Anywhere to get XD/BBI 1/18 items in the UK?

[EPinniger]

Other than eBay, are there any places - whether online stores or "bricks and mortar" shops - which
sell 21st and BBI 1/18 planes and vehicles in the UK?

The only regular seller of 1/18 models I've ever found is www.modellersloft.co.uk who I think have a shop somewhere in Kent. Their prices are very steep though at around £40-60 for most items. Seeing US collectors talk about finding stuff
at TRU and Walmart for $30-40 or even less makes me very envious

I picked up 3 of my 1/18 planes (Corsair, Spitfire and P-40) at the RAF Museum (Hendon) when they had stacks of them
on sale at £30 each (all gone now alas, this was in April/May this year). And I picked up a P-47 and Ju87 from a Germany-based eBay seller at around £35 each including P&P to the UK. Bargains (relatively speaking) like this are rather hard to find though.

Any other UK collectors here who know other sources of 1/18 items?

[tmanthegreat]

Although I live in California, I've spent much time in the UK over the past three years between school and vacation. I was also going to suggest the RAF Museum in Hendon where I also saw the stacks of XD planes last March, but since you have noted the XD is gone, you may want to try the ModleZone shops. I know that those stores at least carry Forces of Valor (FOV) products.

Hopefully our fellow boardmember Teamski will chime in here. He has also spent alot of time in the UK as well, has seen XD there and my offer some other suggestions!

Did you try the Camden Town or Portabello Road flea markets? Though they are crowded and touristy, you never know what you may find!

[steelbonnet]

EPinniger

For 1/18 XD BBI armour I`ve found you need to deal moreso OUTSIDE the UK

As you mentioned on the aircraft part there are some Air museums that do sell them & as you have also stated there`s ML (though a tad on the expensive side).

For me most of my 1/18th has been bought via ebay or great guys on here & a couple of other sites too.

Hope that helps mate. Sorry I cannot provide any better info

Ja
Steel Bonnet

[Teamski]

I'm not sure what they are stocking right now, but there is a shop at the Snetterton Race Track in Suffolk that carried both bbi and XD:

Snetterton Market Model Shop Snetterton Market, Norwich, NR16 2JU Tel/Fax 01953 887878

Give them a call to see what they have. Their prices were pretty good, from what I recall.

You can also check Langley's in Norwich:

Langleys Toymaster 12-14 Royal Arcade, Norwich, NR2 1NQ Tel 01603 621959

Good luck!


-Ski

[graycap]

Eppinier

Modelzone don't stock 21st Century 1/18 models. Try the following and go to the 21st Century part of the site. http://www.tankzone.co.uk


By the way - I've got to thin out my 1/18th collection so I'm disposing of the modern vehicles/figures portion - if you are interested email me at Davidtbradley@aol.com.

[EPinniger]

Thanks for the info.
Looks like Tankzone's prices are even steeper than Modeller's Loft! - £50 plus P&P for any 1/18 vehicle.
Their prices are usually over the top anyway I find - their Hen Long/Marui 1/24 and 1/16 RC tanks are at least
twice their usual eBay price.

There are two problems with buying items from overseas. The first is shipping - an item as bulky and heavy as a
1/18 plane or tank costs a fair amount to post airmail from the US to the UK, and I don't want to risk surface mail.

The second problem is import duty/customs taxes, which are a problem when buying anything worth £20-30 or more from outside Europe. You're usually safe if buying from a non-professional eBay seller, as they can mark the item as a "gift" on the customs form, but I'd never buy anything from a US shop like badcataviation.com.

[steelbonnet]

On the shipping part mate,well that`s always a problem,though if it`s any help,I`ve been able to get all my stuff via ebay sellers & some of the great guys here too (as said already). I have Modern (PTE,BBI,XD)& WWII (XD) Armour & helo`s as well as figures.

So dealing with stores/online retail may not be needed. Though if you do,well ask them if there willing to mark as "Gift". Some are ok to do that.

Oh I was going to mention tankzone but like you i think there waaay over priced. One of the down parts for us Brit`s is the UK retail tend to switch the $ for a £ & even add some sometime. ie ML XD Euro Exclusive Panzer MKIV £45 (i got one from Germany,shipped for less than there store price) which is almost $80-90. Or Tiger Tank £60 is around $100+. So we unfortunatly have to pay double if buying in the UK

I got 2 Tiger tanks (one here & one ebay) for less than one from ML & shipped from the US BTW.

Ebay or here I suggest as your best bets mate for price & quality service IMO.
Shipping tends to be on the BIG stuff around $20-35 AIRMAIL insured.

Ja
Steel Bonnet