Model Forum / General / Models / December 2006

Nope...   it's not somethink kinky.

Us modellers aren't the only ones to have stashes. A friend from another
group told me about a couple of acronyms that they use in one of the
knitting newsgroups:

SEX = Stash Enhancement eXperience.  A visit to a model shop or swapmeet. In
fact anything that leads to adding another kit or ball of wool to your
stash.

SABLE = Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy.  You *know* what this
means.  How many of you are SABLE already????

Anyway...   My Main Stash recently hit 100 kits. I know that some of you
consider me a neophyte for having such a ridiculously small number, but it
shocked me. I'm not yet SABLE, but I reckon that it would take me about five
or six years to eliminate that stash. I've since made a great effort to
reduce the stash and it now currently stands at 92!  (Please note:  I've
*built* those 8, not sold them)

I don't want to buy any more new kits until I've reduced the stash to at
least 75, but that's quite unlikely...  I just *know* I'll buy something.
So, in a possibly futile attempt to limit stash growth beyond that which is
sustainable, I've come up with a number of ridiculously complex rules to
ascertain whether I can buy a particular kit or not:

_F-4_  In the stash, I currently have 30 F-4 kits, 20 of which are Hasegawa
ones of various types. The remainder are Fujimi Brit Phantoms. I'm not
allowed to buy *any* more F-4s unless:

1.    they are the Hasegawa F-4F or F-4S re-releases. In which case I'm
allowed to buy no more than three of the former and two of the latter.

2.    I decide to build a recce version. I only have one in my stash, so if
the irresistible compulsion to build a recce Phantom sneaks up on me, I can
buy *one* Hasegawa RF-4C or RF-4E, *provided* that I build it immediately.

_Spitfire_   If the number in my stash slips to 2, I can buy a number of
others, but no more that 3, giving me a total of 5. I can only buy those
three after I have built at least two other kits.

_Others_  If the kit level of other obsessive types (Hunter, F-86, F-16,
A-7) slips to 2, I can buy no more than 2 more, but only after I have built
at least two other kits. In any of the stated cases, that's unlikely to
happen for some time.

If the kit level of other non-obsessive (as yet) types slips to 1, I can buy
another, but only after I have built at least two other kits. This is an
attempt to ensure that the non-obsessive types *remain* non-obsessive.

If a kit in my stash shows signs of being taken off the market or selling
out (I'm thinking of the MPM Meteor here) then I can buy up to five of them.
F-4s are not included in this rule.

I can buy anything stated to be in my 2007 wish list (in another thread) in
the unlikely case of it becoming available.

_Whimsical purchases_  I can buy anything that takes my fancy, *provided*
that I build it immediately. This allows me to buy such gems as the Eduard
FW190, but prevents me from buying more than one at a time. A whimsical
purchase is specifically excludedfrom the above rules. For example, after
building that FW190, I can't go straight out and restock it, placing the new
one into the stash.

OK... there are my rules. I intend to stick by them. (yeh! Right!)  I reckon
that if I do, I'll have the stash reduced to a handful of kits by 2015!  ;-)
What do you reckon, will it work or am I going to fail miserably and become
hopelessly SABLE by this time next year????

And be aware that this only applies to my model aircraft stash. I also have
a model railway stash, and a Deep Stash comprised of kits that may never,
ever get built...