Mail-order question.

Hannants is good, i swear by them. They list how many they have in stock at the current moment in time. Only issue is you need to spend 27.27GBP before they ship overseas.

Sprue Brothers would be my first choice, second would be Squadron and a close third would be Great Models web site. I have used all 3 and have had good luck with each of them.

Great Models uses a real-time inventory system similar to SB. 

I have always been satisfied with Sprue Brothers and Squadron.  Very reliable and quick shipping.

I use Squadron quite frequently - although their online inventory system is NOT real time (as I found out this weekend). Pays to call them vs using the online ordering system.

I have seen squadron's system personally and it is NOT real time. It's 30 years old and depends on people to input the stock by hand.

Sprue Brothers is awesome.

Greatmodels used to be horrible about saying they had stuff in stock but actually meant the "knew where they could get it". They have since gotten much better and use real time tracking.

Another one is Lucky Model out of China. They use a "in stock, available, out of stock" system. "Available" means they don't actually have it but have a supplier that they can get it from.

I rarely use Squadron but I use the other three all the time and have had no problems.

Sprue Brothers is a great source, but they have lost many of my business to their poor search engine. Obscure subjects and after market parts are hard to find. The thing is that most of the times I know they do carry them, but I can't find 'em.

Scale Hobbyist is a great source too and often with better prices than SB's. If the item is in stock, it is in Green. If not, it appears as back ordered in Red.  Available means that they might get it in 3-5 days in Yellow.

El Taino

Sprue Brothers is a great source, but they have lost many of my business to their poor search engine. Obscure subjects and after market parts are hard to find. The thing is that most of the times I know they do carry them, but I can't find 'em.

Scale Hobbyist is a great source too and often with better prices than SB's. If the item is in stock, it is in Green. If not, it appears as back ordered in Red.  Available means that they might get it in 3-5 days in Yellow.

I've never found SB's search engine to be that troublesome - but I've had similar experiences trying to navigate Squadron's site.

And agree - Scale Hobbyist is a great source - but IMO only for paints and kits. Their aftermarket is pretty slim, though I have stumbled upon the occasional decal sheet.

Once I figured out that you need to look at the stock status, I have been very happy with Great Models. 

I have used Sprue Brothers, Great Models and Squadron with equal success. If the item is made by Tank Workshop, I rather go straight to them for it.

On back ordered items, I find Lucky Models pretty good. They just came through on a back order for me on some accessory sets that I had thought had gone out of production. I have had back orders with Great Models lanquished without action.

Mike T.

I like www.greatmodels.com

Try Freetime hobbys they show you how many items in stock at the time you order like Spru does I get real good service from them.            ACESES5                                ON BENCH REVELLE1/48 scale HE111 H 22 REHAB JOB   FIRST BUILT 1993              I'm using Arons artical in the special Nov. issue as a guide Aron nice job.  Thanks

DoogsATX

 

El Taino:

 

Sprue Brothers is a great source, but they have lost many of my business to their poor search engine. Obscure subjects and after market parts are hard to find. The thing is that most of the times I know they do carry them, but I can't find 'em.

Scale Hobbyist is a great source too and often with better prices than SB's. If the item is in stock, it is in Green. If not, it appears as back ordered in Red.  Available means that they might get it in 3-5 days in Yellow.

 

 

I've never found SB's search engine to be that troublesome - but I've had similar experiences trying to navigate Squadron's site.

And agree - Scale Hobbyist is a great source - but IMO only for paints and kits. Their aftermarket is pretty slim, though I have stumbled upon the occasional decal sheet.

Hi Doogs, I don't know why but even with the advance search I have problems. Sometimes I resort to Google searching for the product then adding a coma, Sprue Brothers. I have luck that way many times but not always and I know they do carry what I'm looking for

As for Scale Hobbyist, I agree. They are not that well stocked when it comes to AM stuff. I just placed an order with SH currently on its way and I wanted to add this kit, they are the ones with the best price around. I decided not to add it for the moment to keep the rest of the order running.

I have also purchased from Lucky Model.com and they have a very good service. For a place on the other side of the pond, the wait is not that long.

Cheers!