Why so many?

[bronco69]

My girlfreind used to ask me, why do you have so many models that aren't built, why do you keep buying them if you have un-built ones. My reply is that they are like hotwheels, slot cars, rc cars, or any other collectible....you never know if it is the last one you will see on a shelf. Am I just crazy (probably), or just getting it while the time is right. I know many of us say, man I wish I still had That One, right. Let me know what you think. OH, I almost forgot that I NEED them...LOL.

Edited January 8, 2009 by bronco69

[82-454]

They're my retirement projects. At the current rate of price increases of models I soon won't be able to afford them. I need them for extra parts. < Quotes. I don't about you guys but I'm always working on 4-5 models at one time and never finish any of them.

Edited January 8, 2009 by 82-454

[buba39]

i have the same problem i get started on one kit then get in a building slump or the built aint comeing out like u see it in your head

[B-dub]

I have tinkered with models as a little kid (usually the already painted ones or someone would paint them for me) but now that im back into it I cant just work on one model..

I get bored and I currently have 6 models and none completed but 2 of them I'm for sure going to be doing because my grandpa who passed away bought them for me for christmas and have been in a box ever since... when I decided to start doing models again I happened to find them in a box and now that Im thinking about it I think I'm going to go work on one of them... =)

but yeah.. if i just had to work on one model I'd go crazy... my grandma started bugging me when she seen them (i brought them in from storage since I'm back in missouri and staying living with my dad but im over here when he's at work) .. she said "why do you need so many why isnt one enough" and i told her b/c i cant work on one at a time and she looked at me like i was crazy haha

[RodneyBad]

they are like hotwheels, slot cars, rc cars, or any other collectible....you never know if it is the last one you will see on a shelf. Am I just crazy (probably), or just getting it while the time is right. I know many of us say, man I wish I still had That One, right. Let me know what you think. OH, I almost forgot that I NEED them...LOL.

You Hit the nail on the head..

Growing up I use to have a box next to my desk with 10 models in it.

My mom use to complain I had too many and shouldn't buy any more till I finished those.

My dad use to tell me to grow out of it.

Now for kicks, When they comes over, I show them my hobby room and my spare room

But Hotwheels take up so much less space but Heavier.

[buba39]

lol my wife says dont u have a nuff hotwheels i said NO i still have like four or five wallmart bags full that i have yet to catalog plus the ones in the shoe boxs

[bronco69]

For sure. I am currently working on a few; 40 ford coupe, flip nose 50's ford truck, mountain goat jeep commando, 91 bigfoot, and a 79 ford 4x4.

[Guest promodmerc]

I but two of every kit I want. One to build, one to put back. (the Hobby Lobby 40% off coupons help greatly) I'm a lot more selective now in what I buy but I have plenty to last and know I will enjoy them more.

[hemi]

Pretty much the same here,Buy them while I can,and if I find one at big lots I like I normally buy all they have.I like promodmercs Ideal buy 2 of the ones you like.I cant tell you how many times I have bought one kit,and never seen it again(for a price I could pay anyways).

[MrObsessive]

Well, those that have seen my place know I have a lot of models and have asked the same question.

I buy models not always with the intent of building them at the moment-------it's mostly because I just happen to like that particular car and most likely will never own the 1:1, let alone have the room to even store it.

So it's nice for me a lot of times to buy a kit and just simply "grok" it once in a while........even though it might be 5-10 years before I'll ever build it!

[Eshaver]

Yell the girl friend to take a look at the A M T Orange Blossom Special. I chose that one because it came out one time like the Ecto 1-A Cadillac never to be seen again. Meanwhile build em if ya gottem! Ed Shaver

[torinobradley]

It's not that you have to build them...

It's that you have them to build...

That's what I tell the wife when she complains about how many kits I have. Another favorite is "why do you have so many of the same car?" Then I show her how many different ways you can build a '32 Ford.

On the other side of the coin, there comes a time when I will no longer consider building a kit and that point is reached when the kit starts going for about $50. I will usually sell those off so that I can purchase more kits. She stopped complaining when some of my kits went over the $200 mark...

I have about 15-20 models that are in a 'partially complete' stage and am really trying to finish some before I crack open another one, but inspiration is a strong thing. It's one thing to sketch it out (which makes you wanna build it more) but when your actually working on it, the imagination and all that mechanical engineering just make you feel good...

My partial list of partially completes:

'66 Mustang

'57 Flip Nose Vette converted from Gasser to Pro Street

'34 Ford Pickup Roadster Traditional Hot Rod

'34 Ford Fastback Land Speed Racer

'57 Chevy Street Rod

Model A Woody 2Dr Panel Truck with Real Wood Body

El Camino SS Pro Street

Corvette Stingray III

Pontiac Banshee

Etc...

Etc...

Just don't ask how many I have completed in the last few years...

[DR Dubois]

Same thing here. 6 on the go, not one completed in the last six months! But I'll usually buy them when they're on sale ...and who can pass up a sale!! All together I've only got about 50 other kits in waiting...

