On Collecting Criteria: Inside One Collector's Mind

[Jazajia]

1) British Airways World Tails
2) Modern British Airways
3) Remaining Landor
4) Late 90s retro wide bodies

Those criteria are fitting for your user name, should also be plenty to keep you busy.

 

[Purpleplane]

Interesting, I've passed through IND many times, but never noticed them there. I've been wanting to get a model of them too since they are common at IAH,their livery looks good too.

I do know that the flights on Sunday arrive around 0200 or so, and the others arrive in the late afternoon. They normally park and load/unload on the ramp at the east end of the AAR maintenance center. (former United hangars)

 

[DTcustoms]

Interesting. My collecting criteria is quite diverse
1) fleet collecting of my favourite airlines: Swissair, Aeroflot, American Airlines (chrome), Cubana, CAAC, HKVN/Vietnam Airlines
2) Classic jets (mostly 70s till 90s), my favourites are DC-10, L-1011, A300, 747, 707, DC-8. I'm really fond with classic European airlines like SAS, LTU, Lufthansa, Braathens...
3) Soviet planes and airlines from pre-1991 aka Cold war era. That's why I prefer the Aeroclassics Cubana IL-18 over the Aerocarribean. Warsaw Pact airlines, Cubana, Yugoslavia, Mongolian, Hàng Không Việt Nam, CAAK, CAAC...
4) Airlines from countries that no longer exist or had their flags/regimes changed like Interflug, Air Zäire, Iran Air under Shah, SAA/SAL Union of South Africa, Alyemda South Yemen...

The rest I couldn't find a proper criteria for them, mostly modern and freighters, I just like because of the livery

 

[OscarBravo992]

The rest I couldn't find a proper criteria for them, mostly modern and freighters, I just like because of the livery

I agree. A lot of my models fall into the same area as you, that I just like them for what they are. I label them my ‘Just because’ models.

 

[Horizon]

My main collecting criteria's are:
(for 1:400)
1. Anything modern when it comes to United, Hawaiian, or Alaska
2. Aircrafts I've flown on (either of recently or from what I remember)
3. Aircrafts that have flown in to HNL, OGG, KOA, or LAS
4. Cool special liveries (like the Kalitta/Cargolux Mask liveries, ANA Flying Honu's)
5. Interesting aircrafts (like the an225)
6. Retro aircrafts

 

[OscarBravo992]

My main collecting criteria's are:
(for 1:400)
1. Anything modern when it comes to United, Hawaiian, or Alaska
2. Aircrafts I've flown on (either of recently or from what I remember)
3. Aircrafts that have flown in to HNL, OGG, KOA, or LAS
4. Cool special liveries (like the Kalitta/Cargolux Mask liveries, ANA Flying Honu's)
5. Interesting aircrafts (like the an225)
6. Retro aircrafts

Nice! I love to collect cool special liveries too, ones that don't really fall into my other criteria that I still bought are the Aeromexico Quetzalcoatl, Flying Hunos, Her Art Heres, etc, etc.

 

[Florian]

Hi all,

my collection criteria are:

1. Planes I have flown on or that I saw, but I'm not going as far that the registration number of the model has to match to the original plane. If that's the case I'm happy, but otherwise If I get the plane type and airline, that's fine.
2. African Airlines: I like collecting them since they are a bit exotic and also because I got emotionally attached to Africa during the last years. I don't know how the last point affected my plane collection habits but maybe it was spotting an Ethiopian 787-9 last year and really liking the appearance of that plane...
3. Special Liveries: I just love those fancy looking planes and I think that the amazing degree of detail that most of the 1/400 models offer becomes visible most there on those highly detailed designs. Also, these are planes you don't see every day.
4. Cargo Planes: I don't know, but I just like them and they add variety to the fleet.

For not getting carried away with too many models, within my criteria I try to focus on widebodies, mostly 787s, 777s and a350s as for me these are the most beautiful aircraft available (especially the 787 being my favorite).

