Well, Colin at SMT has managed to clean up the recent mess surrounding the availability of his kits. At least that is how it appears.
So, he is once again offering Galactic (sic) Shuttle kits (as patterned by Alfred Wong) on a VERY limited basis. He's having them generated in batches of 5. When he has them in his posession, he puts them up on the site for sale. When all 5 have been ordered, he stops taking money until he has 5 more in his possession. Good business practice, if you ask me, especially in view of past problems.
So... I have a Galactic Shuttle kit on the way. A massive 23" long replica of everybody's favorite "interstellar puffer fish-shaped brick". Originally, when they were taking pre-orders, I had hoped it would materialize in time for my 40th Birthday, but alas... no such luck.
But it seems that I'll be getting it less than a year later as a Christmas present to myself. I'm not fond of that phrasing, since I don't believe you should be thinking of yourself in a Christmas context, but it nutshells the activity. Like many of you, I have family members who just don't "get" me. So, sometimes its up to me to make my own "happy" at the holidays.
-Gordon
