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Tom Cleaver
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Stolen from the LHS Modeler’s Estate Sale – my next project

June 11, 2020 · in Uncategorized · 17 · 1.5K

Soo... the LHS opened back up this week ("no shoes, no shirt, no mask, no service") and I happened to drop by. Noticed a bunch of older kits on the shelves again, and asked Dave "is there a modeler's estate sale on?" Receiving the affirmative, I went through the stacks, and - lo and behold! - here this was. For only $29.95! (the original price) It took a whole 30 nanoseconds to become mine, Mine, MINE!

Still in the original bag inside, everything there. All the extra parts and decals to make it right.

If you can find one on evilBay, it's $100+ (quite a bit of plus).

I've only wanted one for-bloody-ever.

Reader reactions:
8  Awesome

17 responses

  1. Nothing like a bargain to lift the spirit- never saw that box before, but the moulds are good and that livery is ohhhhh so sexy

  2. Nice! Don’t know much about P-39s, but it sure looks like it could race flying low and stripped of all armament and armor. Looking forward to seeing it built!

    • Winner of the 1946 Thompson and average 373mph and top lap of 430mph over a 30 mile race around a course requiring four 90+ degree turns. Engine pumped to 2,000 hp. Just to prove it wasn't a fluke, came in second to an F2G the next year.

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    said on June 11, 2020

    Yuup it's great to find that kit you missed all those years ago . Good stuff

  4. Nice! We have a LHS close by that does consignment, and also buys up old kits from people in need of money. They sell them for more than far prices, sometimes with extras, and sometimes no good decals, but the price always fairly reflects that. Great find!

    • Yeah, that's Smith Brothers, one of the last (of a total of three) great hobby shops left in Los Angeles.

      • Mine is one of two I frequent. Shameless plug... If you're ever in the Dayton OH area, Military Toy Shop is great, and has many old boxes. They specialize (and I surmise, make most of their money with) die casts and other military toys but have collected a for-sale stash of every scale plastic genre, very reasonable. The other is Smitty's Hobby Shop. They are old school there, very friendly, stocking new kits, with new arrivals, supplies, etc... All at or below fair market price. Of course the Air force museum is right near them too!

  5. Congrats on the find! Isn't that a rebox of the AM kit? Or did Hasegawa include some other stuff like better decals or extra resin?

    • It's a Hasegawa P-39 kit, with a special metal prop and pitot and special plastic for the spinner and the underside intake. Decals for all the black areas except the spinner.

  6. Nice find, Tom.

  7. Love thy local hobby shop. Smith brothers in Northridge is awesome.

  8. Amazing to find such gems.
    In such cases I feel like a child again!
    Life can be this wonderful.
    Waiting for your build, Tom!

  9. Good score Tom. I'll be keeping an eye out for your build. It's always good to find some treasure occasionally.

  10. It is a nice kit and better than the Accurate Miniatures release as it has the broad props and I think the strengthening plates for the rear fuselage.

    Several years ago I was fortunate to get one on Evilbay as a buy it now from Korea for I believe $35 including postage. It is high on my build list and one fellow posted pics of his build on the web where he did a fantastic job.

  11. No strengthening plates, but a friend did it and put them on and sent me photos.

  12. Yeah making the deal or finding the treasure is as much fun as building "The Kit". Another bonus is having a hobby store that buy's collections or Hobby Widows holdings. They are becoming as rare as hen's teeth. The digital age has brought some good changes but, has taken away for some the experience of seeing and knowing people face to face in a place we call the Hobby Store.

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