Hi guys,

Today I've decided to stop buying new model kits !!!!
For what reason, you will ask ?
I'll tell you !!
At this moment I have a stash of about 70-75 model of modern US vehicles ( tanks, trucks etc )
My average build is about 4-5 per year, meaning that i'll be about 75 years old when the last one is finished !!!!!!!!!
Let's be reasonable, for many years I bought more new models then I can finish!!
There is more to life than just modelling ( Wife, job, social live )
I know it will be hard to resist the temptations of buying new models, since there is a lot of new stuff coming out !!!!

May the force be with me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gé

Stop buying models? What is wrong with you? Every model bought is another dream come true, whether or not they get built is another matter. Yes, there is more to life. However, there is always time to build. I even found time to continue my work when my daughter was born. She was always interested in daddy's toys. Hopefully a future model builder. But stop buying kits? This isn't just a hobby, it's an addiction. If you can't hack it, I wish you the best of luck. Some of us can complete a model within a few weeks or a month.

Gé
I really understand your point of view. It would be more sensible stob buying them

I also think sometimes that I won't finish absolutely all the kits which i have in my stash and i believe that stop buying them wolud be maybe saving lots of money...

I undrestand but i don't agree.

Having a stash plenty of kits it means having a lot of potential possibilities to express my creativity (...with this hobby). It means having a lot of "possible paths" which I could walk..It doesn't a matter if I have the concrete possibility to walk ALL this ways, the most important thing is to have always something new which can stimulate my brain

cheers

last month I decided to stop buying for at least one month (June) but then came the Luckymodel anniversary sale now Im waiting for my 2 AIMs and 2 Merkava 4 Academy (one is a present to a friend).
I understand your point as my stash is 50+ kits and I became slow builder lately, but you cant see, let's say, the new Trumpeter T-64 or BTR-50 and dont buy them, it's an addiction but a good one.
I dont agree with you about wife job and social life, Im living my life normaly and still get time for modelling

The biggest problem I have (and i'm sure many of you will agree) is that I cant pass up on a bargain. I almost never buy kits new from model shops or online retailers. I just trawl ebay and the private sellers forums, as well as under the tables at model shows and tend to buy things which I might not necessarily have a use for at the time, but if the price is cheap and its my area of interest get it for future projects.

So its a fairly annoying addiction, but it does mean that I have a huge collection of models which have in almost all cases cost me significantly less than their retail price. Recent examples:
Real Model LAV III £20 off ebay
2x Airborne Miniatures 3 figure vignettes £27 from a private seller on ML
SP Designs T-80+at least 7 other T-80 AM sets for £60 off ML seller

None of them will I build in the next year, but as you see, the prices are too hard to pass up on.

Im in the same boat .... have around 70 models and almost 100 figure sets and really dont see the point in buying more. But I do buy more ... which means there is always one or two you know that just wont get built in this life time, so they´re sold off or swapped.
There have been some amazing models released this last few years, so plans I had a few years ago, go out the window with each new purchase.

May God have mercy on your soul.....

Gé, I'll give you 6 months max... I have the same situation and I sold the ones I knew I was never going to build but have since bought almost the same number again... And I already have a few that I'm going to get, but I'll wait for Christmas...

Cheers!
Stefan

The trick is to see it the other way round. You don't want to limit the stash to what you think you can build in a normal lifetime - you want to force yourself to live long enough to empty the stash no matter how long it takes! Thus, if the stash keeps growing, you're set for immortality!

(Well, that's my plan, and I'm sticking to it...)

Tom

Guys just love talking about how big their "stash" is. . . .
I agree that this is an addiction and that there might never be enough time to complete all those kits. Am I going to stop buying, no. I know my issues and I am ok with that.
I do feel for you, time is limited. I have a wife, two kids, a dog, and run my own business. But modeling is my time that I do after the kids go to bed and when my wife needs some down time too. Its good for both of us and the kids to have our own time. Makes the time we spend with each other and our friends even better and more enjoyable.
I know that there are kits that I still want to build that have not made it to plastic yet and am hopeful that they will soon while I still have the faculty to do this hobby. But it IS a hobby, and you can come and go as you please. I wish you success in all of your future projects and I hope that you find the right balance in your life soon. Cheers.

