so it sounds like you guys are echoing my suspicion - that the value of the old kits is mostly nostalgia of the folks who were there when they were new. the kits don't have intrinsic value as a record of the early days of the hobby. that would suggest that for someone like me, who doesn't have the nostalgia, buying kits just to hold 'em (and not build 'em) for posterity is probably a fruitless exercise, 'cause posterity doesn't want 'em!