October 16, 2017

It all started back in 1997, when I decided to hold a poll to determine what was our favorite kit in the past 12 months.

The problem was... what HAD come out in the past 12 months?!

So I painstakingly went through all the message boards at the time, compiling a list of all the kits producers announced.

What a pain in the ass THAT was! There had a be a better way!

So I decided for 1998, to keep a database and add the kits throughout the year so I'd be ready for the next poll. This ended up, in 2000, becoming my 'Kits of the Year' page.

A place one could come to to learn what new kits were available, without having to go through multiple message boards. A down and dirty 'one source' avenue.

And thanks to way too many producers to name, down thru the years, they and many kind souls would e-mail me with new kit announcements...or kits they had run across.

Over the past 18 years, it become a great resource when those of us approaching senility needed a mind nudge when referring to a kit made long ago! (...and a special nod to Denis Bohm for keeping Gremlin's online!! Love ya, shippie!! That site is a treasure! Big-heart Thanks!)

But with the proliferation of social media in the past 5 years, producers nowadays have a multitude of avenues to get their kit out and they've been able to widen their audience greatly!

Nowadays there's a new kit appearing every 5 minutes. And many of them are from names I've not heard of or are familiar with. Which is GREAT for our hobby... but I've slowly realized I'm not "In the Know" nowadays as I use to be. It's not a bad thing! It's actually great to see our old "Garage Kit' hobby all grown up from the days when we first got into it!

Bottom line... the need for the listings aren't required that much anymore. That and it's getting harder and harder to make sure I catch um all.

So I'm thinking this year will be it.

Again, I'd like to thank all the producers for not only their friendships, but keeping me in the loop! And a particular shout out to my good friend, Terry Webb. A big part of the reason I started doing this is because of his great "The Garage Kit That Ate My Wallet" books, which are THE bible to finding out what all was 'out there' back in the day!