Shop Blog

Hello and Welcome.

Salisbury Model Centre's web site no longer focuses on online selling- there are enough web shops already out there doing that. Instead I hope you'll find these pages of general modelling interest. You'll find lists of new arrivals in store and you are welcome to telephone the shop to order or reserve an item or make general inquiries. More detailed reviews of kits and accessories will also be posted here or on 'you-tube'. Non modelling information that is of interest will also be posted such as Steam visitors to Salisbury or news and manufacturer announcements.

TRADE NEWS (last edit 13 01 18) :click here. EVENTS :click here. REFERANCE PHOTOS :click here.

click Facebook, notices and wider updates. click to view SMC videos.

Summer 2018

A distinct lack of a blog this year, and not due to a lack of things to blog. Quite the opposite in fact with so much happening that it has been surprising looking back over the year so far. The year began with sadness knowing that Mr David Grove of Endless models, and one time owner of Salisbury Model Centre passed away after contending with two seperate illnesses. He was my competitor in retail but in reality we spoke 4 times a week and I was a customer of his when I moved into the area. We got on and I was glad to be able to attend his funeral in Febuary. The day went well but those present were surprised to find how much snow had fallen while we were inside. It made getting home difficult for everyone and led to me being closed for a couple days as we all had to contend with snow drifts. To be honest my Landrover could have got me in, but the roads were strung with abandoned cars and the streets deserted so it would have been pointless. I did use the time well as comissions needed attending to, more on those later.

Feb moved straight into March and front page news with the Nerve Agent attack on 4th March against Sergei and Yulia Skripal, about 3 min from the shop in 'The Maltings' and possibly other locations such as Zizzi's restaurant. This was bad news for Salisbury and had a noticable effect on trade but we never missed a day trading as many customers refused to be intimidated by the media's sensational reporting. One surprising press article came from the Sunday Times as the opening paragraph of an in depth report managed to mention Salisbury Model Centre. The coverage was seen by a customer who let me know, and the beging of the article is reproduced here. It is no surprise that the reporters had noticed the Soviet era models on display as anyone who knows my own background as a MILAN Anti Tank operator while in the Army. AFV recognition was an important part of our training. If only we had access in the late 80's and 90's to the knowledge that is so freely available now. I do find myself stocking kits of Russian vehicles that proved elusive in my days of soldiering with only a grainy slide to try and work out key recognition features.

Sadly after enduring months of restrictions and reduced vistor numbers to Salisbury and just as things seemed to be returning to normal Novichok, the chemical agent at the source of the poisoning hit the headlines again. This time an incident involving the death of an innocent civilian who had found a discarded container the agent may have been transported in. The location was near by Amesbury, but the effect on trade was the same as the reports fueled the fear in some peoples minds that it is not safe to travel into Salisbury ( or even Wiltshire according to figures released by Tourism GB. The number of cancelled holiday trips to Wiltshire spiked after recent events making things difficult for Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral too).

Commisions have been rife, as have repairs despite my decleration to stop taking work in. Thankfully having my daughter working in the shop this summer has given me some time to catch up. One of the earlier commisions this year was to build and paint some 28mm scenery made from laser cut MDF. A first for me, and very enjoyable. I kept to a limited colour range to keep the various buildings looking similar. They support 'Test of honour' a Samuri wargame so I wanted to keep it feeling oriental by using reds and gold. A dead Bonsai tree was 'upcycled' too.

A more challenging request concerned the building of two 1/48 RAF twin engined fighters specifically to represent aircraft flown by Wing Comd Archie Boyd DSO DFC. The Blenheim was a difficult build being the Classic Airframes kit that combined resin and plastic parts with decals made up to match the references available. That in itself was tricky as the aircraft I was asked to model was only flown for 9 days before being crashed. Despite a lack of exact references I was helped significantly by being provided with a photocopy of the pilots log book which had some serials still legible. The Beaufighter was far more simple in construction being the Tamiya kit with new markings applied.

Airfix have announced a new tooled 1/48 Blenheim this year which would have made this task a lot easier. The cockpit area on the Classic Airframes kit was nice and the large amount of glazing allows the detail to be seen, but this does mean extra care is needed in bringing the whole cockpit together and then the joins between glazing and main fuselage cleaned up. Anyone tackling this can expect a lot of filler and sanding being careful not to damage the glazing as you work, or to get dust back inside the sealed cockpit. Intended as gifts, both aircaft were based and mounted in clear cases. The obituray of Wing Comd Archie Boyd can be read here. http://aircrewremembered.com/boyd-archie.html

Salisbury IPMS had its annual model show at the beginning of June. A great day for all who attended with visitor numbers higher than ever. I was there as a trader and also as a club member. For our in house Revell contest I made the effort to finish a 1/24 Corvette and mounted it on a simple base with a figure. I had stalled with this car kit due to getting an 'orange peel' effect on the gloss, ruining the body work's finish. I re-visited the model and using a cream polishing compound intended for real cars was able to buff back the shine. Ironically in the end the smooth shiney body I had worried long over was then over sprayed to weather it and make it seem as though the car was in mid wash.