And you can never have to many kits!!!!!

Edited January 8, 2009 by DR Dubois

[george 53]

Your VERY LAST sentence said it ALL. "I NEED them !" Yes, you do! It's like her shoes, "How many can you wear at ONE time?" You don't say Jack about the shoes, she don't gripe about the models. It's a 50/50 kinda thing. After 37 years, we pretty much got it down. You guy's'll get there too!

[MR BIGGS]

Ask your girl how come she has so many shoes, or purses Etc, Etc. she will never give you a straight answer. That’s just something you don’t ask a man about something he loves to do, even if it’s in fun. I got questioned one time but never again. She asked the same question your girl asked you. Remember I didn't have to give her an answer because it was really none of her business what I did with my money. I work hard for what I have and should be able to buy what I want without being questioned as long as all the bills where paid. I am the alpha male in the house and she has to be reminded of that once and a while. The reason I had so much models back then was because they where on sale, got a good deal from a buddy, knew they where not going to be stocking them anymore and the list goes on, it was just something I love to do. You owe no one any explanation; they are not your mom or dad. But once you do it, they will hound you all the time. Women are never happy and will find anything to bitch about when you are taking your money and buying plastic toys when it should be spent on them. Yeah right. I could be a druggie, spend all my money in a strip club, and have a gambling problem but no I am in my room building models minding my own business and they will still have something stupid to say. But that’s just my 2 cents.

Anthony

[Pete J.]

I learned a long time ago that just because I want to build a particular model, doesn't mean I will be able to find it in the store. I have more than once paid way too much for one on eBay! I collect what I am interested in because it may not be available when I want to build it. Saves me money in the long run. Of course I have enough to last through my retirement, my sons retirement and may grandsons(unborn) retirement, so I should stop buying, right? Not a chance! More is never enough Last count over 200 car models. Don't know how many aircraft, ships and other stuff. Over 180 Tamiya alone.

[fordh8r]

Anytime you give them a reason that makes them money they'll be OK with it.....I just tell my wife, if I die before I build them all she can probably sell them for more than I paid for them.

We all know how some kits suddenly disappear from the shelves and become more valuable after some time. So she says "go ahead buy whatever you want"...all the while believing she'll be selling them later.

Besides she does want to keep me happy.

[Guest promodmerc]

This is how it works in my house.

I have my hobby the wife has her hobbies (making jewlery, polymer clay & sewing)

I don't complain about what she buys or how much she has and vice versa.

[Aaronw]

....you never know if it is the last one you will see on a shelf.

That is exactly it for me, if I knew that every model I wanted to build would be easily available when I wanted to build it I could get rid of 1/2 of my stash which are largely duplicates, I have as many as 6 copies of some of my favorite kits. However as most of us know that is not the case, models get issued, they are on the shelves for a while then they get hard to find. Sometimes they get re-issued afetr a couple years sometimes they don't get re-issued for many years or ever and if they do it may not be in the same configuration (stake truck vs tractor, 2 in 1 vs custom only etc).

[Helipilot16]

Ask your girl how come she has so many shoes, or purses Etc, Etc. she will never give you a straight answer. That’s just something you don’t ask a man about something he loves to do, even if it’s in fun. I got questioned one time but never again. She asked the same question your girl asked you. Remember I didn't have to give her an answer because it was really none of her business what I did with my money. I work hard for what I have and should be able to buy what I want without being questioned as long as all the bills where paid. I am the alpha male in the house and she has to be reminded of that once and a while. The reason I had so much models back then was because they where on sale, got a good deal from a buddy, knew they where not going to be stocking them anymore and the list goes on, it was just something I love to do. You owe no one any explanation; they are not your mom or dad. But once you do it, they will hound you all the time. Women are never happy and will find anything to bitch about when you are taking your money and buying plastic toys when it should be spent on them. Yeah right. I could be a druggie, spend all my money in a strip club, and have a gambling problem but no I am in my room building models minding my own business and they will still have something stupid to say. But that’s just my 2 cents.

Anthony

Well said! While Nancy isn't a typical wife and never complains, my two best friends have to be reminded of what you said in your post.

It's your life; spend it the way you want!!

[Daniel Peterson]

This is how it happened in the wierd Petersonian Universe...the origins date back to the late sixties...

My first model...purchased for me as a gift by my elder gearhead (in love with everything from MGs to Gassers) brother. That was what an astronomer might refer to as the Big Bang...it was in fact (I believe) the Surf Woody that started things along.

Built without paint and a lot of glue (the good, hallucinogenic Testors stuff) it shortly disappeared into anonimity. I do not remember its exact fate, but I hazard it does not reside in the International Model Car Builders' Museum...

For some reason, it was soon thereafter determined by my relatives that not knowing what to get me for a birthday or Christmas was not a problem as long as there were plastic models available.

