Losing interest?

As some of you will know I am losing interest in models and selling off some of my own collection
I have decided to get rid as I think the model market including code 3 making is on its arse at the moment

I never thought the day would come when i got fed up and sell off what I have.

Anyone else feel the same?

ME!! the last of my models were listed on ebay during the week at 0.99p (a risk I know) and none sold above £30!! most of these were code 3 models including models I had built myself. the market seems to be at rock bottom and to be honest I don't think its a great time to be selling however I was already commited to selling the collection and have received a fair good few £££'s over the past months so the last 8-10models not making big money was fine with me.
best of luck mark with the sales and new business adventure mate!

Losing interest? Me? No sirree!   

I've hit my stride with my model making and am churning out all sorts of one-offs for my collection.

True, I'm not buying much myself at the moment apart from donor vehicles, but having bought some tools and experimented with some decals, I'm plodding my way through a weird and wacky array of (mostly rallycross) 6R4s including several European competitors from the late 80s and early 90s.

I even managed to produce a splendid model of the Lucas-sponsored, John Price prepared 6R4 rally car from Race Retro within 2 weeks of the event!   

I'm not losing interest, but I am still very choosy and realise my interest (in anything BL/ ARG/ MGR from road, race or rally) is quite limited compared with some. Viva la Difference! as the French would say... or was that a special edition Vauxhall form the 1970s?!   

Cheers, Steve

Know how you feel guys. Model market is crap for selling and buying!

Model market is at an all time low at the moment. Rare models are not hitting the same prices as they are popping up a lot more since so many are selling up.

For me Im trying to get through some of the models I want to build. Most will be one offs very small numbers of decals. I think anyone looking to do a run of models would need to be very careful about what ones they do. Stuff is just not selling at the moment. You'd need to try cover a range of different types of collections to get the sales needed

Lost interest a while ago, its just the odd few nowadays that I look at.

yeh ive lost intrest just buy the odd thing now ixo prices are a joke for new models,id sell all my collection if someone took the lot at once

It's not uncommon for peoples interests in a hobby to wain over time. Just shame we seem to be losing so many of the old crew at the same time. No rhyme or reason just hope the next gen of collectors to join the forum are as enthusiastic and participate in the lighthearted banter as you all did in your peak!

agreed paul, things and circumstances change for all of us.........normal for the make-up of groups like this to see additions and departures over time..........but as you say, as long as the spirit of the place stays, its all good....  
as for myself, not losing interest at all, love my collections, still find myself standing just staring at them.....sad i know lol!!! most of my model work now involves looking at irish conversions, as my wee manta collection is finished and the main rally display is waiting for a new model to be produced.... like others i long for 1:18 chevettes, celicas, nissan rs, tr7 etc etc.......... one more to add to my vat-man collection, a black sierra, and thats it!   

For me it's not just about the cars, but the people, places and great times they remind me of. For those reasons I don't see myself ever losing interest in them.

I doubt that I'll ever have a collection anything like the size of some of you guys, but never say never! Although with the market apparently on its arse, this could be just the time to start buying 

Would anybody buy a complete collection nowadays??

My collecting started in 89 and I have to say doing code 3's now I have lost total interest
I have saved a few for my personal collection and down to 1 6R4 which is the Carnegie model and Skoda S2000's the rest are sold or forsale.

I'm still merrily collecting but do need to sell rather a lot to get that credit card back down.   

I'm not losing interest in collecting models either just continuing the rationalisation! I am looking however to sell off most if not all of my rally books, dvds and other memorabilia, the last of my vinyl/cd collection and various other tat that I've amassed over the years (wife excepted!) as am looking in earnest to buy a rally car to do the HRCR Clubmans series with next year.

Everyone has their own reasons for chopping in collecting I guess and no matter what hobby you are involved in you can’t help but be affected by your personal circumstances be it family, job, health etc. I know that recently having turned 50 I’ve started to question a number of things about my life and on occasion in a fit of pique though about chucking it all in, the collecting that is not life!!! However at this stage I think my missus would think I was about to run off with a 21 year old Latvian girl I’d met on the net if I did anything of the sort!

I can understand why there is a perception that the model market is on its arse especially in the UK. Of late the sport of rallying has had little coverage in the media and the BRC is a shadow of its former self. Couple that with the recession, the demise of Modelzone and a number of independent shops and the outlets for Joe Public to buy or get interested in collecting models has been reduced a lot. Ok so there is the net and Ebay of course however I think these outlets cater for in the main people who already have the bug.

Another factor IMO is the number of part works we have seen in recent years and the dumping of these models on the market  which has in turn has lowered people’s expectations of how much to expect to pay for a 1/43rd model. Ironically this has been at the same time as the manufacturers have been increasing their prices especially in the UK and with VAT at 20% standard models from the likes of Spark, Neo and even Ixo are now quite major purchases. Ironically Ixo are now giving publicity to a new part work via their Facebook page of which the normal releases are in the range of 20 euro a pop when the average UK RRP of an Ixo model  is £39.95!

I also think, and this is a purely personal opinion and not aimed at anyone here just in general, that there has been  a lot of people trying to make money on the back of Code 3 models. I guess this really followed on from the pioneering  work done by the likes of Kevin (KMD) Xav and Andy H. Seeing KMDs regularly sell for £150 on Ebay resulted in a rash of similar models from various makers however when the market starts to get saturated and the quality is not always the best then the market starts to stall. A lot of fellow collectors I know still look at their models as being appreciating assets however just like collectors of full size cars the opportunity to lose money is all too easy you really need to be in it for the love and anything else is a bonus.

I think we are still living in a relative golden age for collecting 1/43rd rally cars. Some of the models being released or due to be released and the quality of them is something we could only have dreamed about even 5-10 years ago. When I started collecting I thought that Vitesse’s Opel Mantas would never be improved and now we have quality even from mainstream manufacturers that makes them look like the crude bits of kit they are.
I’ll be here for a while yet even if I end up talking to myself

Chris

Hi Chris,

You do know that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness?    But what you've put in your post does not sound like the rantings of a madman! Quite the contrary, it all makes good sense.   Well, apart from suggesting your wife is 'tat'!   

Don't worry, you won't end up talking to yourself - I'll keep you company!   

If you can pass me the contact details of your 21 year-old Latvian lass, that would be appreciated.

Cheers and speak soon, Steve

Not loosing interest but have tons of decals to sell and about a dozen cars I keep trying to sell but not going which pees me off