Author Topic: Two hobbies within a hobby (Read 4001 times)

Dan McEntee · « **Reply #1 on:** October 31, 2009, 09:38:24 PM »

Guilty as charged sir!!!

I have just finished putting away the last of some of my loose plans. A customer at the hobby shop I work at sold mwe a bunch of small R/C and free flight plans recently and I had some loose ones I got off eBay. A few years ago, a good friend of mine was moving to England to work for a while and he showed up at my door with his life long collection of plans from Flying Models, Hobby Helpers and M.A.N. The stack of tubes filled the back of his minivan! I was quite literally shaking when we unloaded them. These all go back to the fifties. He basically bought the plan set available each month for each of the magazines for 10 years or so, maybe more, until he went into the service. Add to those the ones I have bought, collected and have been given over the years and 337 doesn't even come close! I haven't even attempted to count them yet. I have them stored in large 40" by 48" flat files that are 2" deep and have 15 drawers total. I have another smaller flat file with 5 drawers that is getting the over flow, and that doesn't even include all of the P-nut scale and other small rubber power plans that I have in other drawers!
Add to that, 8 or 9 four drawer file cabinets full of Flying Aces, Air Trails, Flying Models (complete), Model Airplane News, American Aircraft Modeler(complete), Model Builder (complete), Model Aviation complete) R/C Modeler, Aero Modeler, and numerous other smaller publications. I also have several large book shelves with books on model building, plans books, documentation books etc from back before the war to the present time.
I also have a pretty large and diversified plastic RTF model collection, a dresser drawer and numerous other boxes filled with engines, and as you say, let's don't EVEN get into the kit collection that has everything from P-nut scale to R/C scale, stunt, speed, carrier, and solid scale display models.
When I'm not messing with any of that stuff, I rebuild/restore and race vintage enduro and ISDT type motorcycles and vintage trials motorcycles. I think I have about 25 or 26 between my house here and my nephew's house, all but one or two were rebuilt by me and or my nephew and all run except one or two that I haven't put back together yet. I would probably have a few more but earning a living gets in the way, and would have a few more models built if I hadn't discovered this damned computer thing that I'm beating on right now!!

Yeah, I kinda got the sickness also and I feel your pain!
Back to the basement,
Dan McEntee

Greg L Bahrman · « **Reply #2 on:** October 31, 2009, 10:29:30 PM »

Yeah, I know when I die and the wife goes thru all my motors, plans, and kits...She'll be scratching her head and saying"what was he thinking...He looked normal" Ha Ha Ha

Bill Morell · « **Reply #3 on:** October 31, 2009, 10:36:02 PM »

A wise move would be to write the name of each plan and catalogue them so you know what you got.

Mike Scholtes · « **Reply #4 on:** October 31, 2009, 10:40:35 PM »

Hi Dan:

This truly has nothing to do with model airplanes, but... I competed in trials and enduros from about 1975 through about 1995 until one too many injuries put an end to it. I still follow trials, and in NorCal we have a very active vintage class with early Sherpa Ts, Cottons, Greeves, and lots of oddball stuff that once was cutting edge. What sort of vintage machines have you had a hand in? [Just sold off my Yamaha TY250L last year, the first really modern monoshock super-light trials machine, European model; it did duty as a free-flight chase bike for the last 10 years]

Mark Scarborough · « **Reply #5 on:** November 01, 2009, 12:29:40 AM »

you know, all you guys that have hoards of magazines just make me sick! How the heck is my collection of rare and desirable magazines ever going to be worth anything when you guys all have the same stuff! sheesh, have a heart, throw all that junk away so mine are the only copies available and they will be worth something, sheesh,
All this time, I have been telling my girlfriend that them boxes of rare hard to find research material in the garage on them carefully constructed shelves is worth money cause there so rare, and now You all let out that you have the same stuff,, man,,

Dan McEntee · « **Reply #6 on:** November 01, 2009, 12:53:10 AM »

