What would you do?

Take out the best 100 kits, mail me the Monogram 1/48 ones, sell the rest on consignment...

Seriously.. Donate/Sell what you can... Keep what you want (within reason, and 2-300 kits isn't unreasonable), and you might just have to walk away from the rest, hard as it may seem to be to comprehend.... But there's a fine line between collecting and hoarding...

Are you in New Jersey,I can come and rummage thru the lot ? But seriously I would go with Hans idea

Once you take the ones you want, and you've given away as many as you can to friends, club members, worthy charities, etc.  Put out word that you'll have a massive clearance sale.  $1.00 a kit.  Depending on where you live and how well word gets around, you could get a lot of people to buy in bulk.

Paul

Put out word that you'll have a massive clearance sale.  $1.00 a kit.  Depending on where you live and how well word gets around, you could get a lot of people to buy in bulk.

Ooff.. Even so, I wouldn't want that many people anywhere near my home... 12 THOUSAND kits is a LOT of kits, even for "bulk purchases"

12 hundred, yeah, but 12 thousand,... *shudder*

There was a drive a few years ago for people to donate kits to the veteran's hospitals.  I sent in a box of kits and supplies, but for the life of me I can't remember who sponsored it or where it was to.  I remember them saying that it was good therapy for recovering vets to work on them for relaxation, etc.

There's also the occasional letter in FSM from troops overseas who get donated kits and ae grateful, etc.  Maybe something along those lines?  Take up collections to help pay for postage costs to donate to the troops?  IDK, but it seems like there should be groups or arganizations that would like to et them . . .

Hans von Hammer

 

Put out word that you'll have a massive clearance sale.  $1.00 a kit.  Depending on where you live and how well word gets around, you could get a lot of people to buy in bulk.

 

Ooff.. Even so, I wouldn't want that many people anywhere near my home... 12 THOUSAND kits is a LOT of kits, even for "bulk purchases"

12 hundred, yeah, but 12 thousand,... *shudder*

True, but if he is storing them offsite to the tune of $500/month, they wouldn't be coming to his home.  Might have to pay the storage company a little bit for permission to have a sale, but every box someone comes to claim is one less he has to pay to haul to the dump. 

If it was somewhat near me, I'd probably go with a chunk of change.  And I'm not a big collector.  Or an E-Bay reseller.  Someone who is might invest a few hundred on $1.00 kits.  If he (or more accurately, the huge stash of kits) is near some large population centers, it could work.  On the other hand, if he's way out in a rural area, it probably wouldn't.  But he hasn't said even approximately where this treasure trove is.

Paul

Thanks Hans, your way is best, just walk away. Hoarding, that what his widow called it. I hate that word. Images of run down homes with narrow pathways thru trash filled rooms. I knew that he had 542 models in his workshop, but I had never been in the basement. That's where his hoard was. His wife said the reason he kept buying was that he was afraid of losing it. Now I know why he did not like leaving home for long, he was protecting his hoard.

My friend was sick and I have decided that no one should profit from his illness. Not club members, Goodwill, The Red Cross or even myself. I'll keep a F4J Phantom kit and a set of Sundowner decals, he flew with them and the rest will be destroyed. Building and displaying this kit will help me remember the best of my friend and not his illness. The sooner I get this done, the better I'll feel. Thanks for your advice, I'm walking away.

Lacquer Head

Thanks Hans, your way is best, just walk away. Hoarding, that what his widow called it. I hate that word. Images of run down homes with narrow pathways thru trash filled rooms. I knew that he had 542 models in his workshop, but I had never been in the basement. That's where his hoard was. His wife said the reason he kept buying was that he was afraid of losing it. Now I know why he did not like leaving home for long, he was protecting his hoard.

My friend was sick and I have decided that no one should profit from his illness. Not club members, Goodwill, The Red Cross or even myself. I'll keep a F4J Phantom kit and a set of Sundowner decals, he flew with them and the rest will be destroyed. Building and displaying this kit will help me remember the best of my friend and not his illness. The sooner I get this done, the better I'll feel. Thanks for your advice, I'm walking away.

I salute you...you are a good man.

Hutch

Lacquer Head

                                “Lacquer Head feeds his one desire, Lacquer Head sets his brain on fire.”

The beginning is a very delicate time… It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the thinner of lacquer that thoughts acquire speed; the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Maybe ???

hutchdh

 

Lacquer Head:

 

Thanks Hans, your way is best, just walk away. Hoarding, that what his widow called it. I hate that word. Images of run down homes with narrow pathways thru trash filled rooms. I knew that he had 542 models in his workshop, but I had never been in the basement. That's where his hoard was. His wife said the reason he kept buying was that he was afraid of losing it. Now I know why he did not like leaving home for long, he was protecting his hoard.

My friend was sick and I have decided that no one should profit from his illness. Not club members, Goodwill, The Red Cross or even myself. I'll keep a F4J Phantom kit and a set of Sundowner decals, he flew with them and the rest will be destroyed. Building and displaying this kit will help me remember the best of my friend and not his illness. The sooner I get this done, the better I'll feel. Thanks for your advice, I'm walking away.

 

 

I salute you...you are a good man.

 

Hutch

It's a tough choice to come to, but I think once you think it through, it's the one that makes sense, you know? Remember your friend for who he was, and not the albatros he unknowingly hung around your neck with that kit hoard...

