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Downsizing ones collection, what goes!


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I have been told by she who must be obeyed that when we move I cannot take everything with me, I must admit I have too many locos/ loco kits but how do I chose what I keep. I am a builder rather than a player, So the fun is in building rather than running them, there has been no real plan in buying them, other than either what I like or as a child/teenager looked enviously at Wills loco kits and could not afford.

 

My first love is in building track, so I need a selection of stock in 00/EM/P4/0/0-16.5 & 009. This is the easy part

 

Initially my main interest was in the GWR, followed as I grew up on the Euston line LNWR/LMS. Having said that I always  envied Wills SR locos as so few were available in RTR, until recently no interest in LNER, but who can resist a blue A4 and I have a J52  hand painted and lined in GNR colours

 

Added to this I have a soft spot for early 50's models and have a few Jamieson/Eames locos plus CCW/Ratio wooden coaches

 

I started a while ago a small shed diorama, so it could hold locos and is non-regional, the plan was as it is 6 road shed the rear 2 roads could be in code 100 rail to run the older locos.

 

But how many is too many ? I could get rid of all duplicates, but then I have k's Terriers in 3 different liveries. I could limit my self to a couple of LNER locos, and just some LNWR/ LMS ones

 

I must keep at least one of each GWR tender locos, and what SR locos do I keep?

 

Is there another way to chose, I am building a Wills county with a SEF chassis. I would like to think every loco I keep (except the Jamiesons) having etched chassis with decent motors. Other than duplicates, I look at them and think I will keep this one, even a badly made Wills Crab I bought as I thing it needs a decent chassis, rebuild and because it is ugly and nobody else loves them. I have plenty of others like that each with their own reason for keeping them

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D.I.V.O.R.C.E. :D It is either me and my kits or no me!

 

Or move to a bigger house

 

Or more will power.

 

Think yourself lucky - Add to that list a pile of 7mm and a garage full of half 5% completed layouts. A big trunk of kits in the attic and the odd box or two under the "layouts". We decided ages ago that half the house is mine and I could fill that half with whatever I wanted and the other half was her indoors, We even built an extension to be "neutral" territory.

 

If you really have to downsize then get rid of the bad ones and the ones that you could do better now. Once you get sentimental about it the disposal pile just shrinks to nothing.

 

Good luck.

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List them here on RMweb and let other 'modellers' get their hands on them rather than letting them go to Ebay.

 

It might be the ugly ducklings  but only you can set the price that you are happy with rather than the vagaries of the market.

 

If they don't sell, then you will just 'have' to take them with you in the move.

 

Negotiating for space NOW might be a better idea rather than trying to get the thin  end of the wedge in later.

 

Al the very best,

 

Regards

 

Ian

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Tell the OH that the move has to be to rural  France where you can still pick up a house with a barn for under £100k.

 

Do up the barn and no need to downsize.

 

It is what I did.

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Don't you have a friend that you can loan the items to? Then you can sneak them all back gradually!

 

That would comply with the terms of 'not taking it with you, when you move' - but later!

 

 

Or else join a club & keep the excess at the club rooms.

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Kenton 

 

I have one part built layout in the garage 00sf, 0-16.5 at the club and the engine shed shelf layout in my work room.

 

Ian

 

I am an Ebay addict (like Horsetan), sorry but most items get a much greater coverage there, and they will go back from where they came

 

Andy

 

Nice idea but the idea is firstly to move nearer our daughter and secondly get a house which is economical to run in retirement. I am hoping I will get a decent shed out of the move, where I can build to my hearts content.

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Hi Hayfield, being brutal is what I am doing at the moment, I just kept buying and buying, because I had this idea to model form 1980 - 2000, but it just got ridiculous with the stock, and in truth I ended up going round in circles, so I finally said to myself "after some more ear bending from the other half about the amount of stock I had" right, settle on a smaller timeline, I wrote down my favourite stock and liveries etc, and went from there, I am still trawling through it, and in truth I feel better for it now as I was pretty brutal about it, and I was that brutal with myself, I even had to make decisions on 2 similar items, one had to go, and I did it !!!

 

The classifieds have been a great place to pass on, what was a lot of great models.

 

So I know they have gone to some very good homes.

 

Happy modelling

Craig.

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I have been told by she who must be obeyed that when we move I cannot take everything with me, I must admit I have too many locos/ loco kits but how do I chose what I keep. I am a builder rather than a player, So the fun is in building rather than running them, there has been no real plan in buying them, other than either what I like or as a child/teenager looked enviously at Wills loco kits and could not afford.

 

My first love is in building track, so I need a selection of stock in 00/EM/P4/0/0-16.5 & 009. This is the easy part

 

Initially my main interest was in the GWR, followed as I grew up on the Euston line LNWR/LMS. Having said that I always  envied Wills SR locos as so few were available in RTR, until recently no interest in LNER, but who can resist a blue A4 and I have a J52  hand painted and lined in GNR colours

 

Added to this I have a soft spot for early 50's models and have a few Jamieson/Eames locos plus CCW/Ratio wooden coaches

 

I started a while ago a small shed diorama, so it could hold locos and is non-regional, the plan was as it is 6 road shed the rear 2 roads could be in code 100 rail to run the older locos.

