Dang, you guys and gals have been spending some serious modeling money! Cool! Some great additions to many stashes!
It's been awhile since I've added to this thread, and, after my incredible luck at yesterday's AMPS Contest in Columbia, SC, I just gotta add to it. I'll start first with what I've bought so far this year:
Bought this at a HobbyTownUSA in Johnson City, Tennessee, while I was there for work back in February. I'd been looking for this kit for quite a while, and the price was just right, so.....
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Got this one at a HobbyTownUSA in Asheville, NC, a few months ago. I usually don't buy 1/72nd aircraft (try to stick to 1/48 & larger, due to crappy eyesight, or they're very large aircraft in 1/72nd scale), but this one was pretty cheap, and I liked the markings. Plus, no cockpit to speak of, so it oughta go together pretty quickly and easily.
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My brother found this one at a flea market somewhere near Memphis, TN, and sent it to me. I think he paid $20 for it. But, it was FREE for me!! Couldn't turn it down.
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Found these two at a combination hobby shop/hot rod shop (Mason's Hot Rods) in Spartanburg, SC, on 26 May. Yep, a hobby shop/hot rod shop. At first, I thought it meant R/C hot rods, but nope, it's real 1:1 scale hot rods. They do custom builds on just about anything you can think of, and they like to build models, too. So, when I saw the C-54 for $30 UNOPENED, and the SEPECAT Jaguar for $25 (no wrapper, but all parts still in their bags), I scarfed 'em up.
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Bought this one at New Brookland Railroad & Hobby in Columbia, SC. I've always loved the looks of the Sea Fury, and this kit was hollering my name, so it's now a permanent resident in my stash. Well, until it gets built....
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So, now we come to the AMPS contest that I attended yesterday. I didn't enter any models - I just went to see what the vendors had, plus look at the contest entries (a bunch of really AWESOME builds!). Here is what I bought:
$20
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$14 for both of these. Both are the same kit - only one is bagged with no instructions or decals, the other is in a plastic container with instructions and decals.
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The next items were all won in the raffles at the contest. There was a general raffle, with items donated by the local clubs and club members, which meant mostly opened kits (but with all parts still in the bags), books, detail sets, tools, etc. Pretty good selection of stuff. I bought 12 tickets for $10, and you could select which raffle category you wanted your tickets to go in (aircraft, armor, auto, or miscellaneous). I put 10 in the aircraft, and two in the armor. Wound up winning a lot more than I thought I would (I actually have the Monogram P-61 kit for the first item below):
Not a bad haul at all. $12 in tickets, and walked away with a pretty good addition to the stash. But, wait - it gets even better. The contest also had a premium raffle at the end of the contest for 10 kits that were priced $70 or more. A ticket was $5, so I thought, "What the heck - let's see what happens with one ticket." All ten numbers were pulled and called, but none were mine. So, no biggie - I helped the local club out by buying a raffle ticket. But, at the end of the raffle, there were still three of those kits not claimed. The ticket puller annonced over the PA system that if they weren't claimed by 4:55pm, he would start drawing tickets again for those three orphans. So, I hurried back to the trash can and retrieved my sole ticket, hung around for another ten minutes, and lo & behold, my number was called in the first pull. Here is what I won with one $5 ticket:
Woo Hoo!! Never heard of this kit before, and when I was told how much it cost retail, I about had a stroke! The modeling god was smiling on me yesterday. I'm looking forward to building this beast! I'm not an armor guy, but I've heard a lot of good stuff about AFV Club kits, so this one will probably get built by me. The donator of the kit also threw in a Tankograph book (never heard of those, either) on the Patriot HEMTT system, too, so I got some reference material to go with it. All in all, I'd say I was a lucky man yesterday. Best $15 I've ever spent (plus the $34 for the kits I bought).