Buying kits for future builds

2000 plus kits, mostly armor, gobs of figure sets.  Old ones, new ones, some repeats...hey different color schemes and markings to do.  LOVE IT!  It's my own little hobby shop.  I can just go down a grab whatever I want off the shelve and get on it.   I build about 2-4 or so a month so I am at more or less stability with the stash.  Very fun, as I have my own techniques down cold I have very little to no frustration is slamming them together.  Just need more time, so I can get to 7 a month.  I need to get off the net and get to building now!

Doug

In the past, I purchased a wide range of kits with the intent of assembling when detailed information became available.

Unfortunately, obtaining such information in printed form has been impossible until quite recently and  some items are still undocumented in printed format.

Fortunately internet posts are filling in the gaps.

As for kit purchases, experience ( book and model storage restrictions ) has taught me to confine recent purchases to my  "most wanted subjects" categories.

Cadet Chuck

I recently bought a Tamiya tank kit for a clearance price.  Never mind I don't like building armour, it was a Tamiya and it was dirt cheap.  It now sets on the shelf unopened, gathering dust.  I'll probably donate to a good cause some day- just not interested in it.  Dumb, eh?

Yes and no; it could be dumb if it is one of their older kits that has been surpassed by later releases by themselves or another company. But many of their newer OOP kits like the Hetzer, T-55, UE carrier, Char B can draw premium prices.

I've reduced my stash to stay under 100...trying to be a good steward with our money.  Kinda fun managing it.  I sometimes get caught up in the new releases that supposedly is the "Holy Grail" and a cut above the previous offerings...then after a while you discover all the inaccuracies and read how it is trashed by the "experts."  Makes it all part of the fun.

My stash is a modest mid-30's but like others, I can't stop. I have restrained myself. I just can't resist a bargain or steal. Recently I got a Dragon Hummel smart kit for just $25 shipped. Yah, bargains like that are hard as heck to beat. I do realize, like others, that my stash will live long after me. Oh well........

Yep, the stash.  Because looking at a kit and thinking about building it is as much fun as actually building it.

"Someday, I'm gonna finish that collection of All US Aircraft Used in the Battle of Midway, and finish the addition to my house that I need to display it."

My name is Scott...and I'm a modelholic.

I too have a stash that will never be finished in my lifetime. I been selling some off over at ARC prior to my move back to Tucson. and now that I'm here unpacking. I still have more than I can manage with the space I have to store them. The wife coming out here 3 months prior and setting up things took over a lot of primo space. As I was putting kits away where possible and believing I was all done, I would open up another large plastic bin to find more and more and more. In the 53 yrs I been building models I never thought it would be possible that I can get frustrated having so many kits.

I am forcing myself now to go and finish kits I've started and never completed so to get the boxes out of the way. Working on the Trumpeter SA-2 since I only needed to spray paint the missile and the launcher, detail and weather it than it's done. Think I have some 20 kits in various stages of assembly.

But all in all I still enjoy the hobby. But now where do I stick the completed models????  

One justification for buying kits even when your stash is bigger than you can finish in a lifetime is that most kits will not stay in production for years and years, and may never be re-issued.  I have bought kits on speculation that my interest may change, and that kit will bubble to the top of my cue, and if I do not buy it now I may be forced to pay eBay prices.

Rob Gronovius

if we started building non-stop we wouldn't finish before we died.

I certainly intend to TRY!!

I recently bought a Tamiya tank kit for a clearance price.  Never mind I don't like building armour, it was a Tamiya and it was dirt cheap.  It now sets on the shelf unopened, gathering dust.  I'll probably donate to a good cause some day- just not interested in it.  Dumb, eh?

I have decided against doing purges. I have a few older kits that i could easily replace with a much better newer kit. But i have made the choice now to stick with the ones i have. Other wise i will be continually looking for the newer kit.

