.....and it is a prime number.....

My stash really grew from about 15 years ago until 5 years ago or so. The prime reason, a good amount of disposable income. I had the money, and by this point I knew that if I saw a kit, better to buy it        because I may not get another chance.  In my 20s, browsing rather than buying at the hobby store was the norm for me due to finances. In my 30s that changed for the better. Now in my mid to late 40s the pendulum has swung the other way.  Ebay, when I first got on there, there were so many good bargains to be had. The gougers and online stores were not too common so it was often a case of somebody selling off their stash for whatever reason or the estate sale of a deceased modeler. And finally, it was a case of stocking up for the coming famine. Although I did not foresee the financial difficulties the would fall upon my family a few years later, I knew that the kits I was buying then and there would not always be available or affordable.... I still have enough kits to last me the rest of my life and I can ponder if any new releases are worth it or not. It's a nice position to be in.

i stash because OOHH SHINY!

Scorpiomikey

i stash because OOHH SHINY!

Those Chrome plated P-51s are shiny

Is that out of favor these days?

yeah it got replaced with oohh shiny because my generations attentions spans are.....what?

Scorpiomikey

yeah it got replaced with oohh shiny because my generations attentions spans are.....what?

I know the feeling..............ooohh, something shiny..............

Mikey, Goose...

The nice thing about that is that if you store the ones you get distracted from carefully, you have a "head start" on a project when you rediscover it later! 

Thanks to all who answered!  The reason we stash remains elusive, true (for me, anyway), but some good food for thought emerged from all y'all, and I appreciate it.  Putting kits away for an economic rainy day is a real good one - we've all taken a hit in the pocketbook of one kind or another in the last five or six years.  That ties right in with another good one - look for that there recent "Tamiya is Raising Their Prices" thread.  But, then we're not gonna stop, no matter what, right?  So, the best reason of all just might be because we want to ...

Zombies...I stash to have something to occupy my time when the zombies attack.  And it may be the choice of barter in a post apocalyptic world.

I must have about 300+ in my stash.  When I was layed off of work a few years ago I sold some of the ones I thought I could do without.  On the other hand I work part time at my LHS and I can get good deals when they come along.  I agree, I get some of them because I'd like to get another chance at doing it right.

I also operate under the addage  "I can't die until I've finished all the kits in my stash"  I should live to be about 400.       LoL

John

My stash is sitting at the 70ish mark, maybe a tad higher and is a mix of reasons.  The largest culprit being immediate influence of television, magazine or book where I have a build a kit of that.  My next issue are three catagories of must have as soon as I see them available for a decent price: any plane flown by the 111th TRS/FIS/TRS in 1/72 or 1/144, any model of the USS Texas (from ironclad to submarine) in 1/700 and finally the one I typically jump on without financial restraint is any kit of LVTs or AAVs, preferably in 1/72 but 1/35 seems beyond resistance as well.  I swear I have plans to build them all, just that the in is faster than the out.

stcat

Zombies...I stash to have something to occupy my time when the zombies attack.  And it may be the choice of barter in a post apocalyptic world.

You good sir, are freakin awesome. Best comment ever lol.

We stash model kits for the same reason women stash hand bags and shoes. So we're obsessed! It's good to stock up on kits. More the merrier. Think of the long and cold winter. We must have something to do to kill time.:c) If you can afford to stash kits without spending more than you have, don't let go. Keep racking up those kits. There's no deadline. You have a whole lifetime to build. Keep it up.

Yessss....Yesssss!

Yes, it is an obsession for me. But I also look at kits I have wanted in the past and missed out. Thankfully some of them are being re-popped. I pick up at least 1 new kit a week at Hobby Lobby. They know me by name and the 40% coupon that is bookmarked on my phone is helpful too, I get alot of kits from Ebay as well.

I have more kits than I can ever build at around 340 give or take. Ranging from may Sc-Fi kits to tanks to cars and planes. I just turned 50 and the way I look at it my grand children will have them when I am gone.

I buy kits because I want them and I have no regrets.

Kenny

340 kits you say. Wow! No doubt that you're going to leave on hell of a legacy behind you for your grandchildren. I can only hope future generations will appreciate the joy as well as the adventure of building models. It's a great experience, and teaches you a lot about history. Also a brilliant hand and eye coordination excersise, that helps to sharpen our wits. Some kids nowadays resort to computer games and mischief that stimulates their antisocial behaviour. We need them to keep building. I hope this wonderful hobby never dies out.

Good for you, Enjoy your every purchase and immerse yourself into all aspects of model building!

Henrik :c)

Ahh yes lets not forget LEARNING! When researching a build it's like taking a semester on WWII sometimes. Not like the above mentioned computer games where, keep in mind this is a true story, playing Call of Duty. Guy says "Have you ever noticed how WW2 games are always about U.S. vs. ***, it's so dumb why can't they make it U.S. vs Russia like newer games?"

The **** is Germanys political party name in WW2 apparently the forum software doesn't like it...

AnythingScifi

I have more kits than I can ever build at around 340 give or take. Ranging from may Sc-Fi kits to tanks to cars and planes. I just turned 50 and the way I look at it my grand children will have them when I am gone.

I buy kits because I want them and I have no regrets.

Kenny

41 here and have over 400 if you count all the li'l bitty 1:200 Macross kits and the collection of small Star Blazers kits individually.

I've slowed down quite a bit on the purchases, though, under 10 in the past year.  I should be finishing more than I'm buying soon at this rate.

Because people are temporary,
the stash is forever...

Ninetalis

Because people are temporary,
the stash is forever...

At last, a truly metaphysical answer.

Ordie,

So, waxing metaphysical, if I buy his stash, does that guarantee me I will live forever?

Always urrounded by 100 MIB unopened kits......lol

Dom

Dom,

No, you won't live forever, but your stash will ... maybe that's why we're here - Mother Nature needs plastic, but can't make it without our help ...

Ordie

I only have 5 in my stash after three years back in the hobby.

I can see how guys overbuy kits. I look at Ebay a lot and droll over some kits, but them my willpower and financial reality kicks in. I hope to have all these kits built by next summer and then start buying again.

Ordie:

It's not nice to fool Mother Nature....if She wants Real Plastic....

man made.....Can't mess with that....

Dom

iraqiwildman

I only have 5 in my stash after three years back in the hobby.

I can see how guys overbuy kits. I look at Ebay a lot and droll over some kits, but them my willpower and financial reality kicks in. I hope to have all these kits built by next summer and then start buying again.

willpower went out the window long ago (around the time i got married i think). i only have my little room to store in so my stash is limited to about 10. they are in the wardrobe, under my desk, behind the desk, in the desk draws, besiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide the fishtank and under it in the cupboard. no more room = no more kits. :-(

pfft, who ever let a lack of room dictate their kit intake. I just keep piling them up. Ive got another couple square feet to cram them into. And a few more flat surfaces. When theyre all full up ill start storing them at work.

hardcore!!!!

At the next *MBA meeting:

Hi - my name is John and I'm a plastic model builder . . . . .

(*MBA = Model Builders Anonymous)

As it's been said before it's so hard to resist getting something 25% to 50% off........

'Well, even if I can't get to this kit right away I'll buy one some day and it's 35% off so I might as well buy it now right???' 

Forgive me father, for I have stashed. Again. Or rather, I've ordered something that will in all likelihood end up stashed for several months before I ever get to it.  But I've been waiting for Airfix's Swordfish with floats, and it finally came out, so I pounced on it. What can I say, I just don't have the $$s to throw at the giant Tamiya kit...