Leadership Charlotte 2013 charity auction, May 18, 2013...

...currently offering an N scale layout built into a glass top bar...



More here...

Lionel set 1590 from 1958...

One of the great bugaboos of the model train hobby is the mindset that I run into at shows or just at social gatherings.  John (or Jane) Q. Public has a train set that's "been in the family for a long time" and they want to know what it's worth.  From the look in their eyes and the tone in their voice, they obviously have the one exceptionally rare antique set worth enough to cover their mortgage and send one or two of the kidlets to Harvard, so would I be a dear and please confirm this delusion?.

Nothing could be further from the truth in this hobby.  Old DOES NOT mean valuable, whether it sports a Lionel tag or TYCO.  What the Lionel debacle did in the 80s was pull out from attics and closets across this fruited plain, box after box of grandpa's old trains, showing that what was once  considered "Rare" was actually just one of many hundreds that were buried, just like any other toy out there, waiting only for a good reason to be pulled out into the light.  5000 greenbacks for an original #300 Hell Gate Bridge will do that to anything out there, not just Lionel.

My 1590 set comes from a good friend who is settling his brother-in-law's estate.  Fortunately for me, he understands that only special pieces get special prices.  He found this mixed in the estate with a bunch of track, most of which had fallen victim to the ravages of Hurricane Sandy.  It is in cosmetically good condition and has all four cars, the blue gon just didn't make the cut on the too short shelf space.  The irony is that the value in the set is not in the whole, but in fact, one part...the "Range Patrol" truck that would have sat on the yellow flat car.  An orange or yellow truck can get double what the set complete can get.  Who knew...sigh...





Original 1958 catalog listing...


NOTE:  Settling this estate has been a hoot for my friend and his family.  With no will, the state and a reprobate offspring have ravaged the estate and my friend's life over the last 2 years.  Being married to next of kin just gives the state a warm body to sink their fangs and claws into.  They will get their pound of flesh, and it will be yesterday...

If you don't have a will, you are a fool and richly deserve every curse called down upon your corpse by the family you left behind.  Get a will...now.

Ertl Collectables 1:18 scale 1969 Baldwin Motion Camaro...

...yet another item received in exchange for the aforementioned track lot.  It reminds me of the Camaro used in one of my favorite cinematic guilty pleasures, 1985's "Better Off Dead", starring a young John Cusack...











How about a little something from Muddy Waters to close?

Highway 61 Collectibles 1:16 scale 1974 Chevy Custom Van...

Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. --(John 12:4-6)

I have been much remiss in posting on this blog lately.  God has chosen to use this element of my life to bless others with His Word, and for a while I followed the council of those who did not have the best interests of my readers or myself in mind, heaping upon my head among other things, the "crime" of having material blessings that many others do not, when I should instead strip them from my soul, sell and give to the poor.

Mark these words...

Urgings for the poor far too often come from the ones who only seek to enrich themselves.

When material things come your way, delight in them with hands that don't close around them, and be ready to send them on to other needs as led by His Holy Spirit.

With that, recently I was given a large lot of American Flyer S scale track from a gentleman with the condition that I do not give it away, but swap it for something else, then let him know what I got for it.

Well...I got alot...starting with this rather awesome diecast van.  Having grown up in the 70s, this...and not some gas sipping tuner out of Japan...was what you wanted to drive.  --Well, that or maybe the '69 Baldwin Motion Camaro I also got in the deal-- Alas, during its packaging in the factory back in 2003, a factory worker left out the antennas, a large whip one for the CB in the rear door and a smaller one for the radio up front. 









These came in several variations, including a rather awesome one with this Frank Frazetta painting.  Unlike most diecast that go down (sometimes way down) in value, these vans have gone up rather dramatically...the Frazetta models typically selling for upwards of $400 each.  Even this basic black one can command $200 on a good day, very unusual for diecast and very generous on the part of the brother in Christ who dealt with me on it.

You'll hafta wait for that Camaro 'til tomorrow...

Just sayin'...

In the last 32 months, I've...


...picked up and moved my family 250 miles...


...driven 90,000+ miles working in my new home state...


...inspected over 15, 000 apartments...


...started a new life on our own little farm out in the country and all that goes with farming, while holding down a full time job that can run 50+ hours a week, with almost half of that behind the wheel...


...I really don't have anything left for a blog at this moment.  It certainly isn't for lack of material.


I've got some really great stuff going on in my modeling these last 6 months.


Honest...


Meantime, I have got to find me one of these...

Dave Hunt !929-2013

Born in 1926, David Charles Haddon Hunt enjoyed the advantages of a godly upbringing and placed his trust in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord in his early teens.

As a young man, he served in the military toward the end of World War II. Afterward, he attended UCLA and received a degree in mathematics. It was during that time that he met the love of his life, Ruth Klassen. In 1950, they were married, and since both loved the outdoors, they enjoyed a beautiful honeymoon hiking in the High Sierras—perfect for two young people madly in love and with very little money to their name. Marriage was soon followed by the birth of two sons and two daughters. Ruth was a busy mother and also a gifted writer herself. She had a tremendous interest in and knowledge of history, a gift that would help Dave further down the road. Dave’s own career path led him into a position as a CPA/management consultant and later as the manager of several corporations.

