Mike999

The Hobby Lobby I went to had the RX7, but it was not on Clearance. Regular HL price of $20-something. Almost all kits at this HL are $29.99, but some are a few dollars cheaper. As somebody else said, looks like HL is getting ready for a big scale-model reset. Many scale-model shelf slots in this store were empty, and quite a few slots only had 1 kit left but not discounted: AMT '53 Ford pick-up (drat!) and '23 Model T "Coke" delivery truck, MPC Deserter pick-up, Revell '66 Suburban (though that's still a new kit), etc. At this store, you have to check all over for Clearanced kits, sort of like an Easter egg hunt. This time, all the discounted kits were in the scale-model aisle. Sometimes they're in the Clearance aisle at the far end of the store, with other discounted stuff. Other times they're stacked on an island, in the middle of a center aisle. A few months ago I walked past one of the islands and saw a couple of discounted aircraft kits. Looked closer, and found the '70 Impala "Heavy Chevy" hiding in there at a Clearance price. Yes, it was worth buying just for the parts...even if I am running out of space in the basement...

The rain slacked off so I made the run to HL in Anderson, SC. Not much left at Clearance prices. I did grab an AMT '51 Chevy convertible and MPC '75 Vette for $7.50 each. "Worth that for the parts," as I (too) often tell myself... It would have been a cheap trip...but then I saw that one Greenlight 1/24 Winnebago trailer was left in the die-casts. Been looking for one of those. And I couldn't resist the Greenlight 1947 Ken-Skill Teardrop Trailer, with kayak, bicycle and camping gear. Used the 40% off coupon for one of those. They were NOT discounted and priced at $29.99 each. You can find them a little cheaper around the internet. But sometimes it's good if I just buy the thing when it's right in front of me. I tend to say "I'll get things later." Then they disappear at reasonable prices and end up with the Rare! Vintage!! Kollectibull!!! Anteek & Junque dealers on eBay, marked up to 4 times their original price.

Hi neighbor! The closest HL to me is in Anderson, SC. I might run over there tomorrow and check for deals. Today it's pouring rain and cold, so I don't much want to go out. There's also a Hobby Lobby in Easley, on HWY 123 not far from the Hobby Connection...the only "real" hobby shop I know of around here, if you ever get up this way. HL is planning to open a new store very close to me in the next few months. It took over a K-Mart that closed and they're already working on the re-build. Can't wait!

Several companies have done resin bodies for the '65 Chevelle 2-door wagon. F&F did one back in the '90s, I think. Jimmy Flintstone makes one right now. Before any resin bodies were available, good builders were combining the '65 El Camino with the wagon roof to do it themselves. It looked like a pretty easy conversion. (But they all look easy before you start cutting plastic. And being a not-good builder, I chickened out and got the Flintstone 2-dr body.)

I won't link to any auctions or mention any names. But this one really floored me. I was recently cruising eBay and saw a resin trans-kit to convert a 2-door car into a 4-door. The complete trans-kit should have the body, interior panels and the non-split front seat. I know that because I bought exactly the same trans-kit at a kit swap meet, and paid $20 for it. The Buy It Now price for the eBay kit was over $300 "or best offer." The punch line: that trans-kit on eBay was missing the front seat.

Returning the favor for Sam I Am. Definitely a great trader who shipped very quickly. Have also done a deal with LDO, again no problems and a great guy to deal with.

For those who haven't seen inside these kits...be warned that the 1987 issue isn't just yellow on the box. It's molded in a bright, eye-hurting yellow plastic. The older AMT/ERTL "Buyer's Choice" issue with the green car on the box is gray plastic. So is the later "Street Stock and Strip" AMT/ERTL version. I have both of those and just looked inside them. The 2015 "Retro Deluxe" issue was white plastic. And as 1972coronet said, that Superwagon is kind of hard to find, considering it was just released 3 years ago. But ignoring the usual eBay/Amazon opportunists and checking eBay Completed Listings, looks like they can be had in the $20-40 price range with some hunting. A Buyer's Choice version is on eBay right now with a starting bid of $7.29 + $8.95 shipping. It's a new listing so it has 6 more days to run. But no bids on it so far.

