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Greg Kittinger
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Great resource for "used" model builders!!

October 14, 2015 · in News · 7 · 1.2K

I was recently directed to this site when I posted for help looking for a set of instructions. I buy most of my kits on auction or used at contests, and twice in 30 days I opened a box that didn't contain instructions.

When someone directed me to this site, I felt like I should repay the favor, and have been opening all my stash boxes, pulling out the instructions, scanning them in and uploading here, as a bit of pay-back to the hobby.

I simply wanted to encourage others to do the same! The more content this site contains, the more valuable it will become!

Here's the link: http://galaxykits.com/instructions/browse

Martin - not sure if I've violated any rules posting this, so if I have, take it down and let me know! I thought this would be a great contribution to the hobby!

Reader reactions:
4  Awesome

7 responses

  1. I constantly see folks looking for instructions, so this would certainly be a big help. Thanks for the link.
    And I also understand you got that A-6 canopy...good.

  2. Liked this posting! 🙂

  3. OK, this is just a thought of mine, but, so many of our local modelling shops are closing down, presumably due to lack of support. What do you guys enjoy most, buying a model of something you actually want a model of, or, is it just buying something cheap, no matter what it is?

  4. George, I too bemoan the loss of local shops, similarly the loss of all the book shops, so I do appreciate your perspective. But the realities are that shops that will survive need to reinvent themselves a bit, and the steamroller of the online marketplace isn't going away! And as a resource, you cannot beat the web.

    My goal is to build at least one of every military aircraft from WWII to present, and I couldn't afford to do so without purchasing much of what I have secured via large "lots" of models on ebay, or via Craig's list, flea markets and garage sales, modelers selling off old kits at model contests, and the consignment tables at local hobby shops. When it comes to kits, I've rarely bought a new one, and I have purchased over 500 kits thus far. BUT all of the paint, weathering supplies, tools etc. often come from the local shop (and the occasional "just can't pass this up" kit).

    And without the incredible resources of the web, I would have been often stuck when some of those kits didn't contain instructions - which has happened about a half a dozen times in the last few years. Looking at all the ebay traffic, there is a huge contingent of modelers who will face the same problem, and that won't go away. I see this as a way to contribute to the hobby, not detract from it.

    Just another perspective!

  5. As that there Kahlil Ghibran done sid, "The moving finger (appropiate, that) has written, and all of your laughter and all of your tears will not erase it". (imagine a gigantic gong sounding, ala J. Arthur Rank)

    My translation- stuff changes, and though we complain about it and don't like it, it ain't going back.

    Anyone in my native city or the surrounding area wants to join me for a beer and bemoaning session, lemme know.

    Greg, thanks, I keep losing instructions or misplacing them, and it makes me even more crazy than usual.

    George, all of the above. It's that hunter-gather thing. A lot of times, I suspect its the chase, like a plastic fox hunt or something.

    The benefit of the hobby shop is the option of having someplace to go, where it is also possible to meet and greet your peers, and have the usual discussions about how the world is going to hell in a handcart. Or, why don't them dumb manufacturers make a P-66 Vanguard? Or a 1/48 Ekranoplan? It'd sell like gangbusters! Yeah! Or a Capellis? It wuz in movies! Or what color is OD? All that mainline stuff!

    It is somewhat cheaper than golf or psychotherapy, and usually no trees are harmed.

  6. Greg, I've been saying for years that we need a topless hobby shop! Mrs. Hackett isn't on board with the concept, for some reason. Boy, two archaic concepts in one! Maybe a franchise operation...
    California Steve, chime in!

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