I know prices vary between dealers, makers, scales, etc., but I’d be curious to hear of your favorite sites for buying scale model kits. I don’t have an LHS, so I’ve been buying online through scalehobbyist.com. Their prices have been consistently better than other sites I’ve found. But maybe you know an even better site? I’m building 1/48 scale airplanes after being away from modeling for decades. Happy to be back, and finding this site very helpful.
Look for sales around holidays,sign up for their ads to be notified of sales. Also shop around Ebay,bargains could be had,just watch shipping costs.
I agree with Tojo72. I use scalehobbyist the most, though.
Thanks for the suggestions. I haven’t seen redfrog or luckmodels yet. I did sign up for email from SpueBros, et al. And I have set up some watches on eBay for an Eduard profipack Hellcat. I’ll check out the sites mentioned here as well.
I have purchased several from Ebay and got pretty decent deals (some, I’ve probably paid too much for, but it was the only place I could find them. I’ve also used hobbylinc.com, they have pretty competitive prices and often run specials as well.
Ditto on scalehobbist. I’ve compare prices between them and most others and they usually turn out to be the cheapest. They have, IMHO, one of the easiest to use sites for finding what you want and their packing and shipping (care taken with your stuff) are second to none. No sci-fi or space models though.
I’ve shopped online at megahobby.com a couple times with no complaints.
Adam148; Try spruBrothers.com and Amazion.com ACESES5 [snWcm]
When I have a model in mind to purchase I search all of those sites for the best price, including taxes and shipping costs. Last week Amazon had a aircraft carrier for $40 dollars less than all these sites, plus free shipping. The week before they had the carrier by $30 dollars over all the other sites with no free shipping.
I suggest you keep a list of models you would like to purchase and check prices every week.
They do have si-fi and space just have to type it in search.
Well I’ll be. I wonder why they didn’t include a category for it? They’re losing out on some business.
Squadron is another that usually has a large stock of kits.
Nobody in the US beats scalehobbyist in terms of price, search engine and customer service in my experience.
I found the same thing to be true. Most importantly for me they have great shipping prices and insanely fast delivery by UPS. The contents are carefully packed, liquids are bagged separately, they use heavy duty cardboard boxes; they really are a first class outfit.
It’s also very comforting to have an order status page that they scrupulously maintain; I can see where my order is from placement to shipment, you get a UPS tracking number; you can cancel the order if you catch it before they process it too. I’ve never had a single problem from them.
If you look for an item that is out of stock you can get on a notification list which is done by email. Their website is very easy to navigate with pictures of the items.
And reviving an old post once more…
Try rollmodels.come, I shop with them and scalehobbyist.com. Both really good sites.
The only knock I have with Roll Models is they’re super slow fulfilling your order. Unless you’re not in a hurry in getting it. Scalehobbyist is by far has the best prices around.
I’m afraid my list is pretty large. I started research on Model kits back in 2012. Lottsa Fun shopping. Good experiences with all of the following sites.
FreetimeHobbies for kits no one in the US seems to carry (Selection is down this year)
ScaleHobbist: Prices/selection really good! Easy to navigate. Great web site.
HobbyLink: Good deals on many occasions. Easy site to navigate. (70 sailing ship kits)
Sprue Bros: Fantastic specials!
Tower Hobbies: Good when they have a Sale/Coupon.
Plaza Japan: Better prices then USA… Bigger selection on Japanese OEM. S&H not bad makes price about equal to USA. Shipping time longer.
Hobby Easy: Same as Plaza. ( No wish list- bummer)
HobbyLink Japan: Same as Plaza. ( No wish list)
Martola: Great for certain Brands ie: Mirage. Was great on price till EUR vs USD changed.
Models UA: Same as Martola (plus MicroMir)
Armory: Same as Martola (no Mirage now) (Plus MicroMir)
OKB shop.okbgrigorov:Where else could you get a Seawolf Special Projects 1/700 sub?
VCS Hobbies: Best prices I have seen on Gold Medal Models PE
Dragon Online store: Prices vary but their Moving Sale a few months ago was fantastic.
Goodwill: Good prices but S&H are very high. Best to be 1st bidder and hope.
Ebay and Amazon: What can I say. Ya gotta watch for that really good deal. Since 2006 I made over 400 Hundred Purchases of printer ink, tools, supplies, clothing, books, Movies, and Models and accessories! 2 failures: USPS lost an Aurora I-19 and Ebay sent me back my $4.00 when an Item never shipped. Good success: 100 Scalpel Blades # 11 with Free Handle $6.73
And last, Polar Bear Production (www.subs-n-ships) for that Russian Sub you always wanted.
Note: Except for Ebay, most of the above “stores” are really poor for Sailing Ships. It seems that if it’s got sails, there’s no sales.
Nino.
Updated on 10/1/17.
Given I build Regia Aeronautica Italia subjects more often than not must buy direct from manufacturers, buys this year from SEM Models Italy cost arm & leg shipping being a large part. Last year bought a 1/72 RS Models AVIA FL3 from The Aviation Shop Randburg South Africa, kit otherwise near impossible to find.
On the decal side, some months ago bought the last TAURO 72/546 Regia Aeronautica Insignia decal sheet on Earth from Jays Hobby Products in New Zealand, lucky I was, he had it “waiting” just for me!
https://www.bnamodelworld.com/ you can get some very good deals and shipping is very cheap