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Tamiya's New Minimum Advertised Price Program Starts June 1, 2018

Posted by Dale & Diane Bruner on 15 May, 2018 | Read more →
Dear Modeler,

A few days ago we received notice of Tamiya's new Minimum Advertised Price Program. Their program only allows hobby dealers to advertise and sell their products at a pre-set discounted price. This means that every hobby dealer can only sell their products at Tamiya's MAP price. Their rational on this program is to halt the massive unfettered discounting of their products in the marketplace. They feel this lessens the value of Tamiya products and harms their brand. We have been told by our suppliers that Tamiya will strictly enforce this program and any dealer not in accordance will not be allowed to sell their products.

What does this mean for you?

The program takes effect on June 1, 2018. All hobby dealers will be required to alter their pricing to adhere to the Tamiya Minimum Advertised Price Program. On that date, Internet Hobbies will have no choice but to raise our selling prices on all Tamiya products. We will also be required to not include any Tamiya products to any Internet Hobbies sales promotions as this would cause us to not be in compliance with the rules of their program and put us in jeopardy of losing our ability to sell Tamiya.

This means you only have a couple weeks to get your orders into us at the old pre-MAP prices. Why pay more after June 1st when you can still take advantage of our current low pricing and sales promotions.

Pre-Order Policy

Posted by Dale Bruner on 04 March, 2017 | Read more →

Pre-orders are a very important part of the hobby industry today. Now that many hobby manufacturers are announcing products well in advance you may need to pre-order the products you want. Hobby companies rely on these pre-orders to determine their production requirements. They usually do not go into production until they receive the required amount of pre-orders from their distributors and dealers. Many of these products are released in limited quantities, especially the first run. Placing your pre-order with us will make sure you get your item as soon as it is available.

As a hobby dealer, Internet Hobbies is required to place our orders for new releases often months in advance. We are required to make a firm commitment to our suppliers so we can receive the merchandise upon release. When you place your pre-order for these products, we also require you to commit to us. We achieve this by charging your credit card or PayPal upfront. By doing this, we know you’ll want the item when it arrives.

When it comes to future merchandise, we have no control when these products are actually released. There are many reasons why an advance release may be delayed. Rest assured, if you have a pre-order for a future product, you will receive it as soon as it comes in.

Is It In Stock At Internet Hobbies

Posted by Cross Sell Collaborator on 04 March, 2017 | Read more →
Is It In Stock At Internet Hobbies

Should I assume that everything is in stock at Internet Hobbies?

Like so many other online stores, we have adopted a “Just In Time” philosophy on order fulfillment. That means that once you place your order the clock starts running and we begin the process of getting your order out to you. Many times the merchandise to complete your order is sitting on our shelves but there are times when we need to procure the merchandise to fulfill your order from one of our suppliers.

We are a small company and it is unfair to compare us with Amazon, a company with thousands of employees.

Online stores that claim they have everything in stock sitting on a shelf waiting for your order are probably misleading you as there are over 250,000 items in the hobby industry and it would be impossible to carry all of them in stock. We all buy from the same suppliers and get the same wholesale prices. Having a large static inventory gathering dust is a burden to any e-commerce store and asks us to assume a huge cost of doing business that usually gets passed onto the customer in higher prices. Not having to bother with that problem allows us to offer you those great prices you've come expect.

We always strive to get a customer’s order fulfilled as quickly as possible but there are times when products become unavailable in the supply chain. This is when we can use our vast experience in the hobby business to go that extra effort to search that product through our many secondary sources. If we can’t find it doesn’t exist.

MODEL TRAIN SCALES

Posted by Dale Bruner on 02 October, 2016 | Read more →
MODEL TRAIN SCALES
We're here to help you pick out the right scale to start your journey into the the World's Greatest Hobby, model railroading.

