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Are stashes normal?


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42 minutes ago, Jonathan S said:

Well, at what point does it become a stash?  When you have more than one unbuilt kit in your collection?

 

I think the laws vary by state. What’s legal in Texas might be illegal in Kansas. 

 

Oh wait........

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3 hours ago, andrew.deboer said:

An avid reader sometimes has a library.

A music lover may have a record collection.

A movie fan may have a DVD or blu-ray collection.

A woodworker may have a lot of tools and special wood.

 

So a modeler may have a kit collection. Nothing wrong or right about it, although like anything else, when you lose your ability to do it in moderation, other aspects of your life may suffer. Some modelers are OK with that, but I would guess that most of us are making an effort to make sure the hobby doesn’t become an unhealthy obsession. If I can afford to have $10,000 tied up in kits and aftermarket and supplies, then that’s no different than the person next door buying a boat or a classic car. 

I like your reasoning.  Thanks for the validation.  I feel so much better now.  Still gotta stop buying kits.

 

Geoff M

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Absolutely stashes are normal! Everyone has their own limit in terms of what's acceptable, and as long as you're not doing yourself and financial damage by expanding your stash, wheres the harm? Worst comes to worst, you'll always have something you can sell off if you change your mind or need some $$!

 

D (who stopped counting after 600)

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I think a few in the closet is normal. But if after going to shows for 40 years and buying up deals. Buying from the great sales Squadron once had monthly, then the internet boards sales posts. You will like myself, find you have 5000+model kits stashed away that at one point at the beginning I intended on building every single one, now I just go down to my stash every once in a while and go  "What the hell was on my mind!". So what can be normal can quickly get out of control and become abnormal and a royal PIA to get rid of when reality sets in.

 

You know you have too many model kits when it is easier to buy another model kit of something that you have, rather than to track it down in your stash!

 

Cheers,

Max Bryant 

 

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Boy, has this been a healthy conversation. While I don't feel guilty for having a stash, I do feel a little bit alarmed at the extent and the resources tied up.  My wife and I have been talking about the need to pay off the house and get on the positive side of saving. So I feel the urge for a purge!  Watch the sale thread soon.  R/ Dutch

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I think "limits" are needed.. Realistic potential of building it before "you curl up your toes and join the choir invisible"  factors should be considered.

 

However a hard number is not doable. Just had this discussion with the boss. She wants X number. Then I notice she has the chance to increase her "yarn stash". I enable it. Now she has a room (like me) dedicated to her stash.

 

Used to mandatorily keep it below 100 kits. Well, you go to a better then average model show and luck out.  You have to get the deals while they are there. Nice thing as I have been off work a couple months I have been able to reduce the stash greatly. In fact I am way below 100 for the first time in years. The local hobby stores do not exist anymore. get your goods while you can. Just do not put yourself in debt or become a episode on hoarders. No one wants to live with a freak show.

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To each their own, but I don't have an extensive stash, and I don't intend on ever having one.  I've got one kit waiting to be built, and it will be after I finish my current build.  I would prefer to keep it this way... that is, maybe having one or two kits on deck.  

 

It's a lesson I've learned throughout many hobbies.    Fishing is a big one for me.  I've been fishing since I was like 5 years old, and I never really slowed down.    Back in the 2000s I was really into striped bass fishing.  I stocked up on tons of tackle...  several plano containers and a large boot box full of hooks, leader, large jigs, plugs, all sorts of stuff... and also three rod/reel combos... lots of money, probably about $3K worth of gear (just for striped bass).   Then, one day, I got sick of striped bass fishing, and now I have $3K worth of gear that I don't use that sits in my closet.  I still fish, but 100% of that gear is completely useless for the species that I now target.  

 

SO, the lesson for me is, buy more than you may need today, but not so much that you may end up with a hobby shop in your closet.  Unless that's what you want.  In that case, buy more!  

If having 200 kits works for you, then that's OK too.  It's a matter of personal preference and  I prefer to keep it casual. 

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After getting back into the hobby, I quickly found out that kits only get more expensive, if you can find them again.  It's even worse for aftermarket parts and decals that usually only get one print run.  So, I just buy everything that I know I will want as soon as I can.  I have a lot of kits that have been raided for parts - mostly ordnance, but some have swapped parts to do different blocks, etc.  Sometimes I find kits are not up to a certain standard and get superseded by newer ones, leaving the originals for what-ifs , or some test project.  So, having a large amount of resources, is I think, a good thing.