Of course there are a few planes outside of these criteria, like my Lufthansa 787-9 from Aviation 400 - I just couldn't resist getting it because I love the high degree of detail from Aviation 400 and also the 787 in general...

 

[nsxr_]

I have 3 criteria really:

1: Does the model interest me/do I like the aircraft? Something like a KLM 787-9 or a TAROM A318 will interest me for various reasons but a China Southern 737-800 or Frontier A320 may not. Just as simple as that

2: Have I spotted/flown the aircraft in real life? I posted a thread on this before. Being an avid planespotter, I love to own models of aircraft I've actually spotted. Owning something that I've come face to face with is rather special in my opinion which is why I actively look out for models of registrations that I've spotted or flown on.

3: Does it add variety to my collection? I want to have as diverse of a collection as possible and not stick to just one airline/aircraft. When I lay out all my models to admire I find it very cool to see all the different airlines I have in my collection. This criteria mainly hinges on the first two though.

 

[Jazajia]

Hi all,

my collection criteria are:

1. Planes I have flown on or that I saw, but I'm not going as far that the registration number of the model has to match to the original plane. If that's the case I'm happy, but otherwise If I get the plane type and airline, that's fine.
2. African Airlines: I like collecting them since they are a bit exotic and also because I got emotionally attached to Africa during the last years. I don't know how the last point affected my plane collection habits but maybe it was spotting an Ethiopian 787-9 last year and really liking the appearance of that plane...
3. Special Liveries: I just love those fancy looking planes and I think that the amazing degree of detail that most of the 1/400 models offer becomes visible most there on those highly detailed designs. Also, these are planes you don't see every day.
4. Cargo Planes: I don't know, but I just like them and they add variety to the fleet.

For not getting carried away with too many models, within my criteria I try to focus on widebodies, mostly 787s, 777s and a350s as for me these are the most beautiful aircraft available (especially the 787 being my favorite).

Of course there are a few planes outside of these criteria, like my Lufthansa 787-9 from Aviation 400 - I just couldn't resist getting it because I love the high degree of detail from Aviation 400 and also the 787 in general...

Cargo planes keep today's airports interesting. Generally speaking, if a jet at an airport has more than two engines and a slightly out-of-style livery, chances are it is a freighter. Resonates with my criteria on many points.

I have 3 criteria really:

1: Does the model interest me/do I like the aircraft? Something like a KLM 787-9 or a TAROM A318 will interest me for various reasons but a China Southern 737-800 or Frontier A320 may not. Just as simple as that

2: Have I spotted/flown the aircraft in real life? I posted a thread on this before. Being an avid planespotter, I love to own models of aircraft I've actually spotted. Owning something that I've come face to face with is rather special in my opinion which is why I actively look out for models of registrations that I've spotted or flown on.

3: Does it add variety to my collection? I want to have as diverse of a collection as possible and not stick to just one airline/aircraft. When I lay out all my models to admire I find it very cool to see all the different airlines I have in my collection. This criteria mainly hinges on the first two though.

Very cool, I generally don't go after models of airplanes that I have photographed, but it is certainly something I am looking at more and more. Especially if I like the model and I can't fit it into any other criteria, I'll go with the "I have spotted it" reason .

 

[Alphaless]

My primary motivation for models is my local airport: KMCO.
It's a bit more complicated than that, but generally what catches my attention is 90's/2000's aircraft. I have a bit of a little obsession with this period in the airport's history as there was a large variety of carriers in the airport. However, I also love anything to do with Finnish aviation as I have Finnish heritage and visit the country annually.
Besides those, time period is everything. 90's/2000's applies again but I also do like the pre-covid 2019 aviation scene.

 

[FunnyDrivr]

i got a pretty tight criteria for models i am quite picky
-Do i want it?

