[Gort]

Something kinda fortuitous happened to me the other day, and it got me thinking: Have any of you guys ever experienced a “miracle” during your diecast collecting exploits? A favorable, if not astonishingly improbable lucky break that made your day?

I'm not talkin' about where you suddenly rise 15 feet in the air and begin talking in conversational Sanskrit (that really would be a miracle). No, no, no ... not that.

I'm talking about a charmed, serendipitous event where you practically tripped over an inconceivably rare Corgi Spitfire in some remote country store, or the Wittman Ace & Glory dio you sold to some poor schmuck in Maquoketa, Iowa, that shows up at your doctor's office.

What provoked this thread was a fluky phenomenon that surprised (and delighted) me to the bone.

I'd won two Forces of Valor 1/32 Action Series AFVs on eBay. One an extremely difficult-to-find (make that impossible-to-find) Abrams and an equally rare Bradley. So far so good, except that a niggling thought pestered me that the seller wouldn't pack the boxes securely, which meant they'd probably arrive crushed to hell (the boxes, not the models).

On a whim three days later I waltzed into a secluded toy store I hadn't visited in years (they scarcely ever carry diecast models), and low and behold – there sat the same tanks I'd just won on eBay. The identical ones! Models and boxes were totally MINT. What made it that much more improbable was that nobody -- and I mean NOBODY on planet earth -- stocked these models. They were waaaay out of production.

What were the chances? I snapped them up.

And guess what. The eBay models arrived one week later irretrievably damaged. The seller had made no attempt to protect them.

Weird, huh? How's 'bout you guys? Any fluky experiences of your own?

[david cotton]

I had bought a Robert Taylor Print "Combat Over London". I had it unrolled on the floor, and was just checking it was mint after delivery.

The wife walks into the room with a piece of bread and jam on a plate. She bumped into me, and the bread and jam was launched into the air. It comes to land slap bang in the middle of Combat Over London.......Jam side up.

I checked the print, not a speck of butter or jam upon it....... I wasted no more time..... off to the framers it went.

Pratt of a framer only went and glued it to a bit of card before he framed it

[SKUNKY]

Well this isn't diecast, but sort of related and not really miraculous, but it was a totally unexpected little "extra" that did sort of make my day...Several years ago I was in the gift shop at the SAC Museum in Nebraska looking in the book section when I spied Flight of the Enola Gay written by Paul Tibbetts...I knew immediately I was going to buy it and I just picked it up off the rack and walked around the store a bit more and then went to the cash register with my purchases...As I laid the book on the counter to pay, the cashier said something about how nice it was of General Tibbetts to sign the copies of the books they had on hand during his visit to the museum the previous week....I opened up the book and sure enough, in blue ink- 'with best wishes...Paul Tibbetts....9-27-91'

Definitely nothing miraculous, but I felt like I had really scored, as there was nothing in the place anywhere pointing to the fact that this book had been signed. (and no extra charge!)

[MoMo]

I opened up the book and sure enough, in blue ink- 'with best wishes...Paul Tibbetts....9-27-91'

Look again Skunky, that was me and I signed the book : " with best wishes...Paul Tibbles ( the cat )

[hworth18]

I would have to say the best deal I ever got or "got lucky" would be the first Tuesday Morning sale... I walked out with a 1/72 Memphis Belle B-17 for $40....

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by hworth18

I would have to say the best deal I ever got or "got lucky" would be the first Tuesday Morning sale... I walked out with a 1/72 Memphis Belle B-17 for $40....

Wasn't it 29.99? That's what my B-24 Sky Witch was... or was I just really lucky?

I'd have to say my most miraculous find was my wife (just in case she's reading this over my shoulder)...

I scored a FM Vietnam Memorial Ed. Huey for $40 delivered on ebay last year... it has an MSRP of $195. So far, I've not stumbled onto anything in a local hobby shop, flea market, or garage sale... but I'm still hoping.

Which begs the question -- if you did find a Donald Duck spit at a garage sale for $5, would you offer more for it? Or pay your money and run..??..

[Shamrock]

Johnnie Johnson 3 Spitfire Set for £30/€45. I nearly bit his hand off as I had seen it the previous day for £90/€135. RAF No.1 Squadron 4 plane set for £50/€75. Had to pay extra for flight luggage but I was well chuffed!

[Captain Eddie]

Originally Posted by PappyB

Which begs the question -- if you did find a Donald Duck spit at a garage sale for $5, would you offer more for it? Or pay your money and run..??..

This question was dealt with in an ethics column in the local paper recently...and totally agreed with my thoughts on the matter. The person voluntarily set it out with a price tag on it, you are under NO obligation to offer more for it.

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by PappyB

Wasn't it 29.99? That's what my B-24 Sky Witch was... or was I just really lucky?

Yeah, that's what I paid for my 1/72nd Memphis Belle from TM, so I guess that's my real miracle since it turns out it was MoMo that signed my book after all. I remember I was just about to walk out of the place with Sky Witch and Stinger when I spied it up on a top shelf..To tell ya the truth I almost walked out without it, but my wife grabbed it back and took all 3 to the checkout counter...a B-24, a B-17, and a 1/32nd Mustang for $90.00 plus tax.

A MIRACLE!!!

Oh and Cappy, I'd toss the guy a fiver and beat it on out of there.

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by Captain Eddie

This question was dealt with in an ethics column in the local paper recently...and totally agreed with my thoughts on the matter. The person voluntarily set it out with a price tag on it, you are under NO obligation to offer more for it.

Okay, what if it's a kindly grandmotherly type who's diecast addicted hubby just kicked and she's selling off his toys....

(don't mean to hyjack... guess this is tangentally connected as I daydream about finding a DD spit in scenarios like this sometimes... :-) )