Here we have another update on the seemingly never ending task of unboxing Ron’s Incredible GTC Inventory. Anthony estimates he is now about 30% unpacked, but the shelves are 3/4 full! Additional shelving is on order. I’m not exactly sure how this unboxing to shelving ration is going to end, but one helpful solution we can do is to spread the word to other sites to check out all the crazy vintage NOS inventory, so those purchases can open up shelf space for new entries!
If there was one common word about future sales, it is ‘Bulk!’. Anthony will make you great deals if you buy BULK!
Another tour and random unboxing!Look at all these 1/144 Imai 4-Type kits!The Imai International shipping label. Literally just says ‘TCI Los Angeles’ How big were TCI back in the day!?80 Assorted Mospeada and Orguss kits (2 layers!), all NOS SEALED never touched in 40 years. A truly incredible find!
For all the Vintage Box Art fans, there is a new Macross themesd Box Art Book coming out Feb 23rd. Click on the picture below to see the latest news in the forums
Happy New everyone! Hope everyone had pleasant Holidays! I feel December always goes way to fast, I wish there was a way to slow it down. But now that we are beginning the new year, another update is in order, and Anthony has delivered.
Uncasing/Unboxing the seemingly never-ending inventory is still progressing. The first truck (of 3) was unpacked and loaded into the warehouse during the last update, and the boxes from that haul have finally been processed (they were ceiling level). Anthony’s rough estimate is that 20% of the inventory has been shelved. That means 80% is still in boxes in the other warehouses!
Those boxes will now being their trek over to the main warehouse for the continued unboxing.
Please remember, if you are looking to add kits for your personal collection please visit their eBay store at the link below.
For anyone interested in bulk orders, please contact Anthony at the email here. Very good discounts are available for those buyers!
Here is our after New Years update! Take it away Anthony. As always my frame by frame analysis is after.
Lets break down some elements of the video for fun!
Arii 1/100 VF-1S Super Valkyrie. Box art by T. Suzuki is awesomeThe shipping CaseArii 1/100 Small Missile RegultSmall Missile Shipping CaseArii 1/100 Large Missile RegultLarge Missile Pod Shipping CaseArii 1/100 Scout Regult. Look at all of these!Create your 1/100 Arii Defender Army! Think about the Macross Dioramas you could do with this many kits.2 out of the 4 Macross Factory series (sure the other 2 are still in boxes)Arii 1/100 VF-1D Metalize SeriesThe 1/100 Arii Fighter is a really nice mold-they nailed this one. Many people overlook the Arii 1/100 line up because the Gerwalk and Battroids have oversized hands and shortened torsos, but the Fighters are another story-these are solid designs!This is what the Arii 1/100 fighters look like. As you can see-solid lines! Tell me that doesn’t look good!Here is what the Shipping Case looks like for the Metalize VF-1D for the hardcore fans!The awesome Arii 1/100 Dioramas. I know I’ve show these before, but it is a pretty cool concept!Shipping Case for the Gerwalk DioramaThere are no words….they should have sent a Poet.See the VF-1D comments above…this is a great looking kitHold on…wasn’t I just here before? Nope…its another CASE! #70See that #70 Case at the top? That is the case Ron had of the Arii 1/100 VF-1S Super Valkyries. How insane is this historical find.See the little Red kits on the very top shelf?Testors wasn’t going to just sit around and see Revell and MPC get in on all the robot action. They worked out a deal with Nichimo and sold the Macross 1/200 series.Corporate asked us to find the differences between the 2 picturesThis one will sneak by you if you aren’t paying attention. I had to zoom in to see. Guesses? The Imai Yellow box is the standard 1/72 VF-1S Battroid…come on that is too easy. What is to the right?If you guessed Imai 1/72 Battroid and Gerwalk Conversion kits, give yourself a firm pat on the back! You earned your Macross wings today!another sideanother sideIf you enjoy Takani’s artwork as much as I do, these are the kits to get. Plus you get a Summer ’84 Sticker on the front to celebrate the upcoming DYRL movie. Unfortunately Imai hit rough times at this time, so these are some of their last Macross series kits. I’ll be watching for these to come for sale.The Orguss kit fans should be enjoying this aisle (its my favorite to traverse) Those are the Variable 1/40 Orguss II kits from Imai-fully transformable!
