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Hobby Shops in Calgary, AB?


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PM Hobby and Modelland are your best bet. Well stocked in kits and supplies everytime I've been to Calgary recently. Avoid Chinook, its nothing like it use to be. If you happen to be anywhere near Red Deer in your travels check out CompuSoft. Another well stocked shop.

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12 hours ago, Slo-pine said:

PM Hobby and Modelland are your best bet. Well stocked in kits and supplies everytime I've been to Calgary recently. Avoid Chinook, its nothing like it use to be. If you happen to be anywhere near Red Deer in your travels check out CompuSoft. Another well stocked shop.

 

I agree.

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The last time I was in Calgary I of course stopped in at PM. They had a rack of AK weathering solutions and pigments which was great. Since I also build armour this stuff is great for weathering as it is enamel based. I use the weathering solutions for aircraft too. The only issue is that the rack seems to get depleted pretty fast. They also seem to be one of the few shops that carry Alclad II. 

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28 minutes ago, skyhawk174 said:

The last time I was in Calgary I of course stopped in at PM. They had a rack of AK weathering solutions and pigments which was great. Since I also build armour this stuff is great for weathering as it is enamel based. I use the weathering solutions for aircraft too. The only issue is that the rack seems to get depleted pretty fast. They also seem to be one of the few shops that carry Alclad II. 

 

Red Deer also carried AK.

 

I've been ordering direct from AK, it is much cheaper from them even with shipping.

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Just now, Scooby said:

 

Red Deer also carried AK.

 

I've been ordering direct from AK, it is much cheaper from them even with shipping.

 

Oh ok. Last time I was in the Red Deer shop did not see any AK. 

 

My last AK bottles were from a Polish shop.

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Calgary used to be blessed with quite a few shops but with the passing of "Uncle" Rick and several closings, the Edmonton boys have given you the best two. I haven't been to Chinook in several years but was certainly not impressed that last time, with very few kits still around but not bad for supplies. Chinook is still good for railway and figures/star wars stuff but not much kit wise. The Red Deer store is worth a visit if you are in the neighbourhood.

PM closed their second store so they are only at the 32 Ave. NE location but have good stock. Modelland on 26th Ave. SW are also well stocked and often have some older kits that have sold out elsewhere. Not sure when you are planning the trip but the next IPMS meeting will be on Saturday March 17th from 1-3 PM at the SAIT Airport location so drop around if here. The contest is in Edmonton this year and will return to Calgary/Nanton next year. 

Cheers

Bruce

 

P.S.

Would have answered sooner but have been sick for a couple of days and just back on line today....

Edited by RCAFFAN
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Few of the stores are what they used to be.

 

Modelland is still Modelland, and probably your best if-you-can-only--make-it-to-one-store bet, just because they have the best assortment of weird/esoteric/old stuff, plus they have a decent selection of newer releases and supplies.

 

PM Hobbies has gotten crazy-expensive.  They're big, and good for supplies (paints, pigments, etc), but nothing spectacular kit-wise - mostly mainstream, newer releases.  Their inventory is listed on their website, so you can do some browsing to see if it's worth your while (both price and stock).  Modelland's catalogue is online too, BTW.

 

Phoenix Comics is pretty pitiful.  They've always had a limited inventory, but used to have awesome prices; now their inventory is even more limited, and the prices prices were pretty 'normal' last I was there.  Basically, newer, mainstream releases at average retail pricing, with basically no supplies or aftermarket to speak of.  Worth the occasional visit because they do buy and sell collections, so they can have some unusual stuff, but it's still a shadow of what it once was.

 

Chinook Hobbies... I'm kind of surprised they're still in business, to be honest.  Their inventory is limited, and stale, and vastly overpriced.  They bought a warehouse full of ancient model stuff ~2010, clearanced most of it over the next few years, and what didn't sell was marked up to regular MSRP and has been rotting on the shelves ever since.  It's almost like if you went back to 1993, and took all the desirable kits off the shelves so you only had the mediocre stuff nobody really wanted to buy, then froze it in time.  There is a certain fascinating historical/novelty value to the place - if you want to see a hobby shop where you can buy square-bottle Pactra paint, in 2018, go to Chinook Hobbies - but if you're looking to do actual shopping, it's probably the worst option.

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Thanks guys. I ended up going to PM this afternoon and was kind of disappointed. I did manage getting a kit that I wanted but most stuff I saw has been out for awhile. Their supplies was nearly bare. I have been to Calgary several times for the show and always found the shops chockers with kits but I think it's the times.

Brad

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30 minutes ago, Brad-M said:

Thanks guys. I ended up going to PM this afternoon and was kind of disappointed. I did manage getting a kit that I wanted but most stuff I saw has been out for awhile. Their supplies was nearly bare. I have been to Calgary several times for the show and always found the shops chockers with kits but I think it's the times.

Brad

 

If you make it to Edmonton Hobby Wholesale is the stop you want. All kits are very affordable and new releases are constant.

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