138 replies to this topic

[pandamonium2112]

I can't honestly say i'm a model hoarder. Because i hoard all kinds of other stuff too.

I only have 50 unbuilt in box kits and 16 kits bagged in ziplock from yardsales and 2nd hand stores.

 

I collect lots of other trinkets along with electronics and R/C's. My problem is i love to tinker with just about anything, especially if it's broken. I'll take an item apart just to see how it works, save maybe a few interesting items from it (I've made some cool wall art)  then throw it away and file the knowledge.

 

Every year i go through my hobby room, garage, shed and clean out the stuff i know i'll never work on or is beyond repair. It's hard, but i told myself i have to do it. If i didn't, i think i could become as bad as the people on T.V.

[Terror]

yes ,but I haven't found any dead animals in my stash yet tho.

[hemi]

Why yes yes I am a hoarder,LOL I only have about 350 kits unbuilt I only buy kits that I like and cant bring myself to part out a kit,so i pretty much oob with aftermarket add ons.I have a collection of about 100 kits from the 70's-80's that I will not part with the rest are just run of he mill kits.

[Agent G]

yes

 

G

[Rob McKee]

I am a model hoarder with good intentions. I have to many unbuilt kits to count. The last time I did which was almost 2 years ago I was

in above 1000 kits and I have bought many more since then. I don't brag about how many kits I have because it is a little embarassing

to admit it to others. At the rate I build them I will never be able to finish them all but I just know if I get rid of 1 or more I'll get the urge to

build the one I let get away and start the search to find a new one.

 

For now I am just trying to cut down on the buying and get building.

 

This is an all to familiar story with us modellers. I cannot believe they haven't had a Hoarders episode with one of one there.

[ZTony8]

Hoarder?Nah! Some people invest in gold or gems,I invest in styrene futures.  

 I've got a bit over 1,000 kits.That makes a few more models than that because of multiple models in one box (like the AMT Musclecar Classics or the 3 and 5 Corvette sets).I'll pick up kits when I find a good deal on ones I enjoy but not ones I don't ( I don't build show rods,for example-and no ships,planes,or tanks.Zero interest there).I have duplicates of many,but not all,kits.

They're my insurance policy.I'm gonna live to build them all.So far,so good.

Edited by ZTony8, 11 January 2013 - 05:35 AM.

[gtx6970]

I don't consider myself a hoarder. . Hoarders don't sell anything.
 
Myself, with exception a few kits I have,,,,,,, I'll sell anything if the price is right . Actually sold off maybe 30-40  kits last spring at a swap meet . There was nothing special , just kits I had serous doubts I would ever do anything with .be them subject matter or scale I had no interest in
 
I have somewhere in the 350/400 kits range, so by some standards thats nothing . I know people  with kits numbering in the thousands

Edited by gtx6970, 11 January 2013 - 05:34 AM.

[niteowl7710]

I'm in the process of assembling a new set of shelves. I say process because everytime I try to work on it someone is asleep, and apparently banging the plastic "legs" that go been the shelving levels at 3am directly below your bedroom will wake up one's wife. At noon it wakes up one's napping toddler.

At any rate I'm still not a hoarder, I just occasionally run low on storage space.

[mademan]

It's been almost two years since I wrote the above post. For a few months after this thread ended, I started down the road to uncontrolled model buying. My stash went from 250 unbuilt kits to over six hundred in less than a year. I got them from flea markets, neighbors, garage sales, Craigslist, my lhs. It got out of hand very quickly since I wasn't picky at all. If it was reasonable, I bought it. I realized that I was getting out of control with buying models. I sold off just over half of my collection, almost all of my built ups and kept what I really want. I can only hope that I have enough time to build them all.

IN the past year alone, ive aquired 500+ kits.  Im gone for 2 weeks at work (fly in camp) and home for 2 weeks, but still cant find time to build

[Bennyg]

I'm breaking the hoarding habbit. I don't have the numbers some of you fellas have, but with my job, training and studies going on I'm getting rid of everything without a Mack badge on it. Also doing a big cleanup of the house in general. I want to focus on one breed so to speak. Cheers
Ben

[Tom Geiger]

I haven't counted my models and know I'll never build them all.  Why put that pressure on yourself? It's a hobby!  I had run out of room at my old house because it didn't have a basement and I was leery of storing kits in the garage (mice) or the attic (heat).  In my new house in PA I have a full finished basement and took over what was a 12x10 bedroom as the model warehouse. So I have all the room I'll ever need (famous last words) and I stopped worrying about buying stuff. If I see something interesting, I'll buy it.

 

I do intend to organize and cull down the hoard with the intent of eliminating duplicates,  upgrading some really beat built ups to better buildable kits, and filling in the holes in my collection.  For instance, if I sell 3 of the 6 '61 Buicks I have, I can use the funds to get a few other years that I don't have. And I can get rid of some of the stuff that just doesn't interest me anymore. 

