modelhobbies.co.uk

These are new to me, never heard of it. What is it you are thinking of ordering.

They have a lot of the OOP Classic airframes kits. At reasonable prices....or so it seems!

My hobby shop of choice is Hannants. I had a look and they have some of their kits as well.

http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=361961&code=&product_type_id=&scale_id=&keyword_search=&setPerPage=100

It could be possable that there are just more of these kits around over here. So model hobbies might well be fine. But never having dealt with them i can't say. But i have used hannants as my first choice for 20 years. They have had more of my money this year than i would care to admit. I have no idea how their service is to outside of the UK, but i swear by them.

Yeah. They have a CR.32, but I am looking for the Spanish Civil War version. Also, it is 29 pounds at Hannants versus 21 pounds at modelhobbies.co.uk. Shipping is 10 pounds, I think.

Mike,

Buyer beware!

if they don't reply to your e-mails will they reply to your "order not recieved requests"?

I went down this road once. not this website, and that is all I needed. Now I call if its stateside, e-mail and FSM / Google for customer feedback.

I dealt with this company for the first time a few weeks ago and was impressed with the service, although, I did not try to contact them. For what I ordered, the prices were amazing and the shipping was cheaper than anyone selling the same thing here in the U.S. My items even arrived to me in about the same time it takes to get an order from Squadron.

I sure had a great experience with them.

Hello ,

3 or 4 orders from this site . The service is very good . Like you are in US i think the only problem will be the shipping cost.

One of my favorite dealer .

   thanks

Just saw this and I thought I ought to reply.  Sorry you have not had a reply to an email but I've searched the all emails from this time and not seen one.  Maybe spam assassin is getting overzealous

To answer your question now it seems the Spanish civil war version is now sold out, some of these Classic Airframe kits keep on coming out of the woodwork though, so don't give up hope.  Special Hobby and Pacific Coast may re-release them soon....

We only have this version http://www.modelhobbies.co.uk/shop/classic-airframes-fiat-cr32-foreign-service-4106-p-86.html

Hope this helps

Regards

Nick, Model Hobbies.

They supplied me with a faulty model. I returned it and they have not refunded me. This is 5 months on and they ignore my calls, emails and letters. DO NOT DEAL WITH THEM. 

I've ordered stuff from them in the past few months, kits and paints, and have had no problems apart from ordering a jar of matt red Tamiya paint and receiving a gloss one instead. However, a few drops of matt varnish rectified matters. I would recommend them.

Have had a problem or two with Hannant's though.

I've purchased several times from Modelhobbies. Their prices are low and the shipping quick and efficient. The last time I purchased a kit from them a part was broken, I sent an e-mail but had no reply so I called and I spoke to a very polite gentleman named Les. They sent me a replacement part. As far as I am concerned they are honest and I will continue to do business with them. Thanks Les!

Personally, I am a little wary on this one. Just look at the number of posts by the 'reviewers', as well as the person claiming to be model hobbies, themselves.

Posts = 1

Well as we get a copy of this thread on our email I thought I would respond, we've only posted once as I was made aware of a complaint and responded. 

 The chap who talks about Les was a Canadian customer ( I hope I'm right without checking over orders ) of ours,  whether you believe him to be real or not is your decision. 

Nick, Model Hobbies

As ever Caveat Emptor.... & ALWAYS Use a CREDIT CARD!

I have not personally used model hobbies, so make no other observation than their prices seem good for what i'm interested in.

There has been no scuttlebut for or against this vendor on any of the 4 UK based sites I regularly participate in.

So it's up to you to decide how much weight to you give to the yay or nay sayers...

Those who have been on this site a long time, those who have made a considerable contribution to this site & those who have reported actual trading, good, & how the vendor responded to problems would have a personal opinion.

I'd give little weight to recent joiners whose single contribution so far has been negative, after all, they could contact the vendor directly with their order details, couldn't they?

I used Modelhobbies last year and they were excellent, email updates on the state of my order etc.

I often look at them when I'm checking out prices and would certainly use them again if they had what I was after.

I would imagine every retailer is capable of getting something wrong, I've had a couple of problems with very well known company's myself but all was sorted and I've since used them again with no problems.

Cheers...

My question to you is...Have you compared prices with say Sprue Brothers? Compare totals including shipping not just item prices! You'll probably find overall prices are competitive and with SB you know that it will arrive in two business days from the time you order it. No hassles with converting currency, no long waits and you know that it is in fact in stock when you place your order.

Yep - as Hawkeye says, it's the SHIPPING that can get you by the short hairs, if you're not paying attention (one reason I detest Ebay, because so many people shamelessly pad their shipping charges!).

In fact, that is my make-or-break criteria for using an on-line hobby website, even above whether or not the item is in stock - if it won't show me, to the penny, what shipping is going to cost before I click the little Order box, I'm not using that site. Far too many of the bigger on-line stores charge, in my opinion, excessive amounts of "shipping and handling" for small orders, but the trade off is you get your stuff quickly and intact.

Places that play "hide the charges," or a lot of these Ebay sellers who want to charge you $20 shipping for a $5 model kit, will not get any of my business - and I tell them so. Not that it will make them change their practices, but it might.

Just to clarify...the shipping costs and item costs are two different things. Shipping costs are what they are, I get questions about why it cost X to ship Y. X is determined by the carrier and there are times when the mode, weight, dimension and distance cost incurred is more than the item(s) the shipment contains. Yes there are those who get a bit ridiculous on their shipping charges. A little research will tell you whether they are out of line.

Dealt with this company twice in the last few months. Quick delivery. Told me the state of the order. Could not ask for more.

One problem with emails is that they are probably placed on hold until the telephone orders give a break. Found the best method is telephone which is positive & you are talking to someone. Problem with emails is that they are faceless.