 

[EQ Planes]

Very nice collection I certainly have a variety in my collection as is is a colab between me my brother and dad so many different types!
besides aircraft that I have flown on and what not pretty much if it has ever come to Canada chances are I am interested. But still have some odd balls in there.
like for example I like to have one of each type of aircraft pretty much including russian Aircraft and what not. Wich is why I have a malev il62 despite having never even seen one.

 

[Barison82]

Great thread! Thank you for starting it. My criteria is also fairly simple;

1: I collect models representing the 'retro' 1970s-1980s era with very few exceptions, influenced by my formative interest in civil aviation as a 13-year old, when I had a lot of old '70s/'80s spotters books which showed all the old airline colour schemes. Having seen these for the first time in those old books, I was hooked and much preferred the old look over the contemporary scene of the mid-late 1990s and beyond. I always had the wish for good models to be made of these classics back then, on all the classic widebodies especially

2: The collection centres around the LHR scene of this era as the base - as a result I have a large fleet of BA Negus models, followed by Landor, and then of most classics that visited Heathrow at that time. I have gone beyond the critria a little in order to collect some other classics of the period which I really like, including US domestics (US Air, Southern, Ozark etc.) in those '70s/'80s schemes. If Iike the colours, I buy it!

3: I stick to my favourite aircraft types, again all key widebody and narrowbody classics from the same era, and recently expanded this to accomodate the Soviet types covering the former Eastern Bloc.

4: Since the start of collecting 1:400, when I was totally in the dark without knowing about any of the forums discussing manufacturers, mould types, releases etc., I would instinctively go for the 'nice' looking moulds which had a real quality about them - and covered my area of interest. It began with one Herpa model for the L-1011, and naturally the rest happened to be BigBird400 & Aeroclassics, followed by some Gemini Jets, all first discovered at the ARD shop in Hillingdon & LHR. The recent NG L-1011 & 747-SP have added to this inventory, where the specific classics are covered.

5: I collect key Cargo classics as well as PAX, of the same era (Pan Am Cargo/AA Freighter 747s, Alitalia Cargo DC-9s, THY Kargo 707s, etc.)

6: Collect aircraft I've flown on...well, due to my criteria, this would be extremely limited, as I was not around in the 1970s and did not really experience air travel until much, much later on in the 1990s. I didn't note the registrations and I'm not fussed on collecting current types. However, I am lucky in that my first ever flight (even though I do not remember it as I was only 3 months old ) was on a Philippine Airlines B.747-200 to Bankok, Thailand in January 1983 from LGW. We had family out there whom we visited, however I was only a baby. I'm sure that one of the same era PAL 747 models I have in my collection (BB400), will be the 747 I flew on. I hope!

 

[Jazajia]

Great thread! Thank you for starting it. My criteria is also fairly simple;

1: I collect models representing the 'retro' 1970s-1980s era with very few exceptions, influenced by my formative interest in civil aviation as a 13-year old, when I had a lot of old '70s/'80s spotters books which showed all the old airline colour schemes. Having seen these for the first time in those old books, I was hooked and much preferred the old look over the contemporary scene of the mid-late 1990s and beyond. I always had the wish for good models to be made of these classics back then, on all the classic widebodies especially

2: The collection centres around the LHR scene of this era as the base - as a result I have a large fleet of BA Negus models, followed by Landor, and then of most classics that visited Heathrow at that time. I have gone beyond the critria a little in order to collect some other classics of the period which I really like, including US domestics (US Air, Southern, Ozark etc.) in those '70s/'80s schemes. If Iike the colours, I buy it!

3: I stick to my favourite aircraft types, again all key widebody and narrowbody classics from the same era, and recently expanded this to accomodate the Soviet types covering the former Eastern Bloc.

