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I heard about model zone, a few magazines have approached me for samples since they went bang, those dam internet stores 😛

I do know what you mean. I had to send away to Australia for Tamiya 400 sandpaper, this was two weeks ago and i’m still waiting. I buy all my model kits online but I very rarely buy anything online unless I have to.
For me it’s really nice to go into a hobby shop and be inspired. Both my local hobby shop don’t have an online presence. They both told me it’s not worth their time trying to complete on ebay etc for the lowest possible prices.

I agree completely with your first paragraph. A race to the bottom with prices inevitably ends with a race to the bottom in quality. I don’t know how things are in the US but in the UK the high street (main street) is dying. Shops are becoming generic, and niche shops don’t last long. Where I am there are few discount craft shops where I can pick up some great deals, deals that I would never know about unless I got out and went shopping.

I know In Japan department store offer places to build models and airbrush them. It would be nice to see them in other places, It would be a great place to socialise with other model builders but too few people enjoy this hobby. The bankruptcy of model zone in the UK proves that. At least there is hobbycraft, *sigh* no expert knowledge to found there.

One of local hobby shop, an affiliated Game Workshop store is run by people my age (mid 20s,) I trust you were just speaking generally. If, for example, 10 people on ebay were selling the exact same model for the exact same price, including shipping, which one do you think would be purchased? The top one, right? In that example don’t the other 9 have outdated business models? That is a very crude example but it serve my point. I don’t mind paying a bit more if I receive excellent service and you get that at local shop and you don’t it get online.

I already feel like a Hikikomori. I don’t need less reasons to go out and talk with people face to face.

I suppose you’re right, but at least people in their 50’s and 60’s aren’t worried so much about the future. They’ll be retiring soon and bad economies affect the young more than the the old.

My local hobby shop are expensive, but then again this is an expensive hobby. They sell military kits, tanks planes etc. Which is fine but it’s not for me. I was talking with a model shop owner and he was complaining about increasing rates, which is a tax. He doesn’t pay rates because the MPs office on the same street and they made a deal with the council not the implement while they were there. But it means he’s afraid to move to a better location because he’ll simply not make enough profit to pay taxes let alone his suppliers. I’ve worked for companies that would rather close down than pay increase rates.

In the UK Gundam is completely unknown by most. As a people we are not interested in sci-fi, with the exceptions of Dr Who and Red Dwarf which were designed to be exceptions from the start. If you’re into Japanese culture you are look down upon because it’s not British. That’s the sad state we’ve devolved into. It was different when Gundam Wing aired, Gundam was marketed to us but it failed miserably, despite them stealing The Army’s slogan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_oV4GIe3s0 . That advert made me feel embarrassed and would not attract me to gunpla if I wasn’t already into it. I remember buying 1/100 HGs for about $30-$46 USD and thought i got a bargain. This was before I found HLJ. HLJ’s prices are great but you can still find a bargain or two on ebay if you look hard enough.

I wish more people liked this hobby. There is entire industry behind it and could help struggling economies around the world. Perhaps it should be taught it schools, in art class. Not necessarily Gunpla but model building in general.