Oops, I did it again!

I did it again :-(. I told you guys - long ago - how NOT to buy paint. I also told you I wouldn't be buying any new models, because I have enough of them for now. In all fairness, early this summer I DID tell you I fell in love with a kit and it would be my next purchase.

BUT, I'm running ahead of things. Let me start at the beginning of today's story.

For some time now, I was aware of a modelshop in Bruges : "Verbrugghe Modelbouw". My in-laws are from Bruges, so its not like I'm never in the neighbourhood, but until yesterday I had not found time and opportunity to go visit the shop. There are now ZERO hobbyshops left in Ghent, and this one recently moved to another (and bigger) location, so motivation was higher than ever to go and take a peek.

My girlfriend asked me what I intended to buy, but since I only needed some brushes and varnish, I told her I wouldn't be spending more than €15. (Oh, the sheer audacity of that statement :-))

The picture below (blatantly stolen from their website and thus their property) shows one of at least 20 or 30 such shelves. They also have a lot of RC stuff and boardgames, but their modelling stock is HUGE. They appear to have all manufacturers and paints - except for AK interactive, which will arrive in january. Navigating the shelves, it was difficult not to get overwhelmed.

I picked some super-fine brushes, some CA-accelarator, flat varnish and was looking for a razorsaw (to remove very small pieces from the sprue) until my eye got caught by something on my wishlist. An internal debate followed, whether or not I should buy it or wait. Waiting might result in not easily finding the kit again in a year or two, so I just made sure I'd have it and took it with me there and then.

Without further ado, below are the spoils of my visit : Meng's merkava Mk.3 (with mine roller system) is now sitting proudly in my stash and I somehow ended up with a motor-tool, instead of a razorsaw. No doubt, the tool will last a long time and be usefull countless of times.

A quick glance inside the new tool's kit, for those who are interested.

Something about the Merkava has me mesmerized. I can stare at this box for hours. Well, not really, I immediately opened it up and stared at the contents for hours (or at least 15 minutes), inspecting the parts and being impressed with the detail.

A 30-page booklet will guide me through the construction process.

Several items seem to have options. While it's very nice to have these options, it also requires you to be extra careful and not partially assemble these options with the wrong combination of parts.