To go along with the Workbench thread, show us your stash! Here’s mine, 500 armor kits -
No way Matt,that’s the local hobby shop,isn’t it ???
Here’s mine,probably can subtract a couple since this picture
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Nice. Very nice. Not a hoarding problem, this is only a storage problem.
OMG !!! There’s nothing else I can say Matt… Apart from the obvious green with envy !!! Lol
Tony, that’s really my basement. A 20 year collection. Zoom in and look up and you can see the insulation in the ceiling. Humidity and temperature controlled. There’s a 1/35 Dora hiding in the back, too. The sick part is that I have PE, tracks, and barrels for most of them. I keep a list. I’m not OCD much… 
I don’t buy a lot anymore. Well, yes I do.
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Multiply 500 by 7 and change to get to my level of insanity …
That is mind boggling. On a serious note though, why do people buy or have so many kits ? Some times 2 or 5 of the same kit ? I fully get it’s a hobby and people like to indulge in it, but for instance Robin, with so many kits, there just isn’t enough time in the world to do them all ? What’s the driving factor to have such a vast (and yes very impressive) collection ??
I only ever get kits I am interested in, be it personal or historical, and a certain type ie, there may be fantastic examples of say a Pzr 3 or a KV 2 etc, but Im not interested in that type or genre so would never get one. Do people just buy for the sake of having it or what ?? I’m genuinely interested on the whys and how’s etc. Also for me, expenditure is a consideration as well.
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I’m afraid I don’t have a good answer to any of those questions.
I’m interested in so many things and I know that kits that I want today might be near impossible to get in 10 years time. Most likely I will never build all of them. I used to build one per week but even with that speed it would simply take too long. Kits were also less complex 20 years ago (still got unbuilt kits from the late 1980’ies). Duplicates can be intended for conversions so two of the same is actually two different subjects. I have two Seaking kits because I wanted to do both marking options but the rest is planned as different subjects. Some resin conversions have been made obsolete by newer kits, same for some old styrene kits.
I will never have to go feed the swans at the city park due to lack of things to do …
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Thanks for replying so fast Robin, and those answers are all perfectly sensible and I get them all…I don’t think there is text book answer to this one, it was just something that’s made me wonder a few times when I have heard people mentioning their stash and what drives them… Now stop talking and sitting here online; you have a thousand kits to make lol… Get to it !!
I usually keep a low profile when it comes to stash discussions 
I can build whatever I want whenever I want,
if I only had the time for it 
Job, family, renovating the apartment, partially managing an apartment complex with 245 apartments, summerhouse to keep in order but I do occasionally get some time alone with a kit 
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True enough, it’s always about the time… Just never enough of it sadly.
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Jonnych1, my thoughts on collections comes from the late 1980’s and early 1990’s before the internet created instant easy access to everything.
My 80’s & 90’s mindset
If a model kit caught ones interest one had to purchase when it was available. Later it wouldn’t be at the hobby shop and it might never be reordered. This was basically pre-internet and mail order was slow and something of a hassle. It definitely set the pattern of impulse buying for modelers like myself.
Multiple copies of the same kit were required in case one lost a part or made a mistake during the build or spilled liquid cement on a critical component. It was wise to have a spare on hand on your shelf due to marginal availability.
Also a certain type of serious modeler would buy multiple copies of a kit in order to cherry pick the parts for a build. In the mid 90’s I picked up three old late 1970’s vintage 35096# Tamiya Pz IV D kits for a contest build for this reason. All three kits had lots or random sink marks but between them it was fairly easy to get one excellent set of parts. I still has one of these old kits in my stash 
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My collection/stash was down to 65 kits in 2009 but is close to ~170 kits now in 2020.
Over flow from closet becomes wall art…
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I need to start sweet talking my wife…
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DAYUM!
You need to find a hobby man! My LHS doesn’t have an inventory this good, I feel *awesome * after seeing this, I was embarassed for the 26 'Nam period kits I have on a folding card table, I’m knee deep in a dio I’ve been working at for the last ten years off and on and had to explain to the wife that “if I don’t get it now it’ll be gone”, missed the Dragon M32 for not acting quick enough. You are obviously not in my tax bracket. Situation critical deep serious! You go boy, that is amazing. Cool, way cool 
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I call these threads Exhibit A your honor. 
I would say I have around 8 or 9 of Anthony’s racks. I have 4 plastic ones, 3 tall box cases and a closet packed. No where as nicely stacked or easy to photograph. There is enough variety to compete in most every category at an IPMS National contest even though I don’t enter contests expect are clubs. Just not my thing.
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Hi Guys, Maybe a look at this page? My Stash. Its my collection of some odd 30 years of searching… Pls also take a look at my website. Maybe you find some interesting stuff http://model-maniac.nl.
Greetings from the Netherlands
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John, I have several reasons for having my stash. I only have one of each kit, and I bought each one because it interested me. I learned to buy at a good price because it will go OOP. I was single for several years and came home from many AMPS International shows with 40 - 50 kits in the back of my SUV. I am retired, so I get to build every day. I know I won’t build them all, but I’ll put a damn good dent in that stash. Plus, I now allocate 1% of my net income to modeling, which is just fine with the wife.
I get points with SWMBO for having a hobby that keeps me within 50 feet of her without being a PITA. We have a son - in - law who plays golf, hunts, and fishes, and he spends serious cash and time on those hobbies! Tens of thousands! So, in the grand scheme of things, my stash isn’t such a bad way to take up half the basement, and my studio isn’t such a bad place to be.
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That’s how I got the 1/35 Dora! When I proposed to wife #2, I gave her a 1.1 carat flawless diamond, and I had gotten the Dora. Later that day, I told her “Oh and by the way, since I got you that, I got this for myself…” She was still so giddy from the ring, the huge box went right into the house with flying colors! Now I need to clear out another empty bedroom just to build the damn thing. I’m considering giving each member of my model club a section of it and making it a group build! 
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It’s great hearing what drives and motivates people for their hobby…I think if I was single I would be going down the same road.