Great job! Now I'm thinking of getting one of these for the Never-Shrinking Stash... In Los Angeles in the early '90s, I was dating a woman who had a Mustang and liked to put her foot in it. We were going somewhere one day on the freeway, with her driving, and she saw a Mustang zooming up behind us in the rear-view mirror. She laughed and said, "I think he wants to race." No, he didn't. When he pulled up beside us, we saw the white doors and CHP markings. It was one of those slick-top interceptors. I guess he had more important things to do. He just waved his finger at her - "Slow down!" Then zoomed past us and kept going. The rest of the drive was pretty sedate...

Great haul! I keep an eye out for boxes full of stuff like that at the local flea markets. Tip for organizing all those wheels and hubcaps: I used to keep them in a parts organizer, one of those things with the little plastic drawers. But I got tired of searching thru the drawers to find 4 matching hubcaps. (I usually only found 3, anyway.) Hobby Lobby and Michael's sell packs of plastic Ziploc bags in different sizes. The smallest bags are perfect for 4 or even 8 wheels/hubcaps. If I know what kit they came from, I often stick an adhesive label on the bag and note that. Of course, I still end up with a bigger Ziploc bag full of "Random Wheels & Hubcaps..."

If you don't mind some SERIOUS conversion work...how about a turbo-charged Caprice hearse that will hit 137 mph, wearing a custom Iron Maiden paint job? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2960030/The-hearse-ensure-won-t-late-funeral-Customized-Chevy-Caprice-complete-Iron-Maiden-paint-job-hit-137mph.html

Carry on and keep hacking!!! Somebody's ASKING $150. I just saw a listing at that price. Somebody else is asking $180 for the Daytona Speciale version of this kit, which is your kit with a hardtop included. Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth...check the eBay "Completed Items." Your exact kit recently sold for $23.80 and $39.99, both offered as Buy It Now. The Speciale hardtop recently sold for $20.50 with 8 bids. I was recently watching a Speciale kit "Buy It Now" priced at $27.00 with free shipping. I dithered around and missed it. Your beautiful build really makes me wish I'd snagged it. So now I'll have to go find one. Which won't be hard, these kits are listed all the time. Very clean build. I'm impressed. And jealous...

Thanks for the info and updates. As someone pointed out in the other Heller 2018 thread, this package IS in the new catalog. I just zipped thru the PDF file of the catalog and missed it. Good to know that the FF parts are already in the TE kit. I waited a long time for a U.S. vendor to get this tractor. When a vendor finally did, I bought 2 of the kits. (It helped that they were on sale.) Haven't opened either kit yet.

Good one! You also said: "The body halves trap the interior and engine/ front suspension units, so it will have to be put together then masked for body and paint." That's sort of a Heller hallmark too, IMO. Their kits are designed to only go together one way, and resist any attempts to work around that assembly sequence. Several 1/24 Heller kits would make good hot rods, like the Renault Vivastella and the Citroen B14 Torpedo de Luxe. (What a great name!) It's not shown or mentioned on the box, but the Torpedo de Luxe has an optional cowl/windshield for the back seat, and optional up/down tops. (Not my build, pic stolen from the internet):

Also FreeTime Hobbies and HobbyLinc (the one in the USA, not Hobby Link Japan). I just did a search on both for "1/24 Aoshima." Both places have quite a few Aoshima items. Not just the car kits but also their photo-etch, wheel/tire sets etc.

Impulse buy. Scanning eBay "Ending Soonest" a few minutes ago, I saw the old Revell "Monster Machines" set - the Mickey Thompson Challenger I and Tommy Ivo Showboat. The auction was ending in a little over 1 minute, with no bids. Had a Starting Bid of $15.00 and $9.95 shipping from California to SC, which seemed reasonable. I already have both those kits, but what the heck - I now have a lifetime supply of Buick and Pontiac engines and some other useful parts...

