Emporium Seafood by FSM

It’s time to restart this blog.

I made my first attempt at reviving it last year, but a handful of issues got in the way—and once those were sorted out, I simply forgot to come back. Until about a week ago, that is. Now that I’m here again, I’ve been debating whether to mix posts about older and newer projects or try to keep things somewhat chronological. Somewhat being the key word, because I already jumped ahead in my last post.

For now, let’s roll things back into order.

Emporium Seafood has always been one of my favorite kits. The original design sits beautifully by the water, complete with a long dock that gives it so much character. For this build, however, I was asked to create a fully land‑based version while still preserving that dock. My solution was to perch the entire structure on a hill, imagining a track running below that would justify the presence of a crane.

To keep it compact, I built retaining walls on three sides and left the fourth as a natural slope. The whole diorama also doubles as an extension to Dexter’s Dead End, which is why there’s a road curving at the bottom of the hill.

Interestingly, the kit I used for this project wasn’t even mine—I still have my own untouched copy. I rarely build the same kit twice. It’s not that I refuse; I just have very little interest in repeating the same experience. But every now and then, when someone asks nicely, I give in. Emporium Seafood is such an iconic kit that I could see myself building it one more time… but realistically, it will probably never happen. It may be time to put my spare kit on the market.

I truly hope I won’t vanish from this blog again. In my defense, it is hard to keep something going after so many years. If my math is correct, it’s been about fifteen years since I first started this space. A lot has changed in that time—projects, skills, life—but maybe that’s exactly why it’s worth keeping the blog alive.

Here’s to a fresh start, and hopefully many more posts to come.