I'm retiring from ship modeling

[mtdoramike]

Oh I'll still be around peeking in on other folks builds and generally make a bit less of a pest than I have been in the past. I still have to finish up the Montane's with a little rigging left to do, but after that, I will be hanging up the modeling tools as far as tall ship models go. I still have a 1956 Chris Craft Commander that I will piddle with from time to time if I feel like it. This bout of Pmonia has really taken it's toll on me. My daughter asked me what hobby is next since I have been into models, trains, RC planes just to name a few of the hobbies, I told her nothing, just livin. hahahahahahaha.

 

mike

  

[AndrewNaylor]

Life is a HOBBY

Now you just want to spend more time with the people you love than the things you love to make 

Andy

[JohnReid]

Don't feel alone in your decision.Ship modeling is now the last of a what I will be doing too.It started with the Santa Maria way back in 1973 and it will be ending with the ship I am building now ,if I don't croak in the meantime.I'm almost 77.Cheers John.

[toms10]

I think the MSW family will miss your insight and build logs packed with great pictures and info.  I definitely appreciate your talents and hope you check in on us and keep us sailing straight.  Thank you again for all your contributions and as Andy said above, enjoy the hobby of life.  I am sure there are many institutions that will mourn your retirement knowing they will not be the beneficiary of your generosity regarding all your beautiful donated models.

Tom

[mtdoramike]

Thank you for the kind words and well wishes. I will still be around, just not in a building capacity.

 

 

mike

 

[CDW]

I respect your decision to "Retire" from ship modeling, although it's hard for me to conceive of actually doing it. In one shape or fashion, I have been a modeler for close to 60 years. 

But as with all things, there is a time and a season. 

I hope the best and for many good things to come for you in the future, Mike.

Regards

Craig

[reklein]

I think retiring from anything but work is nonsense just because you're 77 or whatever. I know a guy in Spokane who's 93 and still does most of the wiring for a model railroad club with 19 scale miles of mainline. Yeah take some time off if you're sick or if you're physically unable to do the work but you can't just give up. I often get "modelers block and can't seem to get anything started in the shop but so far at 73 I seem to get back in

the saddle and get work done. Hang in there Bud.

[David Rice]

I have experienced two bouts of  Pneumonia.  It's like someone has built a campfire on your chest. A person needs to do something. Over the past 10 years I have had to give up just about everything I used to love to do. Model building in any capacity can still challenge you, and most of all keep you busy. A person needs to do something even if it requires building less challenging models, or building something else. When I was very young, I used to watch the old retired gentlemen sit around and whittle on a piece of wood. Some of them actually made some interesting figurines. Some made a pile debris. Some spent more time sharpening their knives. But, they all kept busy.

Edited July 31, 2017 by David Rice
Spelling

[Mickgee]

Hello Mike,

 

I used to think, not long ago, how can anyone just up and quit what they love to do and have been doing for a long time?

 

I understand now where you are, and appreciate your openness, as I'm feeling similar towards other things.

 

Good luck to you, and be good with your decision.  You're really not losing anything, but gaining more time for things that are more important to you.  A big win.

 

We don't know of each other, but I'm sure it will do you and others well also, when you drop by and have a peek and drop a comment or two.

 

Greetings from Germany, from a now retired Florida boy.

 

Michael

[Roger Pellett]

There is an assisted living facility nearby that runs ads on TV featuring an elderly lady sitting in an easy chair who says, "You don't have to do anything here as they do everything for you."  My idea of hell.

 

Roger

[mtdoramike]

I will not be giving up on life, just model building. I will find another hobby as I always have after a while. 

mike

 

[shipman]

Not that I'm thinking of checking out soon, but I live alone, have no family and what few friends I have aren't interested. I am knocking on a bit (I'm in my mid 60's) and have accumulated a substantial library (2000+) covering a wide variety of topics, including possibly 200 relating to ships and modelling them. I often wonder what will happen to them.

A sobering event happened last year when a neighbour sadly lost her mum. I was invited to go along and pick through her late step dads tool shed. It transpired he also had a big library of books. Imagine my shock when I was told they'd all gone to landfill! 'I didn't think anyone would want them'.

I still enjoy my little collection but should I keel over suddenly I dread to think I have no one or anywhere to leave them to.

Any thoughts?

[Jaager]

Your ship related books and your tools - check with the nearest ship modeling club and see if they would be interested in inheriting this - maybe with enough money to support storage or dispersal.   Over here, for the general subject books, perhaps the public high school could make money from selling those books that do not meet their needs. 

[druxey]

Or, appoint an executor to disperse your collection as per your wishes.

[shipman]

My wish would be to find someone I could trust and like HAHAHA!

How is this site financed? It must cost something somewhere?

