jenny croft wrote:
EVERYTHING I get is from Mail order ! Even Sydney seems to lack a decent Hobby shop with Hobbyco (no price favours there) being about it !
Thst is so true Jenny, I can't think of many hobby shops in Sydney worthy of the name. Hobbyco of old (the mid 70's to early 80's "basement" shop) was great. They had every kit imaginable (at the time) and had knowledgable staff. Now, several relocations/expansions later it's just another sterile shop full of lots of stuff you don't want and very little that you do, at ridiculous prices. :S
Since the demise of Avenue Hobbies a couple of years ago, there isn't really any other "modelling enthusiast's" shop in Sydney. This was a place that had Armorscale barrels, LionRoar PE, Echelon Decals, Vallejo paints etc on the shelf. Sadly, no more. I hope Barry's well.
PE? resin? turned barrels? In Sydney, today, to my knowledge, not a chance.
Jenny, if you;re ever over Ryde way, drop into Tom's Hobbies at West Ryde. They're primarily a model railways shop but have a reasonable selection of kits (though this can vary from time to time) and the prices aren't too painful. I picked up a couple of Trumpeter 1/48 T-34's for a whopping $16.00 (regular price) each about 8 months ago.
I only get there maybe two or three times a year, but one time, as I was paying for some stuff, the guy behind the counter says to the girl at the register "Look after him, he's a good bloke". I think I got one or two pots of paint at no charge, but hey, a couple of bucks is still a couple of bucks and it was a pleasant surprise. Bur more than that, it's the kind of service I like, the kind of service that people remember and makes them want to come back. B)