Swap Meet Columbia, Illinois !!! This Sunday !!!!

Yes I am ! Got my money-roll, and may pack the Big B.O.T. along if Travis wants to do some recon on his subdivision !!!!

Yes, the original post on this thread was from a year ago...figured I'd try to get the most efficiency possible by recycling Topics' bytes !!!!

Once again, a year later, I'm sipping coffee and watching images of abused little airplanes and engines float around in my mind..."KIM!!! Come save us !!!"

Mr. Cox may be parked on a cloud somewhere, looking down and getting a big kick out of people who'll get up at 3:00am on their day off, jump-start their brain with force-fed coffee and poptarts, and drive a few hundred miles JUST for the CHANCE to buy one of his little creations.

Gonna bolt here in a bit, over to pick up my Uncle Wayne for another road-trip, fueled by drive-thru breakfast biscuits and old stories that never really grow old, at least to us.

I shall report on my haul, if any, later in the day.

A BIG THANKS to Travis for his Saving Email that kept me from missing this Meet. I'd noted it in my "Book of All Things" day-planner, but all the other junk I got going caused me to misplace myself, month-wise...Yes--it IS November !!!!!!

Thanks again, Trav!

Lost Time Kim

Well, Wayne and I survived yet ANOTHER Swap Meet Road Trip...driving up, right to the brink of St.Louis, before hanging a hard left and darting down to Columbia, Ill.  

The good folks of Columbia are doing street construction all around Turner Hall where the swapping was going on, and Wayne and I made several loops around the place...seeing the building, but unable to get there!  With my brain filling with visions of priceless treasures being swept away by my fellow scavengers, I finally parked the HHR next to a barricade and told Wayne, "We're hiking it!"  He was already half-way out the door before I got things shut down.

We were at least half-an-hour behind my ETA, and the sight of a fellow, happily sorting his take of Cox engines at a table outside the hall, screamed "YOU MISSED IT !!!"

I abandoned my uncle as he fumbled with dollar bills, counting out his entry fee.  "Amateur!...EVERYBODY knows you lock and load your door fee ahead of time!!!!!"  My Blood Love can be tested only so far !

The room was packed pretty good, both with people and stuff, but I was sure the guy at the doorway had already skimmed the gems.  

My eyes were set to "Buckets and Trays Scan", and I quickly found a guy with two tupperware bowls of engines.  I found out later, from his business card, that he was "RuReelyBob", but he was busy dealing each other time I stopped by, and so I failed to say yo.  At the time I DID talk to him, he had a dieselized, tank-drilled Black Widow in his $20 box, along with some other non-Cox strays including some piped and un-piped Gilberts.  I picked a little Green Headed Torpedo .15, and let the B.W. ride.

It still wasn't looking good for the home team, but a diagonal cross-room cut found an older gentleman, obviously selling out his collection of carefully tagged engines.  I immediately zeroed in on a Cox .15 with one of those venturi/slide exhaust throttles, and plunked down 40 bucks for the thing.  

OK...this dramatically leveled the day.  Wayne had caught up by now, packing some Tatone engine mounts and a set of wheel fairings he bought for his Ace Scout.

Looping the room, I caught sight of a VERY bedraggled (just my kind) control liner, propped up in a back corner.  I gave the guy a non-haggled 10 bucks since it had a Fox Rocket on it's nose.  Seeing three lead-out wires though, made me flip it over to behold a very eclectic-homemade-throttle-tank-placement-with-a-bunch-of-bent-wires device!  I closed the deal anyway, and figure to attempt to resuscitate the poor Fox.  Don't know WHAT the plane is, but may try to fix it up for Patrick to smack.

There was a really nice Aeries for 45 bucks, but I hadn't properly loaded my War Chest before-hand...I know, "NOW, who's the amateur?"...and had to pass.  I WILL snag that sucker if I see it again though.

A silver Wen Mac Aracobra seemed completely orphaned by it's owner, so I never got a price on it.  Just as well, as I'm only mentally attached to the green version.  It looked to maybe have one of Pat's Mk XIII installed.

Found myself a Tatone mount, and Wayne got a Tatone test stand on our way toward the door.

A Good Run, all-told, with great company all the way there and back.

Thanks again for Travis' Email that re-reminded me to check my calendar book more often!

















AND there was this when we got home...spotted by my eagle-eyed uncle in a local paper!  Hmmm...gotta make sure and hit the Credit Union again...

I was there and so was Jeremy, but we missed you some how.  That one pile of Cox engines, he sure was wanting a pretty penny for.  

I picked up that Cox BW with the diesel head with a 1/8" hole in the tank.... no KB crank though... at least it had a metal backplate. Now I need to find a used BW tank. That same guy also had a Cox Conquest, but it was out of my price range and needed quite a bit to get it back to stock.

No wonder I didn't see you... you had camouflage on

"STEALTH KIM" !!!!

Hey, you COULD just rotate that tank topside and plug the hole with a couple washers between a #4 screw and nut...