Anything tangentially related to your hobbies that you just don't get?

I collect and work on antique outboards.  I've got maybe a dozen from the 50s and 60s.  Some guys I know have entire buildings full of them.  I get that, although it isn't for me.

What I really don't get is the guys that also collect the toy versions of the outboards.  Not because they aren't collectible, I've been gifted one or two myself from friends estates, and they are awesome little toys, but more because of the price of them.  In the same condition you'd find the full size versions, they literally are worth what the full size versions are worth or more.

$200 Buy It Now, I'm surprised it hasn't disappeared already https://www.ebay.com/itm/174450320131?ul_noapp=true

$800, survivor quality, small chip on the paint, transom clamp missing a cup https://www.ebay.com/itm/203114202260?ul_noapp=true

$1200, near perfect, https://www.ebay.com/itm/174449986849

I especially like watching them shoot up in price as they get nearer and nearer to the end of the bidding.  Current price on this is $46.51.  This one is actually the mini version of the same motor I'm planning on putting on my Lonestar.  I bought it for $125 and some trades, I bet it passes that. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1961-K-O-Fleetline-Evinrude-Lark-40-HP-Plastic-Toy-Outboard-Motor/284019426270

$250 and no bids right now https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-K-O-1954-Johnson-25-HP-Toy-Outboard-Motor-Boat-Model/324301095524

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Knowing nothing about this particular area of collectibles, are the toy versions much rarer in good condition compared to the full sized versions?

In reply to Mr_Asa :

I call it the retired old guy syndrome.  I swear some guys retire and realize their life was totally about their work.  To fill that hole they pick up some strange hobbies/collecting.  I bought a phone from one such guy.  He told me that he had retired 2 years before and started collecting cell phones.  I'm thinking to myself why?

We're the toy size actually toys or were they salesmen samples? 

The reason there are perfect scale "toy" tractors is the salespeople brought the samples to the farm but could not bring actual tractors. 

Insanity takes many forms....

I know a fairly wealthy guy who has 25 or 30 Honda CBX motorcycles.  He single handedly raised the price of CBX's worldwide.

I know sports car people who try to drive British cars.

BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Knowing nothing about this particular area of collectibles, are the toy versions much rarer in good condition compared to the full sized versions?

I'm also an outsider looking in, although with a bit more knowledge.  From what I've seen, not really.  That '61 Lark toy is about representative of the condition my motor was in.  Both the toys and the motors themselves probably have similar lives.  Used quite a lot for a few years, then outgrown and stored away. 

I would bet that more of the motors got made than the toys as well.  There are snowbirds I know that finance their trips down south by picking up motors and bringing them from the Great Lakes region and selling them here in the salt water areas.

In reply to John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) :

No, they're toys.  Surprisingly well modeled toys, but toys.  Most of them were made in Japan in the 50s.  What is funny is that the manufacturers of the toy boats were set on one scale and the motor manufacturers were set on another scale.  If I remember the figures right, they ended up being 1.5x too big, so they looked funny on the boats.

http://toyoutboardmotors.com/

https://smithmountainlake.com/news/local/on-board-with-outboards/article_2bb98d3e-ef7a-5eb4-bde5-279dd638acd2.html

Neon guys love the little Brookfield cars. I dont get it. I also don't collect the little die cast versions or hot wheels. Don't make sense to me. 

Drifting, stance and coal rollers. Or maybe I am just old. 

Road biking in particular racing. Not for me.

Miatas

"Normal people" don't understand why someone would want 8 running, old $2k cars when they could just easier have 1 newer $16k car.  

I love cars but don't understand why anyone would drive a truck if they didn't have to, and if they are lifted? In my mind any utility the vehicle had has been lost. A truck bed is for heavy things and lifting heavy things over 36" sucks.

I also love guitars and playing guitars but cannot stand noodling blues rock wanking. This means I cannot go to any guitar stores or watch 99.9% of all gear review videos

I play World of Warships on and off. You know, a game about WWII surface ships.

In addition to people who like warships, it also attracts the creepy weebs. Not your run of the mill way into Naruto weird weebs. No, it pulls in the body pillow humping super weebs for whatever reason.

Maybe it’s a space thing.  The toys take up a lot less room to collect more of.  They might also be more rare than the real thing at this point.

Kind of like how old military jeeps cost as much or more than a deuce and a half.

I've always wanted one of those miniature outboard motors, but their price was already too high when I started looking at them 30 years ago.    One of my friends has several of them, although I don't think he has enough to call it a collection.

One advantage is even though they're often worth more than the real thing, they take up a lot less space and need less maintenance.  When I was a kid my dad had a 1956 30hp Johnson outboard; I sometimes see one like it on Craigslist and am tempted to buy it just to have it on display, but they're big and heavy and are way too large to put on my bookshelf.

I found a news article about a collector who has 450 miniature outboard motors...holy cow.  https://smithmountainlake.com/news/local/on-board-with-outboards/article_2bb98d3e-ef7a-5eb4-bde5-279dd638acd2.html

I build model cars as well as real ones. I do not get the die-cast collector thing at all. 

In watches, Casio is the budget king, but they do nothing for me. I prefer Timex, but they just don't get the love Casio does. That said, I've had 3 in my collection, down to two, but there are a few more I want.

On the higher end, Hamilton. I simply have no interest. If I'm going to play the $500-1000 entry level Swiss(/euro) game, Squalle or Yema. Part of this is my view on field watches, for which they are best know. To me a field watch should be a utilitarian $50 quartz piece. But that's my thing. 
 

Also, analog chronographs. I don't have any yet, but I appreciate them. If I'm using it as intended, I would rather just use digital. 

The0retical (Forum Supporter) said:

I play World of Warships on and off. You know, a game about WWII surface ships.

 

In addition to people who like warships, it also attracts the creepy weebs. Not your run of the mill way into Naruto weird weebs. No, it pulls in the body pillow humping super weebs for whatever reason.

I wonder if the anime Azur Lane has anything to do with it.

I dont understand people who get nice things and don't take care of them.  
I am an avid cyclist and I swear I spend as much time working on bikes as riding them.  Every rattle, squeak, etc gets addressed right away.  I go ride with some folks and their bikes are a rattly mess, and these are guys who can out-ride me.  I just dont understand that sort of mentality.

Same people who pack up tents wet, or walk in their house with their shoes on, or buy a nice car and fill it with garbage. 

Funko-Pops. I can't comprehend how they appeal to anyone.

To my knowledge they aren't related to any of my hobbies but I just wanted to say that.

Car washing. For some people it is a hobby unto itself.  Totally eludes me when the time and money could be spent on the next project.

Rivet police. I used to enjoy aircraft a armor models. The rivet police will tell you everything incorrect with your model. If it's to be judged or you were asked about the accuracy, fine,  have at it. But if it's a kid who poured his time and energy into a piece, why E36 M3 on something that they love?

The0retical (Forum Supporter) said:

I play World of Warships on and off. You know, a game about WWII surface ships.

 

In addition to people who like warships, it also attracts the creepy weebs. Not your run of the mill way into Naruto weird weebs. No, it pulls in the body pillow humping super weebs for whatever reason.

Kantai Collection.  That's why.  It's literally about battling with girlships and eventually marrying them.