STICKER SHOCK! Hobby on Hold.

[jamstraz]

Its getting too expensive sadly. To finish what I have is going to take $219.90 not counting shipping and taxes and that doesn't even include paint.

RIP the hobby...I barely knew ye.

 

[Apollo]

Well this has never been a hobby for the faint-hearted, or those on a budget!

 

[jamstraz]

Well this has never been a hobby for the faint-hearted, or those on a budget!

can I get this all? Yes..not like I'm hurting or asking for anything but...good god, that's like a month of groceries to me almost.

 

[TazMan2000]

Most hobbies have a cost associated with them. Sorry to hear this. I believe several members in previous threads advised you to go start off small with your first models, but from what I've seen from your builds, you went big. A lot of my models that I build have parts that are found from daily living or scratch built. It doesn't all have to be retail.

TazMan2000

 

[jamstraz]

Most hobbies have a cost associated with them. Sorry to hear this. I believe several members in previous threads advised you to go start off small with your first models, but from what I've seen from your builds, you went big. A lot of my models that I build have parts that are found from daily living or scratch built. It doesn't all have to be retail.

TazMan2000

yeah...I went big and I'm suffering lol. No one to blame but me. Its the perfectionist in me. I want things to look good off the bat and even my small models are stuck waiting on things, like tubes and bases and switches to turn them off and on. Bad me, no biscuit.

 

[Apollo]

Go big or go home!

I like the cut of your jib!!

I think its time you went from biscuits to ramen noodles and you will be just fine!!!

 

[trekriffic]

10 acrylic bases and 12 switches? Looking at some of the items on your list it looks enough for several models. Amortize the cost over the number of models you intend to build and it will appear much more reasonable.

 

[jamstraz]

10 acrylic bases and 12 switches? Looking at some of the items on your list it looks enough for several models. Amortize the cost over the number of models you intend to build and it will appear much more reasonable.

The bases come as 10. switches come as 12. Can't piecemeal those. If the Qty is 2 and over, they are a package deal for that amount

 

[trekriffic]

OK. Thanks for clarifying. Basically, when you are getting started in most any hobby though, you have to be prepared for some relatively high up front costs. I’d wager that $200.00 investment will last you thru several builds. Think of someone who golfs every weekend. How much do they spend on their hobby every month? Much less than you’d spend building models I think; and, unlike the golfer, when you‘re done, you’ll have something you can hold in your hands and admire for a long time.

 

[TazMan2000]

Like a golfer's belly if he frequents the 19th hole often. Haha.

TazMan2000

 

[joez2391]

Not really sure i see the point of this post?

You have to fit your hobby into your budget and there are plenty of ways to start building models on a tighter budget than that. Most model kits cost under $20, grab some acrylic paint at a hobby store and have fun. Then when you can invest more into it, move up a notch. Posts like this really aren't productive because it's not solving a problem like someone who would come on here and say, "hey, I don't have a high budget but I still built _____ !" Not trying to sound harsh, but I dont understand why you'd post on here just coming on here to complain when 90% of your cart is unnecessary items

 

[jamstraz]

Not really sure i see the point of this post?

You have to fit your hobby into your budget and there are plenty of ways to start building models on a tighter budget than that. Most model kits cost under $20, grab some acrylic paint at a hobby store and have fun. Then when you can invest more into it, move up a notch. Posts like this really aren't productive because it's not solving a problem like someone who would come on here and say, "hey, I don't have a high budget but I still built _____ !" Not trying to sound harsh, but I dont understand why you'd post on here just coming on here to complain when 90% of your cart is unnecessary items

I don't see them as unnecessary....I'm also still just starting as of late Feb. My issue is I went overboard and now because of my hubris I can't finish all I started completely. Thus it's putting the hobby on hold until I know about my wife's job...I am not complaining by any means. Only stating I screwed up and now all that I need to finish is on hold for the time being. That's all. I can move forward on the models I do have but I'll be incomplete and on varying states of finish.

 

[jamstraz]

All I was trying to say was it was my hubris I dug myself into this hole...my sense of humor however is a bit...dry. Hence the RIP Hobby comment.

 

[jamstraz]

OK. Thanks for clarifying. Basically, when you are getting started in most any hobby though, you have to be prepared for some relatively high up front costs. I’d wager that $200.00 investment will last you thru several builds. Think of someone who golfs every weekend. How much do they spend on their hobby every month? Much less than you’d spend building models I think; and, unlike the golfer, when you‘re done, you’ll have something you can hold in your hands and admire for a long time.

More than that, it would finish nearly all of them. One build is going to have an Arduino but that's already paid for and somewhere in transit. If I make it work, I may incorporate them more in future builds. But the ones I have are either going to light static or just have a few blinking lights(hence the flicker and blink circuits.

 

[edge10]

It's all up to you how much you spend. I think I spent that much on the 1/350 K'T'inga. It is the first kit I have lit. I didn't get the photoetch, because I didn't see all that much value in the set.

You can definitely do without a $40 of acrylic base. A $1 oval plaque from Hobby Lobby is adequate, or even the provided dome base.

 

[jamstraz]

It's all up to you how much you spend. I think I spent that much on the 1/350 K'T'inga. It is the first kit I have lit. I didn't get the photoetch, because I didn't see all that much value in the set.

You can definitely do without a $40 of acrylic base. A $1 oval plaque from Hobby Lobby is adequate, or even the provided dome base.

Base isn't a dome. Its this weird plastic triangle with a hollow support. The bases are 10 for 39.95. so like 4 a piece.

