Impetus, incentive, catalyst, impulse, motivation

General Discussion
1

I’ve been enjoying catching up on the stash thread(s) and as I think about my own, a lot of them are specifically driven by something that makes me want to build them. Not so much the, “I love WWII aircraft” thing (I do!!) but more the, “I used to work on the maintenance crew for this” or “this aircraft in this particular livery was in the same place I was when I was growing up, I remember it” or “if it weren’t for ___ I would have been flying these”.

I’m curious, what sort of drivers push people toward their own stash? I absolutely adored the F-14 Tomcat when I was growing up, and well before “Top Gun”. Then I went to Vanderbilt and whaddya know, I have a “Vandy One” in my stash. I’ve already mentioned in another thread that I was between mascot and crew for the B-25J “Yellow Rose”, so there’s one in my stash. I watched “Baa Baa Black Sheep” religiously as a kid, so I’ve got some Corsairs in the stash (there’s more behind that, but…).

What pushed you toward accumulating your stash? I’m especially curious about the non-aircraft folks, as I’m a hardcore aviation nerd and need some incentive to broaden my horizons. :slight_smile:

d

4 Likes
2

One problem that I have is that I started out with WWII aircraft just like yourself. I have always been interested in aviation…particularly those in the Second World War but…I joined the U.S. Army at 19 years of age in 1987 as a UH-1H crew chief and it just took OFF from there. It would be a little over two and a half decades before I picked the hobby back up full time but man…when I did…I came back with a vengeance. I started picking up LOADS of warbird kits in 1/48 scale. I built these for the next few years until my second interest of autos hit me again and I started picking up auto kits as well and have been building those for the last 10 years.
Now…I’m getting the armor bug. I know right?? ORSAY9

Can’t I just stick to one genre!!! I recently thinned out the stash of kits that looked cool at the time that I bought them but they were either too large of a kit or something that my interest dwindled with time. Either way…I just had too dang many kits as I only build 2-3 builds a year anymore which is not enough to make any big dent in my stash.
Currently I have a good number of Luftwaffe subjects, a few autos and a couple of armor kits and for me to buy another kit nowadays…it’s gotta be something that I’ve wanted for a VERY long time.

Good thread Daniel @gomeral

1 Like
3

My stash is mostly a work in progress but the main factors for me are some personal connection to me or loved ones.

Aircraft flown at the AFB near me; B-52, B-1, and KC-135 from during my youth, and RQ-4 Global Hawk, currently. My white whale might be a Minuteman missile transport. Oh, and I’ll need a Huey in the proper AF livery to go with it.

An U-1A Otter is high on my list in 1/72 and 1/48. My dad was a mechanic on them in Viet Nam. My plan is to create a diorama with him working on one. That reminds me, I need to start a thread asking for ideas on that.

Like many here, I love WWII aircraft. Watching Baa Baa Black Sheep as a kid with my dad may heave been my gateway drug.

Oh, and vehicles I owned, or wanted to own, round out the stash and wish-list.

4

Growing up around airplanes sparked my interest. Dad and both brothers were USAF. Always lived near military bases. My other interest like Joe is cars. Brothers both had cool cars - in 30 shades of primer but fast and loud. Had a few myself over the years. Over 1/2 my stash is aircraft, about 1/3rd cars and then a bit of this and that.

2 Likes
5

My stash purchases have evolved, like me hopefully,over the years. When I first started modeling it was driven solely by the cost of the kit. Then as I “matured” a book, a movie, or seeing another person’s build inspired me. Towards middle age it was nostalgia. I wanted to build kits that I had built years ago to see if I had improved. Now, as I am in my “Golden Years” I gravitate towards kits in my stash that I want to build either for my own pleasure or for someone else.

2 Likes
6

For me it’s a variety of aircraft. Over time it’s gone from Jets to WWII to WWI aircraft. Some of it is also the challenge of the subject material. Also, some of my stash and future stash are aircraft my dad flew when he was in the Air Force. Just my tribute to him.