With Modelhobbies you can see what they have very easily for sale. With another nameless company I was told that their site was geared to Pro. modellers only. IE you had to know what you wanted to make use of he site. For novices & not so experienced you need to browse to see what is available. Modlehobbies as most companies does that.

Laurie

Dear Nick.

Regarding to my order 94039 date order November 2011, why it's took so long to despatch, i have paid through paypal and it's been 10 days until now.

I have more than three times to sent You and email but still not ring a bell

I need a clarification regarding my order

Sincerely

Budhi

Ulan11480

Dear Nick.

Regarding to my order 94039 date order November 2011, why it's took so long to despatch, i have paid through paypal and it's been 10 days until now.

I have more than three times to sent You and email but still not ring a bell

I need a clarification regarding my order

Sincerely

Budhi

Speaking as a vendor who has replied to customer emails...be sure that you or your ISP don't have the sender blocked or the emails are in your s p a m filter. It happens...you get an email from a customer only your reply is never received by them...it usually ends up being resolved after a phone call.

I know this post has been over 2 years old but I must say I have mixed issues with modelhobbies.  Most of the time they have been good.  They offer products at a reasonable price and offer products which is hard to come by here in Hong Kong.

An order placed a long time ago was missing an Eduard photoetch and I have emailed them a few times about the missing item but never any reply so I lost money on that.  

An order placed in February 2013 of gap filling glue and 2 accelerators.  The accelerators leaked and damaged the box of a model kit, which is still fine as the plastic is not damaged.  I showed them the pictures indicating the problem with 2 bottles of empty accelerators and the labels of the accelerators disintegrated but once again, never once any replied.   So once again, I lost money on that.  I thought everyone deserves a second chance, so I decided to place orders again in April 2013.

However recent orders in April 2013 turn up with missing items again.  I tried many times to contact them thru email (I live in Hong Kong so it's not possible to call them due to time difference) but no repiles whatsoever.  

So after this ordeal, after this time, I will look elsewhere from now on.  I just wish they showed a bit more care towards their customers.  I am not asking for much; no customers like to be left in the dark; people make mistakes but I am sure every customer wants to have the confidence from the vendor that problems can be dealt with in a timely manner.   Afterall, it's just a hobby...we just want to be excited  when we receive a parcel and see the goodies we've ordered.  

Victor

That sucks. I've ordered from them before and had no probs. Their prices on Aires stuff is insanely cheap compared to anywhere in the states. Shipping is reasonable too. Kinda scares me they don't answer emails though.

Well guys, sorry I had to post here again but I have stopped all orders from them now.   Again, I am not here to say anything bad but just pointing out the facts and my own personal experiences.  

After several orders, there are still plenty of missing items and at this point I am out over 170 UK pounds worth of missing items.  Again, many emails have been sent to them trying to point out to their attention but no replies whatsoever.  

Therefore posting on forums is the only way (I hope) for them to read and respond to my problems.  

There are many good vendors around so I will shop with them.  Their prices are cheap but it really is not worth the stress.  

An update to all of you who will think about shopping with these clowns.  

I have since them filed a complaint with the UK consumer advice bureau about modelhobbies and they way they deal with business.  I am also in the midst of obtaining refund from my credit card companies and that's the most logical way now.

If you want to order from model hobbies, expect surprises because you will never know what you will be getting in the mail once you open the box!!  

If there are items you ordered and they are out of order, they won't tell you!  But they will still charge you for out of stock items.  

Good Luck in trying to get a reply from these clowns.  Their excuse is they get a lot of junk mail!!  Hey model hobbies, when I send over 20 emails asking refund, I don't think it's junk mail anymore, you think?!  How about replying to the registered snail mail I send also in trying to get my refund?  

Their prices may be cheap but that only reflects on their services....cheap...but ignorant.  Zero sense on customer service.   You guys might as well not open for business since you guys cant even answer a single customer correspondence.  

Total amount owing 177.44 sterling pounds of my hard earned money!  

I order my stuff from Hannants thru my local hobby shop. About ten days from receipt of order.

My wife bought 3 model kits in Nov 2013 as a present for me. We received two no worries in the one package. For info..we are in Australia.

Enquired about the 3rd.. they said they sent it in a separate package....

I find this highly doubtful..why would they send it in a different package? We never received it of course.

When checking their stock for this item on their website a month or so later..of course it was no longer there.

Doubt they had it, doubt they sent it, and after several emails they haven't bothered to reply save the first response. So don't believe the whole "our spam filter blocked it " line...

Absolute rubbish. Don't buy from there.

If the clowns do read this: Order number 127847.

Reading about them through ebay or other website reviews...

I have used them in the past. Then I had an issue (can't remember details now), so stopped using them. Used them recently, they missed an item of my order, I emailed them, no response. As the item was low cost, I didn't pursue it, but I know I will not use them again.

There is no point in using them. There are other much more reliable online suppliers to deal with. Even if model-hobbies were the only ones to have in stock (or so they say) something I wanted, I wouldn't use them now. I'm in the U.K by the way

I recently purchased a kit from them and never got it. Almost three weeks after the item's dispatch I e-mail them every day, several times a day for more than a week with no replies. I phone them too and nobody answered until a lady (can't remember her name) picked the phone up and I told her my issue and the order's number . She was very nice. We review the order together on the phone, but couldn't dispatch another kit because it was sold out. She propose to refund me the entire amount and that is what happened.

So, I have mixed feelings... in one hand it was so hard to get a reply from them, but in the other hand, I was fully refunded...

I think she told me that they were moving or making some changes in the shop. I had three phone numbers and the one that really works, and she confirmed that to me, is the following one:

01782 642377 or from abroad: 0044 1782 642377

I hope this brings some help...