Hobby Shops in the GVRD
 

I mentioned this before, but I started getting back into small scale modelling. Things have changed quite a bit since I was a young lad. Anyway, I went to this year's IPMS show

http://ipmsvancouver.ca/

Saw a lot of great stuff and bought a few kits at their swap meet. I've visited a lot of hobby shops in the Lower Mainland, Lower Fraser Valley, and even Washington. I've compiled a list of places. Please add any I have not been to with description of what they have to offer.

One Stop Hobbies in Abbotsford (South Fraser Way)
Urban Samurai (Lougheed Mall)
Go Go Hobbies (2124 Austin Avenue, Coquilam)
Burnaby Hobbies (Rumble and Royal Oak)
Apollo Hobbies (Lougheed and Production Way)
Central Hobbies (Broadway and Renfrew)
Sakura media (Metrotown)
Toys Planet (Crystal Mall)
Imperial Hobbies (No. 3 Road across from Landsdowne Mall)
On Track (Port Moody)


I've been to a lot more, but have to go atm. Can someone point me to any places in New West, Richmond, and Surrey?

Hobbywave sounds like a good place for Gundam, but they do not have a store front - damn.

magic box hobbies - W Boulevard and w37th.. i think. its right beside a seven eleven.. cant miss it.


wings corner, richmond public market - theyre only selling old stock/ whats left over.. so not alot of new stuff there.

i forgot the name of the shop in new west.. its a block away from the police station or behind it. on a hill.... its not hard to find at all.. i think its on sixth street and columbia..


i remember from a post that you're looking for miltary models..? haha. just like my dad. builds the same stuff and my house is full of it.

or buy online. www.hlj.com

Cool............ thanks.

Yeah, I was hoping this thread will be about model building as well. I am going to the place in Richmond Public Market today sometime. I will swing by the place on 37th as well. I completed a Gundam model in the summer. So cool the way shit just snaps together - so detailed. I'm totally into Tamiya Craft Tools. So nice. And their models are so easy to put together. I bought a King Tiger kit made by Dragon Model Company. It came with photo etched parts and this and that and it seemed like a helluva good deal at the time, but in the end Tamiya wins by a long shot. Right now I am starting the IJN Yamato - Tamiya 1/350. Purchased a Lion Roar Photo etch upgrade kit. Holy crap, it's going to take me over a year to finish it (properly).

Anyway, off I go on a hobby store run, LOL. I love weekends.........

There's a hobby store in richmond @ continental where the TD bank is, sexsmith and cambie?

Aviation world might have what you're looking for too it's right by the airport near gilbert I think

There's one aviation hobby store in downtown near waterfront so if you hopped on the canada line you could get there pretty easy, but I'm not sure if it's closed I'll ask my cousin for the name I haven't been there in over 5 years

goodluck putting the dragon tank kits together.. seperate track links.

my dad had a helluva time putting together the tracks for the elefant.. and the zermmit (sp?) surface could easily chip the paint off..

i went to a few hobby shops in hk.. and you wont believe the price on their tamiya tank 1/35 kits... not too old of a kit.. but $12 cdn.... for King tiger porsche turret version, Jagdpanther, Panther type G, M1-A2... dirt cheap.

There's also one in Union Square (on Capstan Way) where Richmond Sushi is. Enter Union Square on Capstan Way, and the store should be on the top right corner of the first intersection that you get to.

Jhobby in Union Square(where richmond sushi is)
the small shop inside admiralty has a few..not a lot
richmond public market
Imperial Hobbies on no3
MagicBox on 37th and W boulavard

Yeah, the Magic Track is pretty fucked up stuff. I got it all put together and gave up on the rest. It's put away in the box. All parts painted, but the instructions were horrible and the parts didn't fit very well. Fine detail is great, but when shit doesn't fit it's frustrating. I see what you mean by the Zimmerit. I'm gonna wait for the next Imperial Hobbies sale and go for the Tamiya 1/35 Jagdtiger. I think it comes with some PE parts and choice of two track systems.

Yeah, HK prices on Tamiya stuff is ridiculously low. Model kits of any kind are duty free. I've been ordering Tamiya Craft tools from a guy in HK via eBay. Even with the shipping, it comes out less than here. Plus, they have the stuff in stock. Here, nobody seems to want to order it. One Stop Hobbies and Go Go Hobbies are the only places that would even entertain the thought of getting Tamiya Tools in for me. And you wonder why people buy out of country. I would really love to support local businesses, but when your service sucks, what do you expect?

Back to Tamiya Craft Tools. Man, this stuff is so high quality. It's like comparing Snap On tools to Power Fist or Mastercraft. Files that actually work. Side cutters that actually cut the sprues off so cleanly you don't need to sand much. I recently purchased a Tamiya battery operated hobby drill. NICE!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...0Tetra/018.jpg

I built this a couple years back. Since then I think the model building scene has really died down. I find myself playing more with cars these days just because of the lack of friend's to share the experience with.

A good friend of mine recently started a forum for the Vancouver area for model builders. Feel free to check it out:


www.vanplaforum.com

^ i know where that shop is! hahaha. its @ admiralty centre in rmd! my childhood friend knows the original owner very well (someone else owns it now)


http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._7049473_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3438154_n.jpg

what i see everyday... and theres more! hahaha.


http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._7027906_n.jpg

^ my favorites from my dad's build: 1/48 SU27UB test pilot version and SU35 Demonstrator colors. theyre pretty big planes in 1/48... and IRL.

my dad has a taste for Russian and Chinese aircraft... pretty much has whatever the latest inventory has.. even the Su47 + MIG 1.44 , J-10, FC-1 Flying Leopard.. etc etc..

even have 1/48 American greats.. F22, F14, F15, F16, F/A18 + CF18 .... list goes on.

then there are the Gundams in my closet, and the diecast cars in my living room... haha

There is Go-gos on Austin ave in Coquitlam http://www.gogohobbies.com/

Race tech on Barnet hwy in Port moody http://racetechhobbies.com/phpBB3/portal.php

Wow, pretty hard core.