1 Like
7

I have to add an ICM A-26 to my list, I just picked up the decals for the Fire Eaters one from Always, along with the decals for the PBY. I really loved that movie as a kid - although I’m not so sure it aged well - and for a while, it made me want to fly water bombers. Not so different from wanting to do a Top Gun Tomcat, right? :wink:

1 Like
8

Well, I used to be a WW II airplane nut because my dad introduced me to them with his many books. He was an armchair historian with a particular interest in WW II Pacific Theater. But once he got my interest, I gravitated towards the European theater because the German planes looked much cooler than the Japanese ones. He was also really into IJN warship history and design, but aside from building a few ship models, it never caught on with me.

I got into armor because one of my dad’s friends gave me a Tamiya M3 Lee for Christmas. I had never seen a Tamiya kit until then, and the overall quality of everything (packaging, molding, instructions) blew me away. Even though the M3 was ugly even to my 6th grade eyes, the Tamiya Build Experience (plus the MRC gatefold catalog in the box) piqued my interest in armor. I really wish I remember who my dad’s friend was, because I have him to thank for my lifelong addiction to Tamiya and armor kits.

As for Gundam, I blame one of my high school friends for pointing out the kits to me while we were at a store. He told me he and his brother bought one each, glued them together, then proceeded to bash them into each other to see which one was stronger. :laughing: I picked up a kit just for laughs, but I found it to be really enjoyable to build.

Then another friend gave me a little book called Hero Robot, which was a catalog of that year’s Japanese robot kits and toys. Yes, in 1983 the world was smaller, so a compendium of Japanese robots and toys from all manufacturers was possible. In the pre-internet days, it became our Japanese Robot Bible, as it had Gundam, Macross, Dougram, Crusher Joe, Xabungle, and even Transformer toys before they became known as Transformers. Optimus Prime was originally “Super Convoy”.

Anyway, so in Hero Robot, there were Gundam kits from Bandai’s new Mobile Suit Variation series. These kits had more military-looking color schemes and equipment compared to the simplistic counterparts in the TV show. I zeroed in on the Zaku Desert Type and Prototype Dom and decided that I was a Gunpla fan from that day on. Also, I thought that the kits of F-14 fighter jets that sprouted arms and legs were cooler than digital wristwatches! This was a year or two before Robotech aired.

2 Likes
9

Living in socal for many years, I grew fond of the fire attack aircraft. The last 10 years in CA I lived 4 miles from a fire attack base with ov-10 bronco control birds and s2t tracker fire bombers. So I built them :slight_smile:

3 Likes
10

Keavdog, those fire bombers look terrific.So colorful and interesting markings too. Didn’t Revell reissue their 1/48 B-26 Invader a few years ago and one of their markings option was a fire bomber? Your builds remind me of the movie "Always’

11

Heh. And I just posted about that movie a few posts up. :slight_smile:

I’ve done waaaaaay too much research into the A-26 from that movie, looking to build the right model. Turns out that it was originally a trainer aircraft, so in addition to the odd “half glass” nose, it also has two sets of controls. The nose is more storage than anything else, since it cannot be accessed while in the air. Ultimately I found the right ICM kit, I’m just saving up or hoping to find a good sale sometime…

12

Started in 1/48 WWII aircraft and did some custom builds for my wife’s patients when i learned they were veterans… one was a ball turret gunner on a B-17 I built for him…another was a Tuskegee Airmen so i built his Mustang.

From there my interest grew to armor which i had a lot more fun building…and that has expanded to modern MBTs…so the stash grows with my interests.

13

My late Father (WW2 vet) learned to fly after the war (Piper Cub.) Growing up in SE Texas, we were a few miles from Ellington AFB and Houston Hobby airport. There was also a small private airfield my Dad learned to fly from. He would take us (I was the youngest of three brothers) to all three airports.
I think this is was what influenced me towards loving anything with wings. To this day, probably 90% of my stash is aircraft kits.

1 Like