You're welcome, L-Head... I know the feeling, believe me... As a modeler, it's an un-natural act, but as a friend, it's the right thing to do...

Lacquer Head

Thanks Hans, your way is best, just walk away. Hoarding, that what his widow called it. I hate that word. Images of run down homes with narrow pathways thru trash filled rooms. I knew that he had 542 models in his workshop, but I had never been in the basement. That's where his hoard was. His wife said the reason he kept buying was that he was afraid of losing it. Now I know why he did not like leaving home for long, he was protecting his hoard.

My friend was sick and I have decided that no one should profit from his illness. Not club members, Goodwill, The Red Cross or even myself. I'll keep a F4J Phantom kit and a set of Sundowner decals, he flew with them and the rest will be destroyed. Building and displaying this kit will help me remember the best of my friend and not his illness. The sooner I get this done, the better I'll feel. Thanks for your advice, I'm walking away.

First of all, where in the USA are you.  If you were near me(in Maryland), I could store them for you (I have a 36'x50' garage) and I could help selling them for you.  For no cost other than a few kits for myself.  I am sure someone near you could probably help in a similar manner.

Eric

Personally, I think destroying the kits and his "hoard" is an insult to your friend's memory. He bought those kits out of love of the hobby and for the joy it brought him and it makes no sense at all to just destroy it because you haven't an easy answer to the problem right now. I gotta ask you seriously--how do you think your friend would have felt on his deathbed if you looked him in the eye and said "I'm going to just destroy your kit stash when you're gone."?

You should contact some of the "Always buying kits!" buyers in the back of Finescale Modeler, and put an ad up on Craigslist that describes the lot and offers a reasonable price. Contact an online auction house, or just simply put the whole lot up on eBay. Take the money and memorialize your friend somehow--maybe even a donation to that orphanage in his good name. In the meantime, you can recoup the price of storage that you've incurred, and people will build your friend's "hoard" and maybe some local institution will benefit from the proceeds of the sale bu your donation in his name.

I can't put myself in your shoes emotionally, but I think you're taking the easy way out by just destroying them, and that's not benefiting anyone when you could be doing some genuine good with the money you'd make.

im also of the opinion that destroying the kits would be an insult to your friends memory. He obviously loved the hobby and to destroy what he spent a lot of time accumulating is heartbreaking. I would donate what I could to hospitals, toys for tots, the local modelers club, VA offices....and help share the love your friend had for the hobby. I think, what better way to honor your friend than to teach others about the great world of scale modeling?

keep the kits/supplies you want, donate as much as you can, and make an eBay/amazon account for the others at really cheap prices. You don't have to start a business yourself, just use what resources that are already available.

Easy for us to say what he should do with the kits.  We are not faced with a daunting task and the sheer amount of time and effort will be enormous...coupled with the draining emotion of doing the right thing and honoring your friend.  It could take months at full-time attention to take care of these.  I see how long it takes to post and manage a small amount of kits on ebay.  As for donations, even the military and VA hospitals here in the DC area will only take so much.  They have turned people away at times.  Imagine how much time just 100 kits take up and how we would dispose of these effectively and honorably.  A huge task.

I can't even comprehend upwards of 12,000 kits.  I know a guy that is thinking of opening his own hobby shop and he thinks he has a lot with 1000 kits to manage...and that is for a business he is setting up. 

I do not envy Lacquer.

Hutch

hutchdh

Easy for us to say what he should do with the kits. 

Sorry if I am being insensitive, but if there are any armor kits, I can take some.

My stash is less than 15. Send me aircraft.

Manstein's revenge

 

hutchdh:

 

Easy for us to say what he should do with the kits. 

Yep, but he asked for opinions...and he got 'em...

 

Agreed, but he did make a decision, after we gave input....not maybe what I would do, but he is the one faced with it.....

Hutch

hutchdh

Manstein's revenge:

 

hutchdh:

 

Easy for us to say what he should do with the kits. 

Yep, but he asked for opinions...and he got 'em...

 

 

Agreed, but he did make a decision, after we gave input....not maybe what I would do, but he is the one faced with it.....

Hutch

Lacquer

I do not envy you. I am sure this is a daunting task. However, before you simply destroy your friends collection, might I offer a suggestion?

You mentioned his wife in one of your posts. Why not sell the kits (or as many as possible - even at a buck a piece) and give the money to her?

I think the least you should do is follow through on your plan to store them for a couple of months. Maybe the emotional impact will dimish a little and you'll have a different perspective rather than just destroying the kits.

Manstein's revenge

hutchdh:

Manstein's revenge:

 

hutchdh:

 

Easy for us to say what he should do with the kits. 

Yep, but he asked for opinions...and he got 'em...

 

 

Agreed, but he did make a decision, after we gave input....not maybe what I would do, but he is the one faced with it.....

Hutch

 

He should have waited for more input...I think he read the one he had already decided to do then announced...if he didn't want any more he should have stated so in his last post...bad decision, IMO...

I suspect he may change his mind, after sleeping on it a few nights.  Man, who would ever think being faced with a decision like that many years after we built our first kit?

Hutch

GreenThumb

My stash is less than 15. Send me aircraft.

Medicman71

GreenThumb:

My stash is less than 15. Send me aircraft.

 

Save the floatie thingies for a certain Giant Radioactive Lizard..

For what it is worth:

I'd help the widow work with an auction house or other purchaser of the kits so that she can profit from the HUGE collection.

Regards,