# The Island of Misfit Model Kits



## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

Since the 1990’s my Christmas gifts to myself would be an “expletive” amount of model kits. So many of them that for over 25 or so years, most found themselves in the basement closet of my old house, those were the days of the impulse buy. Over the past seven years, I got a hold of my impulse buying and began to build, and restore kits bought way back them, I just done over the old Robocop, not the Horizon. 

Today I rarely buy a new kit; I only bought a kit this year Batman v Superman Batmobile, and bought only one last year, the cut away Enterprise. Its fun going through the old kits and finally building them. Kits you can’t buy anymore, only terrible recasts. In the New Year, I will continue building kits bought as far back as 1988.

This years new purchase will be, Moebius Robin, I bought Batman a few years ago, I got so tired waiting for the new Robin kit, that I built two old resin kits of the 1966 Caped Crusaders at 1/6th scale, I was very pleased with them. Working on Bela Lugosi Broadway Dracula now, bought a few Christmas’ ago. I like Moebius kits a lot, great kits, great scale, and great price, I have all the resin kits I need, Frank has done a great service, and I thank him. With the reissue of The Invisible Man, I am still hoping for the replacement head of Griffin’s appearance in the beginning of the film, I guess that will never happen, oh well, since the kit is of him removing the bandages. 

I am so glad I got a hold of this impulse buying it was causing problems in other areas of my life, a real addiction. The model kits are broken up into two camps, ones I wanted and what the hell was I thinking, $150. for a POS.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a safe Holiday season and plan your model building accordingly.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

I've done the same thing. I started out by obtaining kits I had built in my younger days that I no longer have, then started picking up whatever struck my fancy, and now I have 300-500 kits in my stash (best guess), most of which I'll probably never get around to building. For a while the thought process was, "If I don't build them, I'll just sell them on eBay," but since then that site has become a cess pool of thievery so it's no longer a viable option. At this point, sometimes I think the best-case scenario is that they'll still be there when I die and they'll become someone else's problem.


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

I separated my kits into what I wanted to keep and those bought impulsively that I would sell. I could have sold these kits mostly resin and vinyl with no problem 20 years ago. Several things have happened to change this hobby.

Garage kit sculptors from back in the day working for small companies like Resin from the Grave and others, went to bigger companies like Geometric, founded by George Stevenson, a lawyer and latter a judge, would secure licenses to produce kits and that changed the game. Randy Bowen, John Dennett, and Thomas Kuntz would be in demand in creating “The Collectable Figure”, pre-painted and complete, the hobby is not dead, but you can now walk into any major comic book retailer, and buy a beautiful rendering of your favorite in a figure or a “Hot Toy’. 

I done with resin kits except for ones I have now, some done by the talented sculptors mentioned earlier. In the 90’s I bought greats kits of Mask of the Red Death (Phantom of the Opera) and Christopher Lee Dracula, I am excited to finally get to them, by impulse buying kits in the past, I would never build them and they sat in a dusty cabinet for decades. 

I will try to sell older kits at a loss as long as they go to good home, I gotta get in touch with King Moonracer (?) that flying lion from Rudolph.


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## RMC (Aug 11, 2004)

can you make a list and give us members first crack ?


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

RMC said:


> can you make a list and give us members first crack ?


That is a good idea, I will begin to go through them in the New Year, have a few bases a nice one that was done by David Fisher for the Biliken Mummy.


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## BadRonald (Jun 2, 2000)

I also have been going through my collection and realize I have WAY too many models that I will never be able to build.I need to sell some to people who will build them and enjoy them.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Same here. I got a Paypal account to sell stuff off, but I just can't get around to sorting and posting.


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

I know the great sculptor, John Dennet, he did the great kit of Werewolf of London for Resin From the Grave and Lt. Worf for Geometric Designs only to find his work "recast" by sellers in Thailand and China, this was the reason many others like Geometric and Kim Ito, got out of the business. I ran into John a few years back he was lamenting the sheer volume of kits he was trying to rid of from his personal collection, I told him that he is going to have to take a loss on them. Looking back on it, I cannot speak for anyone else, but for me it was a serious condition, a disorder, I began going to shows in 1988 begining with Rare Plane Detective, the early days of Chiller was a modelers paradise, I would easily drop $500.00 on kits, I had to have them, then later ask myself why? Thank God, I got a hold on this. The bright side is I am enjoying building them now, and I am in a good place, most people only understand substance abuse as drugs, alcohol, sex and other vices, but we as human beings, we are vulnerable, it comes down to what street you live on. So today I model in moderation so no judgment here.


