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Are stashes normal?


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My stash hovers at around 60-80 unbuilt kits; enough to last about 5 years if I don't buy any new kits - I figure there will be at least a couple new kits coming out each year that I'll want to get as well.  This is down from a high of approximately 800 a few years back.  A refocus on what I wanted to have in my collection, along with reasonable assessment of what I could realistically expect to build at my normal build rate before I exit this mortal world, led to a series of purges to get rid of the extraneous subjects.  I can fit my current stash on 1 3' x 6' utility shelving unit, with some space left over (it doesn't all currently reside on 1 shelf unit, but it will all fit there).  Should the worst happen, that's not too much for my family to deal with.  

 

The 10 storage containers of completed models, plus the 2 almost-full display cases are a different matter...

 

 

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29 minutes ago, bashace said:

I used to have a stash, then I got married, new wife made me sell off half of it, just down to 586 kits now😥

 

29 minutes ago, bashace said:

I used to have a stash, then I got married, new wife made me sell off half of it, just down to 586 kits now😥

Wow, I thought I had a lot of kit's! 

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On 8/25/2019 at 7:41 PM, habu2 said:

I was forced to acknowledge my stash problem when I had to create a spreadsheet of my stash in an effort to not buy a kit I forgot I already had.  

Preach it brother! The sad part is when you have to also rent an external storage area, as your stash outgrows your (MY) small Manhattan apartment. Luckily the wifely unit is somewhat understanding of this.

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On 8/26/2019 at 2:40 PM, 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.

Library? check!

Record collection? check, check and triple check!

DVD/Blue Ray collection? check!

Wait you can collect woodworking tools and special wood? Oh man, is my wife gonna be pissed at you! lol

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19 hours ago, BaconRaygun said:

Wow, how fast do you build, Joe?   I think 60-80 kits would last me twenty years.  

I typically finish between 20-30 models a year; since 2011 I've averaged 30 models per year with a low of 15 and a high of 57.  Those aren't necessarily all started in the year I finish them, but many are.  I build mainly for colors and markings, mostly OOB.  I don't care for open panels and prefer closed canopies so I don't usually spend a lot of time on interior stuff, and I prefer clean finishes to emphasize the markings, so I don't usually do much weathering (there are a few exceptions though).  

 

The kits I have in the stash now are starting to skew toward larger, more complicated kits that will take a bit more time, hence the 5-year estimate (several large-scale resin biplanes, a couple Tamiya 1/32 kits, and a few large Monogram bomber kits, for instance, vs. 1/72 and 1/48 WWII fighters).

 

I also generally have several projects ongoing at once, usually things that will get similar colors, and if I'm painting a particular color that is common to several things I will pre-paint several kits to speed the process later.  For example, if I'm building a P-47 and I have the green out to paint the interior, I'll paint the interiors of all the kits I have that will use that color while I have it out, whether or not those particular kits are the current project.

Edited by Joe Hegedus
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On 8/26/2019 at 2:40 PM, 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

 

OK, but I have all three of these vices.  Got a bunch of wood working tools, all portable on carts.  Constantly wheeling them between the garage or my hobby room because I change moods so fast on my hobbies.  Got a '66 Mustang GT Fastback in the garage as well.  I try to keep the "wood collecting" to a bare minimum, but got a stack of short poplar beams in my way in the garage right now.

And don't get me started on the firearms collection.  I'm currently trying to cull the heard on all of my hobbies and scale things back, but no success.  Just yesterday I posted a kit for sale I haven't touched or seen in 10 years.  Went to take photos last night to add to the post and wound up deleting the post! 

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1 hour ago, Joe Hegedus said:

I typically finish between 20-30 models a year; since 2011 I've averaged 30 models per year with a low of 15 and a high of 57.  Those aren't necessarily all started in the year I finish them, but many are.  I build mainly for colors and markings, mostly OOB.  I don't care for open panels and prefer closed canopies so I don't usually spend a lot of time on interior stuff, and I prefer clean finishes to emphasize the markings, so I don't usually do much weathering (there are a few exceptions though).  

