Mike999

Ha! Same here. When that kit was last re-issued, it didn't sell at all in a local hobby shop. The shop finally put them on clearance for, IIRC, less than $10. I bought 5 and removed the tractors. Sold the rest of the kits on eBay. Probably the most I've ever paid for the smallest kit was nearly $100 for the MiniMan Factory 1/35 resin CUCV (militarized Chevy Blazer). But as others have mentioned, I used to be a lot more spendy when I was working. In August 2013 I was forced into early retirement by a massive layoff. I'd like to think that slowed down my spending. But I just had to buy more shelves for the basement, so I'm probably just fooling myself.

Late to the party. But if you're still looking, these lights seem pretty close. As of today (7/22/16), this kit is available from Hobbylinc for $13.00. http://www.hobbylinc.com/mpc-1940-ford-fire-chief-super-snap-tite-plastic-model-vehicle-kit-1:25-scale-815

In Upstate SC, near Clemson University. If you're ever in the neighborhood, that Flea Market is in Pickens, SC. It's only held on Wednesday, which is sort of strange. Most people around here are working on Wed. (I'm a retired geezer.) I think they're also trying to open on Tuesdays as well. There's an even bigger flea market every weekend in Anderson, SC, called the Jockey Lot. It has been operating for probably 40 years. It's huge.

A (cheap) boxful of goodness! From today's local Flea Market. All this stuff was in one box. Both Chevelles are partly assembled and painted, but very neatly. The Syclone is untouched and the Sting Ray III sealed. The box also contained glue, putty, Testors sandpaper, spray cans of paint, bottle paint, some paintbrushes etc. Those Testors spray cans are marked "$2.47," so they've been around awhile. Probably doesn't matter, they still rattle.

Accurate Miniatures 1/24 Corvette Grand Sport GS and McLaren M8B - never heard any complaints about their accuracy. Just getting them built! The REVELL release of the "last remaining Corvette GS warehouse kits" was a great bargain. About half the price of the original AM release, with the photo-etched parts and other good stuff still included. ESCI 1/24 Range Rover series - great-looking curbside kit of a first-generation 2-door Range Rover. The best one if you want to build a left-hand drive American vehicle is kit #3039, the British/Dutch Police version. It not only comes with left or right-hand drive dashboards - it also has the correct front suspension parts for either version. Kit #3036, the Camel Trophy Winner, includes a great roof rack with jerry cans and a spare tire/wheel. Here's a link to the Scalemates timeline for all releases of the ESCI Range Rover. But I think they goofed on 1 kit, the REVELL #07373 Range Rover. That's a 4-door, not a 2-door, so it's probably the AOSHIMA Range Rover kit (which is also very nice and comes in several different versions). https://www.scalemates.com/kits/232257-esci-3029-range-rover

With the flat "art" boxes: on some kits you have to watch out for the small sticker telling you the color of the kit plastic. If Round 2 is still doing that. The '40 Ford coupe flat-box kit came molded in either orange or white plastic. At one local hobby shop in Los Angeles (Smith Bros.), the white version sold very quickly. The orange version didn't, and was steeply discounted not long after its release. Pretty much the same with the Chevy Rescue Van. It only came in "standard" box size but could be molded in either white or red plastic. The white ones flew off the shelves, the red ones didn't seem to. I now live in Upstate South Carolina. A local hobby shop still has molded-in-red vans on the shelves, but I don't believe they have any white ones left. The '65 Grand Prix is...interesting. As many others have said, it's only molded in turquoise for the standard box. But is molded in white for the flat box. Personally I wish they'd just release everything in white. But I guess R2 has a reason for experimenting with colors.

The latest issue of Vintage Fire Truck & Equipment magazine has an article on early horse-drawn fire rigs, with one photo of an early motorized truck posing beside a horse-drawn pumper. Here's a link to an older article on the same subject. With vintage video clips of early fire trucks, both horse-drawn and motorized: http://www.vintagefiretruck.com/sounds-of-thunder/

Gene Winfield's custom 67 Vette from a very short-lived TV show. And this AMT kit is very hard to find:

