I’m in trouble with the General. She wandered into my shop while the cupboard doors were open and she saw that I had a ‘couple’ of kits on hold, waiting their turn for me to get to them. Now, when I said, “Yeah, I’ve got a couple ahead,” she had a hissy-fit. I forgot she could count…all the way up to 31. (That doesn’t include the Airfix 1/24 Spitfire Mk Vb that I won, because I’ll probably never build it as I’ve no place to put it).
My defence was that a lot modellers keep a few kits stashed ahead against hard times or maybe a special event, like a group build, or something…or something. Anyway, my defence was that given the nature of the hobby and the nature of the folk it attracks, I was probably right in the middle (I hope). If not, my OCD has been acting up on me and I didn’t notice.
When does a ‘couple’ become a ‘stash’ for you guys?
poppie you only have a few. no biggie. when you have to build another room just for the extra kits you have then you have a stash. some of the folks that wander the halls of these forums have enough to start a chain of hobbyshops.
Hi Poppie. Build on my friend. It always amazes me to hear of a builder’s spouse getting upset about the quantity of their mate’s model count. It’s a hobby for crying-out-loud! My wife goes with me to the LHS frequently and always encourages me to purchase a kit or two each time if they catch my eye. She’s even walked up to the counter a few times with one to add to the stash because she thought it was “cute”! The other day I was showing her a picture of the 1:72 Goblin that was to be carried under the B-36 and she thought THAT was cute…wanted me to get right on it and see if I could find one of the models…gotta love that woman!!!
I’ve got about 40 (I think) that I’ve collected over the past year or two. The only reason I have them is that some of them are old and getting hard to find. Even via Ebay. And these are subjects that I know won’t get kitted again anytime soon, so I buy, stash, and then when I get around to them, I get around to them [:D]
If the kits I was looking for I would know are going to be “there forever” then I likely would only hang onto 5 or so but hey, I’ve got mine in big blue rubbermaid containers that one cannot see into unless they open said container [:D] - it helps when you have a storage locker that only you know the combination of [:-^]
Hmmm, 31 kits might qualify as a very small stash. I have a few over 600 kits, but I know a few guys who have well over a 1,000. It’s a disease, but usually not fatal unless SWMBO gets homicidal [:D].
[(-D] You’re on the bottom of the curve! My stash is over ten times your number, and I’m not even in the middle of the curve!
Here’s a better defense or two:
Buy them now. They won’t get any cheaper. Styrene is made from oil.
Would she rather you spent the money at the bar with it’s various denizens? Or playing poker with the guys? Or worst of all, some legalized gambling den?
Avid reading is more expensive than our hobby, unless you have easy access to the Library of Congress. Most used books don’t sell for much. My stash is worth between $6000 and $7000, based on minumum values. If carefully sold by my executor, it would bring in more than that.
Golf is ten times more expensive than our hobby. I have a friend who’s an avid golfer. We did the math.
Bowling is bad for your back. Back injuries are expensive. Ninety percent of marriages involving one or more back patients end in divorce.
Tennis is more expensive than our hobby. And much more dangerous.
Our hobby, properly pursued, reduces stress. Even if you never have high blood pressure, a stroke, or a heart attack, stress degrades your immune system and ruins your quality of life, not to mention making you difficult to live with. Stress kills. Absolutely.
And this is my favorite, supported by historical authority:
“The greater the intellect, the greater the need for play.”—Voltaire
All that being said, spend some time, money, and effort on physical exercise. Being a relaxed bench spud will kill you, too. [;)]
Poppie, I believe I have one of the Best Girl’s out there in todays World. She has not Once Ever Complained about my Hobby’s. Even when I need to go buy 5-10 bottles of Replacement Paint, I Have Never Heard the Words "Don’t You Have Enough Paint " The Secret - She Does Counted Cross Stitch as her Hobby. Boys, Let me Tell you - You Think we Have Color Problems… She Must Have Thousands of Little Wraps of Colored Thread - But Never The Right Color for her Project. So when I have to make a run to the LHS , She grabs her list for the Craft Store. Another bragging right - I recently went to look at a collection estimated of 200 -300 WWI & WWII aircraft Kits for Sale. As I told her this she said that was a good price for all ($400.00) When I got home and my son and I unloaded the contents in our living room 562 Kits Total. We are still sorting and cataloging them. There is a Trail system through the house. Not a complaint one… So Get your Wife interested in a hobby even if it is feeding birds as "You just cant put out one type of Seed "
Hey, Sean, my wife has that hobby too. Thread and yarn and cloth squares and needles and all kind of whatevers for her own enjoyment. And…we DO NOT spend much time watching TV at all in this home. Maybe an hour for the evening news on a given day…
$400.00 for 562 kits!! Happy building to you and your son.
I wish I had bought model airplanes instead of some “practical” things I’ve bought and sold, like trucks and trailers or any piece of farm equipment. Never lost money on a real airplane or that 65 E-type Jag I owned for 20 years either.
Storage is an issue with models, but I keep a lot of mine in a 40 foot insulated refrigerated-type trailer. l trade some kits, and should sell a bunch, like the two KMC 727’s. But as I was asked by the owner of one of the hobby shops I frequent, the problem is which ones to sell? And when I do get rid of some, right away I get the Jones to build at least one of the dearly departed.