Quote from: Mark Scarborough on November 01, 2009, 12:29:40 AM

you know, all you guys that have hoards of magazines just make me sick! How the heck is my collection of rare and desirable magazines ever going to be worth anything when you guys all have the same stuff! sheesh, have a heart, throw all that junk away so mine are the only copies available and they will be worth something, sheesh,
All this time, I have been telling my girlfriend that them boxes of rare hard to find research material in the garage on them carefully constructed shelves is worth money cause there so rare, and now You all let out that you have the same stuff,, man,,

Ok, this is a test. Go out to your collections of rare magazines and see if you have a May, 1954 Flying Models. Yes, it does exist, even though Flying models was bi-monthly at that time. Check out the volume and whole numbers of the April and June issues, and you will see that they skip one. collectors for years thought that this was just a typo or misprint, as Flying Models Magazine doesn't have an archive that goes back that far due to hurricanes, fires, and floods. But the do have record that it existed.
I just flipped through my copy of it and tucked it away back in it's file!
I don't ever intend to sell my stuff off. Hopefully, my son will get to a point in life where I can leave it to him and he'll be able to take it all over. By that time, some of it may really be rare and worth something. Right now, I really don't care about rarity or value. To me it's all just cool stuff and I would rather have it than the money it's supposed to be worth. I can always earn money, but I'll never be able to buy some of my stuff again.
Here's another test for you; "Prize Winner's Book of Model Airplanes" by Carl H. Claudy, first edition 1931, including the full size plans that were tucked into the sleeves in the front and back harcover. Very neat book!
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee

john e. holliday · « **Reply #7 on:** November 01, 2009, 07:27:46 AM »

I hate to say it, but, I have been giving away boxes of magazines over the last few years. All the other people didn't think they were worth anything. Someone out there in this great land is supposedly putting all the original Model Aviation mags on a CD. The rest as I find them are going in the recycle bin.

Dan McEntee · « **Reply #8 on:** November 01, 2009, 03:04:15 PM »

Quote from: Ty Marcucci on November 01, 2009, 02:09:48 PM

The May 54 FM was acutally a comic book type mag. I think it is posted on the AJ Walker site. Kinda like collecting Corvettes and trying to find a 1984 Vette. Only to find that's the year they left St. Louis for Bowling Green and didn't make any.

Yep. that is, as you say, "zachery" correct!!! It is a comic book but carries the correct volume and whole number in proper sequence with the April and June issues. I didn't know I had it until some one asked me about it. I looked in my files and pulled out the April issue and decided to flip through a bit and it fell open to where the May issue was tucked in it. It may have been distributed that way for all I know. The magazine was 35 cents or so at that time, and the May issue has a 5 cent price printed on it. It may have been included with subscriber's April issues and sold on the news stand for a nickle. I have heard of only one other copy and that was Carrolyn Geirke, I believe. I mad a photo cpy of mine with full color copy of the covers and gave that to Flying Models for their archives. It is a neat little comic book, though.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee

Don Hutchinson AMA5402 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 01, 2009, 03:22:03 PM »

Aha Ty-
You have heard about "Zachery"disease.

billbyles · « **Reply #10 on:** November 01, 2009, 03:41:24 PM »

Quote from: Ty Marcucci on November 01, 2009, 02:09:48 PM

The May 54 FM was acutally a comic book type mag. I think it is posted on the AJ Walker site. Kinda like collecting Corvettes and trying to find a 1984 Vette. Only to find that's the year they left St. Louis for Bowling Green and didn't make any.

Not to split hairs, Ty, but it was 1983 that they did not make a Corvette. I have a 1984 Corvette and found that out while looking up the history of the Corvettes. 1983 was to be the first year for the C-4 model, but due to a strike at GM the new model production/introduction was put off until the 1984 model year. Just FYI for the heck of it.