 

But how many is too many ? I could get rid of all duplicates, but then I have k's Terriers in 3 different liveries. I could limit my self to a couple of LNER locos, and just some LNWR/ LMS ones

 

I must keep at least one of each GWR tender locos, and what SR locos do I keep?

 

Is there another way to chose, I am building a Wills county with a SEF chassis. I would like to think every loco I keep (except the Jamiesons) having etched chassis with decent motors. Other than duplicates, I look at them and think I will keep this one, even a badly made Wills Crab I bought as I thing it needs a decent chassis, rebuild and because it is ugly and nobody else loves them. I have plenty of others like that each with their own reason for keeping them

How many pairs of shoes is she not taking with her!!

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Personally I would just box them all and mark them as the missus clothes.

We are in the same boat to a degree, i n that the missus has 3 suitcases full of clothes already packed out in the garage.

The priority with out next place, as with this one, was I must have a hobby room/studio/shed.... :)

 

Also helps if I sign this doesn't it!!!!!!

 

Khris

 

 

Edited to sign .

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Be very careful when selecting items for disposal.

When I moved thirteen years ago, I hadn't done any modelling for twenty years. I mistakenly kept the wrong "Christmas biscuit tin", getting rid of the railway "Odd 'n' sods" tin which contained a brand new Portescap, a Kays J3 and a GCR tender. I saved another tin containing rubbish.

 

Thane of fife

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As others have said, it's very easy to get "sentimental" over everything.  Ok, there will always be "odd things" like the first loco your parents bought you, that don't fit with anything else, but when I moved I sold a lot of 'stuff' I didn't need, a lot of which went to a fellow RMWebber who I have kept in touch with about his layout plans.

 

I have a heap of stuff in N gauge, OO gauge and a smaller quantity of O gauge.  I currently have an N gauge layout and an O gauge layout under construction; the O gauge layout lives in the model room spare bedroom and the N gauge layout is stacked in a corner as I have some technical electrickery that needs to be done before I can progress further which admittedly is my own fault choice and I'm trying to put it off as long as I can as it makes me very nervous.

 

The OO gauge stock I have far too much of for the space I have available, so I really do need to give it a good cull (as I said already some steam era stock was passed on but I don't need 40 coaches and 10 DMU's for a simple branch line terminus which is all I am likely to be able to achieve in our current living situation.  There is a 'loft space' but it's not converted into a hospitable room and as it's rented accommodation I am very reluctant to spend any money doing so even if permission was given.

 

Hopefully at some point we will find a home to call ours, complete with mortgage, where permanent space(s) can be allocated to a layout space which may well enable me to make the OO tailchaser I've always wanted, or maybe not, I'll be happier with three or four smaller layouts in the same space.  I don't know.

 

I like the idea of American N with massive trains in scenery, I like the idea of a narrow gauge or Colonel Stephens type layout using a mismatch of stock, there's a couple of specific steam era OO projects I have in mind "one day", and if someone bought out the right modern EMU's (in N or OO) then I would quite possibly work out a plan based around that.  But for now they're just scribbles on bits of paper.

 

There is no easy solution to this - but consolidating is always good particularly in OO as it is so easy to "pick up a bargain" that you don't really need and doesn't fit in with anything else but was too good to pass up - which then means several hundred pounds of other stock needed to go with the "bargain" to make a viable train or layout which doesn't make it a bargain in the end - but I always think of it as releasing funds to buy new stock that I do need in the plans I currently have in progress (or want to move on to) rather than just money to end up being wasted on stupid things like bills or the garden.

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As others have said, it's very easy to get "sentimental" over everything.  Ok, there will always be "odd things" like the first loco your parents bought you, that don't fit with anything else, but when I moved I sold a lot of 'stuff' I didn't need, a lot of which went to a fellow RMWebber who I have kept in touch with about his layout plans.

 

I have a heap of stuff in N gauge, OO gauge and a smaller quantity of O gauge.  I currently have an N gauge layout and an O gauge layout under construction; the O gauge layout lives in the model room spare bedroom and the N gauge layout is stacked in a corner as I have some technical electrickery that needs to be done before I can progress further which admittedly is my own fault choice and I'm trying to put it off as long as I can as it makes me very nervous.

 

The OO gauge stock I have far too much of for the space I have available, so I really do need to give it a good cull (as I said already some steam era stock was passed on but I don't need 40 coaches and 10 DMU's for a simple branch line terminus which is all I am likely to be able to achieve in our current living situation.  There is a 'loft space' but it's not converted into a hospitable room and as it's rented accommodation I am very reluctant to spend any money doing so even if permission was given.

