choices for builds

Sounds like you're applying some smart-shopping to your hobby- not a bad idea at all.

I tend to acquire multiple issues of my favorite subjects....  which gets spendy right quick.

HI :

Like you I tend to be choosy . Budget is part of it I guess . I have rather eclectic tastes in ships . I particularly like tugs and service vessels. There aren't to many , so often I choose for a hull or something like that .

  The LINDBERG minesweeper is a good example .I have built probably six . Not one a minesweeper ! They were used in so many conversions after the war . Well , there you have it .     Tankerbuilder

I've been retired for a couple of years so most of my purchases tend to be budget driven.  I just can't get into paying 30 or 40 bucks for a single engine 1/72 fighter or 60 to 100+ bucks for a multi-engine 1/72 kit.  I will buy a current kit if I can get a deep enough discount (I have exactly 4 late model Hasagawa kits - got each of them for an average of 1/3 MSRP during web sales).  My preferences tend to be Airfix, Revell and even some Lindberg (especially from the Squadron Monthly Flyer).

Having said that I do on occasion splurge -  Just before Thanksgiving, I mentioned to my wife that I was considering buying a WNW DH-2 after Christmas - Guess what I got for Christmas!

Since i came back into the hobby, i have been much more selective. But i have also given myself certain targets. This means that my stash has got bigger, but i am now only doing subjects i am interested in. I do have a lot of the same types, but try to get different variants/models. So i have 12 Ju 87's but all different variants. I am also trying to build kits from as many German units as possable, so again this means that i have more than 1 Tiger I and so on. And a number of other long term projects have meant i end up getting the same type more than once.

I don't have a Corsair or Zero, and doubt i ever will, but i do have 3 Mustangs and an He 111Z.

Nothing wrong with being frugal. Dollar-wise, that stash is worth some serious coin in retail money. My stash of 30 plus kits is easily north-side of $1200, but I probably paid less then half for it. Most of my purchases have been thru Ebay, but lately, I've been buying from sellers on other sites.