Randy Wise Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Imperial Hobbies in Richmond. Great selection of kits, decent aftermarket, good selection of books. Burnaby Hobbies in Burnaby. Still my favorite. Some rare books, nice kit selection, okay aftermarket. Aviation World. Some model kits, tiny selection of aftermarket. But what they have is the largest selection of aviation related books in Western Canada. And they're not kidding. Tons of reference material. Randy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 And The biggest selection of everything...except books... in Vancouver can be found at Martin's Finescale Hobbies on 1st Street in North Vancouver...about 2 blocks from the Seabus terminal. Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sean Bratton Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Aviation World no longer carries any kits or aftermarket, but as Randy says their book selection is second to none. Another good shop (if I'm allowed to speak the name) is Magic Box hobbies. Good aftermarket selection and kits, including some hard to find stuff. Finecale is still number one, though. Cheers, Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The_Animal Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 (edited) Aviation World no longer carries any kits or aftermarket, but as Randy says their book selection is second to none.Another good shop (if I'm allowed to speak the name) is Magic Box hobbies. Good aftermarket selection and kits, including some hard to find stuff. Finecale is still number one, though. Cheers, Sean Magic Box is pretty good, on the high side of things, but on the whole they have a really good selection. Agreed on the concensus that FineScale is the best in the Lower Mainland. The closest one for me is Three Floors in New Westminster as it's just a quick walk from NW Skytrain. Burnaby Hobbies, about a 5 minute walk from Royal Oak Skytrain Edited March 23, 2007 by The_Animal Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Randy Wise Posted May 29, 2007 Author Share Posted May 29, 2007 Finecale is still number one, though. Yup! Stopped at Finescale last night after work before I headed home. My first visit. I must agree; it is the best hobby shop in this area. Randy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Backfire Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I was in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago for a conference, and based on the information in this post, I took the Sea Bus from Downtown to North Van and paid a visit to Finescale. I was thoroughly impressed with the shop and the owner, and left with some hard to find items (kits, decals, photoetch, books). If I'm ever in Vancouver again I'll certainly pay another visit. Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aerofan Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 I was in the Richmond Public Market and saw some cheap kits at Wing's Corner stuff under $10. Off the top of my head was a Hasegawa MiG-25 and MiG-23. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nate Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Resurrecting an old thread - anyone ever been to Apollo Hobbies on Lougheed? It looks like it's mostly RC, but they have some kits too . . . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aerofan Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Resurrecting an old thread - anyone ever been to Apollo Hobbies on Lougheed? It looks like it's mostly RC, but they have some kits too . . . Yeah. I went in there once many years ago and they cater to RC guys. I was in Aviationworld about three weeks ago and spoke to the guy who use to run their plastic model section. He told me that a few years back he went to work up north for a couple of years and when he returned the diecast guys decided to get rid of the kits as they didin't have a clue about plastic and thought it was better served by the Toronto shop. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aerofan Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Was at Wing's Corner hobbies on the weekend and saw some cheap 1/72 scale Hasegawa jet fighters all under $10 Cdn. I looked for the Mig-25 and it seems that it's sold/gone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CorsairMan Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Aviation World no longer carries any kits or aftermarket, but as Randy says their book selection is second to none.Another good shop (if I'm allowed to speak the name) is Magic Box hobbies. Good aftermarket selection and kits, including some hard to find stuff. Finecale is still number one, though. Cheers, Sean I second this - a great store! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aerofan Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 And The biggest selection of everything...except books... in Vancouver can be found at Martin's Finescale Hobbies on 1st Street in North Vancouver...about 2 blocks from the Seabus terminal.Barney I found out from a fellow local modeler that Finescale Hobbies is closed. If someone goes there now, they'll find an empty shop that's up for lease. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RiderFan Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Yep.. Fine scaled has moved to Penticton. On a related note, On-Track Hobbies in Port Moody/Coquitlam is now double their original size. As their name suggests they carry a good selection of model railroad stuff, but they also have a reasonable selection of model aircraft, cars, and sci-fi. They also have a great selection of paints and finishing supplies. No decals and the only aftermarket stuff they carry is for the target builders (amour). But the owner told me they plan on getting some aircraft cockpits and resin sets in stock. The trouble he's running into is that there's so much and he's having trouble getting what people would want. He can special order a cockpit for an F4E and someone will turn around and say "That's nice but I need an F4J"... I've not been to Aviation world.. I should check that out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MaxPower Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Wasn't there one on Marine drive close to Capilano Mall? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dkobayashi Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 I think it would be a bad thing if Aviation world still stocked kits and such. I go to school at the BCIT campus a 2 minute drive up the road. I'd probably be getting a new kit every day. The books there are great though. They've got a clearance rack too, and you can usually find backissues of FSM for two bucks or something. