Honestly, I didn't know how much I needed these strips until I had some. I only needed a few to finish out a scaled out and aged board fence for a diorama, then the Idea Light, dim in my case, began to come on. These are great to shape and glue up to make almost anything from a house being framed to doing a mock up or cross section of an airplane wing. The way I fly, they're also indispensable for emergency or temporary repairs inthe field. You get what you get more than you pay for in terms of quantity and quality. No big knots in the balsa, LOL. So, if these strips aren't of use to you over time, then it may be your imagination rather than the utility of the product.