Sad News...

[Lee]

Looks like ModelZone has gone into receivership....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... ation.html

Such a shame

[Paul]

Ah that's a shame, was never the best place to go for modelling stuff, but was always worth a look around and I got the odd bargain too

[T3hGuppy]

Always nice to go in and see what they had on offer.

See how it ends up whether they can save it like HMV or just sell it all off.

[HobbyModeller]

Only went in there once but checked online a lot ... like Paul said not the best but they always had plenty of good offers and a whole variety of models from different company's

[UKscalemodeller]

Never been thete myself, still sad news. They were the only people who did the areosled I wanted too.

[benc123]

Man that sucks! Its the only place for models and supplies in derby. If it goes then I'm pretty much snookered.

[Nige201980]

Hope somebody saves it model shops are to few as it is. I know toysrus do airfix but its not the same. The one in Doncaster is one of the best in the area and I could spend all day just looking.

[BrummieModeller]

I hope it don't go bust!! I love that shop I always get loads of my stuff in there and they always have a bargin!!! Someone get there pennies out and buy them!!!

[Modelpro72]

I'm proper miffed. Modelzone for me was a place just to look round and pick up a hell of a lot of bargins.

If they go then it's just the internet and the high prices of Hobbycraft.

Gutted

[Tiger131]

and another model shop goes down..the internet a blessing and a death nail to high street shops

[EpoxySniffer]

Bad news indeed but not a surprise.

MZ was good to have locally if you needed some paint quickly and didn't want to wait for
internet delivery. Good if you only wanted 1 paint and didn't want to pay £3 to have a single
pot delivered, though in town parking costs wiped out this saving. I have also picked up some amazing
bargains in there. Though the price of their paints is a little high and the prices of non sale items
are ridiculous. But, I enjoy going in and having a look around. Its one of the few reasons left for
bothering to go into town these days.

I think their problem has been that instead of focusing on being a specialist niche model shop
for plastic, RC and railway modellers they started selling what I consider to be toys and turned
half the shop over to this.

I think they lost touch with their main customer, people like us, who are not interested in
toy helicopters, toy guns, scalectrix, diecast etc which now takes up half of a MZ store.

They should have devoted their entire shop floor to specialist radio control (real outdoor RC planes
and cars not the toys they currently sell) and model kits (new and second hand trade ins), tools,
airbrushes, glues, paints, weathering products etc. Lets face it you wouldn't even bother going to MZ
if you wanted a quality airbrush or a Flory Models wash would you.

I don't think the internet is the sole reason to blame for this I believe it is MZ's own business
model (no pun intended) that has been wrong and failed. If I had a real local model shop I would support it and buy
from there instead of the internet even if the prices were a little higher.

Its a shame for the people in the shops that will now probably lose their jobs due to short sighted
management not understanding their customer.

Though administration doesn't always result in closure, for the sake of the staff in the shops I hope
this will be the case.

[chief5437]

I'm not a huge fan of modelzone, but apart from hobbycraft, they are the only model shops in hull. (That I know of!?) I've noticed both these stores have been drastically reducing their model stocks lately.
It's a shame, as much as you can get whatever you like from tinterweb, nothing beats browsing in a shop and taking your new stuff home the same day!

[modellingmadness]

Sad. I get lots of stuff from there and is one of the main reasons to go into town these days

[EpoxySniffer]

I'm not a huge fan of modelzone, but apart from hobbycraft, they are the only model shops in hull. (That I know of!?) I've noticed both these stores have been drastically reducing their model stocks lately.
It's a shame, as much as you can get whatever you like from tinterweb, nothing beats browsing in a shop and taking your new stuff home the same day!

Hobby Craft are another business that is failing to understand the modelling hobby and understand its niche customers. I don't even bother to go into Hobby Craft as they don't even sell Vallejo paints. The place is completely useless, even their online store is a joke. Hobby Craft will probably just stop selling models eventually and concentrate on its other art and craft ranges. Though it wouldn't surprise me if artists didn't buy their materials from there either and just bought online or at local niche art shops.

The way I see things the trouble with the likes of Hobby Craft and Modelzone is that they are trying to sell niche products to a niche market using a mass market high street approach.

It wouldn't surprise me if Hobby Craft were the next of the big chains to go under. If they do it will be because they, like Model Zone got their business model wrong and didn't understand the product they were selling or the needs of the niche customers they were selling to.