 

Hopefully at some point we will find a home to call ours, complete with mortgage, where permanent space(s) can be allocated to a layout space which may well enable me to make the OO tailchaser I've always wanted, or maybe not, I'll be happier with three or four smaller layouts in the same space.  I don't know.

 

I like the idea of American N with massive trains in scenery, I like the idea of a narrow gauge or Colonel Stephens type layout using a mismatch of stock, there's a couple of specific steam era OO projects I have in mind "one day", and if someone bought out the right modern EMU's (in N or OO) then I would quite possibly work out a plan based around that.  But for now they're just scribbles on bits of paper.

 

There is no easy solution to this - but consolidating is always good particularly in OO as it is so easy to "pick up a bargain" that you don't really need and doesn't fit in with anything else but was too good to pass up - which then means several hundred pounds of other stock needed to go with the "bargain" to make a viable train or layout which doesn't make it a bargain in the end - but I always think of it as releasing funds to buy new stock that I do need in the plans I currently have in progress (or want to move on to) rather than just money to end up being wasted on stupid things like bills or the garden.

Stupid things like bills Brilliant. Man to my own thinking there

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Tell the OH that the move has to be to rural  France where you can still pick up a house with a barn for under £100k.

 

Do up the barn and no need to downsize.

 

It is what I did.

French property and inheritance laws can be, er, complex.

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Why not take a few good quality photographs of each your locomotives from all angles?

That way you will have a  record of each of them if you decide to sell and a permanent reminder of the fun you had building them.

It will also let you review each of them a little more objectively when you prioritise your future collection.

 

I'm not sure what to recommend about the "orphans." They may be assets, but when you look at them, if you can only see the work needed to bring them up to an acceptable standard, it may be that the liabilities they bring with them outweigh their present value (compared to an example of a modern kit design) Are you going to have the time and energy for the rebuild - or is that effort better placed on another project?

 

Lastly,think about display in your new home - spending a little of the money you realise by rationalising your collection on dust-proof display cabinets or good quality, accessible storage could allow you to enjoy your newly focussed collection to much better effect.

 

Regards

Martin

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French property and inheritance laws can be, er, complex.

 

 

Potentially yes but next year you can opt for UK rules to apply - however French tax rules will still apply to that decision.

 

In reality these laws do not impact on most people who do their homework and apply the correct regime when purchasing.

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Craig

 

You are dead right, but I cant say I want to build a GWR loco shed layout. As I want to keep some SR & LNWR Stock

 

Skipsy

 

I have a complete collection of K's wagons and coaches (with the exception of the motor-rail which was not available to the public), including the variants. But I do have quite a lot of duplicates

 

Cromptonut

 

The Colonel Stephens idea is a good one and would be a home for the many tank locos I have (even got a Langley station building bases on Colonel Stephens stations) but just building a lovely GWR County!!

 

Pacific

 

She have a lot of clothes, but has been reducing what she has

 

Ed

 

I am coming round to your idea, of having fewer but better stock.

 

Mike

 

I actually like selling items as much as buying, this way I can buy lots, take what I want and hopefully subsidise what I am buying.  

 

Thanks again lads, but I am still not as close as I would like to be on knowing where to draw the line

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Ask yourself very carefully, if you are still modelling in ten years what era/ region/scale will it be ?

 

That way you don't sell and then have to rebuy stuff like I have, it's cost me a fortune since 99

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Rob

 

Thanks, another good pointer. Like most I will never have the space/money/skill to build the layout of my dreams and the more I think of it the shed cameo does fit the bill in many ways, and by keeping it generic I can either keep it regional or pretend its a preserved line.

 

With it being a shelf layout then on a shelf lower/higher, perhaps on on a light railway theme again either a period or preserved theme

 

But the thorny theme of what to keep, I guess a list to start with is best as I have no real idea of exactly what I have. Then work out a priority system

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But the thorny theme of what to keep, I guess a list to start with is best as I have no real idea of exactly what I have. Then work out a priority system

 

That's probably the best solution.  I sorted everything I had into "themes" - for example 95% of my OO diesels were rail blue/NSE era, yet I had a Class 66 that was 'too good a bargain to resist' - an obvious candidate for selling on as the two eras couldn't be stretched together to make a theme and little else that would run with the 66 apart from a few engineering wagons.  Ok, possibly an option for a small cameo scene but certainly no layout options.

 

Maybe some of Tim Horn's little scenic boards (http://www.timhorn.co.uk/scenic-boards/) would do for some of the one offs that you really can't, for sentimental or whatever reasons, get rid of; then at least they can be on a shelf somewhere and it'll look a bit nicer than just a piece of bare track.

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Well its not an easy one I remember I downsized my collection as it got out of hand now do I regret parting with anything yes and no would be the awnser but as time has gone on most of the stuff had been re-done to a much better standard

so I think I am better off nowdays.

Hugh

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