17-09-08
Hey Chris.
Well, it depends on where you want to buy from:
In England, theres Hannants, but there is usually a minimum order and it takes forever for them to process the order: http://www.hannants.co.uk/
Theres also: The Aviaiton Hobby Shop http://www.tahs.com/
Models For Sale http://www.modelsforsale.com/
Kingkit ( good for second hand) http://www.kingkit.co.uk/kingkit/
And Shrewsbury Model Centre http://stores.ebay.co.uk/shrewsbury-model-centre or www.shrewsburymodels.co.uk

In America, there's Sprue Bros http://www.spruebrothers.com/
Squadron http://www.squadron.com/
Hobby Buy http://www.hobbybuy.com/ and a whole host of specialist manufacturers.
Further afield there;s
LuckyModel http://www.luckymodel.com/
Belcher Bits http://www.belcherbits.com/
Modellbau http://www.modellbau-center-koeln.de/shop/index.htm
Hobbyeasy http://www.hobbyeasy.com
Rainbow Ten http://www.rainbowten.co.jp/english/index.html ( and when thgey say 5-6 days, they MEAN 55-6 days!!!)
Ericyymodels http://www.ericyymodel.com/

That's enough to be getting on with. Else where there are addresses and contact details for Irish based model stores in Waterford, Dublin, Cork.
Hope this helps

Liam

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Mesa called Jar-Jar Binks. Mesa your humble servant.
I don't know. Mesa day startin pretty okee-day with a brisky morning munchy, then BOOM! Mesa gettin' very very scared!


I am the Rules Police. It's better than being the Thought Police.

In Britain you can give a look also at Aeroclub website (www.aeroclub.com)
They of course sell their own stuff, but also have a big selection of other items. Service is first class, I never waited more than a week to receive my goods. Delivery costs are at a fixed percentage of the order outside UK (15%), so this has pros and cons, but at least you know what you're gonna pay. The only downside is that their website does not necessarily reflect what is actually in stock at any given time.
I recetly bought from LSA models, and too had a great service from them

Giorgio

I have had nothing but hassle and ignorance from Hannants and I really will never shop from them again, Is it just me?

My 1st order from them was for £29.99, that included shipping.

After 2 weeks I phone to ask the status and was told that the minimum order for International was £30 and that my order had been canncelled upon receipt, not auto canncelled by computer but someone had individually decided not to fufill the order for the sake of 1p.....

So I informed them thats ridiculus Ill go elsewhere which I did and 5 days later I had the kit I wanted from Comet Miniatures and 3 days after that the same kit arrived from Hannants. I called Hannants and asked whats this, spoke to teh same woman who I had spoke to 1st and asked why she sent it after I canncelled (Verbal and Email) "I thought you still wanted it"

Rather than pay the P&P back to the UK I was able to sell it to a friend for what my CC was charged so eventually I was fine with that.

2nd order was a pair of at the time brand new 1:125 Heller A380's which arrived and I noticed terrible wing warps in them, I know Heller quality is questionable but these must have been left on s radiator for a night, It was awful, I contacted Hannants and expalined the situation, "not our problem you need to contact the manuafturer"....E42 to send the kits to fance for viewing and I get new fine the kits back...and Im out 42 Euro's

Why did I go back to Hannants fo rthe 3rd time..

Well they were the only place that had the kit.

I wanted the 1/35 Dora Railgun kit, the cheapest basic one without the Aluminium barrell so I destroyed my CC and in went the order...

I knew it wouldnt be sent quickly so I didnt call about it but low and behold 2 weeks to the day I processed my order online guess what arrived???????


A regular mailed letter saying, sorry but the kit is out of stock for now, in 2 months we will have the more expensive woudl you like that?

Not even an email or a phone call for an order totalling £400 STG...what a shower of retarts, I can only hope their store burns down


Sorry Lads I jsut had to get it out....

John John

Never had any problems with hannants, but I agree it can take ages (up to 2 months for me) for the order to arrive. Though somtimes this doesnt bother me.
A good shop I found is www.netmerchants.co.uk. They generally have the order at my door within the week. Whats more its just up the road in Larne!.

Shiloh, do they also sell like a shop ? Sounds interesting, I'm planning a trip up north soon, would be good to have a good modeling shop to visit !

Giorgio

I placed order in netmerchants.co.uk on Sunday night and... today morning (Tuesday) I found all my new stuff on my front door!
High recommended shop!!!!

I will suggest Relish models www.relishmodels.co.uk
I just got a few things and i am impressed with the
fast delivery and immediate response to any question.
The prices are very good as well, and so is the
packaging of the delivered products.
Sure thing is that I will use it again.
Really good service!

I have dealt with http://www.sbxmodelshop.co.uk and they are very helpful. They also do not apply any postage charges so that can make for a worthwhile saving.

Hi there - welcome to the forum!

On the question of buying by the internet, and specifically about hannants.

Well, if you have to buy what you want there, because they are not stocked anywhere else, and you are happy to wait for a few weeks, and you are happy to have a minimum order - I think it is 30 or 40 pounds - and you KNOW that they have them in stock, then by all means go ahead.

HOWEVER, my experience is that if there is somebody else selling the same stuff, such as models for sale in the UK, or netmerchants up in Larne, you will find them MUCH quicker and easier to deal with...(I did an order last year to netmerchants on a Wednesday and had the stuff in my postbox that Friday.) I don't think a UK internet retailer will be that fast, though models for sale is also very good. With Hannants, it can be two-three weeks... And I find their minimum order routine, and the rule that you cannot order paints unless you also order a model kit, to be unhelpful.

The value of this forum is that you can benefit from the experience of others. That's my experience, anyway. I have no problem with hannants, as such, and certainly haven't had as bad as that related by others here, but I've tried the others I've mentioned and have had no problems at all with them.

so, you pays your money.....

Philip

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"To boldly go.....wherever"

Right, well I think I'll be avoiding Hannants then. I'm placing a €30 order minimum soon and a 2-3 month wait doesn't really work for me.