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

I understand what you are talking about.
I was fortunate though. 2 or 3 years after I started getting hooked on garage kits, my personal finances suffered badly.
So badly that I had to sell off some kits just to pay bills.

That made me take a long hard look at my collection, and decide what I was actually going to build, and what I owned, just because I thought it was cool.
Now, when I go to shows, or even when shopping on ebay, I go through that same thought process before buying.
Cause, I see lots of stuff that I think "man, that's really cool, I should buy it".
But after I really think about it, I probably only buy about 1/10th of what I originally considered buying.

Mind you. I still probably have more kits than I will ever build, and I still buy more. But it could be a whole lot worse than what it is now.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

I'm in the same boat with you guys. Very picky about what I buy anymore. Mostly its been the supplies I need to finish what I'm working on. I wasn't able to resist that Golem bust, though.


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## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

I have a rule to help prevent that as I have the same problem. When I see something that I 'must have' I always apply my '72 hour rule' now. I think about it for that long and if I still want it by then I generally get it. I find most of the time though that real world thinking and practicality set in and talk me out of it. Being a product of job reduction in '07 to greatly lower purchasing ability actually helped quite a bit too. Nothing like unemployment to realign ones' priorities.

At over 5000 kits at some point it sinks in that you have a problem. 

Unless you are nuts. 

This stuff like all other things taken to excess can be as bad as any drug on the planet. When I think about how much cash I used to pop at John F. Greens back in the day...............(shaking head sadly)


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## djmadden99 (Dec 23, 2008)

My name is Don, and I have a problem...

I'm not making light of other posters, even though I don't have nearly as many kits in my stash because I prefer styrene. However, I have no idea what I really possess as I have storage tubs full of built and boxed kits. Mostly Aurora (with lots of resin upgrades) and Star Wars with some Bandai and other WW I and WW II airplane kits thrown in. I also have comics, magazines and first trilogy Star Wars stuff, including original movie posters. Also dabble in Universal Monsters, Conan and whatever I deem "cool" at the time. I thought I was okay until I realized I had about everything I wanted and started concentrating on model boxes...just to put in a storage tub for "later," whenever that is. I have definitely put the brakes on spending and have even been slowly putting stuff on eBay, although I have been harshly reminded it doesn't necessarily sell for what I think it should (or even paid for it sometimes). Also have my old college car, a 1969 Camaro is sitting in the garage waiting for a restoration job...that will have to wait the house is paid off, God willing.

I have come back to earth and am much more selective now, but sometimes impulse overrides common sense. Thank goodness I have some outside interests that don't cost much, but family and friends top the list. I think I will have more to work on than I have time, but since my boys don't show much interests in models I imagine I will really start selling in the future. Which begs the question that since most of the stuff appeals primarily to Baby Boomers (I'm actually a Gen X'er), who will want it?

Ah, well. Just feeling reflective this morning.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

finaprint said:


> ...Being a product of job reduction in '07 to greatly lower purchasing ability actually helped quite a bit too. Nothing like unemployment to realign ones' priorities...


Being on disability for nearly 12 years now has had the same effect. "Hmm...do I want to buy that kit, or eat for the next two or three days?"


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

When I retire, I suppose I'll... cut down... on purchases. I'll have to.

So, the kitbashed space station I just finished? I just spent two evenings trying to figure out where to put it. I have a _little _bit of shelf space available for airplane models that are no more than 8" tall, but nowhere to put something 2 feet tall. I finally moved a 20-year-old trophy, stuck a rocket model in the corner where that was, put the space station where the rocket was...

Yeah, with at least 2,000 unbuilt kits in the stash and maybe 300 on display - and those 300 fill up every available space - where the hell am i gonna put the next ones?


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

How's your ceiling space?


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Looking at my closet of doom and considering how much time I have spent building the past year I have to get realistic. I am 57 years old and I will probably not live long enough to build all the kits I already have.
I still have some grail kits I want but for the most part I do not need to buy anything else. I am teaching my son how to build- we work on projects next to each other and he is building some of the kits I already have. 
I like my collection- everything in there is something I really wanted and will enjoy. I have culled and sold a lot of the lesser ones but I am going to have to be selective in what I build next to make the most of it.