I soon also figured out doing chores could finance a bike ride into the downtown Pottstown area to Town Toy to get another model. For less than 5 bucks, I could get a model, some paints, and dodge traffic for a burger across the street at Ginos. Oh, and the exercise that came with riding my bike a few miles either way meant all I actually took home was the score from Town Toy...

Moving along to Intermediate School and later Junior High, I found several other buddies who built models. They had stashes ranging from a box of old parts to a stack of unbuilt gifts. (See, my relatives weren't the only ones wise to the merit of model kits as gifts.) Our school even allowed models to be displayed in the trophy cases near the office. This was the early 70s and cars as well as models of cars were still considered cool. This was also when I first started seeing that accumulating parts and kits was a noble, if not mandatory task if I was to pursue the hobby further. It's also when I was first bitten by the Auto World catalog virus. That's when I learned there was a lot more out there that I had to have in order to support my growing addiction.

For a brief time, the beloved and legendary 3-in-1 and annuals fueled my buiding, which led to loads of excess parts and outrageous kit-bashing. Still, I was buying kits on an as-I-could basis with the intention of building the model, and usualy doing so. The shelves started to fill with built models and my parents still thought the hobby was an acceptable diversion. (That would change during High School)

High school led to a 66 Rambler American and a 65 Pontiac LeMans in the back yard...and girls. Building continued, but ebbed slightly since bloody knuckles and cursing more than a bad golfer while working on the cars consumed my spare time when I wasn't chasing a certain blonde or two that couldn't be convinced as I was that I was the man of her dreams.

That's the background, so this is where things really speed up. Pay 'ttention.

3-in-1s started to dry up, and many of my glue bombs and glue-bomb generated spare parts started to disappear and not get replaced.

I continued to buy kits to build right up until graduation from HS and then things flat out stopped with my first semester of college.

Fast forward to 1983...college graduation.

I had squirreled away a few kits that awaited my return from University. They were built, but with the parts depot I had previously amassed now gone, I commenced buying kits just for their wheels or tires (MPC slicks the hottest targets) in order to complete them. I also bought kits for engines, or sometimes just headers. Remember, there was a time when the box art managed to tell you what options were in the box...

Now I was accumulating the core kits I wanted to build, and the parts donor kits. Most every retail store had model kits and I still hade no less than 3 local hobby shops from which to harvest kits & supplies. I was now too far gone for help. I was working and had an income, was living at home for a little bit longer, and didn't have a steady squeeze to divert hobby money to movies and restaurants.

I then moved out and with an 2BR apartment came the ability to set a hobby room aside and I had the freedom to build into the wee hours of the morning if I cared to. And I often did. My skills had improved over the years and I was now buying kits ahead of my building pace like never before.

Then it happened. I got married and bought a house. My buying didn't slow down much, but sheetrock and carpentry consumed my waking hours. Needelss to say, I was growing a backlog of kits, all with the intention of building them when things slowed down.

Then my son was born (Yes, I managed a little sumpin' besides sheetrock and carpentry now and again) and even the buying slowed down...though it didn't stop.

Now we're looking at a couple years of kits getting accumulated, and no building. My son became old enough to not demand constant attention and the house was pretty much how we wanted it, so I started going to the garage to build for an hour or two before bed. That's when the real work started getting done...but no project was started without a second (or third) kit for parts. My work got so much better that I decided to enter a contest and I faired extremely well for a first timer. The second "Big Bang" came when at these shows I discovered kit vendors. I was done for. I'd walk out with 6-8 kits and a trophy, and starting jonesing for the next show.

Enter my joining a model car club, and finding out that I could score kits at upwards of 5 bucks below hobby shop retail, and things commenced getting really ugly.

Now I sit here freshly divorced, with a 60 hour a week job, and a 16-year old at home. I don't have time to build, but lordy I still have time to buy. Now I buy kits to replace the ones I destroyed or never had the chance to buy when I was a kid. My amassment (I refuse to call it a collection) weighs in at close to 400 kits, each and every one purchased to build, or at least support a build. Making matters worse, I have probably $400 in aftermarket parts waiting to get matched up to a project...some I haven't purchased the kit for yet.

So you ask why so many kits. It's not my fault. Other people made me do it. Even a decade or so of ugly cars coming out of Detroit and the seemingly endless transfer of mold ownership and lost tools couldn't help me.

It's my brother's fault.

It's Town Toy's fault.

It's my relatives' fault.

It's my education's fault.

It's my apartment's, and later my house's fault

It's the girls I never hooked up with's fault.

It's those darned cars' fault.

It's the contest, vendors, reissues and aftermarket's fault.

I didn't do anything wrong. I bought what I intended to build, and did so with a clear conscience. The fact I have 40+ years worth (If I started...and finished each one in little over a month's time) of kits to build is merely a sign that I had the best of intentions, and in fact still do. I am doing what is right and natural for people like us. It's all the outside factors that cause the gap between buy and build.

I feel so much better, now having gotten that off my chest...

Edited January 10, 2009 by Daniel Peterson