I have been collecting model kits on and off for the last 4 years. I don't even remember buying much, but somehow I have accumulated 150+ kits. I don't even live in a house, I rent an apartment. I have bought them at various places, including Wal-mart, eBay, and Michaels. I keep telling myself this is last one, but there is some kind of obsession/ addiction to this. Out of all my kits, I may have completely put together a grand total of three in the last 4 years. I have about 30 kits started, but nowhere near finished.
There's no law that states that you MUST build everything you buy, and we can certainly buy much faster than we can build our models. The thing to be a bit cautious about (in my opinion) is to build because you feel guilty for having unbuilt kits. I only know of one person who has no collection, and just builds one kit a year... that's iron will.
I've also heard it said that we accumulate piles larger than we'll ever complete in our life times, but you have the ability to build from whatever is on the pile. It's a freedom, or even dream, that is quite tangible.
Anyhow, have fun with the hobby, where ever it takes you. I'd recommend finishing one of those 30 unbuilts. Rather than for the sake of paring down the pile, it's more for a sense of accomplishment. It feels good.
You know, there may indeed be some sort of obsession/addition here, when I consider all the folks I know, including myself, that are in a similar condition. The 150 kits is not that out of line, though a bit high for someone who only started four years ago. Most of the folks I know with a stash that large have been in the game for a couple of decades. Also, while many of us have partially completed kits on the shelves, 30 is a high number- I'd guess most of us have less than a dozen, many less than half dozen.
If it is a true mental condition, it does not seem to be too harmful a one, as long as you are not spending money you need for true essentials (food, medical care, family). However, I guess it would be interesting to hear of a mental health professional looking into this and seeing if it is a true 'illness'.
Now, the number of partially built models on the shelf is somewhat a product of what genre of models you build. Ship models, in particular, are long term projects, and I think it is healthy to put them up on a shelf for awhile and take a sabbatical and work on a simpler kit or another kit for awhile before returning to a major project ship. I have three such major ship projects on my shelves.
On simpler models (cars and planes) most of them are up there because I have lost a part, or screwed something up, or such, and have put them up for awhile because I am afraid if I try to finish them while I am upset with them I may really screw it up worse. And, sometimes they are up there while I calmly consider whether or not to really finish them or trash them.
And your point would be? I got back into this hobby in '93. I can count on one hand the number of kits I've finished. I have about 200 give or take, and that's after disposing of a few rather large boxes full. I haven't read the other responses yet, but I happen to know for a fact there are some who have actually rented extra storage space to house their stash. My biggest hangup on getting anything finished has always been getting caught up in details; I make great plans of doing this or that, making improvements, modifying "just because". Or, those kits that I really want to get just perfect once my skill level gets where I want it. Then comes the day when I realize the only thing I'm accomplishing is planning. I have decided for myself that from now on I will build OOB, and develop the basic skills to the best level I can. I have about twenty kits started. My wife will choose one at random and I will finish it, with no sidetracking. I will continue on until those are done. Then, again at random, she will pick something out of the main stash and I'll work on it from start to finish. There will be no aftermarket parts, and no untold hours of research to get it just right. I have always had a passion for aircraft, particularly WWII US Navy. The problem is, I know them too well. I know too many little details that the perfectionist in me won't allow overlooking. So, to get around that I've put aside the planes for now and changed subjects to things I have no experience with, either as models or real life experience. I don't know diddly about tanks; I just finished a Tamiya KV-1B that I'm very happy with. It took me about sixteen hours to build, all OOB except for some Trumpeter tracks that I used because I completely destroyed the original kit tracks. I'm currently working on a Hawk Models caricature figure of a surf bunny that I'm having a ball with. Maybe this is what you need to do as well--get out of your comfort zone/rut.
LOL That's what I did a couple of years ago. My comfort zone was railway modelling and I was becoming extremely obsessed with it. So I decided on a minor return to aircraft modelling just to give me a bit of variety. I mean there was no danger of me becoming obsessed with aircraft, now was there?