I used to have a pretty awesome 1/700 waterline series collection of IJN models. They're still on the shelves I built in the basement of my mom's house. All of them are now missing masts, antennas, gun barrels, etc. from my mom dusting the things over the 40 plus years. She's old, so I can't freak out on her. My fault for not putting them in a case.

Your dad airbrushes in the house?

my dad has quite a collection of the IJN fleet as well.. he told me how tamiya kits back then were easily bought at woodwards.. and were quite decently priced.

that is our glassed and roofed sundeck, so he airbrushes there.. its like his corner of the house to build his models.

he hasnt really built any recently though.

So, I went on a hobby store run today. Had some time on my hands. I went to Grand Prix Hobbies on Broadway. Wow, that place has totally gone downhill since I used to go there when I was a teenager. Waste of parking meter money. I then went to Magic Box. One word. NICE! Never knew the place existed until now. Nice people there. I then proceeded to the RC place on Cambie and Sexsmith. Nothing there but RC stuff, which is fine, but nothing there for me. Next, the place in Richmond Public Market. No go....... they were closed. WTF? On a Saturday? So, needing Mr. Color #28 Steel, 'cause I ran out of it painting the Dragon Magic Trcks and whatnot, I ended up at Imperial Hobbies. Spent 20 minutes with the blonde chick who works there trying to find the colour. Couldn't read Japanese. Anyway, we finally discovered it was #28. The only colour on the whole rack they were out of. FUCK!

IMO one of the best model shops in BC around at the time. It's long time closed, really went downhill when the new owners took over.


Kinda curious how you guys keep the building spirit up, just personal motivation?

For me, it was 30+ years of not building models that motivated me. My daughter bought me a Gundam model this summer at AE. My eyes lit up and the passion for building models came back. I was intrigued not only by the way the models themselves have improved but by the way the people who build models have improved. So much detail and creativity.

I guess the Internet has helped a lot. I see these tutorials on You Tube and it blows me away how much work some of the pros put into their creations.

I started to get into air brushing. Wow, I suck at it, but it is definitely fun stuff.

I have a cool display case in my den and I love to stand and stare at my models, even though they are not that good. When you spend weeks or months on building something, you'd figure it'll become boring, but I can't wait to finish one and go onto another.

I love seeing other people's work. Your model that you posted a pic of is beautiful. That kind of stuff motivates me.

yep. the last time i went was when the original owner was still around.. awesome service and they have great product knowledge.. really helped with buying stuff from them.. that was a couple years ago..

i dont know. both my dad and I usually buy something to build because its an interesting subject, or something we've been waiting for to come out..

good example would be the MG Wing Gundam. waited years for that.


practice makes perfect.. hahaha. airbrushed camo > painted on camo. looks much better. then you gotta learn how to weather with a brush too.. so much stuff to learn, and lots to practice over the years.

Or, I can just build the models because I love putting things together. Photo etch scares me more than painting. I have this wonderful Lion Roar kit for the Yamato, but it seems so intricate and fragile. I'm gonna go blind working with it. I am starting to like the smell of glue and solvents, LOL.

well you dont have to keep buying.

several cases, i found my dad taking apart an older model, and take it apart, custom modify it a bit and repaint the thing.

its not necessary to buy new all the time...

and ther are several 1/72 airplanes that were built from scratch, using wood and glue... and some paint. haha

You sure spend a lot of time with that blonde chick.

Viagra commercial in the making? J/K


Has you or your dad worked with Fruilmodel tracks? I'm tempted to get a set for an old model I'm thinking of refurbishing.

C'mon, she works at a hobby shop. Need I say more? Plus I think she was like my daughter's age. Jeebus, even some C-lais are too young for me. :cry:

She was just being nice to an old man who looked lost. Mwahahahaha.......

Viagra, i dont know.. :p

as for the tracks, im not too sure.

and then the old man was mysteriously lead into a quiet storage room...

Got back from a couple of places. Sakura Media had Mr. Hobby paints for $1.99. Not much of a selection, but they had a couple of flat colours. I took the last two bottles each of German Grey and Dark Yellow and got a bottle of Mr. Color Thinner 400 for $11.99. I asked the dude if there were other hobby places around Metropolis. He tells me about Metropolis Comics and Collectibles - right across the street above the jewellery store. It was around 11:15 and the place opens at noon, so I go down to Best Buy to pass the time. At noon, I head back. There about 15 sweaty, geeky high school kids banging on the door. Apparently it was Yugioh day or something. LOL. The dude was late opening up. Nothing worse than haging out with a gaggle of geeky 15 year olds. Anyway, the place has a good selection of Tamiya paints and a very small selection of Mr. Hobby paints. About 6 or 7 different colours. Guess what? They had #28 steel that I was looking for. $2.49, to boot. Kind of makes me wonder why the hell I travel all the way to Richmond to buy Gunze paints from Impreial Hobbies at $3.99 a bottle.

I was contemplating going back to Wings Corner, but there's a chance they'll be closed again. Plus, today's game day.

Imperial Hobbies, Burnaby Hobbies, and Magic Box are having a Boxing Day sale. Any others? Go Go Hobbies, one of my favourite places to shop will not have one.

Thanks for any input..