I wish AOSHIMA would do these cute little critters in 1/24 scale. They have a whole line of forklifts and similar vehicles, all in 1/32 scale. (Some have also appeared in FUJIMI boxes.) These are incredibly complete, well-detailed and complex kits. Some include bins full of ice and Future Sushi - big sea-bass and other fish! Everything that works on the real thing, like lift/extension parts, works on the completed model (if you're careful with the glue). I'm finishing up a weathered version of the Nichiyu Platter-15 stand-lift truck right now - the one in the bottom left of the photo. Will try to put some photos in "All The Rest." That Nichiyu kit even has an "engine." A working cover shows the 2 hydraulic reservoirs, motor, etc. The kit also includes 4 plastic JPR pallets; rubber tube for the hydraulic lines; a figure with a choice of 2 heads, helmeted or not (though he looks sort of goofy). And one of the best touches - 4 lead weights hidden in the (removable) battery box, so the completed forklift doesn't tip over when loaded.

Went back yesterday and snagged a second Surf Woody for $13.19. That was the last one on the shelf. They had re-stocked the Revell GMC pickup with snow plow, but it was full price of $24.99. I used the 40% off coupon to pick up (another) one of those. This store was completely out of the Fruit Wagon kits. It still had quite a few '23 T "Nestlé's" delivery trucks, priced at $14.39 IIRC. I remember what a long, long, LONG time it was between issues of that Fruit Wagon, as well as the '25 T Double Kit. So I stocked up on both of those. Another great parts source. BTW, if you need some more realistic fruit for your Fruit Wagon, check the dollhouse section of Hobby Lobby. They sell a bag of bananas, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables. Also a bag of sliced watermelon, and another of pumpkins. These are probably meant for 1/12 scale dollhouses, but they look pretty close to 1/24-25 scale. And we can always say the bananas are plantains. Or mutants.

Foreign sellers on U.S. eBay often amaze me, whether it's car, aircraft or armor kits. Some sellers in China, Taiwan and Japan ask full U.S. retail price, or more, for their kits. Plus a hefty shipping fee. Maybe I'm missing something like the conversion factor mentioned. But why on earth would I pay those prices? For hard-to-find Asian kits, Lucky Model, HLJ and several other foreign companies offer the same kits at very good prices, with flexible shipping options. And like many U.S. web sellers, they sometimes have promotions with free shipping, or free shipping if you spend more than $(x). But usually I can find the same kits from HobbyLinc in Atlanta, MegaHobby, Sprue Bros. etc. without the delay/hassle of foreign shipping.

Thanks for the memories! I started going there when the original owners still ran it, the couple who started it in the Fifities. I distinctly remember when Glen took it over. At the time, his first daughter was a baby and his wife was pregnant with the second daughter. Last time I stopped in, before I moved out of LA in 2015, his older girl was getting ready to start college. Man, does that make me feel old! You probably also remember Tony and Addie's hobby shop on Victory Blvd. Display cases full of vintage built Fifties kits. Including some of the original Monogram, Revell, etc. store displays from that era. Tony has turned down hundreds of offers to buy those displays and kits. As of 2015, Tony was still keeping his hand in - he worked at the Smith Bros. hobby shop on Reseda Blvd. Another great shop that has been open for many years. Which reminds me of Kit Kraft in Studio City - the very first place I ever saw Scale Auto Enthusiast magazine back in the 1980s. Still owned by the original family who started it back in the Fifties, AFAIK. That place was like a mini-Michaels, only with a LOT more model kits in every genre. It carried supplies for bead, papercraft, leather-work etc. etc. Plus the biggest model paint selection in the area. I could easily spend a couple hours in Kit Kraft, figuring out how to re-purpose other craft stuff for model building.

Thanks! I sure learn a lot of amazing stuff in here. Good thing I only have the Mystery Science Theater 3K version of "Eegah." 'Bot snark should minimize the risk of brain rot. Or it may be too late anyway. I'm the guy who bought the boxed-set collection of Ed Wood movies.

