Do you buy models to build or for investments?

Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Sunday, February 29, 2004 9:35 PM

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jeff_Herne

Well put Woody, sometimes being able to help someone out is worth all the hassle of storing these things.

The missus decided to have a yard sale last summer, and this older gent came to the house with his wife, and was wearing a LIberty ship cap. I asked all the usual questions, and of course he says he served on them, but was having trouble finding an affordable model of his ship. At that point, I got up, went into the garage, and came back with a Pit-Road 1/700 scale LIberty ship which I handed to him and thanked him.

He got all teary-eyed, but a few days later, he came back with model completed. Not spectacular, but to him, it was the best thing in the world.

That's a part of this hobby that people often overlook.

Jeff

That is a great story Jeff! You sound like about 99.999% of the collectors that I have had the pleasure of knowing. Maybe the fortune has been mine, but I have never met a bad apple in the collector community. At one time I traded quite a bit with collectors from Czech. ,Poland ,England , and Italy to name afew. I find the templet of the collector nearly universal. A great bunch of guys! Big Smile [:D]

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 29, 2004 8:33 PM

I buy to build or to simply play around with a Kit.

Like everybody else I got more kits than is heathy for me, hence the "For Sale" section on my Web-site where I off-load unlikely kits to be build and similar.

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BlackWolf3945

Member since
December 2002
From: Pominville, NY

Posted by BlackWolf3945 on Sunday, February 29, 2004 8:28 PM

Both for me.

I used to collect as well, but eventually realized that this was a bad thing. I only collected stuff I was interested in. Only problem being: I was interested in a whole lotta stuff! Tongue [:P]

I gave up collecting and decided to grab stuff that I intended to build. I went back and forth, to varying degrees, between stuff to build and stuff 'just to have', but I now buy things which I intend to build and only collect Curtiss aircraft.

However, when my Dad died I was the instant owner of a huge collection. So much for giving up collecting... Disapprove [V]

Besides the Curtiss stuff I collect and the kits which I'd like to build, I also buy to resell. There's alotta folks who think that the buying/trading/selling scene is a waste of time and perhaps, for them, it would be. For me it's second nature, and I've done very well so far...

Fade to Black...

Steve O. Reno Check Out My Photo Sets on Flickr

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 29, 2004 4:58 PM

To build
Whats the point of buying a kit if your never gonna build it?
I do have extra kits stashed by my work bench but i try not to buy too many.

-nick

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fightnjoe

Member since
September 2011

Posted by fightnjoe on Sunday, February 29, 2004 4:32 PM

wibhi2,
you dont need help. your imagination works just fine.

joe

Veterans,

Thank You For Your Sacrifices,

Never To Be Forgotten

Where you can find me:

Workbench on FaceBook Google Plus YouTube

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 29, 2004 4:08 PM

So far, I have been buying 'em to have 'em and build them in the future...even if it's not in the "near future".

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wibhi2

Member since
March 2003
From: Brooklyn

Posted by wibhi2 on Sunday, February 29, 2004 4:08 PM

**Walks into room, sits and grabs a cup of coffee - listens for a while, then decides to stand up and speak**
Hi, my name is wibhi2 - any three to four lettered word for short. I need to be in UKA.
I have close to 200 unbuilt kits and rising. My intent is to build them all as a testiment to historical technical achievements and stories I have heard from various people. But alas, RL has a tendency (plus my own impulsive nature) to keep me from concentrating on all those kits. I don't buy kits to sell or hoard and I have no duplicates (well except for a couple of f4's and ah1g's), but I buy kits to build eventhough I know it will be several years before I can attempt to build them. I love opening a box and staring at the parts imagining what could be.

