Boring perhaps but satisfying.

I've had a display case full of toy soldiers, you know those Britains Guards and Household Cavalry figures. Tons of 'em. I've done nothing with these for probably ten years.

I got a serious weed up this week, pulled out the boxes finally, and cued the music. Carefully packed one at a time; four days of careful mind-numbing labour later, a truly hefty shipping bill paid, and they are on their way to a good friend who actively collects them.

They'll get enjoyed and my ulterior motivation is advanced. I combined a small diecast British racecar and Matchbox collection onto two shelves of the now empty case, the third shelf some mementos of the gent who taught me American model railroad layout design, and I now have a six foot tall cabinet for aircraft as I build them.

I already have my recent builds in that big cabinet and now have three additional empty shelves. Next is to find a glass cutter who can make up three more shelves for this thing.

Why a big deal? One of the things that has been an issue about building this hoard of kits from my youth quite simply has been having to sweat where to put the finished result so folks can enjoy seeing them. On principle, I don't collect boxes stacked in dark wardrobes.

Now, I can reach for whichever strikes my fancy and set to, enjoying a nice relaxing build. They're already bought and paid for, an important consideration given the prospects of the hobby industry (looking very dark at the moment due to tariffs on the broadly Chinese base) and very little cash outlay on my part as trade and the economy (and the power of my pensioner's income) contracts to a this-time-voluntarily repeat of the situation brought on by the pandemic.