What was your best find during 2012?

[grwebster]

Well, here is mine and before you snicker at this apparently late and common Boeing 737 from the largely ignored 'Big Planes' series, note that it has the white engines and not blue ones like the common variant. It was only produced during one run and I have been looking for one for the 15 years since I discovered it existed. In a good box too!, No, it wasn't that expensive either. Very few people know of this hard to find variant, and even fewer respect the late Dinky Toys 'Big Planes' aircraft toy production.



Happy New Year.

[hovermd]

I think my best 2012 aquisition is this C.K (Kuramochi) / E.T.C.O. (Tomiyama) R-674 clockwork autogiro airplane. It's definitely rare; one of the five variants those companys partnered to produce in the 1930s (that I am aware of). Based on my experience, this is the second most rare of the C.K / E.T.C.O autogiros...

[grwebster]

and perfect condition, too!

[Tone]

That is really beautiful, I have never seen that one before, only the one with the checkers and that was just once!

Please be careful of the spring, even when you wind it carefully. I broke the spring on the Technofix Cierva I bought from "Stuffinder."

[alumtube]

Slightly off what I maybe consider fit as a MAC object, but still has a metal airplane and I have been looking for one of these for years. Bought at auction in St. Louis, from estate of family of a Veteran American Airlines Pilot. Marked: Univeral Transportaiton ( A part of Universal Aviation co, that in the end became American Airlines.) Since I collect both airplanes and Art Deco Nudes, this was such an excellent combination.

[grwebster]

Thats the Fokker trimotor. Forerunner of the Ford.
Great find, thanks for posting

[MichaelB]

It's not much of a triumph, but i did pick up the Franklin Mint Rutan Voyager (and other pieces), which leaves me with two to complete my set: the Grand Russkiya and the Hurricane. Those and the Rutan must have been the last three in the series 'cause they seem to be hard to find, even in full sets for sale.
Second on this list is another Danbury Mint Sikorsky S-42. This beautiful seaplane castings is a wonderful thing!
Happy New Year and Happy Collecting everyone!
Michael
Houston

[ArtworksIII]

Hello guys,
I was able to get a DreamLifter desktop model. Im planning on carving one and a Beluga as well. Most intresting aircraft since the Guppy.

[Mr.1/72]

A Romanian cast resin 1/72 scale 1910 Coanda. While it needed a lot of detailing and has some pretty fiddly parts, it's stunning.

With a kit stash exceeding 2,000 it's one of a very small handful that got built right away. Managed to take best in class at the 2012 Hobby Expo in Petaluma, CA.

Tom Young