Model inventory or how do you keep track of your stash??

I use SprueMonster.com.  It's online.  It's full featured.  I can export my data.  It's free.

Cheers,

Duane

For me it's a highly technical and complicated system of opening the closet door and looking at all 11 of em!

When I got back into the hobby a few years ago I tried to keep the stash under a dozen but then someone gave me a box of over 30 older models and the flood gates were opened.  I still have well under a 100 but it is still growing.

The idea of a database has me interested for other reasons than those already mentioned.  I kept a lot of models from my youth (those that did not suffer the dreaded firecracker or pellet gun fate) and now I'm frustrated that I don't remember which were built first or when.  Even those that I've built in the last few years are starting to get confused.  It would be nice to try to keep track for comparison reasons (ie: how my skills have progressed... or digressed).

 I have a very simple method of keeping track of my kit stash. They are stacked up in all the cabinets in my hobby room, all over the workbenches and stacked up in front of my bookcases in the living room. It is well-nigh impossible to look anywhere without seeing exactly what I have on hand. There are so many kits lying about that I suspect they may be breeding.

And yet...I continue to buy more kits. Just yesterday, I purchased a Dragon King Tiger with molded-on zimmerit. And next Saturday is AMPS East...doubtless, I will return with a few more kits...at this rate, I'll be able to open my own hobby shop

Microsoft works has (or maybe had) a program in to keep an inventory of CD's, so you wouldn't duplicate a purchase. I simply converted it over to inventory my LP's (yes I still use a couple turntables, and don't plan on stopping in this lifetime). When you have a thousand LP's it's pretty easy to loose track of what you got. This same program would also work well with model kits, and it's easy to use (for us old people that's a must!).

gary

djrost_2000 wrote:

I used to have about 30-40 unbuilt kits, and I got to thinking that my tastes will change and I may no longer want to build certain kits.  And also that even in ziploc the decals may not last forever.  So I sold off most of my kits and only keep 10-12 on hand at once.  I do use Access as a database for all my modeling ideas and links though.  Dave

This is exactly what I'm going through right now.

I no longer want to build the "weapons carriers". Well, a few for my son's air national guard unit and my all time favorites, the P-61 and Skyraider. So, now I am in the process of getting all of my kits that don't fall into those categories or fire bombers and trying to sell/trade them off.

Jon (CobraHistorian) is gonna end up with just about every 1/48 helicopter I have. The rest, will go up for sale or trade.

My grandson likes the colors on the fire bombers better than the mil stuff anyway. 

I used to have about 30-40 unbuilt kits, and I got to thinking that my tastes will change and I may no longer want to build certain kits.  And also that even in ziploc the decals may not last forever.  So I sold off most of my kits and only keep 10-12 on hand at once.  I do use Access as a database for all my modeling ideas and links though. 

Dave 

Since I have only 16 unbuilt kits on the shelf at the moment, I just maintain a hand-written list that I tuck into my pocket before going to the LHS.  That helps me from buying yet another Panzer III/IV variant (how many StuG's does one need?).  Where I get into trouble is when I'm away from home on business and I venture into a hobby shop without my trusty list... in this instance, I try to only buy something I haven't seen at my LHS.

I should develop a list for the PE parts that I order for those 16 kits- somewhere I'm going to wind up duplicates of one thing, which in turn will require me to purchase another kit to use them on.  My current method for tracking PE frets is to put them in the box with the intended kit- if I ever wonder "do I have zimmerit for the XXX?", i just pop the top and take a look.  But that often fails when I'm online and see a specific AM/PE thing that I might need...

hkshooter wrote:

I don't have it to burn like some. If it's not locked up in a kit I can pay a bill with it or buy that paint or supply I need.

This is pretty much where I am too. My wife and I combined earn a salary that enables us to live very comfortably with the ability to squirrel some away for our later years. Living costs and planning for our future are our top priorities. Pushing 50 years in age and with about 70 kits left in my stash, I figure if all goes well I should be able to make a sizable dent in that number. Most of my allocated hobby funds go into the supplies to build what I have. For me now, a kit would have to be pretty darn special to justify my purchasing it.

