Question about model stash

[TankerTweaker]

How many models do you have to have in your stash before your are considered a collector rather than a builder?

[john53]

I got rid of the stash. I now buy "on demand". There were too many things

I thought I'd build, the ideas went south and my interests changed. I went

to the dark side so the stash idea doesn't work for me-. Collecting is a moot

subject, I have a small abode and what happens when I am gone? My wifes

stuck with something she doesn't need. JMO--John

Edited December 29, 2016 by john53

[phantom]

Try to keep it reasonable. Don't have hundreds and hundreds in the stash because the wife will just sell it at a loss if I get whacked at work or in an accident. Right this minute there is 135- 140 in the stash. Something like that. Last year I built 49 models, the year before around 35 . Therefore I have 3 to 4 years of models in the basement.

 

Mind you I have been giving a couple lesser kits away of late. If there is no way I plan on building them in the next couple years then there is no point keeping them.

[adamitri]

I have maybe 100 kits.

[D Bellis]

All are intended to be built - even the rare/expensive ones.

 

I just need to live to be 750 years old, and that might actually happen...

 

D

[echolmberg]

I've got 20 in the stash.   Well...21.  I stopped off at HobbyTown yesterday and snagged a Revell F/A-18F.  Even at the lowly number of 21, I feel like I've got too many just sitting there collecting dust.  My New Year's resolution is to just work with what I already have for this upcoming year.

 

Eric

[Fishwelding]

18 hours ago, john53 said:

There were too many things I thought I'd build, the ideas went south and my interests changed.

 

This is the big problem with my enormous supply of unbuilt and partially-built kits.  It's the reason I've sold some in the past, but I still have quite a few I'm increasingly doubtful I'll build.  I'm now trying to stop buying new kits until I finish some builds.  

 

About the very best that can be said about my hobby shop-like shelves is that I have a large supply of figure parts and accessories for armor modeling.  If, for example, I'm building a Soviet-era ZSU-23, I can on a whim decide to make in the centerpiece of a small diorama.  I can find figure parts, Kalashnikov rifles, and possibly even a UAZ car without having to order them.  If I'm build an airplane kit, I like to have the bombs or missiles on hand to work with, rather than have to buy them.  

 

What increasingly drives my stash growth now is frustration when I don't have something I want, because it's out of production, and expensive (if at all available) on Ebay.  It seems that among Cold War subjects, both AFV and aircraft can go long stretches where a kit in my usual scales is simply scarce.  So when something I want to build appears, I buy it so I have it for later.  This can be a mistake if another manufacturer produces a much better kit of the same subject.  But I can usually just visit message boards where people badmouth the new kit to reassure me that my old one is still the one to build!

Edited December 30, 2016 by Fishwelding

[JeskiM]

Builder or Collector ?

 

I am both. 

 

I simply collect them at a faster rate than I can build them !

 

I've got 300+ in the stash. I know that I will never build them all....but I've got time to figure out which will get built and which will not. So I can slowly sell, trade, dispose of them as I see fit. Luckily I have a very good hobby store in town with a large section of old kits that can be bought/sold/traded for. So I am not reliant on Ebay, etc to sell.

 

However I think that I will start culling out old stuff in favor of some of the new tools coming out.

 

One can be a "collector" and only have one of something. Lets say that I had $300K to spend on a autombile collection:  I could buy a few Corvettes or maybe a single Lamborghini.....it's not the quantity that draws the line....merely the interpretation IMO.

 

- Matt

 

[Rex]

I don't buy into the idea that there is a difference.

 

That is because the guy that only has 10 models in the Stash has a model collection if he has a bunch of models finished on the shelves.

