It's not a pretty sight...seeing your husband uncontrollably frothing at the mouth over the organized clutter. But this is exactly the effect that finding a superb, modeler's warehouse (such as Rare Plane Detective in Cathedral City) has on Mr. B. He lives for places like this.
I completely blame the owner, Jeff. He apparently has quite a reputation for attracting sellers of model kit collections. He is internationally known. His reputation is solid, he guarantees every purchase. His business moved from Las Vegas about 3 years ago, but he has been involved in these kinds of sales, both in a storefront location and online sales, for three decades.
There is nothing remarkable about this location. It is a small, unmarked, hole in the wall hidden in an industrial complex. The front room is a seating area with a black leather couch and chair, tv, and coffee table where a partially completed puzzle lies in wait for an OCD spouse to finish while the other half peruses in the back for the next hour or two. Just sayin'.
This is a business that has three, floor to ceiling shelving units that extend the entire length of the shop, stuffed to the gills with boxes, somewhat organized, but not really. The jaw dropper is reading each red dot label proclaiming prices that are far lower than your friendly local modeler's shop. OK, so some of the models have been opened, some may have even been started then pushed aside, but others are in pristine shape. Some are treasures, quite old and hard to find. Some are collectors quality, some are more low end quality for beginners. There are military planes, tanks, ships, military vehicles, classic autos, diorama setups, tools, paint, and on and on.
You never know what you will find, the inventory is constantly changing. And if you want to sell your collections, he is the man to contact.
Between you and me, I suspect the sellers are widows and wives who furtively sneak into their hoarder husbands' collections in the back room with the intent of unloading decades worth of collections so they can have room for more shoes and purses. Yes, that must be it! I know my husband would never, willingly sell his. read more