I too am creating a cache for "leaner times" or latter years which ever comes first.  I do not consider myself an addict - though my wife might sometimes think so !

I was an Aerospace Engineer for 15 years with a salary not nearly commensurate with the stress level but comfortable just the same.  I survived 17 layoffs in those years and worked for two companies and those years took a toll on me physically and emotionally - come to think of it, I think I built one model during that entire time .  I must admit though that all the layoff scares did teach me to live within my means.

Anyway when I decided to make a life/career change to wooden boatbuilding, I began to execute a long range plan to purchase all the tools necessary while I still had the income to do it.  This strategy worked out well and I had a complete woodworking shop of tools by the time I left Engineering.

Now I'm a boatbuilder working for other people and continuing Phase 2 of the long range plan to build my own boat shop.  However, you know what they say though about the best laid plans...! I was laid off from one of my jobs and it took me completely off guard.  I wasn't prepared to have a lot of time on my hands and nothing to do with them.  I decided that I wouldn't be faced with this dilema again.  Now that I'm working, I'm slowly building up a stash for whatever eventuality may occur.

Hmmm...Sorry for being so long winded .  I guess I just wanted to point out that some people plan for the planned and unplanned events that happen as we traverse this field of life!

OK I'll get off my now!

I couldn't have said it better myself Robert. 

I started building my stash because when I put off buying a few kits I seen on the shelf, thinking I'll get them next week, they were gone forever. I too plan on building models in my golden years. Heck, at 48 I'm falling apart quick and have to plan for those sit down activities.

At first I was keeping track of my kits in a notebook. That became difficult real quick.

When I started ordering stock for my hobby shop I also created a database for my personal stash. I just add the info in a customized form. If I need to see for example what Corvettes I have I just run a report. I have a few reports already created for different subjects. I also have tables for different items such as paints and tools, etc... all including item numbers, prices the whole nine yards.

I'm even working on putting a version of the list on my web site, kind of a wish list for friends and family. One for me and one for my son.

Humm... am I an addict or a collector?
I'm classified as a recovering alchoholic, I take lots of doctor prescribed drugs to make me feel better, but I can walk past a model kit and leave it on the shelf. So I wonder....! 

hkshooter wrote:

... If I don't intend to build it I wont buy it. ..

Same for me. But I stil have a 100+ stash. I'm 28 so if I would build 5 kits a year then I will have finished my stash at 50.

And since I have reached the 100 kits mark I have been buying much less. The stash still grows but only with two or three kits a year. (build 5 buy 8 is net. + 3 kits)

    It's easy! I look on my bench and there's the kit.  Then during goodtimes (post x-mas, b-day, etc.) there may be A-WHOLE-NOTHER kit stored beside the workbench.  When I want to double my stash, I take inventory of my wallet and often wonder, "can 2 dollars, a free chinese buffet, and a gum wrapper buy a [insert desired expensive kit name here]?"

                                                           -graham
 

Yes, yes it is. Anyone who can do remedial math can figure out about how many kits he can build before he dies if everything goes right. At some point it has to become obvious that there is no way in heck all those kits are gonna get built my one person. To believe otherwise would be denial. 

Maybe "addict" was the wrong word. That would imply that the behavior is destructive to the person and that may not always be the case. My personal experiance is with a friend of mine. he could not stop buying kits. He'd sit and say it. "I have got to stop" but he'd come home with a stack everytime.

I guess the reason for the pile, if there is one, makes a difference on how I'd look at it. Like you mentioned, stocking up because you see harder days coming is wise. That stash would be one I could respect. Maybe even a collection built for the purpose of donating or furnishing kits to others less fortunate, like the Kits for Kandahar project on another board. To each their own really. It makes no difference to me. But me, personally, I will never stockpile more than I CAN build. That would just seem a waste of money. Now if I decided to stock up for my son, and his son...

I don't have it to burn like some. If it's not locked up in a kit I can pay a bill with it or buy that paint or supply I need.

DrewH wrote:

Ah- see, your reason is for buisness. That's totally diffrent then the rest of us. You need it and by the look of it, did an outstanding job. I would likely have done something like that in your place. Like I said - for the average "joe model maker" it's doesn't seem to be worth the effort for me do set that up. I just can not justify the time to do that.

