model kits in unexpected places

[Chuck Most]

Found this at a local antique shop a few years ago.

[Junkman]

One of the best ever and longest running model kit shops I knew was located in Hamburg - in the back of a bicycle shop.

Another really, really good one was located in the cellar of a shop for fireplaces in Liverpool.

Neither of them gave any hint that they deal in plastic model kits to the occasional passer-by, you had to know they are there.

In case of the Hamburg shop, you literally had to go through a curtain to get to the kits. Most people would have expected

a tad more X-rated merchandise hidden behind a curtain in a shop in Hamburg, so when browsing through the kits, you

could see the odd chap poking his head through the curtain and then watch his face change to total disappointment when

he spotted only 'children's toys' instead of videotapes from Sweden.

Unfortunately, both don't exist any more.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Junkman

[wraith]

Interesting...wish the Ace Hardware around the corner from me had a hobby section...

ACE Is a national chain store but each store is independantly owned. I worked at our local Ace Hardwares (we have 4) and the onlt time we got models in wash for Christmas. From Thanks giving to when the toys are gone, like Early Jan is the only time we carried them and it was for only 1 out of my 3 Christmas' working there. I have been to many Ace's in the Twin Cities and have hardly ever seen any toys. Each kinda has it's own lil idenity.

I have seen models occasionally at our HyVee grocery stores. Usually just snap kits and it has been a couple years since I last saw one.

I do miss Wal-Mart and K-Mart carrying models!

Flea markets and Goodwills have scored me some gluebombs in the past.

[Ben]

I just remembered another odd place we have here in San Antonio. I think it's still there, I'm not sure but the business sells and repairs car radiators. I think the owner is a collector? There are all kinds of old models and toys but he asks way too much for them. Really odd seeing that many toy and model related items in a place like that though!

[Junkman]

In England in the 70s and 80s you'd rather found kits at a Newsagent's, than at toy or hobby shops.

The same was also true for these lovely 1:43 scale plastic toy cars by NOREV.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Junkman

[1320wayne]

This thread got me to thinking and remembering back to when I was 17 and we had just moved to Florida and I just happened to find a Monogram Mcewen front engine dragster kit, still sealed, at a 7-Eleven.

Edited March 7, 2012 by 1320wayne

[wraith]

Some gas stations and convenent stores have weird stuff like that. We had a truck stop that used to carry all sorts of diecasts and even a model or 2 once in a while. I just stopped there a couple days ago to look arounf .everything was gone.

Edited March 7, 2012 by wraith

[Mercman]

I found some AMT plaque kits in a hardware store one tim Got all 3 of them for 6.00. These were chrome plated bodies cut in half to make a framed wall display. I also scored a IH conv. tractor semi at the IH dealer is Des Moines when we had a breakdown, think I paid 10 for it when they had just come out. You have to scour the stores, look under the shelves, and on the floor some times they are hiding.

On another note when I had my 53 Ford full size I was at a Coast to Coast hardware store , and I spotted a Spinner Knob display for steering wheels. I asked the guy if there were any left, or just the empty card. Well they had one left, and it was green. Which was perfect, as the car was green with a green interior.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Mercman

[Steven Zimmerman]

Cracker Barrel. Wife and I went out for breakfast several years ago, and we always 'browse' before leaving. I found the Lindberg 61 Impala hardtop. on another shelf in a differant part of the store, i found the convertible...they only had one of each and i bought them both. NEVER saw another model in there.....Local beer distributor, walked in, had a whole table full of models, 10 bucks apiece....turns out employee had a family member pass away, and sold his whole collection (about 100 /150 kits) all for 10 bucks apiece....'Z'

[Nick Notarangelo]

in and around rhode island we have stores there call the ocean state job lot an you can find them there and not always the same ones from store to store

[85gt4bbl302]

I got real lucky at a walmart here on the ms gulf coast i was looking at clearence toy racks( i'm always in the toy dept.) lol

I happened to turn around and right in front of my nose was an endcap of (very few) model kits on clearence 8$ originally 15 bucks heck 15 wasn't too bad of a price for new..... long story short i quickly grabbed 2 it was all my wife would allow

they only had 1 65 el camino "california wheels" version left so i nabbed they had (2) 85 svo mustangs nabbed one of those too then there were a ton of a more recent revell ferrarri kit! but i went all over to the 5-6 other stores in the are down here along the coast and not one other of the walmart locations had those model kits..... i was discussing with bartster that maybe it was some fluke shipment they were not supposed to get so the sold them as clearence?

i have not seen models for sale at any walmart for a good 10 plus years or so! so that was real rare i thought

[85gt4bbl302]

i've got a pretty good one, I didn't even know the place existed ( right behind one of the local o' reilys auto parts stores)

theres a guy that has a good sized Garage! but 3/4 of that garage is his own personal museum ( I need to go take pics)

on a friday that i get off at noon on and try to post em here........

long story short the guy restores older cars hes got good taste and a wide variety (he just recently finished a nice Black Panera (pantera? sp?) anyways nice car i'd say very rare here in the states

and this is all right around the corner from me

long story shorter he has a small "gift" shop up fron i need to go see what model kits he keeps on hand again and how much they are going for!

i'll let ya'll know

[Shardik]

I find a lot of good buys at antique stores: MPC 1:12 1930 Bentley for $30.00 (going rate, about $300.00), and several 1:72 Airfix air craft for $1.00 each.