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## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

I was also helped along with a strong nudge, running out of room I began to store kits at a second home, where I stored other things from the house. Someone broke in and took around 750 or so, I have no idea how many exactly, until then I had never kept a list. That readjusted me as well. 

It's all just plastic. I've had trouble with resin and vinyl shrinking, distorting, or cracking into pieces longterm, I no longer collect anything in that material.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Richard Baker said:


> Looking at my closet of doom...


"Closet of doom". That's cute. Try having a "Guest bedroom of doom" and "The better part of a two-car garage of doom". I think the only reason my wife doesn't complain about all of my model kits is because the rest of the house and garage are filled with _her_ useless stuff. :lol:


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I am sometimes envious of the photos posted from members showing their stash which is larger than what most hobby stores inventory.
When I moved I was relocating into a home already filled with a my new family's belongings- I got the downstairs room for my stuff but I had to lose over 95% of what I had to fit there. I sold some and gave most to a good friend to finish building or just enjoy. My stash is trimmed to mostly just the essentials- rare out of production kits and ones I truly crave. Even with that there are still more than I can deal with the way thing are going.


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## djmadden99 (Dec 23, 2008)

"A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff" - George Carlin


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## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

' I think the only reason my wife doesn't complain about all of my model kits is because the rest of the house and garage are filled with her useless stuff.'

Exactly. We have arguments about which one of us has cluttered the house up the most. 

Ah....................married life, it's like having the same prisoner in your cell with you for 40 years.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

My wife's prior husband was mostly absentee- he did not like her or family life that much so he stayed away as much as he could, only coming home to sleep. She is a stay at home mom who home schools our children so she there pretty much all the time and tuned the house to fit her preferences. When I moved over I got the downstairs room for my realm and have it arranged to my preferences. This works out well for us and we respect each others environment.


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

While I feel for those with over 2,000 unbuilt kits, wow! I turned 58 this year, I am going to build and rebuild these kits as long as my hands don’t shake and my eyesight holds up. It is still a wonderful hobby and I keep my LHS close for buying supplies only. I believe that my modeling skills have improved because of reading many articles and books, so when I restore an old kit, I have even greater pleasure. It isn’t easy getting rid of some of the impulse purchases of that past, but I need only on Predator kit instead of three. I made a list years ago what kits to keep; these are in the house, ones I do not want in storage. I don’t have 2,000 kits, but what I do have are too many. 

The problem was I would buy say Clint Eastwood as The Man With No Name, a huge scale kit then later Mike Hill’s kit comes out and I get that one too I have too different Dirty Harry kits, I will keep the better one. Keep Robocop, sell ED 209, etc. The only way those and other will move is to sell them for the price of their horrible Thailand rip off recasts. I just want to put them in the hands of collectors that will build them.

The other thing I overly collected was movie posters, I have rare original James Bond and others, there is still a market for them, and I have rare Star Wars 22x28, London issue and more, I don’t mind the copies of these posters, sell the originals.

As a Christmas gift to myself, just ordered Moebius Robin for 32 dollars, 20 years ago, I would have bought $300 worth of kits for the Island, no more. With the money I spent on them could have gone for travel, good restaurants and other things essential to living. 

I will from time to time go on Buc Wheat’s site and check out the new garage kits, so far I am keeping my chip, and I have now been 10 years sober (from buying models kits impulsively)


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

finaprint said:


> ...Ah....................married life, it's like having the same prisoner in your cell with you for 40 years.


40 years? Does that mean I'll get paroled five years from now?


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

finaprint said:


> ' I think the only reason my wife doesn't complain about all of my model kits is because the rest of the house and garage are filled with her useless stuff.'
> 
> Exactly. We have arguments about which one of us has cluttered the house up the most.
> 
> Ah....................married life, it's like having the same prisoner in your cell with you for 40 years.


And they seem to outlive us.


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## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

Don't get me wrong, I would have been dead long ago without my 'millstone', she is the only thing besides huddling in a corner with a plastic model kit that can bring me out of the frenetic craziness that is life on this planet today. It is indeed still a wonderful hobby. 

Parole? You gotta be joking, there's no escape from that; the effects are permanent. So, you'd best be larnin' to like it!


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

finaprint said:


> ...Parole? You gotta be joking, there's no escape from that; the effects are permanent. So, you'd best be larnin' to like it!


Oh, I do. I have no idea what my life would have been like if my wife hadn't been by my side for the last 35+ years. And I can make jokes about it because she has a good sense of humor and knows I'm only joking.