So how do I explain the two dozen F-4 kits that I've bought in the past few months???? ;-)
I think that it might be. There is a mental disorder that makes people cruise slowly down a street on garbage day looking for something that they probably don't need. I've heard it refered to as "Packrat Syndrome", but don't know if that's the "official" term. I like to think that we (and I suffer from it too) are just a bit more specialized.
ocd-obsessive-compulsive disorder. a somewhat blanket term that covers people who hoard. and often they will have
10,000 rubber bands but refuse to give on away because they won't have enough. packrats are usually the early stages, often it does not proceed further. ocd is when you CAN'T give anything up.
I think that "packrat syndrome" certainly applies to me. I have bought so many F-4 kits recently because I have noticed that the availability of some models is patchy at best. supposing I fancy building an F-4D and there are none available at the time? that would send me into a downward spiral... ;-) Now I just grab one of the four in my stash! For that self same reason, I will be buying *seven* Hasegawa F-4J kits shortly, once they become available in the UK.
I have had to sell some kits recently. like losing arm....i now having to sell most of my US cop cars, easy to find in US, not in UK...got them over years from US ebay, only Caprices, and Lindberg crown Vics, but i have a load of aftermarket decals for them....infact i am gonna have to sell my stash of 72nd Mig21 Fujimis, i love them....others too. my stash has gone down from 1500 or so kits to about half that, but i have stacks fo decal sheets, resin, etch etc etc...i cry sometimes.
4000 records, 1200 cassettes, 4000 cd's, reel to reels,
6 motorcycles, 12 pc's, 300 kits.....it does get nutty. and then there's the coin collection. i have enough wheat pennies to sink a barge.
Like my favorite modelling cartoon: Guy shows his friend a bunch of kits filling a doorway: "It's not my closet, it's my basement."
Years of seeing kits disappear from circulation make you want to buy up something you're afraid you won't see tomorrow. But now, buying a kit today means you'll see a better version tomorrow--better molding and decals. The only "Must buy" kits now for me are huge bargains or rarities that I might not see again.
With over 2000 kits, 24 or so in various stages of construction, a
7000+ volume aviation and modeling library I agree, it's a problem, but what a great problem!
The nice thing is that Lynne suffers from the same malady. With her it's Disney stuff, Judaica and special education stuff. Every once in awhile we clear out enough to find the floors. She just got back from a week in Israel and didn't think that I had really worked in her office. Eight bags of stuff to the shredder/dump, three bags of books to the hospital and it didn't make a dent!
The floors need to be refinished, so I'm using that as an excuse to get rid of a lot of crap. For the first time she mentioned that I may want to reduce the surplus model supply. Maybe, but not for awhile.
That sounds just like me. I'm always fantasizing what the finished product will be and get caught up in the details and the myriad of options I have. I collect entirely automotive kits. I'm always wondering about the exterior color, engine options, etc. I always have the fear of screwing up the paint finish, which I've always struggled with.
I have a full time job and a few other hobbies that I get tangled up in. So I get around to scale models every once in a while, when I have plenty of free time. I actually first got started in the hobby about 20 years ago doing big rig truck kits, when I was a kid. I abandoned it for about 15 years before coming back to it - now collecting model car kits. I still have about 10 or so kits from back then.
One thing I remembered back then was that pretty much everyone was in this business. My local Kroger had devoted a third of the aisle to model kits. They had like 10 different varieties of big rig kits - Kenworths, Peterbilts, Macks, you name it. I could pick up my paints at the local pharmacy. Nowadays there is probably only two hobby stores that carries plastic and I live in a big city. Today, I was going to the Hobbytown down the road and just found out they closed shop.
I normally pick up a kit because it's cheap. Especially Wal-marts selling AMT models for $6.00. One thing I miss are some of the pre-painted AMT "Pro Shop" kits that stores used to carry. They were just $10 and some had incredible detailing.
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