GENTS:
A few weeks afore Christmas, spurred on by the "lucky guys" in Atlanta and
Cincinnati, some of us were attempting to ferret out an American
Graffiti-Moments in Time Mel's Diner at Wally World. One "not-so lucky guy", as
I recall, in CT had gone on a pilgrimage to multiple Wally's across the entire
state and came home holding air. Isolated from the world as I am in N. AZ, I'm
a "double-not-so lucky guy" with only one Wally World that, alas, had
no/nada/none/zilch American Graffiti-Moments in Time anywhere on the shelves. I
did locate a Mel's Diner on Amazon, but it was the one issued around 2001 that
has become a collector's item going for $60, not the give-or-take $9 price
those "lucky guys" from Atlanta and Cincinnati were quoting us. I even failed
to turn up Mel's Diner using Wally's search engine as I'm sure others did.
Well, take heart; the times they are a-changin'!
Rudely thrown outta da house this AM with instructions to brave the ice and
snow in 17F air to buy panty-hose at Wally's, my luck changed. Not with the
panty-hose which as any beleaguered husband who has tried to purchase some
knows; panty-hose have 85 variables per set and most of them are beyond male
comprehension. Wally's female personnel, however, are able to decipher all
those variables and point inexorably and rapidly to the precise location on the
L'eggs rack.
From the L'eggs rack, I scurried immediately to the toy aisles. There to my
wondering eyes lay two sets of four different 1:64 American Graffiti-Moments in
Time dioramas at $8.97 a pop plus our exorbitant 8.446% sales tax or $9.73.
These were not present during the previous search as Wally personnel claimed no
knowledge of such a product at that time. This is a bargain basement for
obtaining detailing items plus you get a 1:64 car with each pack. No Mel's
Diner, but here's an inventory of each:
Named Country Store, 1979 Chrysler LaBaron Town & Country Wagon in red and
wood veneer, exterior gas station facade diorama, soda machine, retail ice bag
freezer/storage machine, 30-gal. barrel, two over flowing trash cans?, two gas
pumps, garbage can, "OPEN" sign, two small containers, stack of two tires,
sitting bench. The pumps and soda machine are a bit large but not objectionable
while the ice bag machine is obviously too large.
Named Mechanic's Shop, 1971 Mustang Sportroof in blue, car shop interior
diorama, mechanic's tool chest, shelf with tool box and two small cans, wall
clock showing 9:35, V8 motor, 2 oil cans, fire extinguisher, mechanic's
workbench, mechanic's storage chest, sink, wastebasket, stack of three tires,
oil-change catch pan, 2 jack stands, two under-car inspection ramps, small can,
under car lift rack-crossmember only. Diorama includes one car-sized door with
accordion roll-top. Oil cans are too big. Jack stands are a tad big.
Named My Garage, 1982 Dodge Aries K car in silver, horizontal clapboard
interior diorama, wheeled compressor, two under-car inspection ramps, small
mechanic's tool chest, large mechanic's tool chest, engine hoist, workbench, V8
engine, fire extinguisher, three oil cans, drill press, two stacks of three
tires-each, lots of signage. Oil cans are too big.
Named Tire Store, 1982 Dodge Aries K car in maroon with silver accents,
plain wall interior diorama, hydraulic floor jack, tire promo stand with two
tires, book shelf with books, wall clock showing 9:35, four "chrome" wheels w/o
tires of various sizes, large two-tiered tire rack with nine tires, one stack
of three tires, floor-based tire mounting machine, lots of signage. Floor jack
is too large.
The maroon Dodge, Mustang, and station wagon have "American Graffiti" in
small silver script on their sides. I'm guessing these might be removed with a
pencil eraser or very light application of mineral spirits or MEK.
So, now, y'all haul yur buns over to Wally World. Might want to call ahead
as these little boogers just appeared out of nowhere. My Wally was packed
today, but I just had to buy some panty-hose.
Gerry Evans
In Flagstaff where the snow piles are nearing seven feet and the streets are
ice-covered.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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