I shouldn’t have said “I was in trouble”, it was more “how do i explain?” In truth, my girl is a gem too. She has encouraged me all the way in getting into this - just remember, I’ve only been at this for about 6 months! A ‘stash’ of 31 kits sort of took her breath away - mine too! This hobby is terribly addicting - It doesn’t help to say its not as expensive as as avid reading because as a history major I’m now out buying books related to the planes I’m building (buying) This ‘hobby’ brings the books alive!!! For instance, I just bought David L. Bashow’s book “No Prouder Place: Canadians and the Bomber Command Experience 1939-1945” and now nothing, nothing will do but I research and buy a couple of good Lancaster and Halifax kits and find Cdn markings - the two hobbies are inseperable.
Having a group of friends like you guys makes it all the more enjoyable, but I’m afraid that if after only 6 months I’ve accumulated 31 kits I dread to think at what the future is going to bring!!!
I must have the unmost biggetest stash of all…4 - that’s it, just 4 unbuilt kits.
And one isn’t even in my possession yet - still waiting for fed-ex to deliver it.
One is the Hasegawa F4U-4 that I’m saving for my GB.
One is the Eduard’s FW190A-6 because I didn’t have a kit representing the luftwaffe and eduards is supposed to be a really great kit.
One is an AM F8F Bearcat because I wanted to try another BMF and I don’t see too many F8Fs around (this is the one being delivered).
And the last one is the new Revell visible B-17G. I’m kind of saving it as a end-of-year treat to myself so I can spend copious amounts of time hyper-detailing it.
That’s it - no real desire to purchase dozens of kits just for the sake of purchasing kits. I much prefer to actually build the kits that I buy, not stare at boxes stacked on shelves or tucked away in tupperware.
My girl doesn’t give me grief about buying a kit or supplies because she understands that it’s my hobby. And while she doesn’t have any real interest in the subject matter, she does enjoy seeing the kits come together. I guess I’m kinda lucky in that respect.
I’ve got <15 in the “to be built pile” and 6 in various stages from “just started” to “about 1/2 done”. I consider that a stash. I guess I don’t get wrapped up in the numbers of kits I have - but last year I started getting concerned about the RATE at which I was buying.
The number of kits purchased/month was significantly more than the number completed/month.
If you keep that up for a few years - you’ll know it’s more than a stash.
So this year I’m on a kit-buying moratorium. We’ll see if I make it to the end of the year - but I’ve got a bunch of really nice kits to work on, in a pretty nice variety. Whenever I’m tempted to buy - I just start building instead. So far so good.
Poppie your stash is small compared to many model builders, myself including. I stopped counting when the collection got close to 2,000 unbuilt kits. I don’t think anyone really starts out to be a collector, we just buy more than we can build in a reasonable time. I still have factory sealed Aurora and Strombeck kits.
My collection got much larger when I bought all the kits on the shelves of a store which was closing. A lot of those were Aurora figure kits which I was able to sell and buy model airplane kits which I “really had to have.” Storage is no problem. All are in boxes stored in a heated addition to the home itself.
Now that I am retired I have more time to build so my stash is getting smaller, one model at a time .
My wife no longer complains. She has a Christmas village. It takes her about two weeks to set it up and covers four sheets of plywood. I don’t complain about it.
Two of my sons also collect models. Collectively they have more kits than I do…
A “stash” is not a bad thing. I have approx. 75 kits in my stash. I think it officially became a stash after I had too many kits to keep on a single bookshelf. I usually build one every month or two, so I am set up for quite a while.
Buying a kit now, and holding it for “later” is not a bad thing. Many kits in my stash are no longer avail. So rather than have to do the Ebay thing, I just go to my stash. Also, my favorite LHS closed a few years back, so now my stash IS my LHS!
As mentioned in several posts, many other hobbies are FAR more expensive than ours. I got seriously into Golf after College. I get sick when I think of all the $$$ I spent, just so I could spend time “relaxing.” Now all that golf equipment is collecting dust in my garage. So look on the bright side, it could be WORSE!!!
I currently am hording about 200 unbuild kits. More than half are limited run or OOP kits. There are alot of other kits that I would like to purchase but they are readily avalible an i see no need to stash them. If I feel the urge to build that kit I will go out and purchase it. I believe if you can afford a large stash and you are not spending the grocery money or your entire savings than there is nothing wrong with a stash. I beleive our stashes are probally a close reflection to the amount of disposable income we have. Mabye if you explain it to the misses in those terms she might understand the madness of our hobby. Lets face it to an outsider it has to be hard to understand why anyone would have 200 unbuilt kits in a closet.
My stash consists of a few under 200 unbuilt kits. I was doing so good this year with not buying every little kit I desired, until two weeks ago at my local contest there was a guy selling TONS of stuff CHEAP! Like, a 1/48 Tamiya MiG-15 still in the original shrinkwrap for $5 and a Revell 1/48 B-24D for $15. How could a guy with cash in his hand resist? [sigh]
You’re DOOMED, BUUUAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! There was a song back in the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s called “Cocaine.” Just sing that but change “cocaine” to “styrene.” It is a little known but scientifically documented fact that exposure to hardened styrene in certain forms is highly addictive.
“Hello. My name is Poppie and I’m a styrenoholic.”
<Wild cheering, frenzied shouts of welcome>
“And I want to thank all of you for supporting my addiction!”
[:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D]
[BG]
Welcome. You are now one of US.
And yes, the book thing. Just dropped ~$250 on aircraft reference books…[:-^] We have databases for our library, and my stash!