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## phrankenstign (Nov 29, 1999)

You guys are all nuts!


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

phrankenstign said:


> You guys are all nuts!


Been talking to my wife, have you? >


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

phrankenstign said:


> You guys are all nuts!


And you are just now figuring this out?


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## Bruce Bishop (Jan 17, 1999)

As far as my own 2000+ unbuilt kits, I enjoy having them even though I will definitely never build all but a small fraction of them. I bought them when I could afford them, and I was single, and had a place to store all the boxes. I love having them, looking at their potential, and remembering the enjoyment and excitement I felt when I first obtained them. I have pretty much stopped all buying now, other than the 1966 Batman series of kits from Moebius, after having slowed down to maybe up to ten kits a year during the past several years. I will build a few more kits, but with an output averaging one a year over the last ten years I would have to be immortal to build them all. Old movies and TV series, as well as new ones occupy most of my time now, and I just have to be in the mood for something to get started. 

Once I have the full set of the Moebius Batman kits both my friend and I will start building them, but even with my poor output I still have finished more than he has the last few years. We are both motivated for these though, and want to do a unified base paint style/color and have a nice display of the figures finished and on our shelves. Hopefully we will at least get them all assembled, primed, and painted.

Whatever happens later, I am thrilled to have the collection I do now.


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## NTRPRZ (Feb 23, 1999)

I've got a couple of hundred kits stashed in closets and on shelves in the basement, and at age 62 I know I'll never get them all done. Like many of you, I'm thinking of thinning the herd. Much of it will be what's downstairs, as I tend to keep my really rare, original Aurora stuff, upstairs.

And I've been happily married to the same woman for 41 great years; my model collection is only surpassed by her collection of sewing machines and fabric. She understands why I do what I do, and vice-versa.


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## phrankenstign (Nov 29, 1999)

Zombie_61 said:


> Been talking to my wife, have you? >


Actually.......no.

Five of the nine voices in my head agreed that was the case. The other four figured the five were crazy.








TAY666 said:


> And you are just now figuring this out?



I didn't want to rush into making a snap decision. The voices debated it for years (1999-2016) before finally putting it to a vote the other day.


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

Just finished the last kit to be built in 2006, Moebius Bela Lugosi Broadway Dracula, purchased a few Christmas' ago. I only bought one kit for Christmas this year, Moebius Robin (Burt Ward). January 2017, will find me buying more supplies, the store near me that sold the Citidale paints I like, closed, so online I go. Those paints are uber expensive I only use a few of them like Fleshshade and a few others. I plan that year to do more restorations, Buzz Conroy style begining with the Keaton Batmobile.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

apls said:


> Just finished the last kit to be built in 2006...


2006? Wow, and I thought I was a slow builder.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I've got a P-40 on the bench that I should be able to finish by the end of the year. If I stop goofing off.


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

Zombie_61 said:


> 2006? Wow, and I thought I was a slow builder.


Yikes, 2016 I meant.


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## BadRonald (Jun 2, 2000)

I can remember buying two of each kit I liked thinking I would build one and have one MIB.Why I did this I have no idea.I have many doubles and even triples of kits I liked.I will be dead and my wife and kids will be going through my kits and thinking what the hell was he thinking!


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

BadRonald said:


> I can remember buying two of each kit I liked thinking I would build one and have one MIB.Why I did this I have no idea.


It's the nature of the hobby.
After being burned a few times of wanting to build a kit, and not being able to find it, we all get conditioned to snatch them up when they are available.
And while at it, get a spare or two in case you want to build it multiple ways.
Better to have an extra than not have a kit you want/need for a project years down the road.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Anybody want an extra Polar Lights 1/72 C-57D? I bought two. :freak:


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

A real great thing is to strip these old kits down and rebuild them, with the new skills we now have aquired, Its fun and makes these kits look fantastic, and it saves money. I never bought two of the same kit and did not care if a kit was "numbered".


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## phrankenstign (Nov 29, 1999)

apls said:


> A real great thing is to strip these old kits down and rebuild them, with the new skills we now have aquired, Its fun and makes these kits look fantastic, and it saves money. I never bought two of the same kit and did not care if a kit was "numbered".



If you buy two of the same kit, you wouldn't have to strip one of them. You could build the second kit and compare them SIDE-BY-SIDE!!!


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

John P said:


> I've got a P-40 on the bench that I should be able to finish by the end of the year. If I stop goofing off.


Maybe if you stopped spending so much time on these forums... :lol:


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