Category: Hobby Shops
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Petlyakov Pe-8 – Part One – Metro’s Bargains

Metro Models In Melbourne have a sale every now and again – chiefly the models that have sat in dusty neglect on their shelves. I take advantage, as I am also dusty and sit on a shelf much of the time… In this case the original price was some $ 60 and they applied a…
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Getting Away With It

Note: I did not write ” cleanly ” at the end there. There are always consequences. A friend has speculated that a mathematical formula should be worked out to tell our spouses how much the new kit has cost. I applaud a scientific mind and sense of honesty and will mention it in his eulogy.…
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Limited-Run Kit

Limited by many factors: a. How many copies we can pull out of a mould that is basically made of hardened bread dough. b. Whether we can persuade people to buy a kit with three pieces of plastic and six sheets of brass promises. c. Whether anyone wants a model of a 1936 test-bed that…
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MiG 15 Bis – Part One – Czeching Out The Next Stage

A few months ago I purchased an Eduard kit from Hobbytech Toys in Myaree – a Weekend Edition of a Czech crop duster. It was delightful. Encouraged, I returned to HobbyTech one Sunday and picked up a Profi-Pack Edition of this classic Soviet fighter. I wanted to see what differences Eduard would provide. I noted…
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Buying Your Own Birthday Gifts

And being reimbursed the cost – then presented with the ” surprise ” boxes on the day – is one of the most satisfying forms of gift giving/getting there is. It doesn’t do to be petty about it, or get bashful. Ask directly how much the giver wishes to spend and then go spend it.…
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Do We Have A Trade War With Japan, China, Or The Czech Republic?

No? Goodoh. That means we really should be able to order kits and supplies from these countries free of any interference from the Petulant of the United States, Ronald Grump. I have been looking at the kits I build and the goods I want and am a little saddened to see that some of the…
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Lockheed S-3A Viking – Part One – Price?

So Why So Cheap? How come a perfectly good Hasegawa jet is about half the price you’d expect to pay? Perhaps I am looking a gift horse in the molars, but I do puzzle at some of the pricing in some of the shops. The Hasegawa S3A Lockheed Viking was under $40 in a rack…
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The Toy Section Of The Shop

Oh you never go there, do you? You are far too advanced as a modeller to be seen in the die-cast, snap together, starter kit, or play section of the retailer? What if you were seen? What if the other club experts recognised you? What if they wrote about you in the papers? Alternately, what…
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A Very Personal Boycott

And for a very personal reason. A recent visit to a hobby shop in our metro area ended unpleasantly – when I asked to use the toilet the owner directed me outside to the end of the car park and told me to pee behind the dumpster. Fortunately I was able to make it in…
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The Trains Now Arriving…

In my local hobby shop are wonderful. They have digital control, digital sound, and completely realistic motion. Their couplers are tiny and there are a full complement of passengers and crew. The wagons and carriages are lined and decaled and the only thing that deters me from sweeping up an armful of them is the…
