Modell Center Hünerbein

 

Arriving in Aachen mid-afternoon, I idly typed "Model shops Aachen" into Google, and it pointed me at Modell Center Hünerbein. According to the map, a 20-minute walk would get me there before they closed, with the benefit of a chance to see the old city, and the main shopping area. 

Off I strode, not really knowing what I'd find, but when I arrived, the frontage was huge!

Looking in the windows, it was pretty obvious that the range was pretty comprehensive, and with only half an hour to look around, I dived in. 

This place is vast! With the possible exception of HobbyCo in Sydney, this is the largest model shop I have ever visited. Well over half the shop is given over to railways of all scales from Z to G. Racks and racks of second-hand, all nicely displayed. 

There was even a solitary OO item!

One surprise was the large selection of road vehicles on offer. We do see these in the UK, but not in the quantity here, plus the huge range of plastic and laser-cut buildings. 

Of course, there is also a big selection of plastic kits, radio control and modelling materials. 

Chatting online with friends, some know of this place, and had left money for models in the past. Now, one feature of this trip was that I carried everything in a rucksack, so I simply couldn't buy very much, as I couldn't carry it. But, the law is that when in a model shop, you must buy something.

Which is why I grabbed their last pot of Humbrol 144 - a very useful colour all but extinct in the UK as a start. Then a little metal VW van, well I was in Germany. And finally, one of those buys you make because you'll regret it if you don't, a festive VW. Don't ask me how much this cost, I just knew I loved it a lot, and would certainly remember my trip to the shop!

Check out the Modell Center Hünerbein website. And if you are in Aachen, pay it a visit! 

Bühler AG, Interlaken

 

If you go down the Bahnhofstrasse today, you are in for a slight disapointment. They don't open on Mondays. Yes, you can look at the somewhat faded items in the display windows, and it's still more interesting than a lot of the shops in Interlaken, but frustrating. 

Get past of the odd opening hours, a feature of many Swiss model shops, and you are rewarded with a cornucopea of models. 

Four rooms and the corridor are stacked with models. Mostly HO scale trains, but plenty of other stuff too such as RC models and construction kits. There are paints and modelling materials, it really is well stocked. 

This being Switzerland, there aren't any obvious bargains, but for the UK enthusiast, it's the breadth of product on display that appeals, at least it diud to me. I came away with a pack from the Faller Basic Range, which weirdly, isn't on their website, and a Marklin Christmas wagon, which you can be sure will appear on this blog at some point. 

Well worth a visit, especially if you get bored of endless shops selling watches, penknives and fridge magnets. 

Buhler website.

A little piece of Ian Allan for my wall

The sad closure of the final Ian Allan shop in Waterloo leaves the country with no chain model shops. 

However, thanks to the generosity of the new occupant of the premises, a little piece of the shop will live on. On finding that there were still a few shop fittings knocking around, rather than throw them in a skip, they took the time to find RMweb, register an account and then post, offering the signs from above the shelves to anyone as a memento. 

The effort required was substantial, and incredibly generous. 

I leapt at the chance, and soon found myself the owner of the "New Title" and "Maritime" headers. I was beaten to the "Railway" one by another evil blogger, but I'm not too worried. The chance to own a little bit of somewhere I had enjoyed visiting means I'm not really fussed, and both are appropriate for me anyway. 

The shop itself is to become a dental practice. 

The iconic tiled frontage and unusual window is retained, so if you are in the area, it's still possible to spot the old place. 

This isn't the only bit of IA memorabilia in my collection though. I bought this for £3 at a show years ago. 

Luck was on my side - surely I can't be the only person who would want it?

Hornby St Pancras pop-up store

In London for some beer, I nipped into St Pancras station with the aim of spotting the latest train operator there - Hornby.

The famous manufacturer has opened a pop-up store in the lower levels of the station, where the beer barrels used to be and now you find high-end shops.

It's an interesting move. On the stand, you find trains, Airfix, Scalextric, Corgi and other diecasts. There's no paint or modelling materials, this is all aimed at the souvenir market for those nipping over to France on the train.  Prices are all full RRP, and compared to some of the other outlets nearby, this seems cheap!