Bill

Chuck Feldman · « **Reply #11 on:** November 01, 2009, 04:02:48 PM »

Hello Ty,

I have my problems to. How many times I have collected magizines and such. However I moved around so much I just could not haul all the stuff with me. So I culled some out and completely thrashed lots of them. I hated doing that. These days I am still saving them all. When someone wants to read something I am happy when they don't return it. LOL

Dick Pacini · « **Reply #12 on:** November 03, 2009, 03:01:21 PM »

Not meaning to hijack the thread, but I used to have a collection of every Elvis 45 made from 1954 to the mid 1970's. I gave them all to a little neighbor kid, never thinking that Elvis would die and the records would be worth much more than they cost.

Bill Ervin · « **Reply #13 on:** November 03, 2009, 03:26:26 PM »

Confessional threads are good for the soul, or something like that...

My name is Bill Ervin and I collect plans, kits, magazines and engines that I will probably never use. I have so much juicy stuff that it would be embarrassing to admit to it's totality even among my peers- so much cool stuff that I would be frightened to tally it's total cost or ponder it's intrinsic value- so much junk, I mean stuff, that the guy who ends up with my modeling estate could have a fulfilling career just selling it on Ebay.

There, how's that for a cry for help?

Matt Colan · « **Reply #14 on:** November 03, 2009, 05:44:06 PM »

Boy, I've been in the hobby a little over 4 years (6 if you count RC flying) and I've collected a good shelf full of magazines, and I threw out a lot of them not relating to CL, so I've got quite a bit. I've drawn about 3 dozen planes that I will probably never build 2/3 of them. Still nowheres near what you guys got, but I think I've got something at least, one engine that I bought with my own money (PA 40UL), a ton of magazines (without seeing what you guys got) 4 airplanes ready to fly and 3 are flying on a regular basis, two under construction, and one kit, the Stunthangar P-40.

Bill Ervin · « **Reply #15 on:** November 03, 2009, 05:44:31 PM »

[ Junkies go to meetings. ]

Oh Oh! I go to FF and CL "club meetings" too!

Bill Ervin · « **Reply #16 on:** November 03, 2009, 06:02:02 PM »

Quote from: Matt Colan on November 03, 2009, 05:44:06 PM

Boy, I've been in the hobby a little over 4 years (6 if you count RC flying) and I've collected a good shelf full of magazines, and I threw out a lot of them not relating to CL, so I've got quite a bit. I've drawn about 3 dozen planes that I will probably never build 2/3 of them. Still nowheres near what you guys got, but I think I've got something at least, one engine that I bought with my own money (PA 40UL), a ton of magazines (without seeing what you guys got) 4 airplanes ready to fly and 3 are flying on a regular basis, two under construction, and one kit, the Stunthangar P-40.

Matt, it always starts out innocently enough-but take it from me- I recently found myself not eating lunch just to save a few dollars so I could support my dope habit.

Wynn Robins · « **Reply #17 on:** November 04, 2009, 01:25:17 PM »

I have over 700 plans - but all re scanned in to my PC as PDFs - as I have a wide format printer - i can print them whenever I want and scale them up or down to suit whatever I need

Wynn Robins · « **Reply #18 on:** November 04, 2009, 03:41:15 PM »

an oversight on my part Ty -

I would love to be able to add your plans to my database too .......that way they are kept forever in digital format and will be around for generations to come

Scott B. Riese · « **Reply #19 on:** November 05, 2009, 09:05:16 PM »

Quote from: Mark Scarborough on November 01, 2009, 12:29:40 AM

you know, all you guys that have hoards of magazines just make me sick! How the heck is my collection of rare and desirable magazines ever going to be worth anything when you guys all have the same stuff! sheesh, have a heart, throw all that junk away so mine are the only copies available and they will be worth something, sheesh,
All this time, I have been telling my girlfriend that them boxes of rare hard to find research material in the garage on them carefully constructed shelves is worth money cause there so rare, and now You all let out that you have the same stuff,, man,,

Mark.....I don't think Hustler or Major Boobage will be worth anything of value.......OH unless your getting older.....

john e. holliday · « **Reply #20 on:** November 07, 2009, 08:33:06 AM »

Mark & Scott, All mine are either with someone else or in the recycle box at the grade school.