Category: Hobby Shops
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Straight Out of The Aftermarket Box
Or not, as the case may be… The decision of whether to use aftermarket parts or just what is in the kit box is often a hard one to make. It’s one of the marvels of the age we live in that we have this choice. At one time there was nothing between the Airfix…
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Will The Robber Baron Succeed Where The Red Baron Failed?
Will Trump manage to shoot Snoopy down? If the Petulant of the United States succeeds in nailing his tariffs to the fence and/or increases them to an unsustainable level, will he put the nail in the coffin for imported model kits? Will US citizens be restricted to what they can buy from US moulders? Will…
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Selective Ordering
A recent Youtube post by a Canadian hobby shop owner pointed out the selective nature of the current tariff brouhaha. He gets supplies in from US distributors and recently had a shipment stopped by Canadian Customs, with a 25% tariff fee slapped on it. When he was notified of this he took his ordering invoices…
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If A Model Is Priced Out Of Your Range
Quietly ask yourself a few questions: a. Is it beyond saving for? You may have some some change each week that can be put toward the kit, and many sellers will lay something buy on steady payments. b. Is it the only possible model of this prototype? Granted, you’ll not find many kits of Fandiddler…
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Fairchild Argus – Part One – Model 24
The box says Provider and the decals say Czechoslovakia, but I say Argus and RCAF. This AZ model started life on the Hobbytech shelf at $ 44.99 and stayed put. Then it went to WASMex 2024 at $ 20.00 and stayed put. When it came back to Hobbytech it still wore the show price sticker,…
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The Rises And The Falls
Someone mentioned a long-time model making firm was closing. Sad, but then lots of long-time firms have gone ( Aurora, Frog, Pyro, etc. ) and we are still building models every week. For the most part, the models we build are better than before. The closing of one firm means we turn to the opening…
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It Might Do What It Says On The Tin
But what if you can’t read the blasted tin? The hobby item packaged with a language you cannot understand is no better than the kit with no instructions. You may have a faint inkling about the dilution, application, drying time, or characteristics of a paint or varnish, but that might not be enough. The maker…
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Kit-O-Plasm
The spirit of dead models made to rise again. Let’s all sit in the dark, hold hands, and ask the ghosts of 1950’s kits to hover round us. Or we can go on eBay and do some exorcism. Or just go round the hobby shop and see what Revell have re-boxed. I’m waiting for the…
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The Kit You Aways Wanted
To throw out the window. You saved for it, lusted for it, and finally got it. Now you are going to suffer for it. No pain, no gain, so look forward to the next three weeks as a period of unrelieved progress… First thing- are all the sprue trees there? If not, you can take…
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Pick On Someone Your Own Size!
And your own scale! Do you have models in your collection that are all different sizes? I do. Are they all different scales? Generally, no. This may not be a problem for you if you are a widespread modeller. But if you want a consistent collection that can tie together, you need to discipline yourself.…
The Little World 