A week of great buys and great friends

I just wanted to share this with you because if you read my blog, I know you will understand. Way back in the 1970s I received this kit for my 12th birthday and I loved it. It was probably the first non-Airfix kit I ever built and is part of the first real wargames army I ever collected. Sadly that original kit is long gone, the victim of air rifles, matches and the other stupid things we did as kids.

I was only talking about it at work this week and how excited I was to receive it so many years ago. I was at a swap meet today and they had one. Not the best or most accurate kit ever but an important nostalgic purchase. Of course I bought it. It will never be built but will be a reminder of how exciting it was to discover 1/72nd modelling and wargaming back in my childhood. Who would have thought that it would be how I made my living?

Another thing I found at the swap meet was a Meccano Spitfire kit. I collect everything named as a Spitfire aircraft and I have a particular fondness for only vaguely Spitfire-like objects called Spitfires. The brand vs substance of them really amuses me.The Meccano Spitfire is one of these. It "kind of" looks like a Spitfire, or at least parts of it do. I have wanted one ever since I saw it in a catalogue some years ago. Despite having worked in the toy business and having a good relationship with the Meccano distributor in Australia, I was never able to get one. Today I found one, still sealed (BNIB) and for about 50% of the original RRP. What a bargain. Straight into the games room with this one.

Spitfire?

It has been a successful weekend hobbywise. I managed to get four more figures finished for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, Albion Orcs for Slaughterloo.

The cartoony style is deliberate and they are done to match some second hand figures I picked up a couple of years ago. Love this game and these guys.

I also had a chance this week to catch up with my good friend Shayne from Campaign Books and Game Logistics. A retailer from Brisbane, he was down for the Rugby Sevens and took the time to visit us at the warehouse. We also had a lovely dinner with our families at an Italian restaurant in Haberfield. It's great that I can work in an industry where friendship is as important as business.