 

The kits I have in the stash now are starting to skew toward larger, more complicated kits that will take a bit more time, hence the 5-year estimate (several large-scale resin biplanes, a couple Tamiya 1/32 kits, and a few large Monogram bomber kits, for instance, vs. 1/72 and 1/48 WWII fighters).

 

I also generally have several projects ongoing at once, usually things that will get similar colors, and if I'm painting a particular color that is common to several things I will pre-paint several kits to speed the process later.  For example, if I'm building a P-47 and I have the green out to paint the interior, I'll paint the interiors of all the kits I have that will use that color while I have it out, whether or not those particular kits are the current project.

Ok, that makes sense.   I don't even have the room to build multiple models at a time.... or the room to display that many models.   Maybe some day, though. 

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2 hours ago, Joe Hegedus said:

I also generally have several projects ongoing at once, usually things that will get similar colors, and if I'm painting a particular color that is common to several things I will pre-paint several kits to speed the process later.  For example, if I'm building a P-47 and I have the green out to paint the interior, I'll paint the interiors of all the kits I have that will use that color while I have it out, whether or not those particular kits are the current project.

Joe,

I hear ya!  While my production has dropped consideraly due to my current job's travel requirements, I also build for the markings and go sparingly on the details.  I do tend to build production line style, with four or five similar kits on the line at one time, so I can paint similar shcemes more easily.  At one point I had six 1/72 SEA Camo F-4 Phantoms on the line, but with different markings; USAF (x2), Spain, Greece, Australia, Turkey.  Same went for my USN/USMC Phantoms when I had 10 on the line at once. If I am going to mix and load my airbrush with a particular color paint, I might as well paint several before I have to clean it out. 

Right now I have four Airfix 1/144 DC-9s on the line for the new Caracal sheets: one each of USAF C-9A, USN C-9B, USMC C-9B, and NASA C-9B.  I still have one more kit in shrink wrap, just waiting for the VC-9C markings.  Finding hobby time is my biggest enemy, what with all the household chores, 1:1 vehicle maintenance and 1:1 woodworking projects.  Carry on!  I look forward to your finished projects.

R/ Dutch

 

Edited by Dutch
correct spelling
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3 ore fa, bashace ha detto:

Avevo una scorta, poi mi sono sposato, la nuova moglie mi ha fatto vendere la metà, fino a 586 kit ora 😥

 

 WOW 586 Kits!  : Strabiliante:

And I believed to have a exaggered stock. Now I have about 100 kits, but also always too much for my building speed. lol : Mitragliatrice:

Edited by ViperZero
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1 hour ago, Joe Hegedus said:

I don't, either.  That's why I have the 10 containers of finished models stored away...  😞

 

It's interesting to see the paths different people take through this hobby.   My train of thought it almost an invert from yours.  I'm still a noob, but I build models not only because I enjoy to, but because I also want to create nice display pieces.   When we eventually buy a house, I'm going to dedicate a room for displaying various models (static and flying). I even plan on getting creative with picture frames and hanging some models on walls.   

 

 

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I've wanted to decrease my stash now for a few years. I get up the notion and charge down to my stash room ready and willing to cull the herd. However, each kit I reach for I find some reason to justify keeping it and back on the shelf it goes. After 40 minutes to an hour of playing this game I give up and slowly walk back upstairs in defeat. After one of these sessions my wife casually looked up from her computer and said "maybe next time" and chuckled as she went back to her work. Indeed... maybe next time...

 

Happy modeling all!

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200 or so for me, plus my father's stash which has been earmarked for my uses as he's not really building anymore.

Not as much space as it sounds, as most of the numbers are in small 1/72 kits. I manage my stash based on space, it has a pre-allocated amount and when it's full, I quit buying until I make some space by selling and building.

Dad's got a closet full, which is slowly leaking into my storage as the years go by.

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My problem is not my stash, Think I am at around 90. It where do I store the finished models. 400 mostly 1/48 takes up most of the basement.

 

Seems I give away or sell as many as I have built lately. At least the quality of the giveaways has gone up. Have not tossed a model unless it suffered a fatal cat attack in a couple years.

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