With some computer savy, You could find out where I live and ask my wife for a ton of free kits. You want to make sure you rent a truck before hand.
Have you been to the Ace Hardware Store in Berkeley? The basement of that place has a ton of kits and supplies. Very worth the trip if you are in the Bay Area…
As for finding cheap kits, you can find them on Ebay if you invest the time and patience. The vendor tables at IPMS shows are great places for deals too. I found several great deals at the recent Dallas ScaleFest show.
Best of luck in your search.
Be prepared to strike MICHAELS off your list of sources. The one near me has stopped stocking ANY modeling supplies at all, including kits. Since a chain store like this rarely does anything this severe individually /store to store, rather as a nation wide policy, this may well happen to all locations.
Aw geez, I hope not…to think of all that other tacky stuff they’ll keep on the shelves…sigh.
We have two Hobby Lobby stores in the Phoenix area (western US…). They carry the 1/48 B-24, B-25 and B-29 (Monogram, IIRC). Every week or two they run ads on the internet with a “Buy one item at 40% off” coupons. With that coupon, their prices become VERY competitive, especially for new, unopened kits. Yes, they have the same selection week after week - but they do stock 3 of the kits you mention. IIRC, they are about $30, but with the coupon would be about $18 or so.
We also have the Hobby Town chain, but their prices are ridiculous!
Yeah, let me second (or third) hobby shows. Not only can you look at IPMS’s site but also ask around at your local hobby shop.
Most venders are willing to haggle, try ‘bundling’ kits. For example hold up three $20.00 kits and a fifty dollar bill and ask him if he’ll make you a deal. Some will, some won’t, in any case if he won’t you haven’t lost anything.
Also wait till the last hour or two of the event, even until the guy’s loading his stuff back on the truck. Most venders don’t want to haul their stuff back and are willing to make a deal on it.
I checked out Hobby Lobby’s website just to see where the nearest store was (still 175 miles away, but closer than the last time I looked), but they also sell online now and the 40% off coupon is good for online purchases too.
Bill
Forgive me if this has been mentioned already, I didn’t read through all the posts. Contest, vendor tables ARE the “Holy Grail” for cheap kits! 90% of my stash started on a vendor table, with prices, generally speaking, 50% off or better! But, honestly, the kits you are looking for are worth the $30-ish retail price, in my opinion.
Try Tower Hobbies. The $28 kit price for B-17G or B-24D is not the cheapest, but not bad. They have a standard shipping within continental US of $9.99. It is pretty reasonable if you have no LHS (local hobby shop) nearby.
I usually shop at my LHS for current production models and save the $10-15 shipping cost. My LHS has a good selection and can special order from Tower. I also have a Hobby Lobby only 10 minutes away. I will get my B-29 there if I want one.
For $30, you can have the kits shipped from Hong Kong or Korea if you want Japanese, Chinese or Korean kits which are much cheaper in the far east. For Revell kits, the US price is as cheap as elsewhere. Shopping can be fun, but it needs patience. Good luck.
Thanks, my daughter has a summer job in Bezerkeley while she is up here from college. Looks like I’m going to have to check it out.
Surprisingly, walmart dot com has kits. In the search box, type in Revell. They dont sell in store, but you can have the kits shipped to the store for in store pick up for free…not a terrible selection, either…
also, if you are on facebook, ‘like’ dragon usa, and they have weekly specials…
Justin
If you are game for a 1/72 Liberator…I may have something for you.
I sent a message.
scalehobbyist.com is a place I get a lot of my stuff from, the max shipping is 12.95. I’ve ordered over 30 models and still only paid the 12.95. I know the 1/72 sub I got would have cost more than that from other places.