4: Since the start of collecting 1:400, when I was totally in the dark without knowing about any of the forums discussing manufacturers, mould types, releases etc., I would instinctively go for the 'nice' looking moulds which had a real quality about them - and covered my area of interest. It began with one Herpa model for the L-1011, and naturally the rest happened to be BigBird400 & Aeroclassics, followed by some Gemini Jets, all first discovered at the ARD shop in Hillingdon & LHR. The recent NG L-1011 & 747-SP have added to this inventory, where the specific classics are covered.

5: I collect key Cargo classics as well as PAX, of the same era (Pan Am Cargo/AA Freighter 747s, Alitalia Cargo DC-9s, THY Kargo 707s, etc.)

6: Collect aircraft I've flown on...well, due to my criteria, this would be extremely limited, as I was not around in the 1970s and did not really experience air travel until much, much later on in the 1990s. I didn't note the registrations and I'm not fussed on collecting current types. However, I am lucky in that my first ever flight (even though I do not remember it as I was only 3 months old ) was on a Philippine Airlines B.747-200 to Bankok, Thailand in January 1983 from LGW. We had family out there whom we visited, however I was only a baby. I'm sure that one of the same era PAL 747 models I have in my collection (BB400), will be the 747 I flew on. I hope!

Very nice and detailed explanation. I like your definition of "fairly simple" My core criterion is somewhat similar, but using a different airport as a reference and about a decade later as a time frame. Before the internet, I did have some aviation books, but really, a lot of my knowledge came from pamphlets and brochures. For instance, I recently bought a Gulf Air A340 because I actually came to know the type by seeing one featured in a Gulf Air brochure from the mid-nineties. I also have some models from the A.net pictures that left lasting impressions on me.

 

[Barison82]

Very nice and detailed explanation. I like your definition of "fairly simple" My core criterion is somewhat similar, but using a different airport as a reference and about a decade later as a time frame. Before the internet, I did have some aviation books, but really, a lot of my knowledge came from pamphlets and brochures. For instance, I recently bought a Gulf Air A340 because I actually came to know the type by seeing one featured in a Gulf Air brochure from the mid-nineties. I also have some models from the A.net pictures that left lasting impressions on me.

Lol! Yes I use that term loosely Exactly the same for me, at the age of 13 in 1996 the internet was still in it’s infancy and not widely available, so it was all books and flight plans, brochures, timetables, baggage tags etc., all collected from the LHR terminals. I picked up the last Landor design BA timetable that year and others which still had the the 1980’s schemes - TAP, Alitalia, Iberia amongst a few others. Simple times for sure, and it feels so primitive in the age of big tech and all the apps we have now. Fondly remembered!

 

[KG3036_SS]

I did not think much but in general I have comeup with some that I believe is formed naturally as I build up my collection.

1)East Asian Carries
As a collector born and grow up in Hong Kong, I have been frequently seeing carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Dragonair(Even when they are branded as Cathay Dragon for some time - I still much like to call them港龍),China Airlines, EVA Air, JAL, ANA, Singapore Airlines etc. Airlines from mainland China though are very unattractive to me and I only own a handful of them(Including the Hainan Airlines owned Hong Kong Airlines) - maybe my inner self have some hate towards them? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2)Airline-aircraft combos that fly to East Asia
Sometimes - like Canadian 744s and SWISS 77W which are airlines that ain't based in East Asia but do fly into Asia at somepoint. They are purchased such that my collection can have a broader portfolio of airlines

3)Widebodies>Narrowbodies
Narrowbodies only account an extremely little amount in my collection - maybe due to how often Widebodies are used here in East Asia for even short hops that fly for slightly over an hour like HKG-KHH or HND-ITM which has made me like widebody more.

4)Stick to modern era(beyond 1990s)
I realise that the almost my entire collection focuses on aircraft from 1990 onwards - with only a few exceptions that depict times of late 1980s. I don't really think much about it but I believe that was somepart of my subconscious to avoid retros? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

5)Liveries/Aircraft that I want to own
Sometimes a few models in my collection may not fit any criteria listed above - then it's because I like the livery/aircraft and could forgo any of those listed above. Afterall rules are meant to be broken and we are the ones who make the purchase not anyone else. Why limit your collection by self-induced rules

 

[OscarBravo992]

I did not think much but in general I have comeup with some that I believe is formed naturally as I build up my collection.

