Realization

As I have started to get back into this hobby, I have quickly compiled a sizable stash from my old collection of kits plus some new kit purchases (Wingnut Wings in particular).  I have also been able to grab some hard to find kits that I have always wanted from Ebay and a few that I will sell to other folks that I know are looking for the same kits OR just to make a few bucks since they were such a good deal.  Unexpectedly, I have won multiple kit raffles (at my local IPMS club, Maraudercon, online–thanks Doogs, etc…).  At Maraudercon, I was given numerous kits by collectors/modelers who are just trying to clean out their stash.  I could not believe the numbers of models some folks stated that had at home…in the 1000’s!

As I have gotten back into modeling I have really honed in a couple genres/categories/brands that interest me the most.  Wingnut Wings has been the catalyst for my restart primarily due to the build quality and level of detail of the kits.  Don’t get me wrong though, WW1 avaition including paint schemes, aircraft designs, and the related history is addictive as well.  Tamiya aircraft kits also interest me due to their build and fit quality, although this does not apply to all of their kits including their older generation kits and their rebox kits from other brands.  Their new 1/32 kits are stellar if not almost appearing overly complex to build.  Dragon/DML/Cyber Hobby aircraft kits are just peculiar.   They offer very unique subjects, primarily WWII German, in various scales with a high level of detail.  Many of the kits have fit or instruction issues, but the best modelers have braved this and created extraordinary builds.  They entered the scene rapidly, near the end of my youth modeling experience, and faded away almost as fast to recently be reborn as Cyber Hobby.  In some ways, I wonder if their prices and somewhat obscure subjects, particularly in aircraft, out weighed the level of detail their kits offered.  It would be interesting to see the sales numbers for the different scales and individual kits sold by each manufacturer.  I imagine it would prove that there really can’t be too many P-51’s, P-47’s, FW-190’s, BF-109’s, etc… I am certainly not complaining about their interesting modeling subjects and have many in my stash and wish list.  I would guess that the draw for Dragon/DML/Cyber Hobby armor kits is their real mainstay.   With that said, I have played with a few armor kits in 1/35 and 1/76 over the years and they are very appealing and to me more forgiving to build versus aircraft.  I am more drawn to the 1/76 armor now.  I think it has to do with something so big/powerful in real life being represented in such a small scale with detail.  I have tried one naval kit in my life, U.S.S. Arizona, that I bought at Pearl Harbor when I was ~8 years old.  I think it was my first kit ever and I put it together rather successfully as it was no easy kit from what I can remember.  I used no paint, which I didn’t discover until I was ~10-11 years old.  At some point I sent that boat to depths with firecrackers, BB gun, or during some other adventure.  I saw some very detailed 1/700 kits at Maraudercon and may try one at some point.

Reviewing this, I can really summarize what draws me in this hobby more than anything.  Hands down it is good build/fit quality followed closely by level of detail.  Certainly not everyone will agree with me on this.

The Realization:

At the present moment, I have 94 kits and it will soon be 96 when the WNW Fokker D.VII is released.  That is a ton of kits and when considering the scale and complexity of some, I doubt I will complete them all.  I will certainly be attempting to do so though.  With that said, I am realizing that space for storage of kits, kits in process, and display of completed builds will be become critical down the road.  I have set some rules to control my quantity of kits.  I believe this could also help with those really hard kits when other wants are on the horizon.  The ultimate goal would be to get the number of kits in stash to below 10 or 20 kits.  The above excerpt is my guideline for these rules listed below:

• No greater than 150 unfinished kits
• No greater than 15 unfinished 1/72 aircraft kits
• No greater than 50 unfinished 1/48 aircraft kits
• No greater than 10 unfinished 1/32 aircraft kits (excluding WNW)
• No greater than 5 unfinished1/76 armor kits
• No greater than 3 unfinished 1/35 armor kits
• No greater than 1 unfinished 1/144 aircraft kit
• No greater than 1 unfinished naval kit of any scale