 

And the funny thing... I have a great collection of old and rare kits and restorable built ups, but what do I build?  It seems my projects either start with a current kit or some old scrap (like my Dodge van camper!). 

[milkman]

I have been watching this thread with interest for a couple of days and thinking of my own collection.  My hobby room/office is in the corner of my farm's workshop.  On one side I work on guns and reload ammo and on the other side I build models.  I have shelves on the walls in between the two workbenches for my kit collection.  I was curious today and did  a quick inventory of both unbuilt and built kits.  I counted 328 unbuilt cars and trucks and 116 built cars and trucks.  That works out to about a 3 to 1 ratio of unbuilt to built.  My own diagnosis would be that although I like to collect kits that interest me, I am definitely not a hoarder considering that ratio.  What do you think?

[High octane]

No, as I'm currently "thinning the herd" as I'll NEVER build them all even though I'd like to, Besides I could use the ca$h for a set of aluminum heads.

[mrmike]

WOW!  I had forgotten about this thread and I am very surprised to see that it had resurfaced on Christmas Day.  While it has been questioned about why this thread was originally posted, I just wanted to know how other people felt about their collection of kits and why they have so many.  This isn't a psychological examination of collecting or storing of kits, I am more curious of how others feel about why they collect.  Isn't this why we start a conversation?  

I have bought kits in the past thinking that I am going to build them, write down my ideas for building the kit (photos, color options, extra parts) and put that kit into the stash for building at a later date.  Over time, that kit fell to the bottom of the build list, being replaced by other kits that I have acquired.  I suppose I could call it Modelers Short Attention Span (MSAS).  This isn't a debilitating condition, unless you are spending every cent you have on model kits.

My wife doesn't watch Hoarders anymore, so that phase has come and gone and has been replaced by watching all the shows on HGTV.  This means she'll be coming up with ideas for home improvements around this house.  Like I've got time for that... 

[mikemodeler]

I might be considered a hoarder, but then again living a long life runs in my family so there IS a chance I could live long enough to build the 300+ kits I have sitting in the hobby room and garage!

[IMSANUT]

Um, yes. As my work career has changed and the kids grew, I found I had little time for the pleasure of building. This, however did not curb my appetite to buy more kits. Now that I find I have more tme on my hands, I have begun the process of deciding what I actually want to keep, because at 55 I'll never finish what I have let alone what I actually want to build. I have no real idea the current count, but 300-400 is not too far off the mark......

[jdcar32]

Under strict definition some of us probably are hoarders. The term has gotten a really bad label as of late because of the T.V. show. I for one DO NOT store my feces in mason jars or collect used adult diapers so if I'm deemed a "hoarder" strictly due to my kit collection I'm cool with it ...........

[Tom Geiger]

Since this thread came back up...

 

I think we're all builders at heart. We do intend to build a really nice model from every kit we buy, but it's so much less time consuming to buy a new kit than to actually build it. We keep going for that great high of acquiring a new kit. I love opening a new box the first time to see what's inside. Ah, the groking of the parts and doing a rudimentary assembly of chassis to body, holding it up to the light to imagine the possibilities!  Then we research it on the Internet for more ideas and details. We collect those photos and data and either create a folder on our computer or put the info in the box. Then we go rumaging through other kits to find the parts we need to complete the vision, converse on message boards for the right wheels, decals and valve covers. That model is near built in our mind. That alone is worth the price of admission!  Then the kit gets put into the hoard to be built with all our great ideas.  At this point we have already derived our money's worth in pleasure from the kit. Doing the prebuild stuff (as listed above) is participating in the hobby, so the kit has served it's purpose. Never mind the additional 50-100 hours needed to actually build it!

[Matt T.]

Since this thread came back up...

 

I think we're all builders at heart. We do intend to build a really nice model from every kit we buy, but it's so much less time consuming to buy a new kit than to actually build it. We keep going for that great high of acquiring a new kit. I love opening a new box the first time to see what's inside. Ah, the groking of the parts and doing a rudimentary assembly of chassis to body, holding it up to the light to imagine the possibilities!  Then we research it on the Internet for more ideas and details. We collect those photos and data and either create a folder on our computer or put the info in the box. Then we go rumaging through other kits to find the parts we need to complete the vision, converse on message boards for the right wheels, decals and valve covers. That model is near built in our mind. That alone is worth the price of admission!  Then the kit gets put into the hoard to be built with all our great ideas.  At this point we have already derived our money's worth in pleasure from the kit. Doing the prebuild stuff (as listed above) is participating in the hobby, so the kit has served it's purpose. Never mind the additional 50-100 hours needed to actually build it!

I agree 100%, Tom! It's not always about building, but rather, enjoying the kits & the hobby.

 

Plus, if you don't buy the kits, the hoarders will get them all! LOL