I'm told that the pop-up is working well. Sales are good and I suspect that as a brand with wide recognition, the chance to buy something properly British works for those walking by.

At the end of the stand there is a model railway. Nothing big - space isn't going to be cheap - but a train running around catches the eye. Enough that they could have sold it several times a week!

In addition to selling from the counter, the attentive staff hand out Welcome Cards which offer a discount at the Hornby Hobbies website until the end of the year. Presumably, since this is likely to be a new group of customers, that will get them interested later and spread the name further. I wonder how many will be carrying a train set or slot car track home that they hadn't planned on buying?

The pop-up is in place until Christmas Eve.

Farewell to Ian Allan, Birmingham

It was a sad day on Tuesday. I paid my last visit to the Ian Allan bookshop in the centre of Birmingham.

It's a trip I've made many times - any trip to Brum included a few minutes in there for as long as I can remember. Once it was the basement on Stephenson Street but a few years ago they were displaced to a nicer shop around the corner.

Is it silly to mourn a shop?

If it is, I am silly. So many model shops have vanished now. The Train Shop in Warwick, Toytown in Leamington (models upstairs), Trinders in Birmingham, Bob's Models in Solihull. Now Ian Allan joins the list.

For bargain hunters, this was good news. I arrived to see signs announcing 75% off everything. I'm sure the vultures were circling but I just wanted to make a final purchase for old times sake.

Inside, there was hardly any stock and what there was, was mostly books, Much of it has gone to the Waterloo branch, but customers have been clearing the shelves too. Some will miss the place and left "Sorry you're leaving" cards for both shop and staff.

My bag was heavier by the end of the visit. I don't need 8 1/2 inch tall plastic kit palm trees but I didn't fancy any of the other kits. Anyway, this was the silliest and that wins for me.

My favourite purchases were as Ian Allan as you could get:

A loco spotting book and a card showing a Class 40 in the snow.

For now, the centre of Birmingham is devoid of model shops. This might change though as one of the IA managers is setting up a news hop near the law courts, and near the bottom of the Grande Central ramp, is an art shop called "Let's Fill This Town With Artists" that supply architectural modelmakers. If you need 3mm scale people or lichen, they can help.

I am sad about the loss of another safe place for nerdy train-loving people. We don't have many places to call our own. If you have a local model shop, then use it!

Why I love my local model shop

Now, I might have a slightly weird job, but even if I didn't, I'm sure I would love having a local model shop. To me, the convenience outweighs any slight price advantage I might get ordering on-line.

A few days ago, a future mag project deadline being chopped in half, I nipped in to see what there was in the N gauge section. A few minutes, and 35 quid later, I had a bag full of the stuff you see above. Now, I could have ordered over the web, but I wasn't at the stage where the project was fully thought through so I could modify things based on the products I could lay my hands on.

Apparently, there are those (according to popular web forums) who really don't like model shops. I struggle to understand that, I really do. Maybe it's the need to avoid human contact, or simply that their modelling entirely involves buying new boxes for the lowest price possible, but how can you beat rooting around in the depths of a shop for surprises?

Anyway, my local shop is Classic Train and Motor Bus, who reach their 20th birthday this year. That's 20 years of excellent service AND prices. They have just altered their opening times fro close at 3:45 to allow for more time on mail-order and expanding their web presence. Apparently, after analysis, this is the best way to free up time to work on expanding the business, or at least getting down to the Post Office to send off parcels!

If you have a local model shop - pay them a visit this weekend. It's summer and things are quiet, so do your bit to keep them open with a purchase. With a bit of luck, they will them be there when you need them.

Update: Over the weekend, it was revealed at the Ian Allan shop in central Birmingham is to close. This makes me both sad AND angry. It's a terrific shop, and a staple of any visit to the city. I've spent many, many pounds there in the past and yet it looks like there aren't enough people like me to pay the bills. I know there are people who will crow about this saying "I told you so" but if a city centre can't support a single model shop, what hope is there for the practical (rather then filling a cupboard with shiny boxes) side of our hobby?

