# Aurora Collecters: Take a look at this!



## Jimmy B (Apr 19, 2000)

If this collection doen't make you salivate, see a Dr.:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Aurora-1966-Sealed-Robin-Batman-Super-Hero-Character_W0QQitemZ6066099501QQihZ009QQcategoryZ1192QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Yup! He's got way to much for one guy!

I think this same fellow was listing a 1968 Invaders Saucer recently too. The pictures he posted showed all the parts, including the clear plastic top that I recall from when I was a little kid and a buddy of mine got one of them for his birthday.

Huzz


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## Y3a (Jan 18, 2001)

Good thing he's not 'hard core'...........


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## DoctorG (Jan 1, 1970)

I wonder why he posted all those extra photos on a listing for a Robin kit?  


Dr. G.


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## Ohio_Southpaw (Apr 26, 2005)

DoctorG said:


> I wonder why he posted all those extra photos on a listing for a Robin kit?
> 
> 
> Dr. G.



his Ego


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## Duck Fink (May 2, 2005)

THis guy has been selling on ebay for several years and is a good guy. I know a guy that got some stuff off of him last year and all of it was in pristine condition. Definately a collector that is proud of his stash!


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## heiki (Aug 8, 1999)

His claim for this being a "Sealed" kit is full of it. The plastic shrink-wrap seen in the pictures is from a heat shrink machine.

The original kit had a celophane wrap folded around the box.

This kit has been opened and resealed.

Buyer beware!


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## heiki (Aug 8, 1999)

Looked at the sellers other "Sealed" kits. They are re-sealed boxes also. Very easy to see the skuff marks on the boxes before the plastic was put on.

He claims a 1972 issued kit has been in his climate controlled room for over 32 years. 2006-32=1974. And who put unbuilt kits on display back then?

And how old was this guy in 1974? Had a house with a climate controlled room since 1974. Average age of somebody with a house back then was 28. 28+32=60. Did he not ever sell his house and get a better home? Or change jobs? Was he a draft dodger or a vietnam vet?

Guess he should have thought out the story he is putting up with these auctions. I would wonder if the actual kits are in those boxes given the other discrepancies


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## wolfman66 (Feb 18, 2006)

I bought from this gentlemen on and off of ebay and have no complaints about him either.The reason he does show you pics of his stash is if your interested in something he doesnt have listed on ebay just send him a email of what your looking for and he'll sell it to you flat out.


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## fjimi (Sep 29, 2004)

He agreed to sell me a few kits but mysteriously backed out. I wouldn't give him a dime.


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

the guy has good feedback . the only - is from a fellow with 5 negs in the last year and is no longer a registered user . 
but as always with Ebaby , buyer beware ! 
hb


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## MitchPD3 (Dec 27, 2001)

heiki said:


> He claims a 1972 issued kit has been in his climate controlled room... And how old was this guy in 1974? Had a house with a climate controlled room since 1974.



He claims it has been in the "climate controlled environment" of his home. Means he's got central heat and air.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

:dude: I thought ''climate controlled'' was only good for cigars. :dude:


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## 1bluegtx (Aug 13, 2004)

heiki said:


> He claims a 1972 issued kit has been in his climate controlled room for over 32 years. 2006-32=1974. And who put unbuilt kits on display back then?And how old was this guy in 1974? Had a house with a climate controlled room since 1974.


I have two unbuilt aurora prehistoric scenes t-rex that i got in 1974,just kept them all these years,also have many built kits i did as a kid.So it is possible!

BRIAN


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

This guy is really getting a pounding here for his amazing collection! But Heiki has raised an interesting point about the seal; also, how many of the boxes in the photos might possibly be those empty-but-sealed repro boxes made in the 1990's and still popping up on e-place? He has the Wonder Woman and every Frightening Lightning kit, for example, but are they real with kits in them, or just the sealed repro boxes? 

Anyway, nice photos, and which remind me of why I collect kits - so as to have a collection like his one day!


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

"was he a draft dodger or Veitnam vet ?" WTF ??!!?? 
hb


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

We're not getting POLITICAL here, are we. . .? :hat:


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

Fer Cryin out loud, how do you guys wander off topic like this?
Is there something in the water?
Let's try to pull this thread back on topic shall we. 
If we've got all the good conversation out of this subject and want to wander off somewhere unrelated to modelling I can come back tomorrow and close the thread.

