Like many of you I bet, I have too many hobbies and not enough time. I’m basically this guy; I do an ace job of collecting all kinds of stuff for my hobby projects (toy photography, mostly), but I never manage to actually do any of them. And so, my office/hobby room is now jam-packed with fun items that are just collecting dust, and frankly, I could use the space.
What to do? How about I give some of my loot to you in exchange for being or becoming an Autopian Member? That sounds like a good plan.
Here’s the deal: if you’re already an Autopian Member, your name is already in the digital hat we’ll pull from when we start selecting winners in January. If you’re not a Member yet, just sign up between now and then to get in on the action. You can become a Cloth-tier Member for as little as seven dollars a month (or pay $50 just once), so we’re not talkin’ a big hit here. Now, if you do want to move up to a Vinyl, Velour, or (gasp) Rich Corinthian Leather membership, we like that even better – but everyone gets an equal chance at winning some loot.
Now let’s see what we have here …
Playmobil Porsche 911 Targa 4S With Dealership
Surely you didn’t think we were going to give away an entire actual Porsche dealership, did you? How would that even work? What we are giving away is this wonderful Playmobil set, which includes a 911 Targa 4S complete with working lights, plus a sales guy, customer, and all the other jazz you see below. Teeny brochures, even!
Jada Toys Hollywood Rides Back To The Future 2 DeLorean Time Machine
This is Jada’s 1/24 scale version of Doc Brown’s crowning achievement, but it actually measures out closer to 1/20, so it’s a nice size for display and has plenty of detail. And since this DMC-12 is in Back to the Future II spec, it’s got a Mr. Fusion in the back and you can flip the wheels up into the flight-mode configuration. And it lights up!
Discovery Mindblown Model Engine Kit
I have to confess, I bought this mostly because I had a joke for it, but I did fully intend to build it. Eventually. Better that you have it. It’s pretty neat! Though not a model of any particular real-life engine, this inline four shows off its pistons and overhead cam in action through the transparent block, with LEDs providing the “spark” as each piston reaches top dead center. Where’s the carburetor or fuel-injection system, you ask? Shhh, don’t worry about it, it’s just a toy.
AMT Dealer Promo Models
These are fun. I have two 1991 Geo Storm GSIs (one teal, one yellow) and a 1991 Dodge Stealth R/T Turbo in black. They’re 1/25 scale and nicely detailed despite being simplified for inexpensive production as giveaways. I imagine we’ll split these up for three winners, please no fighting over who gets the Storm in teal.
Maisto Assembly Line Porsche 911 GT2 RS
I bought this because I wanted to try some forced-perspective photography without spending a bunch of time building a model, and there it is still in the box like two years later. Maisto’s Assembly Line models are just disassembled versions of the brand’s inexpensive diecasts, which means the parts count is low and they’re easy for youngsters to screw together (or for you to mess with during a conference call). Maisto even supplies the screwdriver, which is terrible. Get your number-1 Phillips from the garage.
Hot Wheels Mystery Boxes
Every time I go to Kroger, Dollar Tree, or Target, I end up buying Hot Wheels. If the car is cool, I buy it. That’s it. Do I keep track of what I have? No. Do I look them up to see if they’re rare or something? No. Do I even open them? I mean, I would, but I haven’t, so … no. I have boxes of these things, all killer no filler. I’ll put together ten random assortments of ten cars, let me know what you get!
Traxxas 4-Tec 3.0 Toyota Supra GTR 4
Here’s the “Grand Prize,” if you will: a 4WD, high-performance, hobby-grade, radio-control model of the Toyota Supra in its hottest spec. As with full-scale cars, you’ll find the same platform under a few different body styles. The Supra is on Traxxas’ 4-Tec 3.0 chassis, which features shaft drive, oil-filled dampers, and a full set of ball bearings (among other features, get the full loadout here).
I’ve got the earlier version of the model with brushed-motor power that’s good for about 25mph out of the box, but you can upgrade to a brushless motor system for more scoot – over 65mph if you go for the Velineon power system rated for a 3-cell LiPo battery! You’ll get the ready-to-run car and transmitter as you see below. Hit up your favorite hobby store for a Traxxas battery and charger, rob four AAs out of your TV remote to power the transmitter, and you’ll be ready to tear up the driveway in your Supra GTR 4!
Become an Autopian Member today! Just click the graphic:
Damn Peter, the whole point of secret Santa is that no-one knows who the awesome gifts are from, and I can pretend they are from me.
Oooooh, I could race the RC Supra against my real Supra!
I appalud the head shot with a VW squareback! I own a ’67.
Ohh, Creamsicle Cosmo!
What camera are you using?
I have so much close up gear in boxes.
Hah, I saw “toy photography” and thought you meant junky plastic toy cameras… which is actually my hobby. Dianas, Holgas, Lubitels, etc are fun to mess around with. These are great too!
Reading that, I just got a massive nostalgic waft of the smell of cheap plastic cameras in the 1970s.
I never smelt it anywhere else, a sort of mix of petrochemicals and static electricity.
Damn. These are good prizes!
P.S. I’m disgusted by how well your tools line up on your pegboard. Mine are an infuriating exercise in non-integer hole alignment.
I’ve already owned a teal Storm. So I won’t fight over that one. It was small and fun and manual, so it was everything I needed at the time.
Such a cool car, and decent capacity for what it was. I really miss the sport coupe era so thank you/happy holidays for reminding me of it!