For What Its Worth?

[DRUMS01]

While I was taking our family dog for a walk a thought was drifting through my mind. Before I present the thought I want to say that I consider myself a mainstream and normal kind of person; married, kids, house, dog, cat, church, grandkids, retired, etc., etc.

Then it kept coming back to me and caused me to think about it, and that is....

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR CURRENT MODEL COLLECTION IS WORTH, BOTH BUILT AND UNBUILT?

For many of us, we have been purchasing and building kits for several decades. This stuff can really sneak up on you when it is examined. I'm not even going into what materials, supplies, paints, tools, that you invested in (including airbrushes, paint booths, modifying a dedicated space in the home or barn, etc.). I am just referring to the kits you have built and those in storage.

- What do you think the fair market value is for all of it?

- What do you think the emotional value is for all of it?

And now the harder questions.....

- What do you think your total investment is, all-in, kits, equipment, labor, etc.?

- Do you have a spreadsheet of the full inventory?

- Do you have insurance that will cover some or all of its loss?

Of course, if you build sparingly or give/sell them after completion, the number will be lower than some of us who are attached to many of the kits we've built and kept.

I am going to get my head around this before responding to the numbers, but if you already have your information, please share them in your response. And yes I am going to see some of your responses to determine if I am indeed a mainstream / normal kind of person

OK, lets have at it, tell me your numbers.....

Ben

[aur0ra145]

You speak of some very scary things if the wife ever found out.

I'll have to sit this weekend and really take a hard look at my inventory. I do know that I've phased out some of my inventory in favor of new things. Namely when I started the only paint I could get was Testors Enamels in the tiny glass jars. I nearly bought the whole range before I figured out that I liked acrylics and switched over. I still have them all in two plastic bins. Haven't touched them in 3+ years.

I'm very interested to see some of the other replies on this thread.

[DRUMS01]

aur0ra145,

I totally understand what you are saying. For me it almost turned into a never ending rabbit hole of thought. What I do not want this to be is who has the bigger "X" (place name here). For me its much more about those who have done this for many decades compared to those in the middle of the hobby versus new builders to the hobby. How will each of their emotional values be, similar or very different?

If your somebody who builds in all subjects (aircraft, auto, armor, ship, sci-fi, etc.) this can be a rather large amount of stuff to wrap your head around. Even if you only model one or two subjects but have done it for many, many years; this could be a rather big undertaking. Then there are those in the hobby who only build very high dollar (1K +) in a smaller quantity, so there should be many different answers to these questions.

What about those of us who have been building our stash for a long time? How many of us know exactly every model in our large and multiple decades old stash (up to date inventory)?

Even if your newer to the hobby but have invested deep into equipment, furniture/displays, tools, paints, etc.? Trying to grasp how much is invested in this alone can be daunting.

These thoughts have me really curious in what some answers will be for the "all in" amount, let alone the emotional value. On the opposite side of that spectrum, I know modelers who rarely keep inventory or completed kits. They are all about the build itself so once its done they are done with it. Their numbers should be much lower on many considerations, but the emotional investment could be as high as anyone.

Then there is the portion of the "all in" amount under labor; how will each of us calculate this? Each person values their time at a different cost. Does it automatically mean that those professional / experts have a higher per hour rate than a casual or therapeutic modeler? This will be very interesting too....

And we also have to understand that many people have more than this one hobby, so the hobby budget has to be split into multiple interests. Again, this is not about who has the biggest or most, it is about tracking and the realization within our hobby for each of us. There are multiple considerations such as time,. money available, dedication to the hobby, length in the hobby, only hobby, etc. etc. So there is no wrong answer to any of the questions......

Really thought provoking isn't it?

Ben

[Twokidsnosleep]

I look at this differently

Six years of fairly serious modelling hobby now
I would not want to know a monetary total value as it would be used against me in the court of wife snoopiness.
Sadly, I have more model kits in my stash than I likely have lifetime left to build them, at least at current rates of building
I have kits I bought that now have lost their lustre in my mind and I will likely sell off...to buy other stuff
My other two hobbies have a large amount of tools and supplies attached to them as well
Collecting model kits is a hobby unto itself

My thinking is it is all worth every dollar to keep you sane in a crazy stressful world
I would rather build or make something and be creative than worry about the $, insurance etc

[RangerNeil]