Though it's falling down around me, eventually I have an entire house full of interesting things collecting dust........to GIVE AWAY.

When I'm gone.

[mtdoramike]

Fast forward a couple of years and an open heart surgery later and where I was starting to scale down from model building, I have built three models since planning to retire from modeling and currently working on two other ones. But after the heart surgery, I feel 20 years younger in my mind, body is still the same though, but improving. It just goes to show how best laid plans can go awry.   

[mtaylor]

8 hours ago, druxey said:

Or, appoint an executor to disperse your collection as per your wishes.

 

Exactly.  I reworked my will last year and left instructions on where models should go (if they want them) and also tools.  When I leave this earthly existence they are going to places and people who will appreciate them.

[mtdoramike]

Unfortunately Mark, no one will appreciate them like you will or another modeler. Unless they pay for them and have an investment in the models. This is why I am donating my last large model (the Montanes) to my local hospital. The Hospital will auction the Montanes during their Gala/auction event in February and who eve the high bidder is, will appreciate it I'm sure. As an example: I offered my daughter an HMS Bounty ship model (my first model) in a display case for my oldest grandson two years ago. Guess what, it's still sitting at my house with the excuse of "well I have no where to put it right now, but please hold onto it for a while". Their house is almost twice the size of mine. I have had people asking to buy that model for years, but she insists not to sell it.

 

mike 

[JohnB40]

Whilst I am not retiring from model ship building,my current build will probably be my last.  I chose Model Shipways Confederacy because of this. I figured the size and somewhat complexity of the kit would take a fair bit of time to complete. I also decided to spread the construction time out,I work on it in fits and starts,interchanging with my other interests. I really don't have the room for the finished model except on my work bench any way. I often look at all the stuff I have accumulated in 67 years including rolling tool boxes of Snap-On tools from my 30 odd years of restoring Jaguars and say to my wife "don't give it away,you paid for half of this". I have given away 3 of the ships I've built to friends and hope the ones my wife doesn't want to keep will go to appreciative homes.

[mtaylor]

For where to leave the models.... not all ship museums want more models or they want models they don't have (like they don't need 20 Vasa's for example).  Local museums and libraries do like them.  So, it takes some time to figure out where and who to leave them to and also, talk to them to see if they will actually take it.

[mtdoramike]

I have found Libraries, schools, hospitals (especially ones that do auctions to raise funds). I often thought about St. Judes, Make a Wish, Wounded Warriors, VFW, especially if anyone is fairly close to those organizations. But saying it and doing it is quite different and as hard thing to do. I have always looked at my models that I put sweat, tears and yep sometimes blood into as my babies and the thought of letting any of them go was heart wrenching, but sometimes you have to let go.

 

I must also add here that I was once a model hoarder and had the monkey on my back for a while with a wall display until that housed some 15 ship and boat models that I had built with the intent of keeping all of them until visitors who would stop by really took interest in them. So I started slowly giving away some, selling some and donating some until the display unit was totally empty. I saw how happy it made my wife and realized how tolerant she had been over the years putting up with my overly consuming passion and once that light went off It lessoned the pain of the loss. It also helps when I get the opportunity to visit my local Library where I donated the Victory and watch as people walk by, stop and take notice of it and really seem to appreciate my efforts. I get that warm fuzzy feeling inside although my wife says it's probably indigestion:) 

Edited December 2 by mtdoramike

[Clark]

Although it might not be the correct place to ask it: Did anyone try to sell the boats on ebay. In the past I thought about it since my children are not very eager to keep the collection and our local museum does not have the space.

Would be glad if someone can answer and tell the best way to proceed.

Clark

[stuglo]

Mixed emotions but mainly sad. Not only for the physical- books,tools,models etc, but also for the knowledge and experience that goes with it. My own family is large, but so busy, that none, for the present  can do other than express a passive interest . Meanwhile, after 30 years, I'm still addicted -but each to his own. Be well and savor every minute of life, 

[reklein]

I have a cousin who is going on 80 and taking flying lessons. He was a wheat farmer all his life and is fairly fit. I told him I was sure he was going to kill himself as did and 82 yr.old man and woman who crashed their plane a couple months ago. His answer was beats spending years in assisted living. As for me I'm 75 and starting to fossilize. Not sure what to do with my stuff. I have books,tools a model railroad,anad all sorts of stuff not to mention all the family records and pictures in the basement. I saw an interesting post on a model RR site a few years back that solved the problem with a nice pic of a dumpster.

[shipman]

Yep, Bill. The dumpster is for us!

Personally, I don't mind slipping off and don't find the prospect morbid at all.

What I do not like is a lifetime gathering all that stuff I felt was important, only to find it may well become someone else's burden. Or someone's good fortune. If it's appreciated then good. It's an old saying and a true one: 'you can't take it with you!'