Yesterday HL sent me a special 4th of July e-mail that was basically a piece of religious propaganda. Full of alleged quotes about Christianity from famous Americans, and offering a free Bible download. Since it didn't have a 40% off coupon attached, I just laughed at it and deleted it. I didn't see one of my favorite quotes: "It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." - Thomas Jefferson, "Notes on Virginia," 1782

Repeating myself from the Hobby Lobby thread: when I visited the local HL last Friday 7/1, they had the Surf Woody knocked down to $13.19. I don't especially like the kit itself but it is full of great parts. I did like the idea of making it a big dune buggy. Using the bare chassis and an older plain-jane engine, you could come up with one of the prehistoric "water pumper" buggies used at Pismo Beach in the 1950s and 60s. According to an online article about Bruce Meyers, those buggies inspired him to create the Manx. I'm thinking about something like this awesome creation from the old Z-movie "Eegah" (with Richard Kiel, who went on to play "Jaws" in the Bond flicks):

Some pics of a "customized" '65 Fairlane I snapped while working in Egypt a few years ago. Old American cars are highly prized in Egypt and most owners will not sell them for any amount of money.

First, a big thanks to Russ for the heads-up! The closest HL to me had the AMT Ford LN-8000 "Race Car Hauler" for $22.79. That was the only big truck I saw on clearance. Had my eye on that one for some time, so I grabbed it. My store was out of the Lindberg 34 Ford pickup. It's always in stock but the spot for it was bare. Ditto the Revell GMC pickup with snow plow. In car kits, a big surprise was the Barris Surf Woody. On sale for $13.19, IIRC. That's a very recent issue kit and a steep discount. Some others: AMT Fruit Wagon Double '25 Model T $14.39; 23 T Delivery Van "Nestles" for about the same price; AMT 66 Mustang $13.79; MPC 79 Pontiac Trans Am $17.99; Starsky & Hutch Torino $14.99. For aircraft fans, the fantastic Revell Stearman PT-17, already a good deal at full retail, was discounted to $10.79. It was quite the model-buying day here. Ollie's was having a "25% off everything sale," so I picked up 2 of the Lindberg TN State Patrol Crown Vics (regular price $7.99). And Michael's e-mailed me a 50% off coupon. So staying with the Cop/Govt. Theme, I used that for a Revell Snap-Tite Crown Vic.

Yes, welcome! Thanks for stopping in. MegaHobby is a real help to me. Last year I re-located from Los Angeles back to the rural South. So I went from having several great local hobby shops to none. I can only get stuff like Alclad paints and Gunze finishing products via the internet. With MegaHobby I always know my order will be complete and delivered FAST. So thanks for the great service. You'll be hearing from me and my credit card again.

Me too! You can do a lot with that kit and its parts. Especially that Wisconsin T-Head engine, which was used in many cars and trucks of the day. I have a box stuffed with parts of, I think, 2 and a half or 3 of those MPC Bearcat kits. And one complete "Bearcats" TV tie-in kit. Which as somebody else said, comes with dual fender-mounted machine guns. Another great idea I want to try: somewhere around here I have a very old article on cross-kitting the Bearcat with the AMT "NY-to-Paris" Thomas Flyer. Using the Bearcat fenders and a couple other parts, you end up with a stock Thomas Flyer.

Found this cheap at the Flea Market today. (Pic grabbed from the 'net.) Mint inside, all inner bags still sealed. And the original outer shrink-wrap stuck inside the box! Also found some very cheap Off-Topic kits (aircraft). Will use those to improve skills, I hope:

Stopped at Michael's in Greenville, SC today. They had the last-issue 66 Nova (with bench seat) on Clearance for $14.99. That one is full of useful parts, including the whole chassis to upgrade older kits. I also used a 50% off coupon to snag an AMT 70 1/2 Camaro Z/28, which brought the price down to about $11. That's a kit I've never owned. From the reviews on here, it sounds pretty good. Then I swung by a hobby shop to pick up some paint and stuff. Noticed they still had 1 lonely AMT "King Cobra" on the shelf. That's another kit I've never had, so picked it up as well.

Great work! Someday I'd like to build the Trabbi "convertible." As used by East German border guards:

Yep. The poster on the armor board I stole them from identified the trucks as Mack R's. But those hoods and fenders are definitely longer. Here's the cover of the Verlinden magazine with plans for scratch-building the rig. Can't see much of the truck from this angle, but can tell it's definitely the short hood/fender MONOGRAM Mack kit:

Building suggestion for the Mack: the Israeli Defense Forces used those to pull flatbed trailers for armored vehicles. Some of you geezers may remember Francois Verlinden building the truck and scratch-building the trailer, many years ago. A search will turn up quite a few interesting builds of that kit.