The last several years saw me whittle my stash down by a significant margin, relative to the number of kits that I had starting in 2016 when I lost my job. Now that I'm back at work, it seems that I'm warp-speeding to replenishing my stash in just this year. I probably should slow down.
I have a planned build of Tamiya's Bf109E4/5 later this year, and when I saw a different boxing of essentially the same kit, I grabbed it and will build both side-by-side.
Sticking with the Messerschmitt theme, I found myself browing eBay one night not too long ago when I came across this old classic from Revell. It was a good price, and it even came with a bunch of add-ons. Given that I've acquired many of its sister kits (P-40E x2, F4U-1, P-47D, P-51B, Ju87, and F4F-4), I decided that I needed this one as well.
During the time away from work, I became aware of a couple of Star Wars kits that I knew I was going to have to have:
I literally picked up the scout walker about two hours ago at my local Hobby Lobby. I recalled seeing the kit in there at the time one day when I was needing a break from my endless job search and just wanted to browse some stores. I very nearly bought it then despite no budget for such purchases, but the adult in me said to just wait. Tonight I had some time away from my girls, so I popped in there wondering if they still had the kit in stock. Lo and behold, they actually had 2. So tonight my inner child got to come out.
The AT-AT has been going for some outrageous prices on eBay, but I found it from a Chinese seller (sealmodel.com) for a far better price. Grabbed it a few weeks ago, and it finally came in (along with that Tamiya Bf109E4 1/48 above). Many, many years ago, I built the old MPC AT-AT. I engineered that kit to have moveable legs so that I could animate it on 8mm film, which I did several times in fact, but alas, that kit did not survive the years. That vehicle is probably my most prized acquisition, given its role in what I consider the best movie ever made. And take a look at this shot: That scene still boggles my mind, the scale of it when you consider that the AT-ATs were nothing more than 3-foot models.
I do have another kit coming, but I'm dubious if I'll ever see actually see it. Got it from a guy on eBay (who I note is no longer active on eBay). The kit is Tamiya's big 1/32 F-15E, and the price was very likely too good to be true. It has been in "tracking number provided" since the end of June with an expected delivery date by the beginning of September. I do hope that it is actually delivered, but if not, I'll probably have to just write that off given that the seller is no longer affiliated with eBay (although perhaps I can get compensation from PayPal?)