I’m going to be in Germany this fall. Does anyone know of any good model shops in the Cologne area? I know in the US good model shops are hard to come by, especially outside the big cities.
Thanks,
Bill
Hello!
I have only been to Koln once and I have only seen the cathedral and the chocolate museum there, but as big cities go, it’s hard to find something more “big-city-like” than Koln, so I suppose there are good shops there. Try this link here:
That’s what I would start from, and then just check out the shops as you move through the city. Good luck and have a nice day
Paweł
Overall in Germany you will not have the Dedicated model store only.You will have the local hobby store w/ the basic hobbies and RC products,and in a small corner section plastic models mostly Revell.Your best bet is to go to Spain.Madrid has hobby stores w/ lots of models and finishing products.I have returned from Europe visiting Germany and Spain.
That is the impression I got from their websites. My local hobby shop here has some decent kits in the back and almost no good paints and tools. Obviously not a priority with them.
Gentlemen - I’ve been to many model shops in Germany and I disagree with what Silver wrote. I feel that his generalization goes a little too far and it also contradicts my experience. While nowadays more and more pople are into operating cheap to medium priced RC models and moel shops have to work with that trend, the model shops in Germany certainly differ from one to another. Some of them are focused on RC and may have a very small selection of plastic models or may omit this subject entirely (newer shops do that). Some shops are focused on railroad models and those shops usually have quite a good selection of plastic models and an excelent choice of tools, paints and diorama materials. And there are shops that focus on plastic models too - you just have to look in bigger cities for them, but there are exceptions. One excellently stocked shop is in Waggum - a small village near Braunschweig, Germany - they have an internet shop but let you roam through their warehouse, quite an experience! So I say don’t go to Spain, you’ll find good shops much nearer. If you want to travel outside of Germany you might try Warsaw or Krakow in Poland - those cities have good modelling shops in addition to cheap beer and nice sightseeing, not to speak of friendly girls, so why travel so far? 
Enjoy your stay in Europe and have a nice day
Paweł