[Nige201980]

I collect 1:18 die-cast movie cars ie KITT and general lee and around me model zone is the only place to get them (one in Doncaster and one in meadow hall Sheffield) I know I could build them but its my wife and kids that get them for me so if it dose go they will be a bit stumped.
As for hobby craft I don't mind them yes the paints aren't great but they do tend to have a good selection oh models when I go and a few tools maybe not special stuff like sanding sticks and what have you but as my wife and I both have hobbies it a good place to go.
But as I said in a earlier post I have Doncaster air museum near me with a shop that sell loads of models yes mainly aircraft but at least ill have somewhere to go if I need to will have to pay a bit more and but as parking is free it evens its self out.

[PhildaFish]

Shame. I've only been in one once and that was a few weeks ago as I happened to be in Cardiff but the nearest one to me is about an hours drive away so not worth going to. I do buy bits from their website and to lose that will be a shame as they had some cracking sale prices.
I've just spent some time flicking through their sale section and I've missed some serious bargains!

[chief5437]

[quote="EpoxySniffer"]Though it wouldn't surprise me if artists didn't buy their materials from there either and just bought online or at local niche art shops.


My mum does water colours and my dad is into train sets, and you're right, they don't shop at hobby craft as its too expensive and they get better choice at specialised shops.

I can't understand why there isn't a specialist model shop in this area, last time I looked the closest to me was across the river Humber in Grimsby!

[EpoxySniffer]

Personally, I just find Hobby Craft has nothing to offer me in store or online and
I have never bought anything from them. When I do need something they aren't one of the
places I look.

I would rather give my business to one of the small online retailers like Scale Model Shop,
Models R Go, EModels, SnM Stuff, Models For Sale etc than give my business to Hobby Craft or
any other national chain that makes no effort to understand or cater properly for our hobby.

At least the small online model shops try to understand and cater for our niche hobby and
they are probably modellers themselves. So they deserve my business over Hobby Craft or MZ.

However as I said if I had a real model shop locally I would never be out of the place and
would get my salary paid directly into their till. If you still have a local model shop
then you are lucky ... so use it and support it.

All Hobby Craft do is throw the latest Airfix range on a shelf with a paint rack stuck
on the end. For me that's not enough to make me want to visit their store regularly or
give them my business and I don't consider that to be a model shop.

At least Model Zone gave you some good deals that made a visit to their store and
website worthwhile.

Games Workshop seem to understand that the hobby shop needs to be more than just a retail
outlet to survive. Gamers can go there and hang out, buy specialist products, meet and play
games and also get help with painting their figures and terrain.

Imagine going into Hobby Craft and asking for some advice on how to weather the Panzer you
are building. LOL!!

I know it won't happen but wouldn't it be great if the administrators turned Model Zone into
this kind of place for Scale Modelling, RC and Railways.

That's the Model Zone website shut down this evening .. there is just a notice from the administrators.

Does anyone know if the shops are still open?

[UKscalemodeller]

I agree with the statements on hobbycraft. Their website is pathetic, unless their aim is to put customers off. Also, they seem to have dropped revell all together.

[PhildaFish]

One of the benefits of being a large chain is that you can buy in bulk and twist the arms of the manufacturer for a better discount and then you pass those savings on to your customer, undercutting the competition and creating a large, loyal customer base.

What Modelzone did was buy in bulk, get big discounts but not pass those savings on which meant tons of stock they couldn't shift until they reduced them down in their permanent sale. For example, RRP = £6.99; with their buying power they should be able to sell at the standard mark up of x2.4 for about £5.99 but they end up selling them at £4 when no one buys them at RRP because everyone sells them at that so they have no USP. Hope that makes sense to people not from a retail background!

Not even God knows what Hobby Craft are doing!

[Nige99]

Oh well that means there is only Hobbycraft in Chester!! and they are crap.

[EpoxySniffer]

Its not really price that was the issue for me Phil. I actually thought they
were great for bargains. Where I believe they failed was by not understanding
the modelling, RC and railway hobby enthusiasts correctly and they did not offer
the products these hobbyists needed and wanted. The last time I was in they had
even started selling Lego !!

They didn't provide the range of specialist modelling products that this hobby requires.

For instance, I went in to MZ to get 3 specific flesh tones from Vallejo Panzer Aces and some Micro
Set and Micro Sol. They did not have one of these basic modelling products. Its a pretty poor
model shop that can offer me a box of Lego but no decal solution.

