Free model kit-gasm

General Discussion General Modeling Discussion
1

Today I crapped my pants in broad daylight on a public street.

There I was, walking to the LHS, just minding my own business, when I encountered a guy opening up the back of his mini-van. For some reason he’d brought his kit stash with him, and it was large enough that he could’ve opened up a hobby shop of his own right then and there. Somebody helped him by picking up a stack of kits and carrying it into the store.

Wiping visible amounts of drool onto my sleeve I made a tactful inquiry: Selling your stash? Nope, just donating it.

I paused.

“Donating” as in…donate-donate? Just giving it to the store for free? I’d envisaged making a cash offer here or there one or two kits but…

Yep. Donating-donating.

At this point I think I made some sort of excited noise like Red Green’s nephew Harold would. FREE kits. GOOD ones. My memory’s fuzzy but at this point I think I pointed nervously at a 1/48 Albatross box.

Oh, would you like that one? Sure, here you go. Take whatever you like.

I immediately set to the frantic task of grabbing anything my free-stuff addled brain judged even remotely appealing, and a stack of kits piled up as I rescued them from the horrible fate of somebody actually paying for them. I’m a student on a tight budget so this really meant something.

On the trip home I greedily went through my fourteen new treasures, tempering my mood with an understanding that some (or all) of these boxes may simply contain half-built castaways, best suited for the spares box. No such luck: quite the opposite in fact. Everything was complete, and a few of them were overly-complete, stuffed lovingly with various aftermarket goodies. Free stuff. Awesome stuff. OhhhhHHHhh yeah.

[Here’s the new stash:]

I think I need to go lie down now. In a pile of models…

2

I hate you, i hate you so much right now.

3

[dto:]

4

[snWow] sweet some have all the luck.

5

And I thought I got great deals…I have been bested!!!

6

the Carpet Monster is sure to spoil your fun…unless you sacrifice your first model on an altar during the next full moon…

7

I know. I’m sorry. I hate being the guy who’s hated for having all the good luck almost as much as I hate the other 99.999% of the time, when I’m on your side of things. I’ll be there again soon enough, trust me.

p.s. Love how your batman avatar matches what must be the look on your face right now

8

lol, you know it. This is where i got it from.

One of my favorite webcomics. http://www.cad-comic.com

The joke behind this is when have you ever seen batman kill someone?

9

Why can’t I get any kits for free?

I’m a high school student without a job, and anything will help.

10

Hmm…have you tried soliciting anything from a local model club? If there’s something I’ve learned about modelers over the years, its that:

  1. Most of us have stashes that will last well beyond our mortal lives, and we’re constantly accumulating more

  2. Most older modelers complain that there aren’t enough young enthusiasts in the hobby.

So…maybe putting a feeler out there to the effect that “you have too many kits, I have too few…hint-hint” might shake something loose.

Whatever happens, I hope it works out well for you.

11

Also, oddly enough, modelers are VERY big proponents of the ‘pay it forward’ mentality.

12

I’ve gotten an AFV club tiger 1, a 1/24th P-40, and a Dragon Sherman for free… All courtesy of model clubs. Hook up with one. The old dudes buy too many kits and they give 'em away. [;)] [whstl]

13

Any chance I could take that Tamiya Wildcat off your hands? [:D]

14

I would join a model club, but I don’t think there’s one near me.

I knwo model railroad clubs are plenty, because of Jacksonville being a fairly large rail city, but there’s no real model clubs. I have been keeping my eye out when at the hobby shop, but so far nothing.

Mabe I’ll get lucky, and I can get a scratch-and-dent kit for free (or near free).

Then again, I could take up wood carving, and scratch-build my own wooden kits with odd scrap wood.

15

the cheapest but most difficult way. But even that’s expensive if you want to mold it… Nothing’s free in this hobby. But Hans can cut it pretty close…

16

Well there’s a wicked stroke of luck for ya. Congrats. If you’re stretched for cash, and don’t have a modeling club close to you, see if you can put aside some pocket change, and a couple of times a year go to a model show and visit the vendor tables; you’re sure to find plenty for some very reasonable prices.

17

Last show I went to there was a vendor selling new dragon kits for 5$ each

18

Thanks for the encuragement guys.

I’ll save up my pocket change and stuff, but it’ll be most likely for a kit from the hobby shop (not even the shows come to town. I live in a virtual hobby desert when it comes to scale models)

I’m glad the hobby shop is fairly well-stocked.

19

Try the drop down under Forum & Community at the top of the page. Click on find a hobbyshop, clubs, events and do a search. Also check for a Hobbytown store in your area and ask about any clubs or groups. Another idea would be to search the IPMS website . Who knows what might turn up.

Howard

20

“Today I crapped my pants in broad daylight on a public street”

sorry about your incontinence. Nice score though.[:P]

Max Bryant