Gobs of Espresso Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) I visited one of my local hobby shops today and found this kit in the "middle pile" with a notation that the decals are missing. I did not inspect the kit nor did I buy it sadly because these beauties are not really my thing. Despite the missing decals, it was still regular priced. I was surprised to find out from the owner of this shop and other shops that some kits don't sell when the box is not intact or crisp because some modellers like to collect the boxes aside from building the kits. I would have though that the reason would be reselling it would be difficult. At the place where I recently found my ESCI BMW M1, the owner said that it was sitting in the shop shelf for some time but no one would get it because the box was not in best conditions so she put it aside to avoid futher damage and it got lost in storange till recently. Lucky me : ) Do you guys collect the boxes of your kits or do you get rid of them after your build? Would you buy a kit if the box was in bad shape or had no box at all? Also, how much influense does the box art have on your purchase? Edited July 30, 2014 by Gobs of Espresso 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hepster Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I have bought so many kits in disintegrating boxes over the years, I have at times had to build them in order of the worst boxes first. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLC1966 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I throw all boxes on getting the kit home to save space. Excuse the spurrious Smurf.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomjw Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 The boxes mean nothing to me. As long as everything is there I am happy. I will use it to my advantage though as Hobbycraft give a 10% discount if you mention the damaged box when paying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shood23 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I no way is tomjw promoting that we all go into hobby craft and brake the boxes on purpose to save a bit lol even though given the prices of some kits now it would be very tempting Shaun 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ste1 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I discard the box once the kit is built, usually I use the box during the build to hold parts in why being glued etc, by the time I have finished the box normally is full of glue and paint stains...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I think something was probably lost in translation there. Kit collectors always like a nice 'mint' condition box, bits on the sprue, decals and instructions all in good condition. I have some lovely old collectables, bought 'em to make 'em. Sorry about that!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spfparker Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 The box always gets thrown when the model is completed.........saying that now looking at an empty red stripe Airfix HS 125 Dominie box that looks too nice to throw... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windy37 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Of all the kits i have built over the years , I have only usually kept boxes to store left over bits , spare decals etc . A couple of weeks ago i bought a part built Tamiya Trampio Sierra RS500 in a fairly buckled and twisted box for £4 . , from Doncaster ToyFair . In my stash of kits yet to be built i try not to double stack the boxes as over time this buckles the boxes . Gary . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windy37 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) The damaged Sierra box .Gary . . Edited July 30, 2014 by Windy37 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I don't collect boxes at all, but I've scanned interesting or appealing box art to use as PC wallpapers. Once the kit is built, into the recycling the box goes. As for damage, I like it when a kit is discounted because the box is damaged and I've bought kits at swap meets box less. Best one was the 1/72 u boat for 50 dollars. Sometimes you pick a kit up because the box art looks interesting, but it's only been a couple of times I've actually bought a kit based on that. Mostly I know what I want before I go looking for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 There's no better modelling moment then cutting up and throwing the kit box away for this should be an indication that yet another kit from the stash has been built. In my situation however - this occurs all too infrequently. I have been known to busting up a multiple box purchase to consign said duplicate parts into one box - but that's sort of cheating in my book. This however does open up yet another slot, for yet another kit purchase to take its place. Cheers .. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsty Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I've seen empty boxes for sale on eBay. Apparently there's a market for them, and it can't be for people who've lost their own boxes, as the selling point is how mint they are. I suppose, if there are people who utterly miss the point of a model kit or a toy and buy it with the express intention of not using it, it's not such a stretch to collect the boxes on their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Gary, You got a bargain there. That one can go for serious money. I also lurk on Hyperscale.com An American site, Where I have seen pictures of mancaves decorated with the boxes of kits that the collector lusted after at a younger age. 60's & 70's kit lids usually had interesting art on them though. Note the artwork of Roy Cross on old Airfix kits & most early FROG kits. They do still mean something to me (as an old git) I recently bought a FROG He219, The picture evokes memories of my early teenage modelling. I just used the kit in a sci fi build though! Failing that, Store spare bits in them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I bin the boxes once built, but I looked twice at my Pocher Rolls Royce box before folding it up to fit in the bin. No doubt I'll cringe a bit when the Aventador box goes the same way. Box art can be very important when looking at potential purchases. After all, that's what you look at first. Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windy37 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Hi Pete . I knew it was a steal at £4 . Shell has been sprayed blue and bits removef from sprues . I m going to hang on to it . Gary . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulj Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) I am fussy over kit boxes, although do buy a few kits in poor boxes. The main reason being, if I decided to sell the kit on in the future, although I have only sold just over 1% of all the kits I have bought. I always intend to build kits I buy, but have too many kits, and have very little spare time to build. So have realised that I will only build part of my stash and have become a accidental collector for the others. Also find it easier to store kits that are in undamaged boxes. Generally, I like to take good care of my possessions, and that goes for all of my hobbies. I don't expect many on here to understand the collecting side, but I do get some enjoyment out of those. Particularly some of the kits that are now difficult to find, or have become too expensive to acquire. But for the kits I want to collect and keep, I usually have duplicates which I intend to build. I do really love some of the box art, particularly the older kits, airfix, matchbox, tamiya, amt, ertl. I don't like a lot of the modern box art, particularly revell and italeri. After building, I would keep boxes with box art I like, I think that would be somewhere around 15% of my stash, mostly older matchbox and amt kits I bought a while back. I wouldn't buy a box, but would like to get boxes to replace damaged boxes for kits I have, or to box a re-issue in a older box style (not to profit from). Paul Edited July 31, 2014 by paulj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowler0000 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 What's an "Empty box"?? If this is indicative of a completed model, my ignorance on the subject is explained... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gobs of Espresso Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 Hahahaha! it's great to hear everyones view on the matter. There really is no right or wrong, just a lot of good view and preferences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeVi Tophatter Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Wicked topic Espresso! Well, the box design is an important part of the marketing strategy, practically all of us have brought some rubbish product because the packaging manipulated us!!! Funnily enough, you get taught how to emotionally manipulate 'end users' for a given response in various creative industry courses... Some folks like their 'stash' to be pristine (like my friend) and marvel at it all day long, some want pristine boxes because they are collectors and/or kit dealers but most folks just throw them away!!! A picky collectors loss is my gain tbh. Personally, there are some boxes I have kept or kits I have bought again because the box artwork/photo and box design is too good: Hasegawa's 1/72 QF-4N Phantom. I bought and built this ages ago but it was the box photo that made me buy it, the imposing stance of the Phantom with it's sharkmouth with the beautiful clear blue background and silver clouds . Yes madness but I ended up getting another 'mint' condition kit after years of searching, just to sit in the cupboard... . Nostalgia plays a big part too, another of my friends has a loft full of 'mint' condition 1/24, 1/25 American Hot Rods, pickups, wagons, coupes, drag racing stuff, etc. True madness that's worth a small fortune but it takes him back to his youth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oddball Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 When I was a nipper I used to cut out the more interesting bx arts and have scanned and re-printed on glossy paper by a tech savvy friend. The effect was pretty good, and they always drew a comment from someone. They're stored in box in the attic somewhere after my move, I should really get them up on the wall again. I also have one or two properly old boxes that I'm going to keep, purely for their vintage look and feel. A lot of the old boxes are a hell of a lot thicker and sturdier than they are now, and there can be really nice art on them. Odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garryrussell Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I just moved and managed to get 4 kits of various sizes into one big kit box three times and the rest of the boxes were thrown. Saved a lot of space. The box is nice to look at but if it takes buying the kit in a plastic bag and no box so be it....nice but not important As mentioned earlier boxes go on ebay. one recently was box and instructions...forget what for but went for about £15. I suppose it looks good in the stash and perhaps for some it brings back childhood memories of when they went into the LMS and that was what was on the shelf...perhaps they couldn't afford it then. Pure nostalgia...the mind can do the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbdesignart Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 As a kit builder my view is the box is only packaging. Although as a toddler I did have hours of fun from an empty cardboard box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Noble Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I was always of the assumption that anyone who is referred to as a "Box Collector" is someone who doesn't actually build models they just buy models to keep and add to their collection. Their intention is never to build them at all purely to collect them.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windy37 Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Hi . This is a great example of box art . Heller's Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E 2 . Wouldn't look out of place as a picture on a wall . Gary . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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