MT Games and DVD, Weston-super-mare

In the back streets of Weston-Super-Mare, I spotted a Hornby logo on the front of a shop that at first sight, didn't look that promising. The front suggests once of those places where you trade in electrical items and computer games, and they do offer this service, but also a lot more.

Inside, this is a big shop. Turn right and there are many (locked) cabinets of model railway items, mostly second hand. There were Graham Farish OO gauge wagons in a cabinet. I looked and they were priced for proper collectors and not casual ones, but how often do you see these?

There are normal RTR model railways and plastic kits plus a very well-stocked Humbrol paint range. There's also Citadel to go with the Games Workshop figures. In fact I was a lot more impressed than I'd expected to me. OK, these guys aren't specialists, but the shop is well worth a look if you are in town.

MT Games website.

Death of a model shop

A very sad post to start the week. Saturday saw the last trading day of Gee Dee Models in Nottingham.

I'd not planned to visit, rushing to the closing down sale of any model shop seems a bit ghoulish, but I was invited to have a look around by one of the people helping clear the decks - and I reasoned they had enjoyed some of my money in earlier years.

That might sound strange, but I really can't stand people who have refused to hand over money until there is a stonking great sale on. Model shops are an endangered breed and deserve our support. No-one is getting rich running one, but they provide a valuable service for our community. This doesn't mean the odd packet of track pins or pot of paint, but those big-ticket items too. Maybe you can save a couple of quid on-line, but what's the bigger cost?

I digress. The shelves were looking pretty bare when I arrived, but there were bargains to be had and I bagged a few after my tour and a free cup of tea. The place is huge, with considerable storage as well as a generous sales floor. There were a few surprises found when digging to the back of the cupboards, a good model shop builds up a nice bed of odd things over the years that are nuggets of gold to a certain type of modeller.

The very first branch opened in 1946 so we are talking about a business with 73 years of trading, only closing on the retirement of the owner now into his 80s - who dropped in to see the final closure.

The photo above comes from the Gee Dee website, well worth a look for pictures showing a superb model shop in its heyday.

Among the goodies found were some "Joy Club" cards used by shoppers in the 1960s to save up for items. You would come in and pay your money into the savings scheme and eventually be able to afford the Hornby Dublo locomotive or Aerokits boat you desired. At one point there were 4000 members, all records being painstakingly recorded by hand - no computers in those days!

Gee Dee was a proper, traditional shop covering all branches of the model-making hobby. Railways, radio control boats/planes/cars, plastic kits and diecast collectables filled the shelves in all scales. The train area might have been mostly OO and N, but 7mm and G scale were also well represented.

I remember my first visit back in the mid-1980s. My dad and I had taken the train to the Nottingham show, it being (correctly) suggested as one to visit by our new model railway club colleagues. After enjoying the event and a hearty chip-based meal at the ice rink where it was held (the lady serving seemed to consider a bag of frozen chips equalled two portions) we walked to the store and were in heaven.

A few years later, when building Melbridge Dock and needing some boat fittings for the scratchbuilt Clyde Puffers, we dropped in and were allowed to raid a stack of tiny plastic drawers in one of the cabinets. I've never seen such an array of model boat fitting in a shop since. Some of those we bought are probably still in our drawers as it was a long way to travel, so we stocked up!

Every visit to Nottingham since has centred on a visit. Much as I like the city, it's great to have a focal point and I never left empty-handed.

Sadly, this has all come to an end. The shutters came down and the lights were turned off. Those shelves still have goodies on them, although there were more spaces at closing time than when the doors opened.

I went for a beer with the staff afterwards. Obviously, they will miss the place, many having worked there for years and all being modelmakers themselves. Everyone seemed in good spirits despite the occasion.

The people of Nottingham will have lost something important too. Some will call me stupid and sentimental, after all, we have the Internet so who needs a physical shop when you can order your latest Bachby locomotive sat in your pants at home?

