Looks like we made it through
another apocalypse (having previously survived
the Millennium Bug and the
2011 End Times), and are ready to take on the next disaster! But first, a moment of reflection.
Despite the multiple blockbuster movies that were released in 2012, there were very few that contained any car action. Of the top ten grossing movies, only
The Avengers and
Skyfall used cars as anything beyond basic transportation (though it was nice to see the classic Aston Martin again for Bond's 50
th anniversary).
The Hunger Games,
Twilight,
The Hobbit,
The Amazing Spider-Man,
Brave,
Ted, and
Madagascar were almost entirely car-free, and
The Dark Knight Rises traded the Tumbler in for the flight-capable Bat (and a few slow-moving patrol vehicles). We got a couple of nice classics from
Men in Black 3,
21 Jump Street, and
Jack Reacher, and
The Expendables 2 had a great opening sequence.
We said goodbye to several big names in 2012, including Whitney Houston, Davy Jones, Ralph McQuarrie, Dick Clark, Jonathan Frid, Carroll Shelby, Richard Dawson, Ray Bradbury, Andy Griffith, Ernest Borgnine, Chad Everett, Sherman Hemsley, Tony Scott, Phyllis Diller, Neil Armstrong, Dave Bell, Michael Clarke Duncan, Larry Hagman, Jack Klugman, Charles Durning, and Gerry Anderson.
I wasn't able to finish as many projects as I did the previous year, but I did complete models from
2 Fast, 2 Furious,
Gunsmith Cats,
Short Time,
Supernatural,
Transformers,
Gone in 60 Seconds,
Vifam,
Shakotan Boogie,
Fast Five,
Evangelion,
The Graduate,
Night Watch,
M.A.S.K.,
Born 2 Race,
Dukes of Hazzard,
Speed Buggy,
Kamen Rider, and
The Jetsons. I did, however, expand my
review section quite a bit. I also located several kits that I have been searching for, so expect to see more in 2013!
Hobby news was generally positive across the board. Once again I was able to attend both Toy Fair and NYCC, with good news coming from several manufacturers. Greenlight Collectibles released quite a few TV- & movie-themed vehicles in 1/24 scale (watch for reviews coming soon!), Round 2 announced an upcoming line of licensed movie kits, Revell continues to crank out a combination of new and reissued kits, and Moebius is coming ever closer to releasing the long-anticipated Tumbler. And while Hasbro has discontinued their Human Alliance series, their Weaponizers line at least provides an option for collectors who want larger scale figures. Slixx Decals looked to be closing down in February, but the feedback they received from the modeling community led to a reorganization rather than a retirement. The only real downer was the closing of GoMotorBids in March. But elsewhere, Joe Johnson and I co-hosted the third annual Bandit Awards (and discussed some possible future changes to the idea), while local hobby shows boasted their best turnouts ever. So all in all, a pretty good year for the hobby. Here's hoping 2013 continued that trend!