I'm not sure what you meant by "business", but my work on those estate sales was as an unpaid volunteer, as was the work of all the other Club members.  Our IPMS Chapter was contacted by the widows of the modelers, none of whom, by the way, were Chapter members.

We tried to get the maximum amount for the widows, and in the process put in scores of hours.  We'd go over to the widow's house  several evenings after work for about a month and inventory, mark, and pack all the kits in boxes provided by one of the members.  We put the widows in touch with a buyer for the book collections, and hauled the boxes of models over to one of the member's house to be stored in his living room.  Usually we paid the widows for the collections and sold them by silent auciton.  If there was any profit, we would give most of it back to the widow and put a few bucks in the Club's bank account.  We set one lady up with a free vendor table during one of our contests, and after other vendors complained, we charged her for the table.  She sold the entire stash to another vendor and was out of there in an hour or two.

One of our club members died a couple of years ago.  The family didn't contact us, but liquidated his collection themselves.  His daughter and son-in-law put in lots of time and were present at all the local swap meets for a year or two selling off the stash.  It occurred to me that my wife, who has no interest in the hobby, should not be burdened trying to do that.  I'm sure she'll have enough to worry about at such a time. And my friends in the Club, who will no doubt be asked to take care of it in the event of my death, will volunteer a lot of unpaid hours cleaning up after me.  At least I will have saved them time in doing inventory.

My motive in all this?  I figured if I helped out some guy's survivors when I was able, some other guys would do the same for me.

Well said Robert!

I've not much of a stash, only about 25, not enough to warrent a database or spreadsheet inventory. Though I do have one! I also keep one for paints, and keep a reduced copy of it in my wallet to refer to when I'm standing in front of the paint rack. Of course keeping it updated is quite another matter! Which explains why I have so many duplicates!

I haven't yet begun buying kits in earnest, though I plan on starting soon. I've been occupied buying tools to build or paint with, and once that's completed (I need a PE bender and I'm hoping the Waldron punches come back on market soon) then I will start to stockpile more kits for the same reason Robert mentioned.

Addiction, to me, is a thing that you that you have little or no control over, and is harmful to you. Spending money isn't harmful, unless it lands you in such severe debt that you no longer have a roof over your head, or the lose the ability to feed yourself. I think (hope!) there are very few of us who is in that position.

While I enjoy the game of golf (or Flog considering the way I play), I can't see why people spend thousands on clubs, shoes, gloves and clothing, then thousands more on green fees, just to abuse their ego so. Then again I play Army Golf (left, right, left, right), so to me golf is just an excuse to go for long walks and propellering my arms while carrying odd shaped weights!

I have made collecting kits (some of them are rare) a hobby of its own.  Yes, I have spent thousands of dollars on this hobby, just like I spent on other hobbies of mine.  So what?  I have finances to back it up and time to enjoy my hobbies.  Yes, my collection of armor kits are probably enough to start my own shop, but this is for my own joy.  I don't know why some people feel that it is their duty to ridicule others for doing things that they like to do or having a system that work for them.  Addict?  You bet I am.  Having a hobby of collecting kits? Absolutely.  You don't collect something as a hobby? 

hkshooter wrote:

It seems to me that people who decide to burn thousands of dollars on kits they will never build are one of two things. A) addicted, or b) they have made the gathering and collecting of kits another hobby in itself... ...Buisness? Estate liquidation? You need computer driven data bases for that? All cool. The rest of you guys need help.

These are some pretty broad generalizations...

First - and speaking only for myself - I did not "burn thousands of dollars on kits" that I never intended to build. Every single kit I've purchased (in excess of $6,000 total) I fully intend to build at some point in the future...whether I meet that goal is another matter.

Second, I think you could say that one who participates in any activity with some degree of regularity could be "addicted", in the strictest sense of the word. It doesn't matter whether someone golfs, fishes, or builds models nearly every day. You could call any of them "addicted" to their particular passion of choice. I personally wouldn't call them addicted since it tends to imply a physical or psychological illness. I think of them more as dedicated.

