Downsizing My Stash - How Much Is Too Much?

Outside of my hobby life I've recently been doing through a re-evaluation of my consumption with the aim of being more mindful when it comes to purchases I make. Of course the elephant in the room is my hobby stash and the way I go about purchasing models.

Having a stash of models is part and parcel of the hobby, but how much is too much and is it really necessary? I can honestly say every model I've bought I have done so with the intention of building it. I'm not a box collector, but I have unintentionally become one, and so I have a large number of models stored away and very little idea of how much I've spent over the years.

In my case so many models is becoming quite a burden, there's a feeling I'll never get them done. So much so that for the past few months I've found it really hard to focus on anything model related. Of course at the same time when it comes to thinking about downsizing I feel I've invested a certain amount of my heart and soul into them. They are all projects I researched and once intended to build, and so it makes it quite difficult to part with them.

On the miniatures side I have managed to accumulate a number of rare models, at no cost to myself, that are no longer available for purchase unless I pay over the odds on eBay. Generally speaking these models will remain for now as it would not make sense to sell and then realise I want to paint them. Of course I will periodically reassess them and I may at some point move them on.

So, starting from April the 1st, until the end of the year, I'm going to keep a record of every single hobby item I buy and how much I spend. I'm also going to record the kits I sell or give away during the year. However I don't want to put a price against them because I don't want sold kits, and their value, to be used as justification for unnecessary purchases purely on the  the basis that I can afford them.

So the intention is that going forward this will help me focus, make sure I get better utility out of the items I already own, and save me from making more unnecessary purchases. If I feel little less overwhelmed then hopefully this blog will be seeing an increase in hobby related project posts.

Completed Review - Airfix Boulton Paul Defiant (A02069)

Scale: 1:72, RRP - £8.99

This is probably the briefest review I've done; a few photos that I wanted to share with you followed by a quick summary.

This is fantastic kit, one of the best I've tried. Only issue I recall is for some reason the topside of the nose didn't quite line up. I've seen a few cases of this happening but it may just be down to how I fitted the cockpit. If you've had the same problem feel free to let me know.

The model was painted with Vallejo model air paints, I followed the steps I used in my Airifx Hurricane quick build. Panel lines and weathering were done with Flory Models' Dark Dirt and Sand washes.

The markings of this aircraft come from the dogfight double set (A50170) and are those of the highest scoring Defiant crew, Sergeants Ted Thorn (pilot) and Frederic Baker (gunner).

Eduard photo-etch was used for interior details and the gun barrels came from Master Models of Poland. That reminds me, the reason why I had to replace the guns was that the plastic ones are really difficult to remove from the sprue and in my case I snapped them. Montex masks were used during painting, I wouldn't recommend them for this kit as they don't really hold on the curved turret part (not too bad on the flat parts though).

As always you can keep up-to-date with all my builds on my Instagram page.

Overall Build Score: 4.5 out of 5, another excellent release from Airfix. The shape is finally correct and aside from slight fit issues and the poor turret guns the kit builds very well. The individual boxed version offers you the choice between the aircraft's two main roles, the early day and then the later night fighter. In addition the canopy, raised or lowered fairing, and landing gear options ensure you have all possible configurations available to build. The aircraft itself may have been considered a failure but this kit is a triumph!

Eric 'Winkle' Brown: 1919 - 2016

If you were to build a model of each aircraft that the legendary British pilot Eric Brown flew during his lifetime you would need a huge room to display them in (even in 1:72 scale)!

In all he flew 487 aircraft in a truly remarkable life as shown in the film below and in the many books he wrote.

Eric 'Winkle' Brown: 1919 - 2016

Wayne England

I was saddened to hear today that the artist Wayne England has died.

When I talk of the "good old days" of Warhammer and Warhammer 40K Wayne's art was part of that world and continued to be right up until the present day. The White Dwarf covers below perfectly encapsulate the feel of Warhammer 40K in the late 80's.