I couldn't even get these products online from their web site. So they not only failed to cater
to me in store their online business was also inferior to even the smallest online model shops.

Another time I went in to get some paints and they didn't have half of the colours I needed
so I again walked out empty handed and went home and ordered everything I needed online.

And they wonder why people just go straight to the internet?

ModelZone was not even the place I would shop for my modelling supplies online as their online
prices were uncompetitive and their website also lacked the range of specialist products. I instead went to the
smaller online vendors I mentioned in another post and got the products I needed at a reasonable price
all from the same place and delivered in one order.

Online shopping is blamed for killing off high street stores but that is sometimes not the case.
ModelZone was fundamentally a bad model shop that did not understand or cater for its core customers and that
is why it has gone under.

As you say MZ had the buying power to deliver us great products and great value but
they failed in both price and product range both instore and online.

I would have said I was one of their target market core customers but for me MZ became somewhere
to just pick up bargain bin kits and to buy the odd pot of paint if I was passing. They were never one of
my preferred retailers for my modelling supplies and that was their own fault.

I didn't consider them to be a serious or real model shop and thats why I say they failed to understand this hobby and
their customers and why their business model ultimatley failed.

I am still sad to see them go though, but only for the bargain bin kits and the fact that a lot of people will lose their
jobs now due to idiot management.

Everything I have said above is also applicable to Hobby Craft.

[chief5437]

As above, take note hobbycraft! If you want our business!

[EpoxySniffer]

Looks like MZ shops are still open for the moment but that could change at a moments notice.

Here is some information for those of you with vouchers, got this from my local MZ shop.
Looks like your vouchers are now only worth 50% of the face value, this is exactly why I don't buy
or receive vouchers anymore.

Due to Modelzone Ltd. going into administration, there have been some changes involving the redemption of Modelzone vouchers.

First of all, for the time being, we will be selling no vouchers.

Second of all, no sales can be paid for solely with vouchers. Vouchers can be used up to a maximum of 50% of the sale. For example:

1. A £40 sale paid for with a £20 note and a £20 voucher will go through as normal.

2. A £30 sale will take the value of that £20 voucher to be £15, and will require the other £15 to be made up by cash or card.

3. A £20 sale will take the value of the £20 voucher to be £10, and will require the other £10 to be made up by cash or card.

We are sorry that this has occurred, and that our current situation has come to negatively affect you, our customers. Please bear with us as we try to resolve these issues.

[Lee]

Surely, from a legal standard point, they can't do that as the voucher is in lieu of cash already received....

[T3hGuppy]

Surely, from a legal standard point, they can't do that as the voucher is in lieu of cash already received....

Yeah that always confused me when a company goes under. Must be within the law though.

[EpoxySniffer]

I think legally they can Lee. Though it is morally and ethically wrong and deplorable.

There was a big stink about this when HMV went into administration, they did the same, the shops stayed open but they refused to
honour vouchers. This is a bit different though, HMV refused outright to accept the vouchers whereas MZ are changing the value. I
think I read around the time of the HMV carry on that the voucher itself has no legal monetary value and is only some form of
intention that goods may be supplied to the value. I am not a commercial lawyer so I don't really know the exact legal position.

When HMV refused vouchers it was said that the legal position is that you become a creditor of the business and have to wait in line
with the rest of the creditors to be paid .

Any legal eagle modellers out there know?

It's a pretty disgusting way to treat people, if the administrators do keep the shops open this kind of behaviour hardly does them any favours. They will need the same customers they are alienating to build any surviving future business. These people are not going to remain customers if you rip them off and treat them badly.

[5Craven]

I think what they are doing here is modifying the terms & conditions of voucher redemption. What they are saying is IF you use a voucher then at least 50% of the transaction must be CASH (or equivalent). The value of the voucher can only be up to 50% of the value of the transaction or its face value which ever is the lower amount. So if your purchase is £50 and your voucher is for £25 or less then there is no reduction in its value. If your voucher is for £26 or more then it will only be worth £25. The way to get round this is to increase the value of your purchase until your voucher is worth the full 50%. So in the case above where you had a voucher £30 on a £50 spend you would lose £5. If you bought some extra stuff to take the order up to £60 you would get the full £30 value from your voucher. I am sure someone somewhere has decided to do this to get customers to spend extra cash ASAP to get their monies worth from any vouchers before any actions could make the voucher worthless. Clearly administrators are capable of low cunning as they aim to get as much cash-flow into the business as possible. Plus if you had £100 of vouchers you may not have another £100 of cash lying around to make sure you weren't losing out.