The awesome Imai 1/72 Orguss line-all Takani art!Bottom row…Imai 1/40 Orguss Olson Special Variable kits…and a super large stack of the Imai 1/72 Transformable VF-1Js! Wow!This VF-1J fighter pic is incredibleDitto for the Mospeada fans! Imai 1/48 Legioss Iota kits..NOS! Fully transformable kits, incredibly complex. I could never afford or find the toys at the shops back in the day, but the modeling shops carried these. They were expensive back then but totally worth it. TCI was a godsend for the kit builders.
That’s about all for the commentary on this round, there are still many special kits if you look closely. Remember this is just 20% of the stash, there is so much left to uncover. I’m sure we are all excited following this crazy project, and will see you on the next update! Thanks again to Anthony and team and Wise Guys Hobbies!
Anthony sends out Happy Holiday wishes to everyone who has been watching this project unfold. There is good news on the unboxing status as Anthony added a new Wise Guys team member, Joe, whos is very knowledgeable on vintage kit identification and is helping speed up all the processing and inventory updates.
I got a sneak peak at project inventory list, and wow! They have just now hit the major goal of bringing into the processing warehouse all the boxes and cases from just ONE of the THREE 30 foot trucks they used to transport the kits. They still have to unbox everything you see in the video from that first truck load. There is a long long way to go. Try to wrap your head around that, because I cannot.
We’ve got a lot of Macross, Mospeada, and Orguss kit knowledge here in the forums, but I’d really like to enagage with some fandoms from other series like Gundam or Yamato or Ideon. I’d love to know more about those other vintage kits as I’m sure they’ll share the same excitement we are.
If you are looking to add kits for your personal collection please visit their eBay store here.
For anyone interested in bulk orders, please contact Anthony below
Here is the Holiday video update!
After looking at the inventory list, I saw some crazy numbers and I wanted to come up with a way to make the sheer volume sink in a bit better, so I mocked up some pics to show just a small handful of kits and the current inventory numbers, which are sure to increase as more boxes are emptied.
Gerwalks and Monsters!Build your Orgoroid ArmyVariable Kits, the GPB VF-1S, and GU-11 Gunpods!Mospeada bikes, and 80(!) Nousgadeul-Gers….80!For the Galvion fans (me!) you can pick up the 1/48 Variable kit. Count them…230 kits.Some Star Wars and Star Trek boxes were foundSome Regults and the SDF-1 Fleet
That’s all for this Holiday update, more updates as the unboxing continues.
After hearing all the ‘Wows’ and ‘Woahs’ and ‘Amazings’ online in the forums, from those who contacted him directly, or through his eBay Store, Anthony from Wise Guys Hobbies made an ‘Introduction to the Warehouse’ video. I’m one of the worst offenders in asking him for this, and I’m sure he was tired of hearing me request it over and over, so this is probably to quiet me down.
In this video you can see one of their 4 locations full of kits. This is where they empty the cases, group the kits together, count inventory, then take pictures for the eBay storefront. The kits then get their new home on a labeled shelf.
I know, I know…enough talking Shawn, get to the video already. Here you go.
I wanted to repeat that Anthony is open for Bulk Dealer Inquiries. If you want to start up your own vintage model shop, feel free to contact him directly at the email on the card below if you see something in the video that catches your eye, or in the boxes from the first article here.
Or if you are like me, and you want to pick up a few NOS kits for your private collection, hit that eBay link!
As many of you will do, I went frame by frame into the video checking out all the inventory that was unboxed. I did a Macross-themed model kit breakdown below if you want to see some highlights! I was reminded that this was just a fraction of a fraction of the kits so far.
Please share this discovery where you know other vintage modelers hang out, especially for the other series of kits! I’d love to know more about the other series too.
Arii 1/100 Gerwalk Diorama. This is a great opportunity to pick up these unique series. Each comes with infantry support vehicles and figures.
Here is an example of what you get in the kit. You get a primary mech, then supporting tanks or artillery, and a display base. They are very cool!Arii 1/100 Battroid Diorama, Imai 1/100 Glaug, Arii 1/100 Defender Diorama, Arii 1/100 Spartan Diorama, Imai 1/72 VF-1A
The Zentradi Shelf…DeCulture!! Never seen so many regults in my life.
Arii 1/100 Metalize kits, and the awesome Arii 1/100 Mikimoto Art tribute kits.
Imai 1/144 4-Types, Imai 1/72 Variable VF-1A (20x of them!!), and Imai 1/72 Iron Type Valkyrie and 1/72 Iron Type Regults. If you wanted an NOS Imai Variable kit, get your order in. The box art alone is frame-worthy.