An interesting - and potentially horrific - topic whenever the wife gets the D word in her head - which is all too often here as my other hobby is living history (12th C Templars and cold war Soviet) which means LOTS of weapons around the house - and the wife is a JW. Instant conflict of interest not helped in the last by having a set of Soviet 6B3 body armour for a year and then getting the titanium plates that go inside it. Only for the wife to pick it up expecting it to be light. And dropping it on her feet...
But I digress badly from the topic.... In terms of paint and equipment I have but a fraction of what most of the folk here have, as I've only just returned to the hobby of a couple of decades away. Likewise the built collection is not so much and I've no idea of the value beyond straight replacement costs (although the 4 Battlestar Galactica kits are now over £100 each). I do know what's in the stash is valued at around £2500 - the Mi-V-12 is getting on for over £200 all on its own. and- obviously - I do know what's in the stash. What is a sobering thought is nearly all the kits in the stash were gifts from friends in Russia during a dark time in life.
More than that I cannot really say

[digger303]

Ok....as long as you all pinky swear that my missus's doesn't get wind of this.
I'm one of the strange ones as some will testify to. I actually use Scalemates to keep a record of my acquisitions and how much I paid including post. I also use it to record where each kit is stashed around the house ( recently completed that ) because I was finding it a bugger having to pull my stash apart trying to find kits. So each section has a alphabetical label....makes things so much easier when kits are buried 6 deep.
1.a Kit value....Assuming a average second hand value of $40.....$17200
b. Upgrades....Assuming a average second hand value of $12....$3,300
2. Emotional value.... Not able to be estimated...priceless
3.Total Value....AB equipment...................................................$1445
Paint......................................................................................$2000
Labor.....................................................................................$0000
4. Insurance.................................NONE
5. Built kits..............not worth a cracker
6. Tools............................................................................$1500
7. Furniture....................................................................$820
Total.............. ...............................................................$26,265
Absolutely shocking I know, but I don't CARE. This helps keep me insane and I'm grateful for it.


EDIT.... couple of things I forgot added

[DRUMS01]

Post by Twokidsnosleep: "I look at this differently, I would not want to know a monetary total value. My thinking is it is all worth every dollar to keep you sane in a crazy stressful world".

by RangerNeil: "I've no idea of the value beyond straight replacement costs. What is a sobering thought is nearly all the kits in the stash were gifts from friends in Russia during a dark time in life".

by digger303: "I actually use Scalemates to keep a record of my acquisitions. Emotional value? Not able to be estimated... priceless. Total $23,945 Absolutely shocking I know, but I don't CARE. This helps keep me insane and I'm grateful for it".

********************************************************************************
Thanks to all three of you for your insightful and honest replies. You have laid down some wonderful words for all modelers to think about.

Ben

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ok....as long as you all pinky swear that my missus's doesn't get wind of this.
I'm one of the strange ones as some will testify to. I actually use Scalemates to keep a record of my acquisitions and how much I paid including post. I also use it to record where each kit is stashed around the house ( recently completed that ) because I was finding it a bugger having to pull my stash apart trying to find kits. So each section has a alphabetical label....makes things so much easier when kits are buried 6 deep.
1.a Kit value....Assuming a average second hand value of $40.....$17200
b. Upgrades....Assuming a average second hand value of $12....$3,300
2. Emotional value.... Not able to be estimated...priceless
3.Total Value....AB equipment...................................................$1445
Paint......................................................................................$2000
Labor.....................................................................................$0000
4. Insurance.................................NONE
5. Built kits..............not worth a cracker
Total.............. ...............................................................$23,945
Absolutely shocking I know, but I don't CARE. This helps keep me insane and I'm grateful for it.

Brave man putting that number out in public
A good framework for calculations
I suppose you have to normalize the price of each kit estimation, though I have some that are going for stupid money now
I will do a little tally in my head this weekend and see if I am man enough to share it

[Philip]

Ben

This is a very thought provoking topic.

How do you price enjoyment? I am lucky, my wife encourages me to enjoy my hobby as it relieves my work stress and i can buy whatever kit i like.

Will i build them all in my lifetime? I truly hope i do.

Current kit stash is probably worth .......... well 3 model factory hiro kits are worth £900 plus some costly resin ones so approx £4000 but that only works if someone is prepared to pay the asking price. My stash has been built over 30 years and i have around 60ish.

Tools is a moot point, they build up over time, break, get replaced. But if i was starting now say £1000ish.

