At the IPMS London (Ontario) model show last weekend (Sept 22, 2018), I had the great fortune to encounter a hole bunch of very awesome car kits. Normally, I can only find car kits that really turn my crank at either model shows or toy shows, since other than the few Round 2 reissues, the stuff I’m interested in hasn’t been on the shelves for ages.
It’s fairly common for me to find one to three car kits that are of interest. Usually, these are spread over a similar number of vendors. However, this past weekend was different. This time, I found a gold mine; emphasis on MINE! There was one vendor there who had pretty much read my mind, as far as I can tell.
This represents the scariness of my car-modelling mind. This is a treasure trove of old, odd and ugly, and it’s all MINE! (Bwa ha ha!)
While helping him to bring his kits into the vendor room, my brother snagged an AMT Matador, a kit he was more or less despairing of ever finding. As I was helping him too, I couldn’t resist looking to see what else he had. That’s when I saw a BRAT!! Yeah, baby! I got talking with him and he mentioned that he’d bought a collection and there were all kinds of weird things in it, like a four-door Corvette! DANG!! I asked if he meant the Monogram Corvette America kit. The answer was affirmative, and he wasn’t sure he’d brought it. My heart sank, but I told him if it was in there, I wanted it.
As it turns out, the America WAS in his stack to sell! So were a lot of other cool things, like the Magnum PI Vanagon, the ’79 Firebird K-Wagon and a who-can’t-buy-it Messerschmitt cycle car. He had tonnes of other stuff, including the rather waterlogged looking MPC issue of the Lil Red Express too. I am not a huge fan of those, but I was in a buying mood, it was an MPC, and it was clearly hurting. I felt bad for the kit, so I threw him on the stack as well.
The amazing thing was that pretty much all his stuff was still wrapped! Now, sadly, a lot of it is water damaged, but while that likely has ruined all the decals, it didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for the projects that could await! It’ll be a problem for some of the kits, sure, but I’m hoping I can either find a good set of decals from someone, or resurrect them through the miracles of Photoshop (which I admittedly suck at.)
From this side, the weirdness doesn’t get any better. From four-door Vettes to one-door cycle cars, eclectic is the way to be, it seems!
What shocked me was that while I saw the ever-so-wedgily-awkward Alcyone kit, I completely missed his other crazy import – the Samurai! Like Hara-Kiri on wheels, I can remember these little rotters all over the place back in the day, and their reputation for upending themselves in hard turns always made me laugh. With this kit, I can join in the fun in a meaningful, but safer way!
There was one other kit of interest (from a different vendor), and that was an old Monogram Bronco. It just missed being in the “Sunset Stripe” collection I posted recently! Give the age of the kit, the box and decals are in great shape; this one was opened already, so I could check. I know that’s kind of like cheating, but what the heck. I still haven’t gone through it in any detail yet.
Now, though, I’m paralyzed by choice. There are TOO MANY COOL KITS to choose from, and I need help deciding which of these I should dig into. Which bit of musty, stale, mildew-infused ‘80s air should I breathe in first? You KNOW these are going to get opened. I can’t leave well enough alone. I did open that Mazda Familia, and it was super-rare, so a BRAT, a Corvette America and the rest of this motley automotive crew don’t stand a chance!
This is the other side, and it’s not overtly entertaining, but you do get a nice size “full-sizer”of the Dodge. I’m pretty sure the BRAT is oversized.
So, I make this appeal to you, dear readers: Which one do you want to see reviewed first?
Vote in the poll below, and let your voice be heard! Greatness (and mildew, likely) await!
The Sprue Lagoon 