[RustyNail123]

I can relate to some degree. I was an RC  nut few years back (trucks, cars, planes,  you name it). The nitro type and I had A LOT of them. The expense and upkeep got too much so I pretty much gave it up. I have a few left but that’s it. Besides, my two boys have moved on to bigger and better things. Now I’m giving ships a go. I still build and paint plastics and figures too. 

[mtaylor]

12 hours ago, Clark said:

Although it might not be the correct place to ask it: Did anyone try to sell the boats on ebay. In the past I thought about it since my children are not very eager to keep the collection and our local museum does not have the space.

Would be glad if someone can answer and tell the best way to proceed.

Clark

Clark,

Try posting your question here:   https://modelshipworld.com/forum/41-traders-dealers-buying-or-selling-anything-discuss-new-products-and-ship-model-goodies-here-as-well/

[mtdoramike]

21 hours ago, Clark said:

Although it might not be the correct place to ask it: Did anyone try to sell the boats on ebay. In the past I thought about it since my children are not very eager to keep the collection and our local museum does not have the space.

Would be glad if someone can answer and tell the best way to proceed.

Clark

I have sold a few ship models on ebay, but that was years ago, before they started selling all those cheap Chinese knock offs and poor quality junk. Most people really don't care about scale or quality, their main focus is price. It got to the point that good quality models didn't command anymore than the cheap junk and that is when I looked for other sources. There used to be a Canadian site on the interweb called Tall Ship Models and owned by Morey Benton, I had posted several wooden ship models on his site and they sold fairly quickly. He would get like 10% commission off of each sale. I also received a few commission request for builds through his site.

But alas his big down fall was his importation of models built in Russia, Ukraine and the like, which flooded the market here, which caused the drop in prices for us U.S. builders so we slowly left his site.

 

Disclaimer: Now this was my observations of the events as I experienced them and may not be the same view as others.

 

I have also sold a few on Craig's list, but don't expect top dollar for it if you go this way. Most people on Craig's list are cheap and looking for a deal.   

 

Lastly, if all else fails, you do have the classifieds on these forums that you could list a model. You would be surprised at how many kit collectors are on this site that collect a ton of kits, but has never built a model, but would also love to have built model ship if the price is right and I'm sure they would appreciate it more than most. 

Edited Wednesday at 01:36 PM by mtdoramike

[Clark]

1 hour ago, mtdoramike said:

I have sold a few ship models on ebay, but that was years ago, before they started selling all those cheap Chinese knock offs and poor quality junk. Most people really don't care about scale or quality, their main focus is price. It got to the point that good quality models didn't command anymore than the cheap junk and that is when I looked for other sources. There used to be a Canadian site on the interweb called Tall Ship Models and owned by Morey Benton, I had posted several wooden ship models on his site and they sold fairly quickly. He would get like 10% commission off of each sale. I also received a few commission request for builds through his site.

But alas his big down fall was his importation of models built in Russia, Ukraine and the like, which flooded the market here, which caused the drop in prices for us U.S. builders so we slowly left his site.

 

Disclaimer: Now this was my observations of the events as I experienced them and may not be the same view as others.

 

I have also sold a few on Craig's list, but don't expect top dollar for it if you go this way. Most people on Craig's list are cheap and looking for a deal.   

 

Lastly, if all else fails, you do have the classifieds on these forums that you could list a model. You would be surprised at how many kit collectors are on this site that collect a ton of kits, but has never built a model, but would also love to have built model ship if the price is right and I'm sure they would appreciate it more than most. 

Thanks a lot for the hints. I will contact them. I do not expect to get rich by selling the models but I - as probably all the others - would appreciate a person who recognizes the work and lifeblood spent. By the way, may wife and me started to get rid of all the things we collected but never touched or looked at during the last years. We found a lot to give away but the ships were never in question. Nevertheless, the space needed for the ships grew and urged us to think a bit further. As far as I remember, there also some guys who founded a private museum just to show their models. Lucky ones.

Regarding the models, a lot of my friends (not modellers) are proud when telling me that they bought a really pretty model for less than 100 Euro. Looking at the model it is not only chinese junk.

Clark

[mtdoramike]

Clark, even though I have sold ship and boat models, I rarely even got more than 50 cents an hour for my time because I always looked at it as being a hobby and I had the pleasure of  building it so how much could you monetarily ask for that pleasure. As an example, I recently built a Dumas Chris Craft 1930 mahogany runabout and sold it for $375.00. Now the kit itself retails for close to what I sold the model for, not to mention building materials and electronics to make it run. But I was able to get the half built kit from an estate and had very little investment in the kit itself. So I have always been overly reasonable on what I asked for them.