Collections. Upsizing or Downsizing ?

[Blackrider]

Another of the collection gone !
Parted with my Airking today.
Superb acurate air rifle but as a Southpaw, I just couldn't get on with the right sided side lever and ATB.
More Downsizing !

[Blackrider]

And my SFS .177 Custom Brumbow last week which has gone back to Gareth, its original owner !
Probably a few more to follow.

[walnutfarmmick]

[QUOTE=johnbaz;7408798]I decided a few weeks ago that I was going to move a large portion of my collection on so it's not left for the wife to fathom out what to do with it at some time but starting with the lower quality ones first then moving up to the better stuff!

That's a particular concern as you get older. When I was diagnosed with lung cancer I cleared all bar one out, thinking it was one less burden for walnutfarmMarg. then I found I'd been misdiagnosed and replaced the lot, plus, plus, plus, always looking for a better example and moving the previous best at MM or similar. But it's still there, in the back or my mind, that statistically she should outlive me by a good 15 years. All at once the tagline 'Don't let my wife sell my guns for what she thinks I paid for them' is reality. It's not fair to dump a load of allsorts on her ( 1951 A70 pickup, !953 Bedford fire engine, the motorbikes, the spares, the 70+ magnetos etc, etc) but I'm loth to part with it all just yet. It'd be handy to know how long I've got left. I've already outlived all Mum's family by 3 years (68, the lot of them) whereas if I can make it to Dad's 86 I'll have had 3 years profit on what I paid into my personal pension. Living just to outsmart the Pru!

Only 2 weeks ago I was in a mate's yard when a mutual friend arrived, wanting to buy some 56lb weights. Tommy had 28 at home but declined to sell them because he 'liked looking at them!' I had to ask him if he realised how sad that sounded but I knew exactly what he meant. Another mate, a widower, collected car mascots and badges . He'd had cancer twice and knew he was on borrowed time but just carried on collecting, presumably thinking somebody else would clear it all up when he'd gone. That seemed very selfish but he'd only got 3 nephews that he detested. One of them got £1000 from him and tore it up.

Happy families, eh?

ATB,Mick

[LESS THAN FORTUITOUS KENNETH]

I keep telling myself that enough is enough, but always see something that takes my fancy, so my collection is always expanding. Recent events though have forced reality to kick in and I can see the need to pack it in and start to wind things down. I shall just let odd bits go to people I know. I shan't advertise anything. I shall miss the collecting thing, but there you go.

[gingernut]

I meet many older collectors who worry about “ after I’m gone”
It seems a shame to cloud your hobby with this issue.

After your gone is a very hard time for loved ones and there are many issues to be dealt with more pressing and annoying than an airgun collection.

Nobody can leave a perfectly easy tidy Estate to be dealt with.

If you have been a good Husband ,Father ,hopefully Grandfather and even a Great Grandfather the least your Family can do is not whinge about your guns, and dispose of them how they please when you aren’t there to care.


This applies to Lady Collectors too.

[cinedux]

collectors,as eager as I was,will somehow,by fair means or foul,come by my guns. And for 'their' blink of an eyelid in time,treasure them! Least that is how I sleep at night.

[Blackrider]

Like the famous Neil Young quote when he became the owner of Hank William's Martin D-18 acoustic guitar ;
"I'm just taking care of it for a while" !

[Benelli B76]

My collection is definite shrinking and my bank account is growing, but I did weaken and buy an additional Schimel this week. Just luv 'em.


Baz

[SRV1]

[QUOTE=walnutfarmmick;7440521]

I decided a few weeks ago that I was going to move a large portion of my collection on so it's not left for the wife to fathom out what to do with it at some time but starting with the lower quality ones first then moving up to the better stuff!

That's a particular concern as you get older. When I was diagnosed with lung cancer I cleared all bar one out, thinking it was one less burden for walnutfarmMarg. then I found I'd been misdiagnosed and replaced the lot, plus, plus, plus, always looking for a better example and moving the previous best at MM or similar. But it's still there, in the back or my mind, that statistically she should outlive me by a good 15 years. All at once the tagline 'Don't let my wife sell my guns for what she thinks I paid for them' is reality. It's not fair to dump a load of allsorts on her ( 1951 A70 pickup, !953 Bedford fire engine, the motorbikes, the spares, the 70+ magnetos etc, etc) but I'm loth to part with it all just yet. It'd be handy to know how long I've got left. I've already outlived all Mum's family by 3 years (68, the lot of them) whereas if I can make it to Dad's 86 I'll have had 3 years profit on what I paid into my personal pension. Living just to outsmart the Pru!

Only 2 weeks ago I was in a mate's yard when a mutual friend arrived, wanting to buy some 56lb weights. Tommy had 28 at home but declined to sell them because he 'liked looking at them!' I had to ask him if he realised how sad that sounded but I knew exactly what he meant. Another mate, a widower, collected car mascots and badges . He'd had cancer twice and knew he was on borrowed time but just carried on collecting, presumably thinking somebody else would clear it all up when he'd gone. That seemed very selfish but he'd only got 3 nephews that he detested. One of them got £1000 from him and tore it up.

Happy families, eh?

ATB,Mick

Hey up Mick, may you be well and continue to enjoy for a long time...

I am in the same position, age and illnesses creeping up and timing what to do with my collections of air rifles, Dinky Toys, vintage and classic motorcycles with numerous valuable excellent condition spares, many rare. Do I sell up now and splash out on a world cruise and put up with passengers fighting and diarrhoea from food poisoning? Or, just buy one desirable classic sports car and have a grand tour? My mind must be playing tricks too, as have sadly created Excel sheets of all my items and current values. Maybe it will help my survivors in future, will they take notice, or hire a skip and just dump the lot? Maybe I should just sell now and have done with it and spend, spend, spend...I am sure as hell don't want to spend over £1000 a week to be sedated, slapped around a bit, incontinent in a corner watching dire FreeView channels with the sound turned off in a home......Timing is what it is all about, as the actress said to the bishop.....

All the best.

[cinedux]

the world cruise.But make sure you have a cabin with a balcony in the centre of the upper ship.

[Garvin]

the world cruise.But make sure you have a cabin with a balcony in the centre of the upper ship.

Sounds like you never found your 'sea legs' on your world cruise, Trev? (Surely the upper ship moves around more than the lower?)

[SRV1]

the world cruise.But make sure you have a cabin with a balcony in the centre of the upper ship.

Sounds dodgy to me, is that the golden rivet room? But, thanks for your advice anyway.....

[archer24]

Couldn’t resist 2 Seniors at the weekend, only wanted the 1948ish one ended up with both.....
So upsizing still.......

[cinedux]

Sounds like you never found your 'sea legs' on your world cruise, Trev? (Surely the upper ship moves around more than the lower?)

I thought eleven stories up was about the right place to be!Trev

[micky2]

lf you still enjoy collecting and it still gives you pleasure, why stop. l have sold some of my airguns over the last few years, and bought some antique guns with the money which l enjoy doing. when l go it's up to who is left to sought out what they do with the things. the thing is you can't take it with you.