No, not all people who collect Heathkits had an abusive father.
Mostly, it's the social phenomenon of inferiorism-why a rusted hulk of
a '32 Ford roadster is worth more than a nice driveable junior Packard
of the same vintage. They're only going to **** it up by putting a
seventies Camaro driveline and some grossly overpriced aftermarket ****
on it anyway.

Hamfests still have lots of HP lunchboxes at reasonable prices,
because the hamfest nation doesn't do eBay. And I've seen old HP boxes
for $25-50 recently, divide in half for ACV.