 

I have a stash to save money. I have certain models that I want to have completed for my intended display. They go OOP on the day they are first released, yes the production run is still being sold, but, they aren't being produced. The days of continuous production of a model are long gone. Unless we are talking about a very poor quality model kit, the price is best while lots of shops still have them on the shelf or online. I have a lot of models that are considered new that I had to get from the second shipment to the States, because I didn't get them fast enough when they first came out in the initial sales. (example, new Airfix 1/72 Skyhawks are not in the 2017 list of models that Airfix announced,,,,so, they are OOP and will be OOS soon.)

 

So, yeah, I have a large Stash, a large unbuilt model collection,,,,,,,,,,and a large collection of built up models on the shelves. So, I am a builder that collects models for future projects in order to have the models I know I will need to finish my built model collection. This is simply so that I don't have to pay "rare OOP" prices only a couple of years after a model came out, just because it is time to build a Skyhawk with tail code AG in my "one of each Air Wing set" of models.

 

(Edit to add: What does this nut mean by "Large stash to save money"? Up until just a short time ago, the best drop tanks in 1/72 for the general Navy subjects were the pair in Esci Skyhawks. Every single one of mine was cheaper than the resin tanks that have come out in the last couple of years. And I got a "free" Skyhawk model in each box that I bought to get Drop tanks for my A-1s and A-7s. (and wound up with what I have since found is the most accurate Skyhawk model in 1/72)  It was almost the same with the D-704 refueling stores, for each KA-6D that I bought to get that store for my A-4, A-1, and A-7 models, I got an A-6  model with it that can be built as a KA-6D, A-6A or A-6E by swapping a couple of small parts from the stash or spares box)

 

 

Edited December 30, 2016 by Rex

[breadneck]

If us modelers stopped buying kits that were destined for our stash anyway, i am sure all manufacturers would go bankrupt in a year or two.

 

As for my stash i have a1ooot. So much so that i tend to treat my stash as a treasure chest that is off limits to even myself which again leads me into

wanting to build old vintage kits that have little or no value and even if i should happen to have it in my stash i would still buy another one from ebay. 

 

This sortoff works out for me. It forces me to apply the same mental prerequisite as i had when i was a young boy and modelling was a troublefree

pasttime and i lived in a perfect world. Right now the old Airfix Wellington is under construction and it feels good not having to worry about the color

of the cockpit or for that matter if the old Airfix pilots resemble little human beings. Your stash is an indirect link to all your modeling dreams, but

that does not mean all your dreams will come true. The pro is you get to cherrypick the kits, the con is dishing out to maintain a constant stash flow.

Some time in the future i will realize i will have to let go of many of my modeling dreams, but i will try to share them with as many others as possible.      

 

To answer your question, perhaps 10-20 kits. 

 

[Mizar]

6 hours ago, Rex said:

I don't buy into the idea that there is a difference.

 

That is because the guy that only has 10 models in the Stash has a model collection if he has a bunch of models finished on the shelves.

 

I have a stash to save money. I have certain models that I want to have completed for my intended display. They go OOP on the day they are first released, yes the production run is still being sold, but, they aren't being produced. The days of continuous production of a model are long gone. Unless we are talking about a very poor quality model kit, the price is best while lots of shops still have them on the shelf or online. I have a lot of models that are considered new that I had to get from the second shipment to the States, because I didn't get them fast enough when they first came out in the initial sales. (example, new Airfix 1/72 Skyhawks are not in the 2017 list of models that Airfix announced,,,,so, they are OOP and will be OOS soon.)

 

So, yeah, I have a large Stash, a large unbuilt model collection,,,,,,,,,,and a large collection of built up models on the shelves. So, I am a builder that collects models for future projects in order to have the models I know I will need to finish my built model collection. This is simply so that I don't have to pay "rare OOP" prices only a couple of years after a model came out, just because it is time to build a Skyhawk with tail code AG in my "one of each Air Wing set" of models.

