While I have been posting here for many Years I am getting OLD 80 Years with 70 of them Modeling. some have indicated an interest on my Collection and how I display the built Kits.
I am seriously considering on giving it all up. It hurts too Much.
Here are 20 Pics. of my work.
Hey Web site Guys, If I did this wrong, please Move it or delete it
Regards
Donald
If anyone cares you can look up my Builds here, There are 55 1/16th. scale Builds and about 46 ea. 1/35th. Builds
Donald
You know 80 is the new 60, you still have a lot to offer the community. Your collection and builds are impressive so keep going and keep us updated.
Donald thats an impressive display of built models! It looks like museum quality work! I wish o could come over to check it out in person.
And the stash is better than most hobby shops! A lot of years, labour, care, dedication and hard work have gone into that lot. I’m sure it’s been rewarding for you but equally your contribution has been (and continues to be through the power of internet history) rewarding for the broader modelling community.
It must be harder as time marches on, to work on the smaller kits and fine work.
If I may suggest, if you don’t feel you can maintain your current modelling tempo then throttle back a bit but don’t give it up altogether. Having this hobby is great to keep the brain ticking over and it’s important to stay active at all stages of life.
Regardless, you should be justifiably proud of the work you’ve done.
Thanks for sharing Donald!
Donald,
I’ve absolutely enjoyed your incredible build series over the years. Thank you for sharing your labor of love. You are a true inspiration to us all.
PS: What a collection!!! 
—mike 
Getting old sucks.
Select the kits you would like to build and sell the rest.
Thanks for all the beautiful builds you have shown us over the years.
Others in this topic have said it better but: Don’t give up yet!
Cheers / Robin
(in 18 years I will be your age)
Donald, great collection of builds and an impressive stash! I have followed a number of your builds through the years as inspiration. Hopefully you can continue albeit at a slower pace, as mentioned 80 is the new 60! All the best!
Colin
I always followed your builds with great interest. They were full of good photos as well as helpful tips and insights. Best wishes for your future.
I have to echo what others have said in that you have an impressively extensive stash but also a wonderful collection of built kits- very cool to see them displayed so nicely too. I’m sorry to hear you are finding it difficult at the minute too- I do hope you can continue to enjoy the hobby.
Your 1/16 Tiger build was invaluable to me,hey even if you can’t build,drop in and share some knowledge.
Hi Donald,
Impressive collection indeed!
If you need the money, you can indeed find reputable hobby shops that will buy the kits, usually paying about 50% of what you paid for them retail, but $10, $20, $50 here and there can add up so you’ll get some money back and some cash is better than nothing. Some online hobby shops will pay for the shipping, but they have to make a profit too so you can negotiate for cash or more for store credit, but since you want to get out of the hobby, take the cash.
If you aren’t in it for the money, then find your local Veterans Administration Hospital and they will accept plastic kits (no resin) for the Veterans and the troops if you donate free to them. You can get a receipt for your tax purposes (which can be quite a good return from the IRS). The VA Hospital should have even more connections to Veteran charities and museums to donate your built kits to so that they will have a decent home. You can network that way and make sure that your built and unbuilt model collection isn’t hauled off to the dumpster and the landfill. The VA Hospital has vans that might even come to your house to pick up your models. I’d call them and see how you can help the VA Hospital and then from there you can hopefully and probably network with reputable Veteran charities to donate even more (maybe even resin and PE to expert Veteran model builders). I doubt that you can sell your kits to these charities, and do make sure that they are reputable because there are Veteran charities that are total frauds. You can make friends and hang out with these folks because it’s a medical field so these VA medical folks should have an ethical and moral standard to follow (to take care of people).
Auction houses might take your kits and sell them in bulk and pay you a sum, but that’s iffy. You can call around auction houses as these days, some people will sell nearly anything and your kits look like they’re kept on good shape.
The eBay route is slow as most of the kits on eBay are now sold from China. It’s best to hire someone reputable to sell your kits on eBay so you don’t have to manage the auctions and the careful packaging of the models if that’s the way you want to go, but there’s no guarantee that people will buy them and you might not make a lot of money as it takes time, money, effort, and care to ship each and every (built) model to each and every seller.
