relatives living productive lives into their 90s. Also uninterupted by work and other needs of life, I can crank out a 1/72 fighter in a few days to a week easy, a bomber 2 weeks tops, 1/25 auto also a week or two so my stash of 400-500 1/72 kits, 200-300 1/25 autos, and 30-40 misc (ships, armor etc). I could easily raise my production rate to 40+ a year without a 9-5 job and blow through the bulk of my stash in 10 years.

The stash grew pretty quickly, but like others have mentioned once I got a good solid foundation of the basic stuff I like it slowed way down because I basically have what I want. I finish some kits, some new kits are announced that I want or I discover a new interest (Soviet Aircraft of WW2 was the last big push). I have probably only bought 20-25 kits in the past two years and finished a similar number, but financing dependant I could see adding 40 or 50 in 2013 (there are just so many cool new kits coming out :woot.gif:/> ). Also honestly there is probably a 10% cull factor, kits I picked up that were either a great deal, part of a package or just something I lost interest in that will never get built.

Edited January 3, 2013 by Aaronw

[weirich1]

Stockpiling, can't go to the LHS anymore and find any decent kits at good prices like I used to, online is the only way to go nowadays. There used to be a store in town that had an entire aisle of Hasegawa Vipers, that store is long gone. HobbyTown USA has a crappy selection at MSRP, no disounts usually. HobbyLobby selection isn't very good anymore either, but that is the only place local to buy display cases; they have 40% off coupon regularly off. Grab more from online stores because they have good deals, fast shipping, new kits.

[cabo91]

Who told you my stash was larger?? I've got it under control, man! I can QUIT BUYING MODELS ANYTIME I WANT!! I'm NOT hooked! (Was I convincing??)

[HOLMES]

Who told you my stash was larger?? I've got it under control, man! I can QUIT BUYING MODELS ANYTIME I WANT!! I'm NOT hooked! (Was I convincing??) :woot.gif:/>

. . .

:rofl:

[willc453]

Free room & board while in the Air Force. Modelers selling their kits dirt cheap at the meetings. Hoarding in case all the model company factories burn down. Have something to do other than kill zombies during the zombie apocolypse.