I just scored the Pan Am pair at 8:47. I'm surprised I was the only bidder on it. It's definitely a good auction deal considering the condition it's in.
Lots of good info for newbies for certain. Just wanting to touch on the restoration aspect though. If you’re just starting out in the hobby especially with older models, research is important to know what you’re looking at. One needs to know what reproduction parts look like, what the paint quality is supposed to be, and what type of stamping was used and how to identify it. I highly recommend that new people in the hobby not start looking for rare items until they have a good feel for how to make a good decision on purchasing. A lot of restorations are now pushing 30-50 years old and they are going to have their own patina and one is going to have to look even harder to verify one from original or not. With that being said, restorations aren’t all that bad if you’re going to be operating your stuff, just try not to pay what a clean original would cost.
