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White Ensign Models Closing
- Thread starter RichB
- Start date
Swordsman
Active member
I know James ..... I run a Hobby shop and can get most everything that WEM has ..... I'm in a town of about 26,000 people ..... It's rough .... Us LHS have lots of overhead ..... that keeps us from being able to sell at the prices that the places that don't have a brick & mortar store do ..... building ..... Me I'm going to try to move to my land in a smaller town, but on a two-lane highway ...... the land is paid for so no rent ..... I'll be building a Caboose for the train shop .... and you know what they say if you build it they will come .... still it's sad to see another one bite the dust ..... :angry: 
:angry:
:angry:
I'll come, googling Greenville Texas....You know, if we make it out to Eaglequest it looks like a nice little road trip out to Greenville.
We had another LHS shut down around here. I can only think of a 3 with in an hour drive in any direction now. Funny, I remember riding my bike downtown to hit one.
We had another LHS shut down around here. I can only think of a 3 with in an hour drive in any direction now. Funny, I remember riding my bike downtown to hit one.
jknaus
Administrator
I know James ..... I run a Hobby shop and can get most everything that WEM has ..... I'm in a town of about 26,000 people ..... It's rough .... Us LHS have lots of overhead ..... that keeps us from being able to sell at the prices that the places that don't have a brick & mortar store do ..... building ..... Me I'm going to try to move to my land in a smaller town, but on a two-lane highway ...... the land is paid for so no rent ..... I'll be building a Caboose for the train shop .... and you know what they say if you build it they will come .... still it's sad to see another one bite the dust ..... :angry:
Yes I feel for the Hobby Shop owners. My Dad owned one and I worked there for a number of years. Unfortunately when recessions come thats one of the first places to dry up. Was toying with the idea of opening one here, but we have had I think 5 shops in the last 20 years that never made it and I just dont have the money to lose.
James
ausf
Master at Arms
I really don't see how any pure brick and mortar HS can survive unless they're in a large city. Online competition is too fierce to the dwindling clientele. It used to be that you needed a level of service and expertise to get you through the learning curve, establishing a customer base, but now places like this replace the shop counter.
In the days of stick and tissue, you needed a constant guiding hand during the weekly hour long visit, which included buying a few things. Now everything is prebuilt, cheap with a wall of replacement parts and no need for info.
Plus the fact of the narrow customer base. When I was a kid, a bunch of friends built models. I thought I was giving my sons a leg up on the competition by putting a AB in their hands at an early age. They were avid builders, but not one of their friends even knew model kits existed. There's no room in hands for sprue cutters and iPods. iPods win always.
In the days of stick and tissue, you needed a constant guiding hand during the weekly hour long visit, which included buying a few things. Now everything is prebuilt, cheap with a wall of replacement parts and no need for info.
Plus the fact of the narrow customer base. When I was a kid, a bunch of friends built models. I thought I was giving my sons a leg up on the competition by putting a AB in their hands at an early age. They were avid builders, but not one of their friends even knew model kits existed. There's no room in hands for sprue cutters and iPods. iPods win always.
Thanks for the link Gary, couldn't help to notice, MidtennHobbies is carrying Anigrand kits? My holy grail build would be the XF-11 http://www.anigrand.com/AA2041_XF-11.htm
Rhino
Super Moderator
Freetime Hobbies, Blue Ridge GA has WEM Items listed on their Discountinued Closeout section.
http://www.freetimehobbies.com/white-ensign-models-1/
I hope that helps. Those of you that know me, no I mean no disrespect to other Hobby Shop proprietors. Brandon Lowe is a friend of mine.
End of an ERA. Fair winds, and following Seas to our friends at White Ensign!
http://www.freetimehobbies.com/white-ensign-models-1/
I hope that helps. Those of you that know me, no I mean no disrespect to other Hobby Shop proprietors. Brandon Lowe is a friend of mine.
End of an ERA. Fair winds, and following Seas to our friends at White Ensign!