Along with church-related activities, Dave initiated and became involved in numerous campus ministries and meetings in their home, with a special outreach to Jewish young people and foreign students. Many of these have stayed in touch with Dave and Ruth through the years, fondly recalling their times spent in Bible studies at the Hunts’ house.

Dave and Ruth also traveled abroad, spending time in various locations throughout Europe, meeting with believers there and ministering in many ways while raising their own family. Dave also brought Bibles and other materials into the Soviet Union during a time when it was very difficult to do so. Throughout his later years, he and Ruth traveled extensively as he was invited to speak in churches and fellowships, large and small, all over the world. Often they stayed in people’s homes, dining with them, learning their customs, and sharing God’s Word and God’s love.

The desire of Dave’s heart was ultimately to be involved in fulltime ministry, especially since he saw firsthand everywhere he went the breaking down of the true church as the world began to work its way into her midst. He began to write in 1973, warning believers about the incursion into Western culture and into the church itself of Eastern religion, psychological and selfist philosophies, ecumenism, and other unbiblical teachings.

The ministry of The Berean Call was founded by Dave in 1992. It grew out of a previous organization, of which Dave was also a founding member since 1986. With T.A. McMahon working alongside him at The Berean Call, Dave was able to share his love for and defense of Christ in the subsequent newsletters, books, videos, and speaking engagements that resulted from this ministry. Dave and T.A. wrote three books together, including the best-known The Seduction of Christianity , which was groundbreaking in its boldness, exposing false teachings in the church and daring to identify the names of the ones behind the deception.

By the early 2000s, Dave’s love for Christ and his desire to defend the name of the Lord had grown even stronger, and his concern over Islamic politics and religion are reflected in many of his articles, lectures, books, and interviews.

Then Richard Dawkins and the “new atheists” came onto the scene with a vengeance, seeking to destroy the very concept of God in the minds of everyone. Dave began to write and teach and speak more passionately than ever about the absolute truth that is in the Word of God and our need to immerse ourselves in it daily in order to prevent being taken up in the evolutionist delusion that is sweeping the world.

One of Dave’s favorite activities was to see whom God would seat next to him on airplanes as he traveled and spoke. He often said that he “could prove the existence of God” just by these providential occurrences. While writing about Islam, he would end up seated next to a Muslim who didn’t really understand what Islam was about but was eager to hear the difference between the Bible and the Qur’an. When writing about creation vs. evolution, the Lord would bring him, as a seat companion, an atheistic scientist who thought he had all the answers and was very surprised that there was another verifiable explanation to this universe.

Dave’s bold yet loving approach to any situation allowed him entrance into these conversations where many others would have been shut out. His love for Jesus, for Israel, and for people in general was obvious to all. His enthusiasm for the truth, along with his anger over the sin and wickedness that he knew was robbing people of what God wanted for them, flamed his desire to share the Lord with anyone with whom he had contact.

At least 4 million copies of his books have been sold, many of them translated into more than 50 languages. They include: The Cult Explosion; The God Makers (with Ed Decker); The Seduction of Christianity (with T.A. McMahon); Global Peace and the Rise of Antichrist; Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust; The New Spirituality (with T.A. McMahon); Whatever Happened to Heaven?; Occult Invasion; A Woman Rides the Beast; A Cup of Trembling; In Defense of the Faith; An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith ; To Russia with Love (with Hans Kristian); What Love Is This?; Countdown to the Second Coming; Seeking and Finding God; Honest Doubts; Judgment Day!: Islam, Israel, and the Nations; Yoga and the Body of Christ; and his final book, Cosmos, Creator, and Human Destiny.

He also wrote two novels, The Mind Invaders (formerly The Archon Conspiracy ) and Sanctuary of the Chosen, along with a children’s book called The Money Tree , illustrated by his daughter Karen.

This is by no means a complete listing of all of Dave’s works. One of his videos, Israel, Islam & Armageddon, has become a tremendous tool for churches and for anyone interested in helping to spread the truth about events prior to and since the attack on the World Trade Center. His video A Woman Rides the Beast is a favorite among those who are witnessing to Catholics, a group for whom Dave had a deep love and sorrow, desiring to see them come to the knowledge of the truth.

Dave Hunt’s own drive to find and then deliver the truth is evident in everything he did. His impeccable research and recognized scholarship were based on in-depth studies of original documents and publications, interviews with key experts from around the world, and extensive travel—including to South America, Australia, Europe, India, and throughout the Middle East.

Dave has left us a legacy of inestimable value. We are blessed to be able to see and hear and read what he has taught about the evidence for God in a breathtaking number of materials. From explaining about the history of Christianity, to exposing the deception that has crept into the church, to teaching about the prophecies that are being fulfilled even today, this humble, brilliant man will go on teaching us for a very long time. We look forward to the day when we will see him again.

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There are no public services scheduled at this time. There will be a time to remember Dave at our conference this summer, August 23-24 in Bend, OR.

In lieu of flowers or other gifts, Ruth requests that we rejoice with her that Dave is now with his Savior.