Category: Hobby Shops
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Use the Dull Blade…

Said no modeller, ever. Yet we all do it. We use the blade until the tip breaks off and the edge has tram lines on it and we need to push it 300 times harder to get it to cut. And when it is just right; dull, nicked, and rusty, we push it over the…
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How Many, Oh Lord?

How many Messerschmitts can people buy? How many do they need? What are they doing with them? I asked this in grey desperation as I cruised the kit aisle of three of Perth’s hobby shops searching for cheap new models of interesting subjects. I saw kits from what must be two dozen various makers and…
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Smorgasbuilding

One of those, and one of those, and one of those… And you won’t build that sort again, because they’re icky. And there you are, in the aisle of the local HobbyHell Supastore looking for a small bottle of paint – or a large box of tank. And you see a rack full of packets…
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The Torture Rack

No, this isn’t a Hammer film. I’m talking about the paint racks down at the hobby shop. Horror in 10 ml bottles. The covid year and the shutdown of paint manufacture and shipping has certainly thinned out the racks. I hope it has not been too hard on the finances of the shopkeepers, and that…
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MiG 17 – Part One – I Buy By Price

And I buy cheap. My trip to the hobby shop was for paint – of course I detoured into the kit aisle, and of course I looked over all the 1:72 offerings there. The shop is one that I rarely get to, so it may contain things not seen before. This was so, but while…
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Petlyakov Pe-2 – Part One – Father’s Day Last Year

Make no mistake about it. When a gift-giving date approaches I do not hesitate to go down to the hobby shop and either reserve a kit or buy one outright. Then the gift-givers can go and pay for it or refund me. Charity begins at home and I know where I live. The Pe-2 is a Mister…
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The Trade Stand

Many exhibitions and fairs have trade stands as a major feature of their days…and the WASMEX held recently was no exception. I counted half a dozen or so of various sorts in the main display hall. Most of them were old acquaintances and in one case I got to meet an old friend as well.…
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The Newbie – Part Three – There Is No Such Thing

There is no such thing as: a. A completely accurate model. Do it never so well, there will always be a detractor who will pull up an MAP plan from 1959 to prove that you’ve made a mistake. Don’t try to argue the case as their criticism is not intended to make the model look…
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The Newbie – Part Two – All The Choices!

Discovering a new hobby shop makes you feel like Christopher Columbus. Every aisle is a new land to discover. There are wonders to see. And savage natives. Just kidding – when you have money to spend, the proprietors of the hobby shops are far from savage. They may seem grumpy but if you make the…

