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PostPosted: 29 Dec 2009, 11:12 
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Joined: 10 Jul 2008, 14:55
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Location: Stellenbosch
Hi there gents,

Had a bit of a brain fart this morning... and decided that we should create a thread that contains useful info on good prices and where to buy good kits.

For example... I've managed to find quite a few absolute steals at toy shops like Toys R Us (TRU) and Reggies for example.

I paid R220 for an Italeri 1/48 Mirage 3 kit at a hobby shop. I've found those same kits in TRU for about R168. Same can be said for the Italeri 1/48 Imps. Was very lucky and found one at a steal for R120 at AAD, and paid R160 from TRU. The hobby shops tend to mark them up significantly as they're SAAF aircraft.

I've bought myself an Academy 1/48 F-15E (with payload)... for R200 from TRU. The same kit (minus weapons)... has been seen at a hobby shop for over R300.

There are also bargains to be had between TRU and Reggies. Such as the Academy 1/48 F-15C... R200 in TRU.. but a mere R179 at Reggies. Let me tell you that anything under R300 for these kits is a steal. THEY ARE HUGE.

Basically the bottom line is... don'd discount shops like TRU and Reggies. While they wont have stock of major brands like Tamiya or Hasegawa, one can often find other kits at awesome prices. Off hand, I know that TRU have large stocks of 1/35 BlackHawks and Cobras for pretty good prices. The Academy 1/48 P-40C can be had for R100. I've also spotted some other excellent deals with Mig-21s for R150 (I think). The key thing to remember with TRU and Reggies.. is to never EVER just look at what the first row of models on the shelf. Guys like myself will often come along and find something rare and stash it somewhere in the back of the pile... to be collected later.

In fact I scored my second Imp kit that way. I was digging thru the models at TRU and found the Imp right at the back. I seized my prize and marched off triumphantly to pay and as I was leaving the aisle, I heard some guy bragging to his mate that he had found 'a 1/48 Impala with real SAAF markings' and that he'd 'hidden it so nobody could find it and he could go and get money for it'.

Needless to say, I'm a first come first serve and that possession is 9/10ths of the law. If you find the kit, but I pick it up first... tough cookie mate.

So.. to sum it up...

If you're looking for a good kit, then by all means go to a hobby shop and browse... there are no laws that say you cant do that. Make a note of things you like and their prices (particularly Academy and Italeri kits)... as you can often find them at TRU for cheaper.

Naturally TRU and Reggies wont have vast amounts of choice, but I've seen ranges from WW2 kits (Me 262, Bf-109s, P-40... to Blackhawks and Cobras, to Mig 21s, Mig 29s, F-14s and F-15s). For very reasonable prices.

Hope this helps you guys in your hunts....

Please add anything you'd like to keep this thing going....

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PostPosted: 31 Dec 2009, 10:15 
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Joined: 16 Oct 2008, 12:31
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Location: Elliot
Now you're talking mate...isnt this the reason for forums like this? And I told you reggies is cheap!
Our closest Reggies has 1:48 Mig 29A's for R149.00.[East London] This is also where I got my 1:48 Apache for 60 bucks!
Met a locksmith in Queenstown who wants to sell me a 1:12 F14 Tomcat...For R850.00...is that reasonable? Its so freakin huge that I might put a simulator in it... :D

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PostPosted: 31 Dec 2009, 12:27 
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Joined: 16 Oct 2008, 12:31
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Location: Elliot
By the way, I have a friend that brings in containers of toys and junk from China...and we all know that anything plastic is 'made in China'...but are there any decent model kit brands that come from there? If there are-I'll get them 8)

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PostPosted: 31 Dec 2009, 13:22 
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Joined: 19 Oct 2005, 12:39
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Location: United Kingdom
The Dragon brand, I am sure comes from China, they make excellent kits. Aircraft and tanks.


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PostPosted: 31 Dec 2009, 14:05 
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Joined: 10 Jul 2008, 14:55
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R850... for 1/12? WTF!???

What doesnt it have?? Thats a steal... when you consider that the trumpeter 1/48 DC-3 goes for R800.

If you dont buy it, let me know.. a buddy of mine is a Tomcat fanatic and I'm sure he would love it.

Who is it made by?

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PostPosted: 31 Dec 2009, 14:26 
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The 1/48 Hasegawa F-14D go for £25 and the Hasegawa Tomcat kits are one of the best available.

I have one and its excellent, as it is a mixed kit, plastic, photo etched and white metal parts.


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PostPosted: 31 Dec 2009, 14:39 
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Location: Stellenbosch
lol

I'm not a fan of the F-14. I never got into it for some reason.. but I do have a real weakness for the F-16. I'm trying to resist the urge to get hold of the new Tamiya F-16 in 1/48.

Speakin of Tamiya... you guys seen their new 1/32 Spit Mk IX?

WHAT A BEAUT!!!

I'm hoping they'll scale her down to 1/48 for me.