Dave


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

back to the topic ( sort of i guess ) does anybody know when Aurora went to (if ever ) the more modern type of shrink wrap that we 're familiar with today ? 
i know the long box era had the folded up ends but i can't recall the mid 70's boxes . 
sorry about getting off there in my last post . but the questions in a certain post seemed to be out of left field , i mean what does his age or whether he served our country have to with collecting models ? 
hb


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## 1bluegtx (Aug 13, 2004)

The US 1972 issues started to use the heat shrink (modern type) wrap but the canadian issues always used this heat shrink style wrap:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v725/1bluegtx/IMAGE027.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v725/1bluegtx/IMAGE020.jpg

just a few from my collection which is also stored in a climate controlled room!
I also have all the frightening lightning issue kits and a few you probably never seen:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v725/1bluegtx/IMAGE011.jpg

BRIAN


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## 1bluegtx (Aug 13, 2004)

Jimmy B said:


> If this collection doen't make you salivate, see a Dr.:
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/Aurora-1966-Sealed-Robin-Batman-Super-Hero-Character_W0QQitemZ6066099501QQihZ009QQcategoryZ1192QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


His collection is the real deal,i traded with him way back before the internet days (remember when you used to have to write letters)

BRIAN


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

...or find stuff in Toy Shop magazine ? things sure have changed since online 
auctioning started . 
good info Blue ! thanks for the pics . 
hb


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## heiki (Aug 8, 1999)

beck said:


> back to the topic ( sort of i guess ) does anybody know when Aurora went to (if ever ) the more modern type of shrink wrap that we 're familiar with today ?
> i know the long box era had the folded up ends but i can't recall the mid 70's boxes .
> sorry about getting off there in my last post . but the questions in a certain post seemed to be out of left field , i mean what does his age or whether he served our country have to with collecting models ?
> hb


The point of whether or not he served our country has to do with what the possible age of this person is. I collected some of these kits during the 60s and 70s. One of my close friends collected all of these kits during this time frame. He is a vet of the Vietnam war. I missed the draft era due to being too young. Other than my parents, I have trouble thinking this person is still living in the same house that he claims to have owned since the 1960s. He would have to be pushing 60 at this point. If he bought his house in 1966, he did it when he was 20. That is diffucult to believe since homes back then were not cheap.
I have an open mind and would like to think this guy is on the level. Maybe he embelished his claims but some of those boxes show that they were resealed.


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## wolfman66 (Feb 18, 2006)

I do know that in the late sixty's Aurora did have shrink wrap on some of their kits as for which ones here's one for example Aurora's Anzio beach and one of my Glow godzilla's was shrink wrapped got those two from John F. Green back in the late 80's.But just like Brian said this guys collection is the real deal.  But seriosly if you have doubts on if this kit has been resealed or not just send him a email and ask him.I'm sure he'll give you a straight answer.


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

> If he bought his house in 1966, he did it when he was 20. That is diffucult to believe since homes back then were not cheap.


Dude! The guy might have had rich parents, a killer job, an inheritance or two, saved his allowence since he was 10, put down 20% and had a mortgage, or made a wise investment in the stock market. Does it say anywhere that he bought his house in cash?

Ebay may have a lot of scams associated with it, but you have to take what's known as "The benefit of the doubt" and try it out. 

Maybe this guy did re-seal some kits. He might have his reasons, however, if there's a way to guarentee that what's inside was only looked at and never painted or glued together, wouldn't you take the chance to bid on it?

Also, he says they were in a climate controlled area. Does that nessicarily mean that it was in THAT paticular house? Does he say that it was in THAT house that EVERY kit was stored, or just in general? Oh, and which kits did this guy start out with, and which kits were added as time went on? Since he is a collector, I assume that he didn't go out and buy all the kits on one weekend in 1972, but over the last 30+ years from other guys that bought them and had them in simular climate controlled areas. 

Besides, if the guy was always displaying the kits in his house, chances are that he probably looked into a few boxes, removing the original shrink wrap, not building them, and put them back. Or the previous owner of the kit did. Remeber that in those days model kits weren't considered collector's items but more like "Toys for teens" and "A dime a dozen". It's not as "Anal retentive" as today's market where you buy a toy for your kid and tell him to never play with it, lock it in a box for 30 years and hope it pays his way through college as a few of my customers do. Anyway, what good is that phillosophy when the kid has no fun childhood memories of playing with toys? Since when did a kids toy become "Crystal glass" anyway? 

