Ron Ruelle hobbyDB

Well, 2016 is almost over… time for this collector to make some New Year’s Resolutions (And for once, I’m going to follow through on them!).

Be more charitable. It looks like I could have used a few more deductions tax for the past year. Ah, but wait… a couple years ago, a new law went into effect to encourage charitable giving by extending the deadline to make and declare some charitable donations all the way up to April 15 of the new year. So if you’re like me and have a lot of spare reading material, you might be in luck. Auto-Archives wants your automotive books, magazines, and manuals for their library, and your donation is tax-deductible.

Donate my time to my community. Well, it’s not charity work or anything, but I plan to spend more time sharing my tiny bit of expertise with the rest of the users at hobbyDB. So instead of complaining that I can’t find a certain model in the database, I’ll shoot some pics and add it myself. Anyone looking to get really involved can become a curator for a particular brand or type or subject.

Make more friends. We ran quite a few profiles of prolific customizers this summer, but the project sort of got put on hold for awhile. And honestly, it was fun getting to meet some of these folks, if only online via chats and emails. Well, we want to get this thing up and running again. So how ‘bout it? If you’re a customizer and we haven’t written about you yet, hit me up with an email or in the comments! In fact, we want to do profiles of curators and people with unique collections to, so let’s get to know you!

We’ve run profiles of (clockwise from top left) Hadi Rochmansaya, Jimmy “Boxman” Chavez, Chris Stangler, and other amazing diecast customizers over the past year.

Read More. In addition to lots of books, magazines, and manuals for sale on hobbyDB, there are a number of diecast websites, blogs, and Facebook pages worth following on a regular basis. Gotta stay informed, right?

Don’t be so shy. Look at this stack of boxes. This is one of two closets in my house that is simply stuffed to the gills with boxes full of models and toys that haven’t seen the light of day in awhile. I figure the basement is due for a renovation, and there’s at least a couple walls that would greatly benefit from permanent shelves with a glass cover. So I’m busting these things out and showing them to the world!

Get organized. Since these collectibles haven’t seen the light of day in a long, it must be a mess, right? All is not lost. Each box is numbered, and I have a list of what’s in each one. Now if I could just find that list… oh right, it’s right there on hobbyDB. You can set one up too! I do need to dig out a couple of those boxes and finish the job though.

Fine… Let some things go. Having seen these boxes neatly scattered across the basement, my wife has suggested an alternative to the shelf idea. Oh well, I know what to do…

Start over again. After selling some of my collection, it will time to rebuild. So let’s start small. I’ve been hitting the pegs since this spring to find the Hot Wheels Yellow Submarine, but it just wasn’t to be. This will be the year. Oh, here’s one. Yay, this is going to be a great year!