alternate sources for acquiring model kits?
Discussion
Aside from model shops of course...
Case in point - this chap snaps up a used 1:12 Tamiya Porsche kit for a fiver!
https://youtu.be/-AJHsCB7lW0?t=413 (6:53)
Case in point - this chap snaps up a used 1:12 Tamiya Porsche kit for a fiver!
https://youtu.be/-AJHsCB7lW0?t=413 (6:53)
eBay is an obvious option but I've had some pretty dreadful experiences on the platform (both as a buyer & seller) recently.
Your best bet may be provincial Auction Houses - most major towns/cities in the UK have a local auction house. There are specialised toy/model auction Houses such as "Vectis" - as it happens they have an online auction tomorrow with over 190 Tamiya items listed. The downside is that the specialised auctioneers know the true value of items - as do most of their customers - so bargains are rare.
So it is with the general auctioneers that your best chances lie. Most of the clientele will be more interested in buying antique furniture etc so won't provide you with much (bidding) competition. I tend to hunt for antique clocks and automobilia but will pick up the occasional model kit or Scalextric set if the price is right. Last year I landed partly built (but complete) Tamiya kits of the Renault RE20 and Tyrrell P34 F1 cars for £22 the pair.
The non-specialised Houses will often not fully grasp the true value of an unusual item so that is the excitement of the hunt. Last year I paid £10 for a "tractor steering wheel". I had an inkling of what I was buying - an early 1950's Bluemel wheel as fitted to period Jaguar C Types !
'Easy Live Auction" is a great website that acts as a search engine for Auction Houses and their latest catalogues - you can search for specific items also. Most Auction Houses that I have dealt with have been scrupulously fair and honest - if you bid from afar the majority provide a packing/courier service.
A typical "Easy Live" search - items will often go for below their estimates…
Your best bet may be provincial Auction Houses - most major towns/cities in the UK have a local auction house. There are specialised toy/model auction Houses such as "Vectis" - as it happens they have an online auction tomorrow with over 190 Tamiya items listed. The downside is that the specialised auctioneers know the true value of items - as do most of their customers - so bargains are rare.
So it is with the general auctioneers that your best chances lie. Most of the clientele will be more interested in buying antique furniture etc so won't provide you with much (bidding) competition. I tend to hunt for antique clocks and automobilia but will pick up the occasional model kit or Scalextric set if the price is right. Last year I landed partly built (but complete) Tamiya kits of the Renault RE20 and Tyrrell P34 F1 cars for £22 the pair.
The non-specialised Houses will often not fully grasp the true value of an unusual item so that is the excitement of the hunt. Last year I paid £10 for a "tractor steering wheel". I had an inkling of what I was buying - an early 1950's Bluemel wheel as fitted to period Jaguar C Types !
'Easy Live Auction" is a great website that acts as a search engine for Auction Houses and their latest catalogues - you can search for specific items also. Most Auction Houses that I have dealt with have been scrupulously fair and honest - if you bid from afar the majority provide a packing/courier service.
A typical "Easy Live" search - items will often go for below their estimates…
Facebook Marketplace - try searching for 'plastic model kit'. Particularly if you're prepared to look through photos of job lots for gems that aren't actually mentioned in the listing.
When buying from any secondhand source is that you don't know how complete they are unless the seller has actually laid out all the bits and done an inventory check against the instructions.
I've been selling off on Ebay first edition Series One Airfix models for an elderly friend. He bought them from Woolworths in the late 50s/early 60s, as they were released. Unfortunately, although they are unstarted he had opened each one, so I've still got several, each with a part missing.
As the packets had been opened, I laid out the parts so the sellers could see them for themselves, as well as pictures of the instructions so they could do their own checks. This way I was able to get pretty good prices for each.
Airfix were pretty good at leaving parts out themselves, hence the paper slip in each kit, so its not necessarily the seller's fault if bits aren't there, and if its an estate sale they probably won't know much about what they are selling anyway.
When buying from any secondhand source is that you don't know how complete they are unless the seller has actually laid out all the bits and done an inventory check against the instructions.
I've been selling off on Ebay first edition Series One Airfix models for an elderly friend. He bought them from Woolworths in the late 50s/early 60s, as they were released. Unfortunately, although they are unstarted he had opened each one, so I've still got several, each with a part missing.
As the packets had been opened, I laid out the parts so the sellers could see them for themselves, as well as pictures of the instructions so they could do their own checks. This way I was able to get pretty good prices for each.
Airfix were pretty good at leaving parts out themselves, hence the paper slip in each kit, so its not necessarily the seller's fault if bits aren't there, and if its an estate sale they probably won't know much about what they are selling anyway.
Edited by GliderRider on Monday 10th June 15:23
Eric Mc said:
The Veteranus Hobbies online auction site is quite good for getting obscure kits at reasonable prices.
I recently got this for around £20 - which I consider good value -
Sounds like a bargain EricMc! Even the Russians call them Bears, well, 'Myedveda' anyway.I recently got this for around £20 - which I consider good value -
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