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RiderFan Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 So Wings in Richmond seems to be no more. I had never been to that one so when I was in Richmond on Sunday I gave them a call to see if they were open. This young woman answered and said yes, they're open. So after finally finding the place tucked away on the top deck of a market, the Wings Corner hobbies sign is still there, but it's a clothing store now. Contrary to what the woman on the phone said, they were also closed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aerofan Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 So Wings in Richmond seems to be no more. I had never been to that one so when I was in Richmond on Sunday I gave them a call to see if they were open. This young woman answered and said yes, they're open. So after finally finding the place tucked away on the top deck of a market, the Wings Corner hobbies sign is still there, but it's a clothing store now. Contrary to what the woman on the phone said, they were also closed. Sorry to hear that you didn't get to go inside. They're hours are pretty weird now since the owner, David, has a daytime job to keep payments on the floorspace in the Richmond public market. You probably spoke with his wife who runs about half the store with clothing. David's half is tuck in the right hand inner corner - he once had the whole space but the economy has effected him. He hasn't brought in new kits unless a customer ask for him to order it. There are some Trumpeter kits, aftermaket decals, photo-etch, resin stuff and old consignment kits. I've got his business card with an email address and pm you it when I find it. I've called before and haven't had a problem with it being closed. It's not as good as it was before but if you're in Richmond or Imperial Hobbies, it's worth a check. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EX_Birdgunner Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 BC Shaver & Hobbies in Victoria. Has anyone checked out this store? I will be in Victoria for three weeks in October and plan to visit the store, but would like to know any info about the store before I go. I don`t know if I will be able to make it to Vancouver but I will check out the other shops lister here if I can. Cheers, Denis Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RiderFan Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 BC Shaver & Hobbies in Victoria. Has anyone checked out this store? I will be in Victoria for three weeks in October and plan to visit the store, but would like to know any info about the store before I go. I don`t know if I will be able to make it to Vancouver but I will check out the other shops lister here if I can.Cheers, Denis Yep, I used to live in Victoria (although, being in the Navy I was never really actually there!). They have a very good selection of just about everything. Their model ship selection is probably the best I've found this side of Halifax. Their model aircraft selection is on the top deck past the RC stuff. You know you have spent a lot of money in a place when you can go 3 years between visits and they still remember your first name. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aerofan Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 So Wings in Richmond seems to be no more. I had never been to that one so when I was in Richmond on Sunday I gave them a call to see if they were open. This young woman answered and said yes, they're open. So after finally finding the place tucked away on the top deck of a market, the Wings Corner hobbies sign is still there, but it's a clothing store now. Contrary to what the woman on the phone said, they were also closed. RiderFan, I got a chance to go into Richmond yesterday and dropped by Wing's and Imperial Hobbies. Looks like Wing's shrunk back to half the size it was before with mostly clothing taking up floor space - good if the the wife / girlfriend is tagging along. Fortunately for us the model stuff is along both walls - one side has model kits and the other accessories. Looks like non consignment stuff is 1/2 price. Consigment stuff is already 1/2 retail or around 1/2 retail and is what you see is what you pay for with cash - no extra as in taxes which makes sense since the kits are second hand and the taxes have been paid already. I got a few consignment kits as they were cheap. At Imperial didn't see much new stuff but had a friendly chat with the owner, Francis, about Hasegawa kits and the fiasco of it not being stock in Canada - he said he'll only order it for customers wanting a particular kit and with a down payment so the customer can't back out of buying it when it does arrive. After that I went over to Aviation World, no model kits at the Richmond store anymore :blink: . However, looked at the book selection before heading for home. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aerofan Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 (edited) I was mulling around in Richmond last week and decided to drop in the LHS in the area. Wings corner seemed to have gotten some new estate/consigment kits. There's a number of cheap stuff so I picked up a few 1/72 WW2 aircraft for my nephew - around $5 each. However there is some bad news, Wing's corner hobbyshop will no longer sell model kits in the new year 2012 (about the 2nd week into January) due to the five finger discount shoppers (shoplifters as per the shop owner) and the owner's wife taking over the shop to sell ladies clothing. So if there is something you like don't wait as maybe the next time you show up it'll just be ladies clothing and possibly as waste of a trip. Edited December 21, 2011 by aerofan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cusack77 Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 BC Shaver & Hobbies in Victoria. Has anyone checked out this store? I will be in Victoria for three weeks in October and plan to visit the store, but would like to know any info about the store before I go. I don`t know if I will be able to make it to Vancouver but I will check out the other shops lister here if I can. Cheers, Denis I just visited this shop a couple of days ago. They had a fantastic selection of kits but the prices were pretty high. They did have a pretty decent selection of decals at a really good price. I picked up a couple of sheets I couldn't find anywhere else at really low prices. Despite the expensive kits, it's well worth a visit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RiderFan Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 BC Shaver in Victoria is very good. There's a Offshoot store in Kelowna too (owned by the same family) but it's selection is not nearly as good as the Victoria Shop. Yeah, their prices are pretty high compared to the mainland. But everything on the island is more expensive than the mainland so I guess you stop noticing after a while. Ferry Tax I guess. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dkobayashi Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 BC Shaver in Kelowna is now a "hobby and games" store. Not much to look at anymore there, I think it's a new owner? I was there a couple months ago and there was probably no more than 10 kits on the shelf there- just old stock. Kelowna speedway and hobby is down the highway a bit, but they have a pretty limited stock too I think (haven't honestly been there in a few years now). As for the last time I went to a Vancouver shop..I like Magic Box (lots of OOP kits, some good prices too), Burnaby Hobbies, and Imperial (somewhat higher priced, but awesome selection). Apollo in Burnaby has a few kits, I think all Tamiya. They are for the most part an R/C store (bought a cool Traxxas RC truck there a couple years ago) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Emvar Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 I was at On Track Models in Port Moody yesterday and saw a sign 30% off everything in the store..... They are closing their doors soon. Picked up some stuff for my niece as I am getting her into building. Talked to the owner and they said that the internet and cross border shopping is killing his business. So get in while you can!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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