Then i come to the real question, cost of time?

From a pure time cost average, if i said my time was worth £20 per hour and it takes 30 hours to build a kit (i have no idea how long it takes me) and there are 79 kits in my display cabinet, the cost would be

£47,400

However, to me there is no time cost as i cannot put a price on my sanity. I build for the enjoyment (and frustration when a part won't fit), to relieve stress, escape, to quieten my mind and to challenge myself to get better.

Modelling to me is priceless!!

Kind regards

Philip

[digger303]

Ok....as long as you all pinky swear that my missus's doesn't get wind of this.
I'm one of the strange ones as some will testify to. I actually use Scalemates to keep a record of my acquisitions and how much I paid including post. I also use it to record where each kit is stashed around the house ( recently completed that ) because I was finding it a bugger having to pull my stash apart trying to find kits. So each section has a alphabetical label....makes things so much easier when kits are buried 6 deep.
1.a Kit value....Assuming a average second hand value of $40.....$17200
b. Upgrades....Assuming a average second hand value of $12....$3,300
2. Emotional value.... Not able to be estimated...priceless
3.Total Value....AB equipment...................................................$1445
Paint......................................................................................$2000
Labor.....................................................................................$0000
4. Insurance.................................NONE
5. Built kits..............not worth a cracker
Total.............. ...............................................................$23,945
Absolutely shocking I know, but I don't CARE. This helps keep me insane and I'm grateful for it.

Brave man putting that number out in public
A good framework for calculations
I suppose you have to normalize the price of each kit estimation, though I have some that are going for stupid money now
I will do a little tally in my head this weekend and see if I am man enough to share it

Only brave cause I know a modeling forum is the last place she will bother with...

ps...edited list

[Stokesy44]

Fascinating stuff, seeing people's views on the hobby.

My stash is relatively small, less than 30 kits built up over the last 6 years. I don't mind spending money if the kit is well engineered and the subject excites me. Given I only came back to the hobby in 2015 I have no old kits gathering dust that will never get built. With the exception of a couple of 1/72 aircraft I can honestly say they will all get built, its just a question of when. I get an email from Hannants every week for new releases and I read that on a Sunday morning with my coffee to see if there's anything new I like. I also subscribe to Andy's Hobby HQ on YouTube so I get to see new releases there too. I'm a sucker for new Tamiya offerings, both aircraft and armour but I'm still picky as to subject.

I love model shows because you can pick up great kits at great prices. I also have an ACTUAL model shop 30 minutes away. Whenever I go there I feel almost obligated to buy something to support the owner. He stocks a great range of kits and supplies. However, COVID has curtailed the shows and trips to the shop this year.

What's my stash worth? In pure monetary terms, no idea, maybe £1500 or a bit more? But as an expression of potential future enjoyment? I cant put a value on that. My second bedroom is my modelling room. Kits stacked on one side, benches along the other. It is a Holy place to me, a retreat when things are tough (depression and anxiety) and a place of pure enjoyment when I'm building just for the fun of it. Thankfully the latter is occurring much more than the former now.

Another value I cant assign is this forum. Great people (for the most part). I feel challenged when I build because I know it will be looked at. You stop me cutting too many corners and encourage me to better myself. You also regularly make me laugh out loud and everyone could do with more of that. Made a few friends too.

Displaying and holding onto kits? I've moved 3 times in the last 6 years so there has been a regular culling. There are some kits that will stay but some others on display will get the boot at some stage. It depends on the subject, how good a job I did, and how big it is!

Thankfully I now have my own place (instead of renting) and I aint going anywhere for a while. Need to buy some shelves for the kit room as that will increase how many kits I hold on to. I'm blessed with having lots of space as the 2nd bedroom is a great size.

I love history and Sci-Fi so its mostly WW2 and Star Wars. When I build a WW2 kit the history weighs heavily on me and that is part of the buzz for me. When I'm building a Star Wars kit, I'm just a little kid going pew pew, pew pew!

What are my built kits worth? Nothing if you apply the laws of supply and demand.

Would I charge for a commission build? Not if they buy the kit, I wouldnt. They're not asking me to sort their mortgage for them (my day job) so they're effectively financing my hobby.

Stay safe - wear a mask, even if you hate the f*****g things as much as I do.

[digger303]

Fascinating stuff, seeing people's views on the hobby.