 

(Edit to add: What does this nut mean by "Large stash to save money"? Up until just a short time ago, the best drop tanks in 1/72 for the general Navy subjects were the pair in Esci Skyhawks. Every single one of mine was cheaper than the resin tanks that have come out in the last couple of years. And I got a "free" Skyhawk model in each box that I bought to get Drop tanks for my A-1s and A-7s. (and wound up with what I have since found is the most accurate Skyhawk model in 1/72)  It was almost the same with the D-704 refueling stores, for each KA-6D that I bought to get that store for my A-4, A-1, and A-7 models, I got an A-6  model with it that can be built as a KA-6D, A-6A or A-6E by swapping a couple of small parts from the stash or spares box)

 

 

 

Rex sorry but for doing the A-6A and KA-6D you also need to remove the antenna on wing root and also depending of which A-6A version you're doing you have to cover the chaff dispensers on the belly and reshape the dome.

 

I was also following the A-4 accuracy discussion on BM forums and THT and while indeed both Italeri and Esci Skyhawks are more narrower the Fujimi kinda tops them,I don't know what to do but to wait Hobbyboss and see what is all about,is not that I have a huge stash of Fujimi Skyhawks,just one A-4M one Free Kuwait box got for cheap in an auction for 10 euro ^^ and a Blue Angel Box,effin need an OA-4M as I was too stupid to sell it instead of keeping it together with both A-4B and C boxing,must toss a coin to decide which version Espada 1 will fly and camp it on ebay or marketplaces.

 

Also if I'm not wrong about fuel tanks one user years ago posted a fix for Fujimi fuel tanks,it required a section of Esci tanks and some reshape,using blue stuff for moulds and casting them after the correction will be more cheaper than hoarding lots of Esci Scooters

[CorsairMan]

A stash thread without stash shots???  

 

Where is my stash pohrn?

[Mizar]

ok then let's start with the mess of my room

 

[82Whitey51]

How topical...

 

I think of my "stash" as a "living entity"...it's ever changing as interests come and go, logic prevails...or a better kit of a subject comes along (i.e. bye bye Hobbycraft T-33s!) and I sell off some to buy others. So, it's not a collection per se, because I do intend to build them, none stay in cellophane wrap longer than the drive home from the hobby shop.

 

Just a couple of weeks ago, the wife noticed the Stash Monster in the garage...of course she's seen it before, but she REALLY noticed it. Being the smart and logical person she is, she came in the house and said "You need to get me an inventory and cost of each of those, just in case, because I won't have any idea".

 

So, I just yesterday finished up an inventory and to my surprise, I only have 168 kits out there! I build on average 4-5 kits a year...so at 47 years old now...I can build until I'm 80-90 no problem! I figure if I keep it at 170-175 I'm good. Cost is staying classified in a sealed envelope not to be opened unless I expire.

 

Now I need to inventory the decal binders!

 

 

[Red Dog]

I got a basic rule to avoid turning to a collector :)

 

- Stash can have maximum 25 kits. If you want to have one more, you need to build one

That has been working pretty well up to now. (I'm at 24 in the stash currently - too close for comfort)

 

- When I want to address a buying frenzy, I focus on aftermarkets for the stash (luckily these are not part of the above rule)

 

 

 

 

[82Whitey51]

4 minutes ago, Red Dog said:

I got a basic rule to avoid turning to a collector :)

 

- Stash can have maximum 25 kits. If you want to have one more, you need to build one

That has been working pretty well up to now. (I'm at 24 in the stash currently - too close for comfort)

 

- When I want to address a buying frenzy, I focus on aftermarkets for the stash (luckily these are not part of the above rule)

 

 

 

 

I was at that number/strategy for a lot of years...then when my dad passed away, I came home to my front porch filled with large boxes of models! That was the birth of the Stash Monster for me. My wife said about mine, "I don't have anyone to box up and send them too like your mom did". LOL

[Don]