I need help Tongue [:P]

3d modelling is an option a true mental excercise in frusrtation

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fightnjoe

Member since
September 2011

Posted by fightnjoe on Sunday, February 29, 2004 3:35 PM

one thing i have never had is the money to buy the extra kits on a regular basis. when i got extra money that i could spend on kits i would buy 8 or 9 at a time. but this happens so rarely that these kits are usually built long before i get the money to do it again. the only way i can invest in this consistantly is to be knowledgable enough to be able to get my children hooked with my words. as children are by nature curious with a short attention span, if you can hook them early you have them for life. that is the best investment i can make.

joe

Veterans,

Thank You For Your Sacrifices,

Never To Be Forgotten

Where you can find me:

Workbench on FaceBook Google Plus YouTube

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 29, 2004 12:29 PM

As the quote in my profile sez: "It's only plastic, so build it!". I too have many many unbuilt models just waiting for the mood to strike me. Sometimes I think I oughta stick a sign in front of the house (Bob's hobby shop) and unload some of the excess !!

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Jeff Herne

Member since
January 2003

Posted by Jeff Herne on Sunday, February 29, 2004 9:34 AM

Well put Woody, sometimes being able to help someone out is worth all the hassle of storing these things.

The missus decided to have a yard sale last summer, and this older gent came to the house with his wife, and was wearing a LIberty ship cap. I asked all the usual questions, and of course he says he served on them, but was having trouble finding an affordable model of his ship. At that point, I got up, went into the garage, and came back with a Pit-Road 1/700 scale LIberty ship which I handed to him and thanked him.

He got all teary-eyed, but a few days later, he came back with model completed. Not spectacular, but to him, it was the best thing in the world.

That's a part of this hobby that people often overlook.

Jeff

Reply

Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Saturday, February 28, 2004 11:38 PM

Both. I see collectors as the archivers of our hobby and they are to be admired for the precious kits they preserve for others down the road. I have collected for decades and have a huge collection of kits but I wouldn't say I have ever made a profit. My reward has always been the friendships and gratitude of those who I have traded with. I'm always amazed by the sometimes less than friendly things that some say about the collector. If you followed the logic of those people then it is a none issue as the kit in question would have been built shortly after it was manufactured. The object of their desire wouldn't even exist and they wouldn't be complaining about it's high ebay closing price. Smile [:)]

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 28, 2004 11:35 PM

I think we should set up a support group... UKA (Unbuilt Kits Anonymous). It's good to see that I'm not the only one! Big Smile [:D]

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Jeff Herne

Member since
January 2003

Posted by Jeff Herne on Saturday, February 28, 2004 10:36 PM

At one point in my life (late 20s) I had about 2800 unbuilt kits in my collection. About 1100 were inherited from my modeling mentor who passed away, but at the time I was newly married with no kids, and making great money as a network engineer. Most of the kits were 1/72 scale, so it's not like I was out hoarding Tamiya 1/32 F-4s or anything.

I've thinned my collection out to about 300 kits, mostly 1/32 and 1/48 aircraft, and 1/350 ships. There's a few oddballs in there, cars, couple of dinos, etc., and I still have a pretty hefty number of 1/72 kits, most are pretty ratty boxes and not really re-sellable.

Jeff

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luke

Member since
December 2002
From: -

Posted by luke on Saturday, February 28, 2004 7:36 PM

as a side note - it depends what u mean by investment! Do u buy a kit & keep it as is (ie with the plastic wrap left on or leave the kit unbuilt) or Do u buy a kit & build it for an investment (ie do u build with the intent of selling now or later). I suppose buying a finished kit has pros & cons to it (ie you cant build it or build it the way u want) and there's propabably some unqiue appeal having a very rare limited kit untouched in a box left the way it was packaged.

For me, I now buy kits at an exponentially higher rate than building them, so I have several kits on the go at any one time. Never sold one, never given one away, but have built one kit that someone "contracted" out to me - and that was for my old man!

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 28, 2004 3:11 PM

Models as investments? I think there are better collectible things to invest in if you are really in it for the money. Models can alwasy be re-released, and I think there is a limited audience of people who pay big bucks for them. Not to say it couldn't be done-- with the advent of eBay you can probably end up selling just about anything for profit down the road. Used socks?!