1)East Asian Carries
As a collector born and grow up in Hong Kong, I have been frequently seeing carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Dragonair(Even when they are branded as Cathay Dragon for some time - I still much like to call them港龍),China Airlines, EVA Air, JAL, ANA, Singapore Airlines etc. Airlines from mainland China though are very unattractive to me and I only own a handful of them(Including the Hainan Airlines owned Hong Kong Airlines) - maybe my inner self have some hate towards them? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2)Airline-aircraft combos that fly to East Asia
Sometimes - like Canadian 744s and SWISS 77W which are airlines that ain't based in East Asia but do fly into Asia at somepoint. They are purchased such that my collection can have a broader portfolio of airlines

3)Widebodies>Narrowbodies
Narrowbodies only account an extremely little amount in my collection - maybe due to how often Widebodies are used here in East Asia for even short hops that fly for slightly over an hour like HKG-KHH or HND-ITM which has made me like widebody more.

4)Stick to modern era(beyond 1990s)
I realise that the almost my entire collection focuses on aircraft from 1990 onwards - with only a few exceptions that depict times of late 1980s. I don't really think much about it but I believe that was somepart of my subconscious to avoid retros? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

5)Liveries/Aircraft that I want to own
Sometimes a few models in my collection may not fit any criteria listed above - then it's because I like the livery/aircraft and could forgo any of those listed above. Afterall rules are meant to be broken and we are the ones who make the purchase not anyone else. Why limit your collection by self-induced rules

A very comprehensive insight into your criteria! I agree with you on that fifth point, it applies to me too!

 

[Jazajia]

I did not think much but in general I have comeup with some that I believe is formed naturally as I build up my collection.

1)East Asian Carries
As a collector born and grow up in Hong Kong, I have been frequently seeing carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Dragonair(Even when they are branded as Cathay Dragon for some time - I still much like to call them港龍),China Airlines, EVA Air, JAL, ANA, Singapore Airlines etc. Airlines from mainland China though are very unattractive to me and I only own a handful of them(Including the Hainan Airlines owned Hong Kong Airlines) - maybe my inner self have some hate towards them? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2)Airline-aircraft combos that fly to East Asia
Sometimes - like Canadian 744s and SWISS 77W which are airlines that ain't based in East Asia but do fly into Asia at somepoint. They are purchased such that my collection can have a broader portfolio of airlines

3)Widebodies>Narrowbodies
Narrowbodies only account an extremely little amount in my collection - maybe due to how often Widebodies are used here in East Asia for even short hops that fly for slightly over an hour like HKG-KHH or HND-ITM which has made me like widebody more.

4)Stick to modern era(beyond 1990s)
I realise that the almost my entire collection focuses on aircraft from 1990 onwards - with only a few exceptions that depict times of late 1980s. I don't really think much about it but I believe that was somepart of my subconscious to avoid retros? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

5)Liveries/Aircraft that I want to own
Sometimes a few models in my collection may not fit any criteria listed above - then it's because I like the livery/aircraft and could forgo any of those listed above. Afterall rules are meant to be broken and we are the ones who make the purchase not anyone else. Why limit your collection by self-induced rules

Very nice! It has always amazed me how widebody jets are used in short routes in Asia. I actually have a small ANA collection, and it includes two 747-400Ds.

A very comprehensive insight into your criteria! I agree with you on that fifth point, it applies to me too!

I think most of us agree with point 5 to some extent

 

[Purpleplane]

I think most of us agree with point 5 to some extent

Definitely. I've done that myself too.

 

[Barison82]

Point 5 definitely applies to me as well...and what I have were well worth breaking the rules for