WOW!! You guys are making me feel so much better! I thought I was the only only one with enormous amounts of stuff.
I have about
38 planes that are ready to fly
34 in some form of construction
140 some odd kits
140 some odd engines
Wow! This and several other posts explains a few things. I was astonished to read somewhere recently that Brodak has sold some 2,000 Brodak .40s. My first thought at reading that 2,000 Brodak .40s have sold was, "There aren't enough CL guys left to buy that many of just one type/brand of motors out of the many, many other motors available new or used." Well I guess there's more CL guys left than I thought, and some of the few that are left, buy far more kits and engines than they could ever possibly build or use.
The bright side of such large inventories is that it keeps Brodak and the other cottage industries alive for everyone: those who only buy a little and those who can't resist buying in large quantities (at least large quantities over time).
A part of me is envious of such large inventories, but it hit me in my twenties (1970s - 1980s) when my passion was free flight, that I don't have the time to build all the models that appeal to me, even if I could afford the monetary cost. Same goes now with flying/practicing. No matter how many planes I might have ready to fly there's only so much daylight on the days when (a) the weather is suitable and (b) I'm not obligated to do something else, or (c) there isn't something else I would rather be doing.
I'm grateful for the two practice planes that were freely handed down to me and the one I bought complete with an engine ready to fly, and the two 1/2A models I've built. And because I enjoy building, I'm in the process of building a Sig Akromaster, a Baby Barnstormer from plans, a Top Flite Tutor, and a Medic. I'll fairly soon have more models ready to fly than I can get around to flying. And yet I look at the kits in my Brodak catalog and the RSM on-line catalog every other day thinking every other page, "Wouldn't that be an ideal/fun/beautiful/great flying model to build!" So, I too am a kid in the candy shop drooling over all the goodies. I, too, am constantly having to slap my hand and say "You don't really need that. You've already got plenty. Work with what you have."
Too large an appetite! Too little time!
Joe Ed Pederson
Cuba, MO