My stash has been bothering me for a while now. Its too bloated and frankly ridiculous. My interests have changed over the years and I am now more into 1/35 armor and armor support vehicles and large scale aircraft (1/32) then my smaller scale stuff (1/72 and 1/48). Problem is everything that I have has been opened and much of it started and others are older Monogram or Airfix type kits which many modelers don't consider nowadays because of their raised panel lines or because newer releases of the aircraft have come out. So selling it probably won't be the easiest...and it will be time consuming no doubt. But honestly, I really wish I could get motivated to slash my stash down to 25ish kits. The funny thing is my wife asked me not too long ago "If you could do it over again would you still buy all these models?" and without hesitation I answered "Yep!"...LOL! It's a sickness fellas we should be studied...LOL!

 

Cheers all and HAPPY HEALTHY NEW YEAR to you all!!!

[habu2]

4 hours ago, CorsairMan said:

A stash thread without stash shots???  

 

Where is my stash pohrn?

 

I refuse to incriminate myself... :)

[Rex]

Mizar, yes, I know that there are parts to swap or remove to make the different versions of Intruders. But, since I have to do that for them anyway, starting with a KA-6D is just as easy as starting with an A-6E or A-6A. And, as I said, the Esci Skyhawk tanks are the best in plastic right OOB, and I get the most accurate A-4 OOB in the process. I build my Skyhawks today by using the Esci kit, and adding noses and other detail parts from the Fujimi. (turning the Fujimi kits into aftermarket part donors) If I ever think of a way to slim down that fat Fujimi fuselage without turning it into a "rounded triangle shape", I would build them as my Skyhawks. But, everything I tried to trim the fat makes the fuselage "strange shaped" instead,,,,,,,,trying to keep the fuselage to wing joint intact limits the process.

 

I've kept at least one of each tooling, for measuring purposes. Here's the easy way for me to post stash pics. (and the list of the contents of the stash) http://z15.invisionfree.com/Hangar_Deck_Resource/index.php?showtopic=17

 

Off topic for this thread,,,,,,but here is a small thread that talks about the 7 toolings of the Skyhawk in 1/72 scale. It was done with all 7 toolings sitting on the bench at the same time. I haven't posted the pics yet, but I will as soon as I get some time to do that. http://z15.invisionfree.com/Hangar_Deck_Resource/index.php?showtopic=37

 

{Posting that is not intended to attract members for the Hangar Deck, it is just an easy way to type up long explanations only one time, then link when needed. Members are welcome, as are people that just look and then put the site out of their mind.}

Edited December 31, 2016 by Rex

[zeus60]

I just counted, and I have about 750 kits in the stash.  I intended to be a builder, now I suppose I'm a collector, but nothing in my stash is terribly rare or esoteric.  I've been back at the hobby since April of 2006, so this stash was built up in less than eleven years.  I don't have plans to sell off any just yet, although if I see a request for a kit I have on ARC or Hyperscale, and I know I won't get to the kit for a while, I'll sell it.  But I don't consider it a problem.  One of the key ingredients for happiness is something to look forward to, and my stash fills that role for me.  (I say that only half-jokingly.)

[zeus60]

Oh, and here are some photos of my stash taken in November of 2012.  I've built some since then, sold some since then, and bought some since then.  You can find all nineteen photos here.

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2017 by zeus60

[fulcrum1]

I have about 300 kits. Most of them came by the way of a great deal in which I am a sucker for. I've been blessed and cursed to move often and travel abroad for work so I tend to hit quite a few shows and model shops.

[Ol Crew Dog]

I still build but with the grand kids living with us it's like bringing up the kids again. I started collecting with the intention of opening a hobby shop when I retired from the USAF, but went back to work instead. I have at last count over 6000, 1:32, 1:48 sci fi from over 40 years of buying cheap traveling all over the world. I just consolidated my 3 storage units my new unit is 25 x 10 x 12. Pics are too big the upload from my cell but it s stacked to the door. Now I buy for myself and sell if there is a request from local IPMS members with shipping so expensive!