My stash is relatively small, less than 30 kits built up over the last 6 years. I don't mind spending money if the kit is well engineered and the subject excites me. Given I only came back to the hobby in 2015 I have no old kits gathering dust that will never get built. With the exception of a couple of 1/72 aircraft I can honestly say they will all get built, its just a question of when. I get an email from Hannants every week for new releases and I read that on a Sunday morning with my coffee to see if there's anything new I like. I also subscribe to Andy's Hobby HQ on YouTube so I get to see new releases there too. I'm a sucker for new Tamiya offerings, both aircraft and armour but I'm still picky as to subject.

I love model shows because you can pick up great kits at great prices. I also have an ACTUAL model shop 30 minutes away. Whenever I go there I feel almost obligated to buy something to support the owner. He stocks a great range of kits and supplies. However, COVID has curtailed the shows and trips to the shop this year.

What's my stash worth? In pure monetary terms, no idea, maybe £1500 or a bit more? But as an expression of potential future enjoyment? I cant put a value on that. My second bedroom is my modelling room. Kits stacked on one side, benches along the other. It is a Holy place to me, a retreat when things are tough (depression and anxiety) and a place of pure enjoyment when I'm building just for the fun of it. Thankfully the latter is occurring much more than the former now.

Another value I cant assign is this forum. Great people (for the most part). I feel challenged when I build because I know it will be looked at. You stop me cutting too many corners and encourage me to better myself. You also regularly make me laugh out loud and everyone could do with more of that. Made a few friends too.

Displaying and holding onto kits? I've moved 3 times in the last 6 years so there has been a regular culling. There are some kits that will stay but some others on display will get the boot at some stage. It depends on the subject, how good a job I did, and how big it is!

Thankfully I now have my own place (instead of renting) and I aint going anywhere for a while. Need to buy some shelves for the kit room as that will increase how many kits I hold on to. I'm blessed with having lots of space as the 2nd bedroom is a great size.

I love history and Sci-Fi so its mostly WW2 and Star Wars. When I build a WW2 kit the history weighs heavily on me and that is part of the buzz for me. When I'm building a Star Wars kit, I'm just a little kid going pew pew, pew pew!

What are my built kits worth? Nothing if you apply the laws of supply and demand.

Would I charge for a commission build? Not if they buy the kit, I wouldnt. They're not asking me to sort their mortgage for them (my day job) so they're effectively financing my hobby.

Stay safe - wear a mask, even if you hate the f*****g things as much as I do.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ok....as long as you all pinky swear that my missus's doesn't get wind of this.
I'm one of the strange ones as some will testify to. I actually use Scalemates to keep a record of my acquisitions and how much I paid including post. I also use it to record where each kit is stashed around the house ( recently completed that ) because I was finding it a bugger having to pull my stash apart trying to find kits. So each section has a alphabetical label....makes things so much easier when kits are buried 6 deep.
1.a Kit value....Assuming a average second hand value of $40.....$17200
b. Upgrades....Assuming a average second hand value of $12....$3,300
2. Emotional value.... Not able to be estimated...priceless
3.Total Value....AB equipment...................................................$1445
Paint......................................................................................$2000
Labor.....................................................................................$0000
4. Insurance.................................NONE
5. Built kits..............not worth a cracker
Total.............. ...............................................................$23,945
Absolutely shocking I know, but I don't CARE. This helps keep me insane and I'm grateful for it.

Brave man putting that number out in public
A good framework for calculations
I suppose you have to normalize the price of each kit estimation, though I have some that are going for stupid money now
I will do a little tally in my head this weekend and see if I am man enough to share it

Only brave cause I know a modeling forum is the last place she will bother with...

ps...edited list

That is funny, my stash comes out to about the same as yours in value. 189 ish kits about $18k roughly
I tried to normalize the cost of some things as some are going for stupid money now...Pochers, Wing Nut Wings, Tamiya motorcycles etc.
BTW All good here nobody sick. Just battling virus situation

[DRUMS01]

Well everyone, I tossed as much stuff in my initial message as I could to get as many different reactions and responses as possible and you did not let me down. I know that many of you in both forums have yet to reply, but so far, using parts from all of your existing responses here are the answers to the questions:

(Everything below is pulled directly from two forums, as of this date and time, all names withheld)

What is it all worth? Well, I really don't know. I had also started a cost and expenditures file. When that sum reached a certain point, the tracking of the cost started taking away the entertainment value of the build; so I stopped counting. I had never intended this project to be a profit making venture.