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I started off good. Bought some, built them, and THEN would be able to buy some more. Then, like The Joker, I had a bad day. Since that day, i would buy whatever I wanted, when I wanted. Then , me and motorcycles, photography and a good run of women happened. Winter was my good time, and the rest of the year, I’d order and stack. Then. Marriage and my son came. Building went up, and buying leveled off. Then, the bad times hit. Kits increased but, time went down significantly. Now, 5 yrs after the divorce, time is becoming my friend again. Last count was 186 kits waiting to be built, with 6 already started. If I can overcome whatever is holding me back from finishing them, I think that stash will finally dissipate. I’ve even added astronomy and astrophotography to the list, with good results.

 So, I guess they will happen eventually, whether we think so,or not. 

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Absolutely not!!!!  The only thing that will keep your obsession in check is to immediately send most of your stash to me.  I will perform the proper rituals to rid them of demon possession and store them safely for you. 

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Only a few years ago, my pile was maybe 50 kits or so and I was ok with that. I've got friends who have to rent storage space to hold their collections and I don't want to be like that. But now it's getting to a point where I need to just build what I have or risk leaving piles of kits behind when I'm gone.

 

Pretty much the only thing I buy now are 1/72 P-36s (I collect them, have about 20), paint, brushes, & glue.

 

A smaller stash would work for me, but if others want more, it's ok just so we're all enjoying the hobby.

 

"Build what you want the way you want and have fun!"

 

Bri2k

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A guy I knew in Omaha had his 2-bay storage facility (garage) filled with an estimated 10,000 kits (he turned to collector).  His garage was registered with the Papillion, NE fire department as a toxic hazard due to all the styrene. 

 

I have several hundred kits, but I plan on building them all (sure, right...)...  And I keep adding more...

 

Tom

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On 8/31/2019 at 10:09 AM, wxltcol said:

A guy I knew in Omaha had his 2-bay storage facility (garage) filled with an estimated 10,000 kits (he turned to collector).  His garage was registered with the Papillion, NE fire department as a toxic hazard due to all the styrene. 

 

I have several hundred kits, but I plan on building them all (sure, right...)...  And I keep adding more...

 

Tom

 

I knew two guys who each passed away with over 10,000 kits in their homes. Both were single and neither had a completed kit.

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1 hour ago, Scooby said:

 

I knew two guys who each passed away with over 10,000 kits in their homes. Both were single and neither had a completed kit.

So do you have a chunk of those 20,000 kits?

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3 hours ago, phantom said:

So do you have a chunk of those 20,000 kits?

 

Only a few from one of them. Despite helping with the estate I didn’t buy much plastic.

 

The second guy really screwed things up, he donated all his kits to the Cold Lake Air Museum. He stipulated in his will they could not be sold, that they had to be built for the museum displays. Very few have been built, I don’t know where they are now (last I heard in storage). The museum really could have used the kits as a cash infusion.

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Wow.... you see, that's why I don't like the idea of a stash!   I may horde a few kits that may be hard to find in the future, but no way in hell will I ever pay for a storage space to house a bunch of kits.  No way!  You guys are way more committed than I!  :gr_hail:

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I have a modeling friend. He has maybe 20 kits in his stash. He keeps telling me he needs to build the ones  in his stash before buying any more. To be honest i don`t know what planet he comes from. As for me i have around 2000 kits. It`s nice to be able to stick my hand in there and pull out the plastic model i was looking for instead of consulting ebay all the time. Collectors come in many shapes and forms and plastic modelers are one of them. Do i have an addiction? Absolutely not !   

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Personally, I began to "build" a stash right after my first job and due to lack of free time. I had the money BUT I didn't have the time so I had decided that it would be best to buy those kits that I really liked (Hasegawa 1/48 TA-4J) before they become "extinct" !!!

 

Fortunately, I can say that my stash is small (around 75 unbuild kits) yet, I do know other fellow scale modelers that have more than 2.000 unbuilt kits as a stash!!!

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5 hours ago, SERNAK said:

Personally, I began to "build" a stash right after my first job and due to lack of free time. I had the money BUT I didn't have the time so I had decided that it would be best to buy those kits that I really liked (Hasegawa 1/48 TA-4J) before they become "extinct" !!!

 

Fortunately, I can say that my stash is small (around 75 unbuild kits) yet, I do know other fellow scale modelers that have more than 2.000 unbuilt kits as a stash!!!

 

Agreed, I missed the TA-4J, but it's going to be re-popped this year or early next.  Yippie :-)

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Probably 250-300 in my stash.  A lot I bought at either bargain prices or grabbed them because they were no longer available or from a cottage industry. Some I got caught up in all the hype of the newest kit out.  Surprisingly enough, some I though would go away are still available.  Trying to rethink if I really need 9- 1/32 Phantoms in the stash and three already built.  Or 5 or 6 F-16's with having already built 8.   I did place an ad here the other night for some that I know I just will never build. If I can successfully  move these, I'll give some thought to moving a few more.

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