I don't have that huge of an unbuilt collection (maybe a couple dozen). Like others I have more than I can build in the forseeable future, but that doesn't stop me from picking up intriguing decal sets or kits for cheap. For example, the Albatros Marauding Crusaders II decal set was too cool to pass up, so I bought it and later got the Corsair II kit to go with it.

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ChrisJH666

Member since
January 2004
From: Brisbane Australia

Posted by ChrisJH666 on Saturday, February 28, 2004 1:33 PM

You have a good point there fightnjoe! Bow [bow]

In the queue: 1/48 Beech Staggerwing (RAAF), P38 (RAAF), Vultee Vengeance (RAAF), Spitfire Vb (Malta), Spitfire VIII x2 (RAAF), P39 x2 (RAAF), Martin Baltimore (Malta?), Martin Maryland (Malta), Typhoon NF1b, Hellcat x2 (FAA)

Chris

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Melgyver

Member since
March 2003
From: Lafayette, LA

Posted by Melgyver on Saturday, February 28, 2004 1:32 PM

I have bought most of my models with the intent to build them. Now over the past 45 years of mostly "intent" I'll never build a 1/10 of my collection of 850+! It was hard to pass up kits on sale! So a buddy of mine kids about making the model show circuit to sell our collection when we retire. Then you can always make a fellow modeler happy by giving him a good deal on an old kit that is hard to get. It is scary to think I if I could sell my collection at retail prices I could buy a new Jeep! I guess there is always E-Bay!

Some day I will build, some day I will build, some day I will build!

Clear Left!

Mel

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fightnjoe

Member since
September 2011

Posted by fightnjoe on Saturday, February 28, 2004 12:32 PM

in a way my models are an investment. my time and knowledge of the subject are an investment. when my children or thier friends ask about the builds i can share the knowledge and that in itself is an investment. the value of the models is only relavent to me or those who are interested in the subject. so yes i would say i buy and build for investments.

joe

Veterans,

Thank You For Your Sacrifices,

Never To Be Forgotten

Where you can find me:

Workbench on FaceBook Google Plus YouTube

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 28, 2004 12:21 PM

When it comes to models I am a very compulsive buyer. Blush [:I]

There is no way I can build all the kits I have now (90+) and knowing that I will more than likely by something else. Banged Head [banghead]

The thought of usiing it as an investment never occured to me once again due to a time problem. I know I wont live another 50 years and even if I do I would not have a steady enough hand to do modeling. Censored [censored]

Can't say enough about the comments listed ahead of my post Bow [bow]

Richard

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Swanny

Member since
February 2003
From: Sandusky Ohio, USA

Posted by Swanny on Saturday, February 28, 2004 12:05 PM

Some of both. If I see a good deal at a shop or an estate sale that is not in my interests but can be resold at a profit to buy stuff that is in my interests then I am game. Everything that is in my stash I do intend to build ... someday.

Swanny's Models

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rjkplasticmod

Member since
February 2003
From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State

Posted by rjkplasticmod on Saturday, February 28, 2004 10:33 AM

Every kit I buy I intend to build, but like many have already said, I know I'll not live long enough to build them all. Still, I can't resist the latest releases and keep on buying em. Like the owner of my LHS always says, "I don't care if you build em or not, just buy em". I don't consider myself a kit collector, but I have become one by default. As far as kits as an investment, my heirs will have to dispose of my kits, and they would have inherited more if I had just left the $ in the bank. Some dealers make $ on kits, mainly by buying collections at a fraction of the kits original price and then re-selling at shows, Internet, etc., but buying kits as an "investment" for most of us is a losing proposition.

RICK

At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...

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therriman

Member since
January 2003
From: Central MI

Posted by therriman on Saturday, February 28, 2004 10:07 AM

QUOTE: Originally posted by Pixilater

Models are for building, money is for spending. Neither are of much good when unused. I have no desire to hoard either kits or money.

My Hero!!

I got something between 25 and 30 kits waiting to be built. And I keep buying more!!

