[Biggie]

You know, now and then I read on here about people being out of room to continue collecting, or I read about the money invested.

On the money invested, if you dont spend it on this hobby you will spend it on something, not too many people really gonna save it.
I got a few friends and co-workers and I always find it interesting what they spend there money on what there interest / hobby is? I spend around $300.00 a month on diecast , in this day and age it does not seem like a lot too me, when others spend more than that on Golf , or I know some guys that go out 2 or more times a week drinking or gambling wasting more per month than me, and they get nothing to show for it but a fat gut, The Golfers are ok, but that is not a cheap game/hobby by any means. Another fella is into Motorcycles, he spends tons of money upgrading and going on trips and thats cool. But I gotta tell you I love the planes, I like learning about them, I like looking at them and holding them. I like the occasional trade or Ebay sale to purchase me a newer one, if I get tired of an older one, and usually I break even or make a profit on the olders ones. My son, now 18 is also into them, its cool to read an article in one of the mags, then go pull out the models of that aircraft , different versions and compare and talk about it with my son and others. We go to Air Shows 2 times per year which fuels our passion for getting certain planes. Plus its a ball to see these things for real close up and flying, some of the engines sound just amazing to me.

As for the display and storage thing, I have two ok sized glass cases, We dust em once a month, We trade some out for some that arent on display. We sit back and look at our newly re set-up display and we enjoy it, another fun evening.

Sometimes we will just pull in a few totes and look through em, catalog whats in em, always fun too pull out a mint 2000 year Corgi Vulcan or Victor and take a looks at it again, read the box again, just a lot of learning and fun to be had with this hobby.

I dont mind having a lot stored cause we actually enjoy the changing of the display and sometimes just digging in the totes to see what little treasures are in there that we forgot about.

One last thing, I know who people who have zero hobbies, dont collect anything, dont have that much in interest, not bad people either, but I gotta tell you I look at there life and it looks completely joyless, they are almost like human drones, doing nothing but work and home to TV every day, over and over again.

I think to stay sane you gotta have a passion and interest in something and aviation and collecting diecast airplanes is one of the best I have found over the years.

I have been through two wives, lost my kids to the 1st, a severe depression after the second, almost called it quits , but then dove right back into this hobby and aviation related things and pulled myself out of trouble. No therapist or doctors, just air shows, musuems, and like I said around $300.00 a month makes me happy day in and day out, and by todays standards thats very little money on a monthly basis.

Biggie

[PappyB]

Nicely put Biggie -- I agree with a lot of what you say here. It's cool you can enjoy it with your son. I am encouraged by the fact that my twin 5-year-old girls take some interest in my models -- more so than anyone else in the family that is. All my wife sees when a new model arrives is "another airplane!". But I give her credit it, it took her 8-9 years to get annoyed

I change my display around a lot, too, and enjoy reshuffling them and taking older models I don't display out to look at once in a while, such as my CDC 1:100 collection.

[rarmenda]

Im with you. I use to collect guns and that was an expensive hobby. I still occasionally pull them out and look at them or go out and shoot them, but that does not compare with what I spend in diecast or minitures. When my wife tells me, you bought another plane. I just tell her, I could of bought a gun. You need something in life to look forward to other than the normal stuff (family, religion, work and sex). So Im with you a hobby is good for the soul.

[Cruver Collecter]

Yep diecast collecting is theraputic. Every time I get a receive a model in the mail have to admit I still get excited like a kid. Then you spend a few days looking at it from all angles. Then you have the fun of seeing where to display it with the others. Diecast collecting is difinitely an enjoyable hobby.

[Epapazian]

I couldn't agree more.

I have watched a lot of my friends soldier on until they retire without any other interest to sustain them except their "job"---whatever it happened to be. But now they are lost. They go on a trip, then sit around with nothing to do or stimulate their minds. Suddenly, their mate dies and that's the end. Soon after, they're gone too.

While model building/diecast collecting/ repainting, etc. is just one of many hobbies that someone can get enjoyment and stimulation from, I find it tremendously satisfying and motivating, particularly as to future developments, new techniques for modifying or displaying a model, and so on. And that's the point. Assuming one is in decent health, a hobby like ours, coupled with active give and take about it on a forum such as MH II, is always about futures. That's the key to a positive mindset and a longer, more fulfilling life.

[Cavtanker]

As I have stated here before (and to my wife many times), diecast collecting is a hobby that keeps me inside the house and close to her. Yeah, I'm in the basement in my cave, and she's elsewhere in the house, but still....

I could be like many other males my age and have hobbies such as hunting, fishing, motorcycles, etc., which are hobbies that take me out of the house and away from the area for a whole day or weekend. Which would make her unhappy.

[larz]

Biggie, I salute you.

Not enough room to display!?!? Time to employ our God-given ingenuity to find more space.
(Sorry Honey, but some of that Norman Rockwell has to go, Carousel1 just released a P-36! )

Larz

[jim]

Thats a very honest and open post Biggie, I too salute you.

I think on the subject of diecast you have spoken for all of us and very eloquently too.

Aviation history and diecast, what a great combo.

[trex0770]

Originally Posted by Cruver Collecter

Yep diecast collecting is theraputic. Every time I get a receive a model in the mail have to admit I still get excited like a kid. Then you spend a few days looking at it from all angles. Then you have the fun of seeing where to display it with the others. Diecast collecting is difinitely an enjoyable hobby.

Diecast.....it's my crack habit!

[jim]

FUNEEEEE, you just cracked me up trex0770.