[peter31a]

You know, I've noticed it mentioned more than once about good deals in antique shops but I usually find models way over priced in them. Only once have I found one that I thought was reasonably priced enough to pull the trigger and that was a 61 (?) Comet for $30. I'm glad others are finding models at antique stores for good prices.

[paul alflen]

YES PETER THAT WAS A GOOD DEAL, THATSABOUT 27.00? DOLLARS U.S.? EH?

[Kaleb]

Tiques and flea markets are usually where I go. I picked up a dragon Bette, 59 caddy, and 55 nomad all for 19 bucks.

[garryrenfro]

I know a lot of here were kids in the 50's and 60's, when kits were everywhere. I live in rural East Tennessee, and at that time it was RURAL, almost nothing open on Sunday or after 6:00 pm. But there were two country stores with in walking distance that had kits and comic books. Eight miles up the road, in the little bitty one street town of Jonesborough, within the three blocks, there was a farm supply, a grocery store, a five and dime, an auto parts dealer, a service station, a drug store, and a Western Auto hardware - all of them carried models, lots of models! The same same was true of another little town, Erwin, in the other direction. Sixteen miles away was Johnson City, with big department stores - Kesges, McClellans, Sears, Woolworths, Several big grocery and drug stores, and may favorite, privately owned Ben's Sport Shop.

Now there's only a couple of places in this part of the state that carry models, and the selection is generally dismal. I have relied almost solely on mail order since the mid-80"s.

[RickRollerLT1]

I once saw a meduim sized display of model kits out of all places, Fashon Bug! This was around the holiday season of 2007. IIRC, they had lots of kits like the AMT Proshop, JL packs, trucks, and 3-kit packs that KB had, along with Revell car kits that were exact to what Big Lots carried at that time! Cars were $7, trucks were $15, and the threepacks were $18. My mom wouldn't let me buy them because they were all the ones I got from KB, but there were some trucks at hawt prices I havent seen @ KB, like the KW cabover & T600, GMC Astro & Bison, Ford Louisville, Peterbilt 359, wrecker, and 352, etc. Tired telling her that there were ones I didn't get, but she didn't want to buy them cause she didn't feel like putting them on the mastercard, but spent $266 in clothes on the card anyway.

[1930fordpickup]

My score was a factory sealed 1/8 scale T bucket for 20 bucks at the antique shop my me. It was the Issue with the wire wheels up front.

[my80malibu]

Its not as surprising as you might think Its just business and trying anything to make money

[Ben]

Over the years I have found some models in some oddball places. I remember picking up the AMT Richard Petty Ford transporter with Dodge Dart stock car at a True Value hardware store, begging my mom to buy it for but no luck.

There was another time where I was with my mom at a large plumbing supply company warehouse and they had a whole isle of model kits! No other toys of any kind, just those kits and the were only 2.00 a kit!!! This was back in the late eighties. I picked up two of the MPC Dodge Force 440 police car kits among others. The kits were so cheap, my mom even bought a couple for my buddy that happen to be with me at the time.

Another time, a friend and I rode our bikes up to the local International truck dealership about ten miles from my home. We were checking out the rigs and decided to go in a see if we could get some brochures. We go in and I glanced into the parts dept. and right there on the wall was an ERTL 1/32 iH 9670 snap together cabover kit! This is when it first came out back in the eighties (that kit is really rare now!) I bought the kit and the asked me "you like to build models?" I told him yes and said "follow me". We go in the back area of the parts dept to a tall double door cabinet. He opens the door and there, stacked about four feet high were all these brand new ERTL truck kits!!!!!!! I bought a few and went home. Years later after I started driving, I thought about those kits and wondered if they had any left. I drove up there and asked the guy and he told me "yeah, we've been trying to get rid of those for years!" He made me a deal and I bought about twenty kits. I was haaaaaaaaaappy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was another time where a friend and I were clearing land on a ranch with a John Deere bulldozer that was a rental. We needed something for the dozer so we went back to the rental place. I was standing at the parts counter and I looked up and there, on a shelf sat two, mint ERTL John Deere backhoe kits!!!!! At the time, that kit had only been issued once and had long been out of production! I asked the guy how much they were and he says "What, oh those things, Give me 20.00 and you can have both of them! SCORE!!!!!!! I was prett happy that day!!!!

[Casey]

[robertw]

When I was growing up I bought most of my models at a locally owned stationary store. During the Christmas season they sold toys in the basement but that stock was kept quite low the rest of the year and the basement usually closed off. Despite the season they always seemed to have had a nice selection of kits , mostly Frog & Airfix which was fine since I was mostly into military in the '60s. Decades later I remet the owner of the store, now an elderly man who told me that he remembered me well.

[Ben]

LOL, I totally forgot about this thread!

[Casey]

LOL, I totally forgot about this thread!

The automatic bump post-merge is a bit wonky right now, so the smiley worked.