Tim H. "If your alone and you meet a Zero, run like hell. Your outnumbered" Capt Joe Foss, Guadalcanal 1942 Real Trucks have 18 wheels. Anything less is just a Toy! I am in shape. Hey, Round is a shape! Reality is a concept not yet proven.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 28, 2004 10:03 AM

I have every intentention to build the kits I buy. That being said, I will never be able to build all of the kits that I buy, and am still buying. I'm an admitted kitaholic, with a real styrene addiction. I think that I'm doomed to roam around from LHS to LHS looking for my next fix. Truth be told... my favorite part is looking at all of the kits that I have and imagining what they'll look like finished. Of coarse I haven't finished one yet... I'm in the final stages of two of them though. I do see Pixilater's point though... you can't take either of them with you... Dead [xx(]

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oldhooker

Member since
July 2003
From: Piedmont Triad, NC (USA)

Posted by oldhooker on Saturday, February 28, 2004 9:22 AM

I buy them with the intention of building them..... the other day, I walked around the house, counting up all the unbuilt ones, and taking into consideration how long each build generally takes, combined with my age now, I'll have to live to 147.3 years to get the ones I have NOW, built.... (not to mention the ones on my wish list!) Wink [;)]

Frank

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eagle334

Member since
March 2003
From: plopped down in front of this computer.

Posted by eagle334 on Saturday, February 28, 2004 9:06 AM

I have only bought one model with the intent of re-selling it, all the others I bought with the intention that I would build it some day. Unfortunately the real world hasn't allowed this, I just don't have the time to build and I have way too many models. Right now, if I stopped buying, and lived another 30 years, (I'm 41) I would have to build at the rate of about 20 models a year. Ain't gonna happen ! So I have been selling some models here and there but I wouldn't call them an investment. An investment is something you hope to get more money for than what you paid, and in most cases, Ain't gonna happen !

Wayners Go Eagles! 334th Fighter Squadron

Me and my F-4E <script language="javascript" src="http://www.airfighters.com/phgid_183.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

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ChrisJH666

Member since
January 2004
From: Brisbane Australia

Posted by ChrisJH666 on Saturday, February 28, 2004 8:58 AM

I collect models because I haven't got round to building them yet!! Can't resist that "must have" model sometimes Banged Head [banghead]

In the queue: 1/48 Beech Staggerwing (RAAF), P38 (RAAF), Vultee Vengeance (RAAF), Spitfire Vb (Malta), Spitfire VIII x2 (RAAF), P39 x2 (RAAF), Martin Baltimore (Malta?), Martin Maryland (Malta), Typhoon NF1b, Hellcat x2 (FAA)

Chris

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 28, 2004 8:49 AM

Models are for building, money is for spending. Neither are of much good when unused. I have no desire to hoard either kits or money.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 28, 2004 8:08 AM

I buy a lot more kits than I can possibly build before I retire, but not as an investment. Not only that, but I can't even store the boxes in the appartment anymore, lol. Thing is, there's always that 'special offer you can't refuse' at the hobby shop, or a brandnew release I want to have, or a re-release of an older kit I didn't get the first time round. And then there's the special long-term projects that I have imagined but don't know how to finish yet (no decals, mega-rebuilding needed etc.) Sigh [sigh]

In that category there are the 1/48 C-130H stretched version in Dutch Airforce decals, the yet to superdetail 1/48 B-58 Hustler, The milennium Falcon with lights (those work Approve [^]

) on a Bespin landing platform (I need a mansion to fit that in Banged Head [banghead]

). Oh, did I mention I build armor too? Lots built, even more still in the box..... It'll all work out when we move and I get a den Cool [8D]

, but that's also still in the planning phase!
Anyway, just to let you know you guys are not alone:

My name is Filibert and I'm a plastiholic.

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midnightprowler

Member since
February 2003
From: East Bethel, MN

Posted by midnightprowler on Saturday, February 28, 2004 7:09 AM

I buy to build. I also have more than I probably will get along to building, 120+ right now, and intend to get more!
Lee

Hi, I am Lee, I am a plastiholic.

Co. A, 682 Engineers, Ltchfield, MN, 1980-1986

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 1 Corinthians 15:51-54

Ask me about Speedway Decals

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