A great analogy I read once was that "We buy books because we think we're buying the time to read those books."
I'm sure there are many reasons for buying more kits, even knowing that many will never be built. I like having the choice, at my fingertips, of what to start at any given moment.
-Sean.

I wouldn't call it an addiction as much as a lifestyle. I have about 400 kits in my stash. I paid 20 - 40% below retail for every one of them. Buy low, and save it for later. That's my theory.

I am also not buying new kits mostly due to lack of funds. I had a huge stash of almost 800 kits at one time but I've sold many off at the local model club meetings and it is now down to 270. It would be nice to get it under 100.

I have also been building, painting, and finishing some kits started long ago so I will also be working on the stash from that point.

Have I mentioned my biggest fear? I manage to hang on forever, because the Powers that Be eventually outlaw chemicals (like glue) and sharp objects (like sprue-cutters) and all I can do for all eternity is to fondle my unassembled kits...



Tom

Sounds like a really bad episode of the twilight zone. ( shudders )

I think i have to give urgent attention to this call.......

Ironically my wife has been asking me lately when I'm going to stop buying.Again the fact that there are so many new releases these days especially for modern kits it's very hard not to buy.There was a time when I only had a small stash from model shows and local hobby stores.The hobby stores slowly disappeared and the shows became fewer.Then the thought of the internet.After finding some trusted sites it was my downfall.I have a wife and a small daughter and always have time for them,but not so much as an addiction it's a stress fee time to spend on my own.My wife once said to the owner of my favourite old hobby shop that she didn't know why I spent so much time working on models.I loved his reply"Well at least you know where he is and what he's up to."

Tom

Yes, I have to agree, I have a hard time passing up a bargain.

It got to the point where I had over 600 kits, but now I've divested down to about 160 I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Plus, I didn't lose much money , in fact I bet I've made a modest profit, even adjusting for inflation.

I'll still buy if there's something I want or need, but right now I'm more concerned about buying glue than kits.

WHY stop at 75?? What happens if there is a natural disaster and UPS can no longer deliver!!??? LOL

Seriously, half the fun of buying a model is letting it season on the shelf for a little while!

That is what we call in the cheese business "affinage".

Boy, I was holding off for the moment because I have a dozen kits waiting or in progress. Of course, I'm also saving for another gun. Not that I have a lot of guns. I'm just trying to acquire a lot of guns. And kits. Seems they go together. Too bad reality gets in the way.

Well, 400 kits and I've also got a very decent supply of glue, paint, and blades. I'm not one of those 2012 end-of-the-world guys, but I've read a lot about the real probability of solar flares causing an EMP that fries every piece of electronics on the planet. Then it's just me, my books, and my models. Sounds kind of nice, actually....

Hold on a minute now....

First we keep calling it an addiction....NO, the collection of unbuilt kits is a hobby all by itself. Like any other collection, we collect kits. Thus we have two hobbies and the stash is perfectly normal

Second, the wife. A simple understand works for me....I don't look at your closet, you don't look at my stash. Same goes for deliveries!

Lastly age, hummmm, you seem to be looking at it as an engineer, I could calculate x.xx builds/year.....stash/bpy = years needed....etc,etc. Now you should be looking at it as a banker...it is an retirement investment that keeps growing.

Rounds Complete!!

I have over 300 kits in my stash and at my rate (less than one a year) I'll need to be Methuselah to finish what I have.

But that's not the point. I buy each kit with the intention of eventually building it, but knowing that I probably won't. My real desire is to have exactly the kit at hand when I decide that want to build that particular vehicle. If I want to build a Stuart, then I want the kit in the stash "right now" so I can get going on it. If a better version of a model comes out (as with the aforementioned Stuarts) then I tend to offload the older kits & buy the newer.

I've also gotten rid of anything I really don't intend to build, but I certainly know that I really won't build even a small fraction of what I have.

Paul

I may not paint and weather them all, but I sure will enjoy building them all

It's good to have a stash for those times when money is tight. You can stay home and actually save money by building models instead of going out all the time.

I do believe the price needs to be strongly considered when buying a kit and aftermarket stuff as it all gets way out of hand quickly.

Good topic