I own a hobby shop and I have 40% of my model car kits that are perfect inside, with no parts missing, but someone removed the shrink wrap for whatever reason. Sometimes shrink wrap gets snagged on something and it rips, sometimes it shrinks and cracks open and other times it gets dirty or dirt gets in a little hole and goes underneath the shrink wrap in one or two spots. I've even had a few bugs crawl into those holes and die right in the middle of the kit. Nothing sells worse than a model with a dehidrated beetle on a guy's nose.  

If the model box was missing it's wrap for a while and it had another box on the top of it and there was a bit of dust between the two surfaces, then taking the box off the shelf could scratch the box art. Also, if the box fell face down on the concrete floor and someone kicked it, the face can get ripped appart, simular to rubbing it with 80 grade sandpaper.

I think you're getting too critical on this wonderful collection especially since many of the other board members have delt with this gentleman in the past with great results.


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

wonderfully put Madcap . 
hb


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Glad you like my way with words.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

MadCap Romanian said:


> . . . Maybe this guy did re-seal some kits. He might have his reasons, however, if there's a way to guarentee that what's inside was only looked at and never painted or glued together, wouldn't you take the chance to bid on it? . . . I own a hobby shop and I have 40% of my model car kits that are perfect inside, with no parts missing, but someone removed the shrink wrap for whatever reason.


There was a hobby dealer in my area who dealt extensively in "pre-owned" model kits in all conditions. All kits that were mint-in-box had been resealed (shrink-wrapped) for security, and anything in lesser condition (partly built and/or painted, parts missing or damaged, etc.) was clearly marked as such and contained a note inside the box listing the deficiencies. It was a pleasure to deal with this guy — unfortunately, he's gone out of business.


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

There's a sad tale- the dealer was scrupulously honest, and went out of business. I'll bet the DIShonest dealers haven't gone out of business. I wish I could have met a dealer like him; when I got into the hobby again in 1994, dealers tended to call 'mint' any kit which they thought was complete with all parts. The parts could be broken, snapped, cracked, and prised apart with a screwdriver to disassemble, but the kit would still be described as mint.
That was your 999th post Scotpens; your next message, no matter how signifiant, brings up your 1000!


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

i alway get a chuckle out of the folks that'll describe an item as "mint" and then say , missing left hand . 
sellers of collectibles would do good to look to coin collecting descriptions of what mint means . it means uncirculated . you don't even touch a mint coin unless you have gloves on . 
if the coin has been circulated but still looks mint it is described as near mint . 
so technically the only way a toy should be mint is if the person actually pulls it from an unopened case . 
now i know this is extreme as we're really just talking toys here but some of these things are going for 1000's of $ now a days . 
with any type of collecting , the buyer should really study up on the tricks that the unscrupulous dealers might use . 
hb


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

And in stamp collecting, I believe the grade 'mint' means 'in the same condition as when it left the mint', which is a tall order maybe, but easy for anyone, dealer or collector, to understand.


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

I like eating mints......


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

would those be mint mints ( i hope ) ? 
hb


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## PRE-SCENES 2 (Aug 16, 2005)

I like to buy completed kits!!! I don't care if they're mint, cream filled or nougat centered, I'm going to build it! (when time gives me a chance. I haven't painted or built nuthin' in over a month now.) I'm glad there are those that collect the kits still sealed or unbuilt, so it gives me a chance to purchase that model I've been searching for for years.

P-S2


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## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

In MadCap's case, would they be Necco's Canada Mints ???


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

I don't think I've heard of those Dabbler. They may be an export only thing, a Toronto thing, or I simply didn't come across them yet. I like After Eights. Problem is that they are so thin and they don't make a box big enough for me.


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## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

IF I recall correctly, they were sold a lot in movie houses in a box. Round discs about 3/8" thick the size of a nickel or so. Came in 3 flavors, pink, green, and white. Wintergreen, peppermint and spearmint. I LOVED the pink ones. Don't know why they were called CANADA mints though ??
If I'm wrong on this someone let me know ! ( And also sent me several boxes of the pinkies !!)
Dabbler


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Makes me think of a candy I had in Denmark called Tyrkish Pebber. They are a liquerious candy with pepper inside. Over there they crush the candies up and put them in Vodka. It tastes like a firey Ouzo.

I'd sure like another bag or twenty of those!


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