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PostPosted: 31 Dec 2009, 14:55 
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Joined: 16 Oct 2008, 12:31
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Location: Elliot
Not sure about the make...gonna see it next Saturday and let u know...this guy has stashed his stock of planes that he use to sell from his shop and is just too eager to show me more. I'll take a pic of it anyway :D
Wife bought me a 3 channel blackhawk infrared for Christmas-having tons of fun. Its maneuvrable,but very sensitive in rotational so instead of hunting the airspeed like a i did flying a R44 from Elliot to PE, I'm now hunting the direction with a toy like a dog chasing his tail! :mrgreen:

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PostPosted: 31 Dec 2009, 18:42 
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Joined: 19 Oct 2005, 12:39
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Location: United Kingdom
Trumpeter is also made in China. I have a number of tanks and aircraft made by them all very nice, the largest being their 1/24 Hurricane Mk IIc.

The 1/32 Spitfire is very nice, as is the price of £100.00

Just gone mad and bought myself a late christmas present a 1/72 Gato class submarine to go with my 2 x S-Boots and 2 X U-Boats. It was a steal at £29.00, normally retails at £70.00. The Gato is a beast as it is 1,32m in length, the U-Boats are bad enough at 97cm.

Luckily they are all narrow which is a plus aircrat are wide and long.


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PostPosted: 04 Jan 2010, 13:18 
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Joined: 04 Jan 2010, 13:07
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Hey guys!

I'm brand-new here.

To add to the discussion of apparently overpriced hobby shops, here's my two cents worth.

I used to work in a hobby shop and the argument came up quite regularly as to why hobby shops are generally more expensive than the average toystore (like Reggies and TRU). Well, it basically comes down to buying power. Huge international chainstores like Reggies have shops in almost every suburb, and they buy all their stuff in bulk, in numbers that hobby shops cannot compete with. Therefore they also get substantially better prices than the hobby shops, purely due to the massive amount of purchases they make. Obviously privately-run hobby shops cannot compete with that at all. To be honest, owning a hobby shop is really not such a lucrative business at all. Therefore, please try and support your local hobby shop where you can. But then again, this is a free country and you shop wherever you please :-)

The downside of buying from these chainstores is that they often don't have the variety of model-related stuff you'd find a hobby shop, purely because they're not a dedicated hobby shop.

Also, both Trumpeter as well as Dragon come from China. Both manufacturers offer very standards of plastic modelling, especially Dragon. You do however, pay for this quality as Dragon kits are generally not cheap.

Happy modelling in 2010!
Tinman


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PostPosted: 04 Jan 2010, 13:49 
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Joined: 10 Jul 2008, 14:55
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Location: Stellenbosch
Hi there Tinman,

Welcome to the forum!!

For sure support local hobby shops... not for second am I suggesting that we should all stop buying from them.. they have alot of particular models and model related items that we will always need. I'm just saying that if one is lucky... they wont have to pay the hobby shop prices for something that they can get cheaper.

I can recall the days when the public could still buy from Jeffrey Stein... and I'm honestly kicking myself for not building a big stash of stuff when I still could. Sigh.... hindsight is always 6/6....

I will always go to a model shop to look at their kits, and quite often I will buy kits from them. I bought 2 of my F-1 kits from a hobby shop, the Shackleton I've got for a friend, along with a P-38, Hurricane, F-86, and a Spammy....

Of course stuff gets more expensive, sadly thats how it goes...

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PostPosted: 04 Jan 2010, 14:58 
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Joined: 04 Jan 2010, 13:07
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Hey Portamus,

Thanks for the welcome!

I fully agree with you - if you're lucky then grab the model while you can. I must admit, I also shop around on the net for different models I'm unable to find locally.
Unfortunately the reality in SA is that the market for plastic modelling is actually very small, and therefore the guys will inevitably get some stuff from overseas. Also, Jeffrey Stein is really the only decent supplier of modelling stuff, and even they are limited sometimes.

But as you rightly said, the stuff does get more exensive.

In any case, thanks again for the welcome.


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PostPosted: 25 Nov 2016, 09:37 
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Joined: 03 Apr 2013, 18:00
Posts: 641
Thread necro, I know, but I guess an update might be handy.

I mainly use:

Esswex http://www.esswex.co.za
MDF Models http://www.mdfmodels.co.za
Aviationshop http://www.aviationshop.co.za

Toys R us and Reggies dont stock kits anymore.


Please add to the list.


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PostPosted: 29 Nov 2016, 07:36 
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Joined: 20 Nov 2004, 00:57
Posts: 406
Also the following Local shops/sites

Jix http://www.jixhobbies.co.za/
Model tech http://www.modeltech.co.za/
Grand prix models http://www.gpmodels.co.za/

OInline Stores
Pegasus Hobby Supplies [url]pegasus-hobby-supplies.myshopify.com[/url]
Hobbies online [url]hobbiesonline.co.za[/url]
The Scale modeller http://www.thescalemodeller.co.za/

And then China mall shops in Oriental city Bruma and centurion for trumpeter and hobby boss kits


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PostPosted: 29 Nov 2016, 08:23 
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Joined: 27 Sep 2010, 19:54
Posts: 551
Ok non aviation related but can one get plastic kits for trains? Non functional and just for display purposes?
I've seen some but are all steam trains and wouldnt mind to find some diesels/freight trains.


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