The most popular scale is HO (Half-O Gauge). This scale became popular after World War 2 when many servicemen returned home bringing back handmade model trains from Europe and Asia. The ratio of 1/87th the size of the prototype made the trains smaller than the much larger pre-war O Scale trains. This was important because post war housing was much smaller and lacked the room to display the larger O Scale trains. HO allowed the model railroaders of the time to build a train layout in this available smaller space. The prices was also much cheaper than O Scale, Keep in mind, when I mention O Scale I'm not talking about Lionel O Gauge Toy Trains.

During this same period, S Scale trains came on scene. These trains were 1/64th the size of the real trains they represented. They were an "In Between" size being in between O Scale and HO. There still is an active community supporting this scale but lately availability of merchandise has been on the wane.

N Scale (1/160th the size of the prototype) arrived from Europe in the early 1960s. At first the trains were of European prototypes but over the years more and more North American trains are available to N Scalers. If you are tight on space,this is the scale for you as you can build a model railroad empire in a small space.

During the early 1980s a German train manufacturer by the name of LGB (Lehmann Gross Bahn) introduced the world to large scale models. The size of these trains (1/24 proportion) was an instant hit. You could find these trains in back yards across the country as garden railways, melding gardening with model railroading.

Last but least in Z scale, the smallest of all model trains. It's tiny compared to HO scale and has an avid fan base for those looking for brag rights of having the smallest layout in a small suitcase.

MODEL AIRPLANE SCALES

Posted by Dale Bruner on 02 October, 2016 | Read more →
MODEL AIRPLANE SCALES
Many of our customers have asked, “What’s the best model airplane scale to start collecting?” Let’s review the options and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each.
The world’s most popular scale is 1/72. This was the original scale used back in the late 1930’s for some of the first plastic assembly kits produced in England. This scale became popular with modelers in the 1950s with the mass production of Airfix and Frog kits. 1/72 kits are small, the average WWII fighters having a wingspan of only 4 to 5 inches. This makes this scale a great choice if you have limited space to display your models. The major drawback is the size of the bits and pieces. Those of us older modelers may find it a daunting task assembling these diminutive kits.

The next most popular scale is 1/48. This scale became popular in the 1960s and 70s mainly due to the large series of 1/48 scale kits produced by Monogram and later Tamiya. The main advantage to this scale is the huge selection of available kits. Almost every major manufacturer produces kits in this scale. The amount of detail found in these kits is excellent. The major drawback is their size that requires a larger area for display. One solution is to hang these kits from the ceiling.

Now we come to the big one, 1/32 scale. This is a relative new scale for the hobby. It is by far the largest of the four most popular scales with wingspans reaching up to 30” or more for bomber models. The details found on these huge kits are awesome and truly offer the modeler a great building experience. The only drawback is their larger size making them difficult to display.

The last scale we’ll talk about is 1/144. These are the smallest airplane models designed with the collector in mind. Each kit has a limited number of parts making them easy to assemble. You can display a huge collection on top of a dresser where you might get one 1/32 scale model to fit. The major drawback is limited availability of aircraft subjects. Even though more and more kits of this scale are being produced, you may be hard pressed in finding exactly what you are looking for.

There are other scales available for model aircraft such as 1/24 and a myriad of older “Fit The Box” scales but the above are the four most popular.

MILITARY MODEL SCALES

Posted by Dale Bruner on 02 October, 2016 | Read more →
MILITARY MODEL SCALES
The most popular scale for military models is 1/35. There are literally thousands of model kits, accessories, military figures and photo-etched detail parts available in this scale. 1/72 scale is the second most popular scale for military models. It is popular because of its smaller size thereby requiring less space to display a collection. It is also popular with wargamers. 1/87 or HO scale military models have been around for fifty years. The primary manufacturer in this scale is Roco (now Herpa) Minitanks but there are a few smaller companies that support this scale such as Trident. 1/48 scale, very popular with plastic model airplane collectors, was re-introduced to the military modeler by Tamiya as a way to to combine aircraft and military models. There are a few smaller manufacturers offering models in this scale but Tamiya remains the primary manufacturer of items in this scale.

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