 

[jamstraz]

It's this one

 

[Hunk a Junk]

One of the joys of this hobby, at least for me, is to see what I can do for little money or free. I ain't rich. I have a kid in college. I'm on a budget. Over the past two weeks, that budget has gotten considerably smaller. Figuring it out and NOT spending a buttload of cash is part of the fun for me. I have a surplus store near me where I can find tools, odds and ends, and supplies for super cheap. I bought a bunch of simple switches and 9v battery holders -- enough for 6-7 kits -- for under $5. I used an upside-down plastic bowl from Goodwill I bought for .10 as a base for a model. I cannibalized a desk lamp I got for free from a yard sale to make a support for my Bandai Falcon. I keep every unused extra piece from every kit I make to use as greeblies and I even cut away pieces of sprues if I think they're interesting shapes. I keep everything. It's very rare when I spend more on the extras I add to a kit than I spend on the kit itself. I think the two exceptions are my TOS-E and the Refit-E builds. In the case of my refit, I have literally set the kit aside for years while I either scratch built the upgrade pieces I wanted or waited until I felt I had the money to spend. How much anyone spends on a build is a choice. We each weigh the value of the finished project against what we can afford. It was important to me that my TOS-E had accurate lights, but I knew it would be expensive to achieve that. So I quickly calculated that having a dream kit from my childhood was worth the cost. Other kits I wouldn't spend the extra money. So to sum up: Yes, this hobby can be expensive. No, it doesn't have to be expensive. Whether this hobby is expensive or not is entirely, completely, and exclusively up to the individual. I would LOVE to have a 3-foot long completely accurate fully-lit ANH star destroyer, but I know that even conservatively me getting one would cost minimum of $500 (if I was lucky) or an excessive amount of time and effort to scratch build. So I won't be getting one. Simple as that.

 

[jamstraz]

One of the joys of this hobby, at least for me, is to see what I can do for little money or free. I ain't rich. I have a kid in college. I'm on a budget. Over the past two weeks, that budget has gotten considerably smaller. Figuring it out and NOT spending a buttload of cash is part of the fun for me. I have a surplus store near me where I can find tools, odds and ends, and supplies for super cheap. I bought a bunch of simple switches and 9v battery holders -- enough for 6-7 kits -- for under $5. I used an upside-down plastic bowl from Goodwill I bought for .10 as a base for a model. I cannibalized a desk lamp I got for free from a yard sale to make a support for my Bandai Falcon. I keep every unused extra piece from every kit I make to use as greeblies and I even cut away pieces of sprues if I think they're interesting shapes. I keep everything. It's very rare when I spend more on the extras I add to a kit than I spend on the kit itself. I think the two exceptions are my TOS-E and the Refit-E builds. In the case of my refit, I have literally set the kit aside for years while I either scratch built the upgrade pieces I wanted or waited until I felt I had the money to spend. How much anyone spends on a build is a choice. We each weigh the value of the finished project against what we can afford. It was important to me that my TOS-E had accurate lights, but I knew it would be expensive to achieve that. So I quickly calculated that having a dream kit from my childhood was worth the cost. Other kits I wouldn't spend the extra money. So to sum up: Yes, this hobby can be expensive. No, it doesn't have to be expensive. Whether this hobby is expensive or not is entirely, completely, and exclusively up to the individual. I would LOVE to have a 3-foot long completely accurate fully-lit ANH star destroyer, but I know that even conservatively me getting one would cost minimum of $500 (if I was lucky) or an excessive amount of time and effort to scratch build. So I won't be getting one. Simple as that.

Fair; unfortunately some parts I can't scratch build; and the ones I would like I can't obtain due to the loss of DLM. I have an Enterprise A that I will have to buy translucent blue styrene for and try to draw the lines in. I want all my models to light up...so, again, mea culpa

 

[jamstraz]

One of the joys of this hobby, at least for me, is to see what I can do for little money or free. I ain't rich. I have a kid in college. I'm on a budget. Over the past two weeks, that budget has gotten considerably smaller. Figuring it out and NOT spending a buttload of cash is part of the fun for me. I have a surplus store near me where I can find tools, odds and ends, and supplies for super cheap. I bought a bunch of simple switches and 9v battery holders -- enough for 6-7 kits -- for under $5. I used an upside-down plastic bowl from Goodwill I bought for .10 as a base for a model. I cannibalized a desk lamp I got for free from a yard sale to make a support for my Bandai Falcon. I keep every unused extra piece from every kit I make to use as greeblies and I even cut away pieces of sprues if I think they're interesting shapes. I keep everything. It's very rare when I spend more on the extras I add to a kit than I spend on the kit itself. I think the two exceptions are my TOS-E and the Refit-E builds. In the case of my refit, I have literally set the kit aside for years while I either scratch built the upgrade pieces I wanted or waited until I felt I had the money to spend. How much anyone spends on a build is a choice. We each weigh the value of the finished project against what we can afford. It was important to me that my TOS-E had accurate lights, but I knew it would be expensive to achieve that. So I quickly calculated that having a dream kit from my childhood was worth the cost. Other kits I wouldn't spend the extra money. So to sum up: Yes, this hobby can be expensive. No, it doesn't have to be expensive. Whether this hobby is expensive or not is entirely, completely, and exclusively up to the individual. I would LOVE to have a 3-foot long completely accurate fully-lit ANH star destroyer, but I know that even conservatively me getting one would cost minimum of $500 (if I was lucky) or an excessive amount of time and effort to scratch build. So I won't be getting one. Simple as that.

Define: surplus store?