Places like Gee Dee are more than just a shop for buying things. Peter, the boss, explained that if you want to talk football, you can go to any pub. If you want to talk model railways (or boats or planes) you can't do that.

Maybe you are lucky enough to belong to a club to sate your need to chat, but for a lot of people, this isn't an option. In a good model shop, you can discuss the things you make, the hobby you love, and no-one thinks you are weird. Because if you are weird, so is everyone else in there. At least we can be weird together.

Farewell Gee Dees.

Hobbyrail, Sutton Coldfield

I love an indoor market and so while wandering the streets of Sutton Coldfield, I was pleased to spot a sign for their local emporium.

Among the stalls selling pet products, mobile phones and wigs, I found Hobbyrail. To be honest, as the side of the unit is done up like a Pullman coach, it's difficult to miss!

The spacious shop isn't stuffed with stock, but there is certainly variety. For a start, there are the basic materials we all need including a nice full Humbrol paint rack. The Peco catalogue is well represented with both parent company and Ratio kits plus some Wills products to be found.

Despite not being on site very long, there are some oddball products dotted around and the reason for that must be that this iteration of Hobbyrail replaces a shop I visited in 2011. I'd guess much of the stock has made it to these more central and larger premises. 

I stocked up on paint and managed to resist a few other goodies, but have to commend the owners for the move. As I recall, the old place was a bit out in the sticks, but this is a town-centre location. Looking on-line, there are many positive reviews too, a good sign. The staff were busy helping someone with some wiring problems while I was there. Let's hope this translates into plenty of regular custom. 

A final touch, the cafe in the next unit does a very nice baked potato followed by apple pie and cream. Just the place for lunch!

George's Trains - Toronto

 

Handily situated for both the back of the Rapido Trains office and a main line real railway is George's Trains, which describes itself as "Canada's Greatest ModelTrain store!".

The shop is pretty sizable compared to many UK stores but not mahoosive. The first thing that struck me was the amount of O gauge 3-rail on sale. This is very popular in the US, far more than finescale it appears. Quite a few of the working Lionel sets were on sale in pre-owned form, but fortunately (for my wallet) not the giraffe car.

Moving through a short connecting corridor we find the magazine section which could rival the railway section in WH Smith, but with Canadian and American magazines. On the walls are some "classic" old boxes.

The second half of the shop is HO rolling stock and kits plus some N. Great range of building kits and also scratch building bits. Far too much for me to remember or even properly take in on one visit. Moving back toward the front, it's paint (no Humbrol), glue and other materials.

There's also a cabinet full of Korean brass models, probably more in one place than I've seen in my life. They look very impressive, but against modern RTR? Probably more a collectors thing now.

Obviously, I couldn't come away empty handed so as well as a building kit and HO scale Yeti, I bought the most horrible thing I could see packed in one of the shops own bags - it's an O scale plastic car that I wouldn't let near a layout, even a tinplate one. But it only cost $3.95 - £2.27 at time of writing.

It makes a nice souvenir though of my trip.

A final point, I understand this is where Rod Stewart drops in when he's in town for a gig, so you never know who you might bump in to.

George's Trains website.

Hattons, Liverpool

Hattons - best known as the largest mail order model railway supplier in the UK - actually has a shop. A proper shop you can walk in to and buy models from. Admittedly, the location isn't convenient if you use public transport, but for those using a car and in the area, it's excellent with plenty of parking and not far to walk from the door with your purchases.

Inside, the shop is well laid out and you can buy everything on the website. Most stock is in cabinets and if you can't see what you want, just ask. Not everything is on show. Having said that, it's probably in stock in the big room next door. 

 

Yes, the famous warehouse.  I wasn't sure what to expect but in truth it's just a very efficient warehouse but full of model railways.To be fair though, they are really putting some effort into customer service by being able to answer questions and help people out. Several of the team I spoke to are real enthusiasts, including one who is a volunteer on the Manx Electric Railway and recognised me from touring the sheds a few weeks earlier!

Yes, picking and packing is the core of the business, but this is really evolving as yesterdays announcements show.