I do know I have spent many years building a stash. Do I enjoy it? YES ! If something happened and all my kits were gone I would be sad but not devastated. I can buy all new stuff!

No,I won't do it.I don't want to think about it.To what end,I bought them,I built them,I enjoyed them,the money is spent and gone. I spent my recreation dollars and enjoyed it all,made me happy, so I have no desire to add up all those dollars spent. For me the hobby is not about a $ balance sheet; it is about the joy of building and researching the model at hand.

This helps keep me sane and I'm grateful for it. What is priceless is the joy the models brought me.

The finished models? To me there is no time cost as i cannot put a price on my sanity. I build for the enjoyment (and frustration when a part won't fit), to relieve stress, escape, to quieten my mind and to challenge myself to get better.

I don't run a museum- I have a house that has a hobby bench that has a chair in which I sit when I model. Beats a bar stool. I like looking at them as do visitors to my hobby room. I will eventually give away the finished models. Your time well spent is priceless.

Do I care about the money and the financial value of the hobby? Not on your life. As for all that money I spent on the hobby, the less I know the happier I am. If you're consumed with the spending/revenue balance sheet, take up another hobby.

The pleasure they have given me over the years far outweighs any financial consideration. My thinking is it is all worth every dollar to keep you sane in a crazy stressful world I would rather build or make something and be creative than worry about the $, insurance etc.

The bottom line is that I have gained immeasureable joy out of these hobbies and thats all that matters.

For those of you who have or will reponse, thanks for participating. Those of you still preparing a response, please continue to share your thoughts on this topic.....

Ben

[aur0ra145]

Howdy all!

I got a pen and paper and went around to all of my stash and added up everything. Here are the approximate totals. I'd say this is a bit on the low end, and I didn't count all the storage paint, I just guessed at the subsequent amounts in the bins after counting up one of them.

Of note, the kits referenced are unbuilt.

Personally I've been building for 4.5 years~ and started at that time with absolutely nothing. I've finished around 60 kits since starting. I also took a year long sabbatical from the hobby due to work obligations.



I will admit this number is lower than I was expecting. Especially in the value I have invested into kits.

- What do you think the fair market value is for all of it?

Roughly $3000 all together. I know the actual value is a touch over $6,000, though a good portion of that were "good idea fairy" type things. Take my paint for instance, I use almost exclusively Tamiya. However, I do own a large portion of the Vallejo Model Air range and don't use it ever. I also have most of the Model Masters Acrylic range as well, which again, I rarely use.

I would also add that for my aircraft kits, about 1/4 of them will never be built by me. When I first got back into the hobby I thought 1/72 was the way to go and now I find myself exclusively building 1/48 aircraft. There are also quite a few trash kits that I now know are just terrible and I won't ever attempt to build them.

I would offer that as I continue in the hobby the average cost of a kit will increase. I now prefer well engineered kits that don't take too much fuss.

- What do you think the emotional value is for all of it?

Not much. Outside of 2 aircraft and 1 Star Wars kit, I don't have much attachment to any of my builds. However, that will change in the future. I will be very attached to the Millennium Falcon when I get around to building it. Also, I plan on building a lot of aircraft that will have sentimental value to me.

- What do you think your total investment is, all-in, kits, equipment, labor, etc.?

$6,000 for equipment and unbuilt kits. I'd say the labor is free. I got into this hobby to destress from work and to have an artistic outlet. It's also fun to have a display piece to show for my labor.

The built kits are either priceless to me (the three referenced above) or not worth anything. I would have a hard time selling one of my built kits to someone instead of just giving it to them.

- Do you have a spreadsheet of the full inventory?

I use Scalemates for most of my stuff; though, I could be better at updating it.

- Do you have insurance that will cover some or all of its loss?

No.

[Gary30]

Interesting topic, having done a few very rough calculations, I reckon this hobby has cost me £2K so far, that's stash items, built kits and tools etc. maybe a bit more if I had a good day on ebay selling up.

I don't like to put monetary value to hobbies as it takes away some of the enjoyment if you weren't already aware exactly how much you've invested!

My mountain bike hobby is WAY more expensive though! And considering I only get to ride a few hours a week maximum compared to the time I can spend at the bench, then modelling looks to be great value for money!