One slightly bitter sweet Club matter was the handing over of responsibilty for the club's web pages. For the last 5 years i'd hosted IPMS Salisbury's club web pages and edited updates, events and pictures. The club had prior to this relied on outside agents who had proven to be very unreliable ( expensive set up fees then months between updates- be warned any club or private individual relying on a 3rd party to look after your site- it is easy to be left frustrated). The new Club Chairman took over the Club's web presence and a totally independant site was created that also promoted the annual show. I won't totally remove the IPMS SALISBURY presence, and the button on this page's drop down menu will remain but it won't be updated often, just the galleries kept current. For IPMS SALISBURY matters click here.

Regarding the in house Revell contest my Corvette didn't place, but it was fun to enter. The winner was Tod, an American club member who co-incidently appears below in the stars and stripes tie. He helps me out on occasion in the shop so you may bump into him. The reason for the patriotic ties was the Royal Wedding held on 19th May. It was a great day with many people up and down the country having parties and events. We decorated our window with Red Arrows flying smoke into a heart shape, it drew a lot of comments. We also had a royal visitor in Salisbury when Prince Charles and his wife came along to give businesses effected by the Nerve Agent attack a boost. Despite us having kits of the Apache for Harry and Wessex for himself, Charles didn't pop in to the shop. Having Tod helping out makes up for the loss of Dan, the young lad who has been working Saturdays at the shop for about 3 years. He decided to give Army life a try and enlisted into the Royal Armoured Corp. I was pleased to be invited to his pass out parade on the 29th June. This turned out to be a close call as the NHS rescheduled surgery for me on Monday of the same week. Thankfully it was a painless operation and after 28 hours I was able to spring myself out to be able to attend and be back in the shop the next day. I do want to thank my Wife for looking after the shop and customers during the time I was convalescing. What she dosn't know about Model kits she makes up for in good looks.

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Events in Salisbury including Steam arrivals.

Note, this service is aimed at providing information of interest and you are strongly recommended to find more specific detail from the relevant agency. Links will be provided where able. Do not plan any trip solely from the information herein, SMC will not be held responsible for cancelled events, timing changes, address errors etc as no announcement herein is the property of SMC but taken from the originators detail. We do hope however that you discover events in the area that you may have otherwise over looked. Events are listed in chronological order.

DEVISES & DISTRICT WARGAMES GROUP

The DDWG meet Sunday afternoons between 14.00hrs and 18.00hrs at 1st Devizes Scout Hall, 15 Southbroom Road, Devizes. SN10 5AD.

There is a yearly subscription but the first 3 visits are free to give a taster of the wide variety of games played at the club.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Events at PENDON Museum.

Tel 01865 407365 for booking or check Pendon web site.

Trade news

13 Jan 18 The news coming out of America is Hobbico, the RC giant that recently bought the German element of Revell has filed for bancruptcy. With Revell's new Catalogue due very soon, that news has raised some questions amongst customers. Be assured the kit side of Revell is safe and Revell GmBH will not be effected by the news. In italics below is part of the formal statement that was issued by Revell UK. I hope you will join me in wishing Revell good luck for 2018 and that the employees of Hobbico don't have to much anguish over the coming months.

"We would like to inform you today that Hobbico, Inc. announced this week that it has filed for restructuring under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States. Hobbico also announced its plans to sell the company. The company is already in the process of actively exploring prospective buyers, but it is too early for further detailed information whether Hobbico will be sold as a whole or be split into parts.

Most important for you is:

Revell UK is NOT part of the bankruptcy filing and will continue to operate its “business as usual” moving forward. We do not expect disruptions in the daily business with our suppliers, customers and other partners as Revell operates independently within the Group and has no organizational dependencies. Our top priority remains to offer our customers the best products, the best possible service and to continue to grow our business, like we did for another consecutive year in 2017."

03 Jan 18 Expect some interesting new releases from Revell this year as well as a wide number of reboxes from ICM, Eduard, ACE and Zvezda. While there has been an overall price increase in Revell's kits many of the reboxed kits are less than the orginal cost. Also annonunced but as yet no picture or price details are models from the new Star Wars spin of Filn :- Han Solo.

05 July 17 Price increases on a lot of items that originate from across the pond in the good old US. You will see prices on WOODLAND SCENICS, PLASTISTRUT, K & S METALS and WALTHER jumping. I will only do this as new stock arrives so expect to see different prices on items even if they appear to be similar, it gives you the chance of grabbing last years price for a bit longer.

Reference pictures

My own pictures for you to use to detail your models or for interest.

Challenger 2 Main Battle tank of The British army.

Dardo IFV of the Italian army.

M1/M1A1 Abrams. US Main battle tank.

Cobra. US attack helicopter being recovered in Iraq.

Humvee US utility vehicle.

AMX10P French APC.

VAB Wheeled APC of French Army.

RAF Calf Tractor Tiny tracked vehicle used to clear snow in WWII on RAF runways.