YES

Now you know why we suffer " stashitis ". How many times have you pulled out a kit to divest yourself of it , because of a BETTER re-release ? Then it sets in . Well maybe this might be worth something when I might need a little cash .Back in the stash it goes .

  This is what happens , when you have , like some of us ,a large stash . Hmmmmm . where do we go from here ?  I have done some actual purges , to the point that my stash is about half the size it used to be . I went and got someone to take them to the WOUNDED WARRIORS center near here. I may never meet any of these folks and hopefully , during their recovery , they derived great pleasure from this action ,on my part .I hope so .               Tanker-builder

A word of caution; though I too have a huge stash, it can actually work against you. I have gone through many "purges" where I'd get rid of old kits when they've been upgraded and superseded by newer, more detailed kits. Many of the old kits just won't hold up to today's standards. But then again, if you're not nutty about details and accuracy, you can have a lot of these kits for cheap off of eBay.

AHA ! To STASH or NOT to STASH ! !

   I was wondering when most of you would come clean . Now ,you talk about stashes , like they are your long lost buddies .ME TOO ! I think there is another underlying cause for most to suffer that bane of modelers ,which is " Stashitis "  

   How many of you ,when confronted with the model you like most , get a weird dreamy look in your eyes and your mind is back to when you first built a plastic model ? AHA ! You see ! It's as I suspected , models are indeed a time machine .

When I go to my stash , I inevitably pull out the guilty first kit (well , the re-pop anyway ) and dream of when four of us boys sat round the table , opening our new models and looking at the parts as well as the PACTRA  paint (NO BRUSHMARKS - GUARANTEED ! ) and saw the finished model in our eyes .

   This was back when REVELL ruled. The kit? A multipart-bodied car kit .In my case an AUSTIN-HEALY. The KOOL-AID flowed like water and some hours later ,VIOLA' there it was , the car of our dreams .So we started buying more of them .Hm , I now need inventory sheets to keep them straight .

Tis , true though , I can now never imagine having enough time to build them all .Oh , if I live to the ripe old age of 225 maybe . So there you have it . WE ARE ADDICTED to MODELS ! - Gosh ,I love the smell of fresh plastic in the morning ! !  he he he         Tanker-builder

what is this "stash" that some of you are talking about?

and what is this "avoid buying duplicates" while we are at it?

okay, I will fess up, I do know what a stash is,,,,,,,that would be the 6 dozen Phantoms and 5 dozen Skyhawks on the shelves here by my pc.

that "not buying duplicate" deal, though, that just wouldn't work for me at all,,,,,,,I still need "half a dozen of these, and half a dozen of those" to make my collection easier to build (more duplicates of some types lets me choose "better" builds for certain units)

I simply don't have any choice, though,,,,,,,,,,there are more squadrons than aircraft types (yeah, that is a good one, I am keeping that for use with SWMBO)

all kidding aside,,,,,in today's market, if you see something you really like, and decals that go with it,,,,,,,,unless it is a mainstream kit like Tamiya,,,,,you are going to have a tough time getting one in 3 years when you have "built all the kits you own so you can buy more",,,,,,,they will either be so OOP that no one will part with one,,,,,,,or so rare that you will have to pay a fortune for it

the only time the above doesn't happen is when you go searching to buy a kit, without having a specific kit or release in mind,,,,,,,then, you can get some bargains,,,,,,,but, you can't plan ahead on those at all

Rex

Common practice?? Certainly is around here... "I stash, therefore I am..."

Rob Gronovius

Bish

YEP, what Rod said. My stash is 200 plus. It gives me a good selection for my next build as well as the reasons Rod gave, getting kits while they are around etc. I also plan well in advance. As a Dio builder, i like to make sure i have all the bits before starting.

And i may not build everything in my stash before i die, seeing as i am still buying. But i am going to give it a damn good go.

Who's this "Rod" guy you keep referring to?

OPPS, get my B's and D mixed up. Sorry Bob.

