Located in an unfashionable arcade five minutes walk from Snow Hill station in Birmingham, Element Games is part of a chain, catering for wargamers.
It's home to the largest selection of model paints I have ever seen in one room. You won't find Humbrol or Revell, but pretty much everything else is there. Loads of brands I've never heard of, and quite a few I have, but consider them "advanced".
My problem was that I'm working on a GWR station, and needed some light stone, dark stone etc. The book stays use Precision Paints, but the web says there's no chance to buy the full set of colours.
Anyway, I wander in with my book, hoping to pick up some alternatives. An assistant asks if he can help, then proceeds to spend 15 minutes working around the various ranges, looking for the best colour match. I've got five acrylic colours, from four different makers - full details will be in the article.
I was especially impressed when he said there was one range he wasn't selecting from, as he'd never used that paint. That says he's using the products from the store, and has some knowledge of them, always a good thing.
So, there aren't any toy trains, and the small number of plastic kits are properly weird, but for paint and other modelling materials and tools, I'd certainly recommend this place. Best of all, according to their website, they have stores all over the country. The next one to open is in Covent Garden, so someone has a budget...
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