That will be a labor of love! Looks like you're off to a good start. I wimped out and bought the 1/72 Minicraft Mariner, released a few years ago. Hobby Lobby usually has this kit. I saw it on clearance at an HL not long ago., but managed to restrain myself from buying another one.

Thanks, but the problem wasn't eyesight, just impatience. Appreciate the info on the tractors.

I posted this in the other Heller thread but will repeat it here, for those who might not have seen that thread: Looked thru the Heller catalog but didn't see this package in it. In one box (with carrying handle!) it has 2 tractor kits, the 1/24 Ferguson TS-20 & FF-30 Farm Tractors. Also a Ferguson history book plus paint and glue. I don't know the difference between a Ferguson TS-20 and an FF-30. They look alike to me, except for the paint. But we probably have some tractor experts in here who can tell us. In the U.S., most vendors don't seem to have this package in stock yet. One did, and are selling it for $59.95 (they say the regular retail price is $74.95). The kit number is 52323.

Agree, they are cool kits. AFV Club also does the same 3 Dodge trucks that Peerless/Italeri/Testors did (but not the ambulance, yet). These have full engine and chassis detail. Really nice kits. The pic below is the WC-56/57. It's a "2-in-1" kit. The vehicle on the boxtop is the Dodge modified for Gen. Patton. But you can also leave off the Patton stuff and build it as a straight stock vehicle.

Looks like you're right. I could have sworn I'd seen a Hubley '62 sedan, but I guess not. I should have read the Wikipedia entry before posting: "A more conventional promo line by Hubley were the full-size Ford wagon and sedan series starting in 1960, a niche not covered by AMT. The 1960 Ford wagon, molded in powder blue, was apparently a contract wrestled away from PMC which had the Country Wagon and Ranchero contract for 1959. Hubley continued offering a full-size Ford wagon and sedan for the 1961 model year, but apparently only made a wagon for 1962. "

I didn't see this in the Heller catalog, but it sure looks interesting. A package of 2 tractor kits, the Ferguson TS-20 & FF-30, plus a history book and glue/paint. The kit number is 52323. Several U.S. vendors show it as an upcoming release. One already has it in stock for $59.95, saying regular retail is $74.95. We'll need a tractor expert to tell us the difference between a TS-20 and an FF-30, but they look pretty much the same except for paint.

I've been trying to find a '62 Ford Galaxie 4-door for years. My family and my best friend's family both had that car when I was a kid. It seems like somebody would have copied the Hubley '62 Ford 4-door in resin by now, but if they did, I've never seen one. Just guessing from years of watching swap meets and eBay, but the Hubley Ford kits made from 1960-62 seem to follow this pattern: the 1960 sedan and wagon are fairly common, the '61 kits are harder to find, and the '62 kits are Unobtainium. Though from my rapidly failing old memory, the '62 wagons show up more often than the '62 4-door sedans.

The PYRO '52 Chevy wagon has a problem - it's a 2-door, and Chevy didn't make a 2-door wagon in 1952. Only 4-doors. You can always say it was a custom build for a resort, hotel, ski lodge etc. That has happened. Somebody built at least one 1958 Imperial as a 2-door wagon:

I'm right on schedule for 1/26 scale day, since I spent part of the day fooling with a Maisto '55 Buick CHP car. Long as I'm here...1/24 day this year was the 98th birthday of Jerry Maren. He's the last surviving Munchkin from the 1939 "Wizard of Oz" movie. In the pic below, he's in the middle:

Another excuse to post some old kit trivia! If you find the original kits those trailers came in at a swap meet etc., you'll automatically get the vehicle to tow them, free at no extra charge! The 1/35 cargo and Water trailers have been in an Italeri box for many years. But they originated in 2 Peerless-MAX kits from the 1970s. The cargo trailer came in Peerless-MAX kit #3503 WC-54 Dodge Weapons Carrier 3/4 Ton "Beep." The water trailer was in kit #3505 WC-56/WC-57 Command and Reconnaissance Truck. Italeri removed the 2 trailers from the Peerless kits and sold them in their own box. All of these kits have been re-issued many times and are easy to find. Even the original Peerless-MAX issues are fairly common.