I indeed chuckle each time I hear people express their shock at a growing stash and the obsessive behavior of buying more kits. It is who you are now. Embrace it like a long lost love. Throw worries of storage space out the window and inundate your room, the bathroom, your wifes walk in closet, your neighbors garage with the ever growing wealth of never to be built kits you will inevitably acquire. Accept it because resistance is futile.Muahahahah!

Flyerduke its time you admitted you have a problem! Your only hope is to get to the nearest hobby shop and spend spend spend!  Only then will the rest of us feel normal. My name is LittleTimmy and im a plastic addict.

Bish

YEP, what Rod said. My stash is 200 plus. It gives me a good selection for my next build as well as the reasons Rod gave, getting kits while they are around etc. I also plan well in advance. As a Dio builder, i like to make sure i have all the bits before starting.

And i may not build everything in my stash before i die, seeing as i am still buying. But i am going to give it a damn good go.

Who's this "Rod" guy you keep referring to?

I've found that my stash has grown to a point where its filled all available space (OK maybe two more) but if it does start to grow past the point where you can easily remember it, so past 10 or so, make a list you can keep somewhere handy. I use my smart phone so I know what I have and it saves me buying duplicates and also makes it possible to buy extras like photoetch and not make mistakes.

Phil

I forgot about them Paul. We have been winning quite a few at the shows. Hope our luck holds.

Jim

fox

My name is Jim and I have an addiction. I love the smell of plastic in the morning. I buy whatever strikes my fancy at the time (and I have money in my pocket). Haven't inventoried the stash lately, but I'll not outlive it even if I never buy another one. I'm hoping the grandkids will finish to build them, if not, It'll provide my wife with a little spending money when I'm gone to that great workbench in the sky. Enjoy, life's short.

Jim

And when you "win them in a raffle" they're almost free, so that lets you pick up a few more, eh?

Paul

My name is Jim and I have an addiction. I love the smell of plastic in the morning. I buy whatever strikes my fancy at the time (and I have money in my pocket). Haven't inventoried the stash lately, but I'll not outlive it even if I never buy another one. I'm hoping the grandkids will finish to build them, if not, It'll provide my wife with a little spending money when I'm gone to that great workbench in the sky. Enjoy, life's short.

Jim

Don't feel guilty flyerduke, I am doing the same thing myself, "stashing" kits, tools scratch building supplies etc. I am expecting my wife and son to arrive from overseas soon (once immigration paper work finally gets shuffled for the umpteenth time!) and I know the budget is going to be severely curtailed once they get here for a while we set up a new place together, and get everyone settled together.

SO I am taking what opportunity I can now, to stock up so I am good to go with out needing much more than paint and glue for a while, pretty much as stuff comes in, I fondle it, adore it, and then pack it into boxes for retrieval later on, trying to keep just what I am using now out to work with. Best part is, when I finally get to unpack all these goodies again, it will be like another Christmas  

I'd say a resounding yes....

But there are many other reasons as well. Sometimes kits are stashed due to concerns about future availability. Most of mine were bought just because they were subject matters that I like and hope to one day build. However, at my current build rate, my stash would last 327.951 years.

YEP, what Rod said. My stash is 200 plus. It gives me a good selection for my next build as well as the reasons Rod gave, getting kits while they are around etc. I also plan well in advance. As a Dio builder, i like to make sure i have all the bits before starting.

And i may not build everything in my stash before i die, seeing as i am still buying. But i am going to give it a damn good go.

Yes,eventually you will have more kits then you can ever build

Dude, it's called a stash. Many of us have hundreds of kits (perhaps even thousands) that if we started building non-stop we wouldn't finish before we died.

Purchasing kits is an addiction. I do it for many different reasons. Sometimes kits go out of production, maybe the price was right, and I've often bought kits I thought were beyond my present skill set and will tackle them after I get better to do the kit some justice.

I've come to the realization that I'm about as good as I'm going to get and I ought to just build it or if I think I'd just mess it up, sell it.