1/72 Imai Takani Action Art Special VF-1D, Imai 1/72 Super Valkyrie, Imai 1/5000 SDF-1, 1/00 Imai Phalanx, Imai 1/200 Monster, Imai 1/27 Spartan.
That original VF-1D artwork was up for sale a decade ago-check out some more of the awesome artwork here
What if you had the chance to take a time machine back to the mid 80’s? Where would you go? I know where I could be found, and that would be in Overland Park, Kansas. Why you ask? One answer…GTC.
The old-timers around here have probably heard about GTC. It stands for “Galactic Trade Commission” and was a mail order modeling shop from the 1980’s through the 2000’s. It was founded by Ron Downing. Ron would advertise in places like Starlog and other Hobby or Sci-Fi magazines, but I heard about him via word-of-mouth via the old internet newsgroups, like alt.fan.macross (really showing my age here)
Here is an ad for GTC from Starlog’s 100th issue from 1985
Back in those old days kids, you would write a letter to someone with your name and mailing address, include some actual dollar bills, stamp it, then drop it off at the post office. You then WAITED. There was no 2-day amazon shipping, shipping confirmation texts, heck you didn’t even know if your letter stuffed with cash actually made it to the addressee (you would always include an extra piece of paper to hide the money in the envelope if held up to a light…we were smart). We survived on Hope. But then about a month later, right when you start thinking it was lost, you’d get a large manilla envelope in the mailbox. You’d rip it open and you now saw your Nirvana. The GTC Catalog!
Here is what my dog-eared catalog looks like (1994 edition)
Click the picture to open it up (PDF)
You’d open it up and read about each item, amazed how how many kits you never even knew existed. How much money do I have? Then the prioritization would start as you begin ranking the kits you HAD to have first. Then you flip through all the pages of the box art at the end in amazement (Takani and Suzuki and many others)
Now its time for action. You would then head over to the phone, mentally figuring out what to tell your Mom when she saw the phone bill with the upcoming hour-length long-distance call (yes you had to pay extra for those types of calls), and dial up Ron.
Most times the phone was busy. Always busy. You would just try and try again, sometimes for days.
Then he would answer! “Hello this is GTC, Ron speaking“
He would ask which version of the catalog you had, and what you were interested in. He’d then live update you on his stock inventory and any price adjustments. You’d dutifully and manually adjust and mark up your catalog for your order with him in real-time on the phone. He would then confirm what you wanted, temporarily set it aside for you, and you would promise to send him a money order or personal check for the kits and shipping.
Then another month would go by (more WAITING) but then you’d get a big box of model kits! Rinse and Repeat.
Now lets skip ahead to the the present day, December 2022, and the call-back to my opening Time-Machine question.
Ron’s GTC’s inventory had been stored away like a time-capsule in Overland Park KS, but it has now been re-discovered and is coming available for public sale for modeling fans like us again. Due to some unfortunate health issues, Ron has had to find a buyer for his incredible inventory. Now Ron wasn’t just sitting on a few hundred kits he would need to unload, he had…wait for it…over 100,000 kits stored away. 100,000 kits. Just think about that. All NOS (new original stock), many in their original shipping cases and boxes!!
Now I’m going to introduce Anthony Marafino into the picture, from Wise Guys Hobbies, LLC, based out of New York. Anthony arranged to buy the entire 100k model kit inventory from Ron in late 2022, and now has that entire inventory spread across his multiple 1000sqft warehouses.
Anthony said it took 3 (three) 30 foot semi-truck trailers to move all the kits from GTC headquarters.
This is what a 30 foot truck looks like. Anthony filled 3 of these with model kits from Ron
Anthony took a couple of documentary videos when his team was clearing the inventory from the Ron’s house (Anthony noted that these were taken AFTER he already filled up one entire truck).
Anthony introducing himself and taking a quick stroll through 3 rooms and a hallway filled with kits
Anthony introducing himself and taking a quick stroll through 3 rooms and a hallway filled with kitsHeading downstairs into even more never ending inventoryThe time-capsule is rediscoverd. That case there there is the Imai Queadluun Rau!
Did you see catch all those cases with the Macross logos on them? Those are the original shipping cases from Imai and Arii and Nichimo straight out of 1982-1984! Woah.
Them be Macross Original shipping cases!
I actually have a couple of those case sides which Ron sent to me as gifts in the 90’s with my large orders of kits. They are some of the most treasured Macross items in my entire collection, thank you again Ron!!