Space Marines - White Dwarf 110 (1989)

Terminator Badge - White Dwarf 112 (1989)

As well as Games Workshop products he was also well known for his work on many other ranges, including Magic the Gathering, D&D, Avatars of War and Fantasy Flight Games.

New Box, Old Mould - The Pitfalls of Kit Selection

A few days ago I was involved in an on-line discussion regarding the re-issuing of old moulds which I thought I'd revisit on this blog.

The discussion started with a commenter's experience of building, in their words, the awful Airfix 1:48 scale Hawker Fury, which contains plastic from 1980. It then turned to whether or not it was an underhand tactic by model makers to sell kits that are well past their sell-by date and is such practice unfair on customers?

New Box, Old Plastic

To start with lets look at things from the model companies point of view. They have a product to sell, they exist to make money. Straight forward and to point I know, but that is the reality and I see little point in blaming them. It's easy for us to shift the blame to them, to call them underhand but in the end it's up to us, as customers, to make informed choices.  If we do then we won't be buying the inferior products and they will cease to sell them.

Certain companies seem to have different approaches to re-boxes, in my experience they are:

• Academy - For years Academy have been producing budget kits of a mixed quality. In recent years they've started releasing more expensive and higher quality kits but I've not yet seen any of their range retired. They've changed the catalogue numbers of some their older kits but released them exactly the same as before so I'm not even sure that counts as re-boxing them.
• Airfix - The near bankrupt Airfix of a few years ago quite obviously couldn't afford to do much else other than sell their old models. But now there's been a significant cull of older models. Although some still remain I suspect that there will be replacements in the pipeline.
• Eduard - A newer manufacturer with an emphasis on quality. There kits seem to retired fairly quickly.
• Hasegawa - It feels like Hasegawa never change. I've bought many of their kits and sold them all on, never actually building a single one. Alongside their steady range of new releases new box, old model seems to be what they do.
• Revell - The re-box kings. I rarely buy Revell models for the reason so many of them are so old, and in many case not even their models to begin with. I think their recent Star Wars licence will keep them earning for the foreseeable future along with the loyalty of the American market toward the old Monogram kits. But Revell just isn't a name that's associated with quality in my opinion. Which is a shame, because the few new kits they make are actually very good, if you can find them.
•  Tamiya - Like Hasegawa they never seem to change, we see a few new kits each year which are of a high standard. However their older models were years ahead of their competitors when they first came out so they seem to still hold their own against today's kits. Interesting in my preferred scale, 1:72, I have noticed a reduction in the range recently (mostly the Italeri kits they re-boxed for the Asian market) so they obviously feel some of the older kits are no longer of a high enough quality.

I do believe it's no coincidence that that model kits have moved in terms of quality so much in the last 10 or so years alongside the growth of the internet side of scale modelling. By participating in forums and groups, by writing blogs and posting photographs and so on, are we already driving the change so many of us desire?

And then there are on-line resources such as Scalemates. This site is a model kit database which gives a complete time-line of many kits, allowing us to see just how old the plastic inside that box is.

One counterargument I often hear is the argument that bad kits will put off beginners from continuing with the hobby. I can see the point, after the first kit I built for this blog you may wonder why I continued. Well I do believe this is a hobby that requires a certain amount of perseverance and patience anyway. Anyone who quits after one setback will never be a modeller, so that's one reason. Secondly the majority of model companies have already figured this out which is why we have the starter kit. These are the kits I always see younger modellers with in my local hobby shop. Interestingly this seems more common among companies targeting Western audiences, maybe those beginners in Asia have the character I referred to in my first point or maybe model making is more embedded in their culture?

So with all that in mind I guess it's time to wrap this post up. To finish I will say, if you really do want to build an Airfix 1:48 scale Hawker Fury from 1980 now's your chance. I very much doubt this kit will be around for much longer.