I would not go with Salvation Army, Toys for Tots (Marines), Goodwill, etc. as they donate to young kids and model kits are for ages 14 and up, and even at age 14, I totally blew chunks as a kid modeler. It wasn’t until I was in my late 20s that I got decent at building model kits.
So there are several options to get the ball rolling, Donald, and just remember, when it’s FREE, there are people who will take it! (I’d go for the tax write-off though…and that’s through the government).
Thanks for sharing all of your build threads. I mostly followed the 1/16 model builds. Please stick around the forum for your knowledgable wisdom input
You will be sorely missed. I have enjoyed each and every one of your annotated construction logs. I wish you well.
Hello, Master Modeler. I’m new here, and five years your junior. I’ve no intention of dying soon, and neither should you.
Sound brazen? Well, I’ve been almost dead three times, not counting near misses. Even if some medical doctor has told you it’s time to say good bye, what matters is your attitude. Maybe you, yourself know your time is limited. I won’t dispute that with you. At our age, it is an indisputable truth that our time is limited. What that limit is, we don’t know—and neither does anyone else, regardless of their qualifications.
Your accomplishments as a scale modeler are mind-boggling. As for giving it all up … May you be found at the bench, a smile on your face, having just put the finishing touch on your last masterwork.
Me? I’ll die trying to reach your level!
I understand your situation but I’d like to suggest you’re endowed with some kind of Emeritus membership status in this forum. In many ways you’ve pioneered 1:16 builds, I’ve been lurking on your builds for some time and consider them an inspiration to take the plunge myself.
I too have enjoyed your build logs and appreciated the annotations you put on each of the photos to make them readily understandable. I wish you well in any course in your modeling you might take.
Mario
Well I could tell all of you My Story, but you most likely wouldn’t believe me.
But I shall try.
First off this body that I have isn’t Human. Yea it sounds Crazy but I had a Genetic testing done, and they did it twice. 15 of the 23 Pairs of Chromanone’s that I have are Doubled. They say that I have an Enlarged Heart due to the Agent Orange that I was exposed to in Vietnam.
Back in 1999 I Died and went to Heaven, YES this place does exists. Well I was sent back, they told me that My Work here wasn’t finished.
The second time, well I use a Power Chair to get around, and when crossing from the parking area to the Grocery store , I was hit and Killed by a speeding Pickup Truck in the crossing area.
Just before the Truck Killed my last Body, a force pulled my Sole out of it and I found myself sitting in my Chair beside the drive, as if I had never crossed. Yes I am from a close but slightly different reality . This proves to me that there are many similar Universes in the Multiverse. The only difference I could find is some White spots on my Hands.
The Third time, well this is really more strange , While sitting in my home office relaxing it got really strange, everything changed color and I found that I didn’t have to breathe but I still Lived.
there was a Bright Spot and while thinking about going home, Everything, all reality was sucked into the spot, and I found myself in a great VOID, I still exsisted but I felt that I was Home.
I thought about returning here, and everything returned.
There is a lot more, but I think that this will be enough for now.
I’m thinking about continuing with the 1/16th. Builds, just at a much slower pace.
Regards
Donald
Please do. Your builds, your ambition level, your pace.
Forgive me. You sounded depressed. Thank you for relating your experiences—they jive with some of mine. As a scientist, I tend to question my own perceptions, so it is good to see corroboration, as we say in the science biz. There are two things I fear more than death: depression and dementia. The former is a living death, and I will do what I can to help others fight it, which is why I said what I did. The latter is hell on those close to you, and I hope neither of us ever has to deal with it.
My cardiologist said, “Old age is not for the faint of heart.” He had quite a sense of humor.
As Uncle-Heavy said, please do continue to build, at your ambition level, and at your pace. Your work is an inspiration, even to some of us “younguns.”
or half the world depending on position in the society …
I am sorry to see you leave. You are a wealth of modeling knowledge for the rest of us; especially on your 1/16 scale builds. Your attention to detail is bar-none. But; you do what is best for you. You don’t have to outright leave the hobby, though. You can still impart your wisdom and modeling knowledge to the rest of us.
Regardless of what you decide, we will all miss you. Take care. 