Ron gifted me an Imai 1/5000 SDF-1 Shipping case side back in the day as a surprise giftAnother side
In an old Hobby Magazine’s furoku (furoku meaning a Japanese Magazine extra supplement), the magazine actually did a picture tour of the Imai factory at the time (83), showing the entire process from design to shipping for the 1/72 Zentradi Regult kit. The final page of the supplement shows cases of the kits stacked up and ready for delivery to the local hobby stores via Imai’s own delivery truck.
Check out the bottom right corner pic.I’m going to put an Imai sticker on the side of my car too
Anthony and his Wise Guys team members are currently sorting through all the cases of kits and documenting the inventory spread across multiple Wise Guys warehouses. They sent me a few pictures showing just a fraction of what they have to go through during this very manual and lengthy process. You can identify Macross cases from Imai and Nichimo and Arii, along with Testor’s R.O.B.O.T. Series (reboxed Nichimo), and Revell Robotech Changers (reboxed Imai/Arii). It is fun challenge to cross reference the numbers on the cases to the numbers in the GTC catalog.
Nichimo! Never thought I’d ever see one of these in my life. Pitaban for Life!That top Macross case on the right is the Arii VF-1J Gerwalk Diorama set. The unmarked case on the bottom left..AR-308/9 is a genric stash of Arii 1/8000 SDF-1 kits. Behind the loose Arii Diorama kits is another unmarked case of Arii Metal 1/100 VF-1Ds. Also seen are various Acrobunch, Pyscho Armor, Ideon, Yamato, and Zeta Gundam kits. This is Macross World so I’ll leave those specifics to the other fandoms!!The large Hikaru/Minmei case has kits from the 1/100 HEWAT lineup. It is very very hard to find the entire collection. The sideways case to the lower left is the Arii 1/100 Super Fighter. Other items like the Testors ROBOT (Nichimo) and various Revell Robotech Changers(Imai/Arii) are also identifiableAt some point it was just easier to grab the large rolls of plastic wrap and take the filled shelves themselves. I actually built that Dragonfire Trike at the top when I was a kid, it was epic.Arii Defender at eye level here, along with many cases of the Yamato kits. Take notice of all those Twentieth Century Imports generic boxes…what lies within those!??Sharp eyes will see 3x boxes of Arii 1/100 Small Missile Regults! On the right is the Imai 1/100 Tomahawk. Center stage behind the loose kits is the awesome 1/72 Arii Glaug. Notice how much bigger that case is to handle the oversized kitsAnyone remember the end of the original Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark movie?
For the sharp-eyed people, you saw many cases from TCI…Twentieth Century Imports. They were the go-to distributor for all the 80’s Japanese Sci-Fi and Anime kits. They literally shipped to everyone-Ron included. Look in your personal Macross collections and you’ll frequently see the TCI sticker on the side.
The TCI sticker on one of my kits
Here is peek into the TCI dealers catalog from 1985.
Imagine just checking as many as you wanted at those insanely low prices
Anthony is going to begin sales in earnest of the all these kits starting in February 2023, so start saving up! And also please start spreading the word…if you are interested in NOS Macross, Orguss, Mospeada, Yamato, SF3D, Ideon, Gundam, Robotech, Star Blazers, Dougram, or Crusher-Joe model kits from Imai, Arii, Nichimo, Bandai, Nitto, Takara, Aoshima and more, then this is your ONE-TIME-ONLY ticket to the past.
For individual orders he is putting up many loose kits on his ebay storefront right now, link here:
Very special thanks to Anthony for this amazing behind the scenes sneak peek. Anthony is considering taking additional videos and pictures for documenting the entire bulk collection as he opens each case and gets an accurate inventory, so please let him know what you think in the forums! It takes a lot of time to do that, so I wanted to show him support is definitely there for a detailed excursion into these boxes.
Its that time of year again!!
Come to Super Dimension Con 2018, where you can spend an entire day with hundreds of fans who enjoy talking about Macross and Southern Cross and Orguss!
There are dozens of Vendor tables, Artist Galleries, Panels, Cosplay, and Special Guests, such as Run Sasaki (Vanessa from Macross), and Mari Iijima (MinMay from Macross), who will be hosting a concert for us!
Looking for MacrossWorld Con?
It’s now SUPER DIMENSION CONVENTION! Returning this year to the Torrance Cultural Arts on Saturday, October 28th.
This year we welcome the return of our Guest of Honor, Mari Iijima, along with Special Guest, world-renowned Japanese cosplayer Reika.
Everything that you’ve come to know about the event will be there, including the Dealer’s Hall, Collector’s Museum, Custom Contest, Idol Contest, and more.