My personal story is probably not unique. Four years ago, when I got back into this hobby, I was still on active duty in the USAF and had a monthly "disposable" income in excess of $1,500. I could have literally burned $1,500 out of every paycheck and still had enough money left over to live on. However, I knew once I retired, my "disposable" income was going to drop to $150 a month or less. Because I wanted to build models throughout my retired years, I realized I would need to "stockpile" most of the tools, supplies, and kits ahead of time. Either that, or be extremely handcuffed by my soon-to-be "meager" income. So, while my income was more than sufficient, I stockpiled everything needed to allow me to build models once my income dropped. Now, the only things I need to buy on a regular basis are paint, glue, brushes, and other expendable items. I'll still pick up a kit every 3 or 4 months, but I don't "need" to buy any kits to keep me active in the hobby.

As I said in my first post, my primary reasons for keeping an inventory are for insurance purposes and so that I don't end up buying stuff I already have on-hand or don't need. If someone doesn't want to keep track of their supplies, that's perfectly fine by me. However, I also can completely understand why someone would feel the need to document their "stash". 

This thread really cracks me up. Y'all are like a bunch of pimps trying to keep track of your "ladies"!

I only have about 35 kits sitting around and various PE sets for some of them, a few resin sets, nothing big and certainly not the mammoth collections some of you guys have. I must be one of the exceptions to the modeling community because I intend to build everything I buy and right now it would take me nearly two years to build what I have including AM stuff. Not long ago I even decided to sell a portion of the stash and cull the herd.

It seems to me that people who decide to burn thousands of dollars on kits they will never build are one of two things. A) addicted, or b) they have made the gathering and collecting of kits another hobby in itself. Me, I'm a model builder. If I don't intend to build it I wont buy it. Hence the reason I thinned out the closet. Having seen a few of the absolutely huge freaking collections out there has made me wonder what people are thinking. Let's see. I'm going to buy kits until I own more than the LHS or even some internet retailers. I'm gonna pay retail price for them instead of cost like the LHS does. And I'm gonna add two or three PE sets and resin sets to each of them and pay retail for them too. Then I'm gonna let'em gather dust for a few years until I sell them for .50 on the dollar or I die, which ever comes first.

If I was Jones'in for kits that bad I'd start a small buisness in my garage, open for one day a week to justify it to the IRS and buy all my kits at cost. And I still wouldn't need a computer to track the darn things. They'd be sitting right there on the shelf for me to admire and dance naked around while chanting ohms to alah or whoever I danced to.

Buisness? Estate liquidation? You need computer driven data bases for that? All cool. The rest of you guys need help.

Ah- see, your reason is for buisness. That's totally diffrent then the rest of us. You need it and by the look of it, did an outstanding job. I would likely have done something like that in your place.

Like I said - for the average "joe model maker" it's doesn't seem to be worth the effort for me do set that up. I just can not justify the time to do that.

DrewH wrote:

I have a 100+ kits and even more AM goodies. It would take too long for me to put them into the computer - and for what?  Seems out of reason for me as I'm not loading it into a laptop and taking it with me hobby shopping everytime.  Now be someone in a hobby shop, watching someone scroll through pages on a LP looking "do I have this one?....." I think I would be laughing pretty hard

I didn't build the database to haul to the hobby shop.  I built it because I managed or helped with three modelers' estate sales in the past two years.  Doing inventory on a model collection is time consuming for those who volunteer, and intrusive for the survivors.  For my stash, all that will need to be done is check off each lot number against the list and haul it off for the club to auction.

I just did the inventory of what I have in my basement and I was quite shock that I had that many kits (now pushing more towards to 450 unbuilt kits).  Most amazing thing is that I have multiple of same kits.  I try to take a mental note of what I need/want and just buy as I see.  Otherwise, I really don't have any solid tracking system.  Besides, i am not going to leave any trail of data base for my wife to find out. 

I have a 100+ kits and even more AM goodies. It would take too long for me to put them into the computer - and for what?  Seems out of reason for me as I'm not loading it into a laptop and taking it with me hobby shopping everytime. 

 Now be someone in a hobby shop, watching someone scroll through pages on a LP looking "do I have this one?....." I think I would be laughing pretty hard