We all have one. Older modelers like myself have kits that date back to the Reagan Administration and before. Some stashes get totally out of control. (I knew a guy in Maine who literally left a barn full of kits to be dealt with.) And some of us finally give up the pretense that we are going to build them, and we admit we have become kit collectors in addition to being modelers.

Why do we buy all these kits anyway? I actually had an intent to build everything I purchased, but then new things come along or older kits grab my attention anew, and that new kit starts to move into some dusty corner of my storage area.

Then someday we come to the realization that we have an actual life expectancy, and maybe it is time to thin down the stash and part with that kit you have had since Blue Bloods was in Season 1.

In a previous post, I discussed selling on eBay. In years past, that has worked fairly well for me. Not so much anymore. I wanted a more sweeping and immediate thinning of the stash that did not involve dumping a bunch of kits off at Goodwill.

Here in Arizona, there is only one real model show a year. That is Modelzona in Mesa on the first Saturday in November by IPMS-Phoenix. I was perusing the latest email from Rare-Plane Detective (one of my favorite vendors) and there was an announcement they would be attending Modelzona!

I sat down and examined my kit inventory list. In one ear, I could hear a little voice saying “Don’t be hasty. That is a really nice kit. You will regret selling it.” In the other ear I heard “Are you kidding? The chances you will build that kit are remote to nonexistent. You bought it before Y2K and you haven’t touched it since. Let it go.”

After much soul searching, I completed a list that was fairly long and listed the kits I knew darn well I was not going to build myself. I emailed the list to Rare-Plane Detective with a price I was looking for and we reached an agreement. Remember if you are trying to sell kits to a retailer, he cannot give you the same price that the kit might be worth at retail. He would not be in business very long if he did that. Think of it this way: you are selling a whole lot of kits at once without that hassle of an on-line auction or finding some venue where you can try to sell them individually to buyers. How much is your time worth to you?

I am so pleased. RPD teated me very well, and I am totally pleased with the transaction. The owner, Jeff, is a great guy to deal with. It was a very lucky break for me they were coming to town and I could fill the RAV4 with kits and drive right up there.

The most surprising thing to me is the sense of liberation I have felt reducing the stash to those kits I am really interested in.

Now, I am like that person who goes on a fad diet and loses a lot of weight, then they have to fight – often unsuccessfully – to keep it off.

It remains to be seen if I have the necessary self-control!