[EpoxySniffer]

Think you nailed it there, 5Craven. Its a shallow way of getting people with vouchers into the shops to spend money they wouldn't have otherwise. This gets some product off the shelves quickly at full price without having to reduce its price in a sale.

[PhildaFish]

Its not really price that was the issue for me Phil. I actually thought they
were great for bargains. Where I believe they failed was by not understanding
the modelling, RC and railway hobby enthusiasts correctly and they did not offer
the products these hobbyists needed and wanted. The last time I was in they had
even started selling Lego !!

They were great for bargains and that was my point, they only sold stuff through when they reduced it's price down to an unsustainable level. When the fools at head office look at the figures all they see is full priced stuff not selling well so they decide not to sell the things WE MODELLERS want, like paint or micro-sol as they are only making pennies per sale and instead try to diversify to higher profit items like Lego which has a proven sales track record. The trouble with that is that people don't go to MZ to look for Lego and the people that do go into MZ aren't looking to buy Lego.

As for the legal angle of vouchers, the use of and value of, most of them have a superb 'get out of jail free' clause printed somewhere on them, usually on the reverse and ALWAYS in small print and it goes something like this - "monetary value of this voucher is 0.001p" or sometimes it says "cash value" instead but the meaning is the same: basically you've bought a very expensive bit of paper which may not be worth even 1 penny. It sucks but it is perfectly legal.

[EpoxySniffer]

Your right there Phil, they were great for bargains. I picked up some kits in there for stupid prices. They once gave me a 1/48 F117 for £3 and I remember thinking at the time how on earth could they run a viable business selling me a kit like that for such a stupid low price when it was priced £15.99 everywhere else. The deep discounting was maybe a sign there was trouble ahead?

MZ were known as the place to go for bargains, maybe that was part of the problem? Did they just come to be known as the bargain bin kings and that’s all people went to them for while buying all their other full price modelling supplies and kits elsewhere? That’s just me postulating on one of the possible reasons for their downfall. I know that’s how I viewed them, it was MZ for cheap kits under a tenner and everything else from the smaller internet retailers who understood and knew the hobby and sold the specialist products.

You got it bang on about gift vouchers, they aren’t even worth the paper they are printed on. I just avoid buying vouchers as gifts now and if I am lucky enough to receive one I spend it right away before there is any nonsense from the retailer.

[EpoxySniffer]

Looks like the Modelzone shops are set to close over the next few weeks. According to latest news no buyer has come forward. It's a shame, though it wasn't the greatest of model shops I had hoped they would stay open at least for the sake of the guys in the shops who have all been decent and friendly to me when I have been in.

Interestingly Modelzone has a sister company called Amerang which is a toy and model kit distributor. I believe that they are the sole importers and distributer of Hasegawa kits in the UK. Amerang also went into administration but apparently has some interested buyers as it is a profitable business that was just dragged down by the loss making Modelzone.

I went into my local store yesterday and kits are 20% off and paints, tools, glues, masking tapes etc are at 50% off. The kits aren't very good bargains at the moment as what they have done is re-price everything to the highest RRP then the 20% is applied at the till which doesn't make them any cheaper than normal. The Vallejo paints had all been snapped up at £1.05 a bottle though so I missed out on that.

If any of the guys from the shops use this forum then I wish you the best of luck and hope you find another job soon.

[chief5437]

I went into the Hull store and got some 'bargains' the other day. The lass on the till said MZ was actually in the black and making profit, it was something to do with Lloyds that had made them go into administration. Who knows?!

[Nige201980]

What the real shame is that a lot of independent stores got taken over by modelzone like the one in Doncaster so now that will no more.

[chief5437]

^^ agreed

[Paul]

Ok so after hearing about all the bargainsi went to the Chester modelzone this morning, still loads of stock.

20% of models
30% of books
50% of tools and paints

I came away with this lot, £58 worth for £28.

[Nige201980]

Just had some great news the modelzone in Doncaster is being reopened by the orgianl owner 4 years after he sold it to them. It will be trading under the orgianl name Tags of Doncaster means ill now have to places to get my bits and bobs. So there is hope out there for the other shops aswell.

[Tiger131]

that is good news hopefully it works out for him

[Nige201980]

Tags in Doncaster will be opening this Saturday 5/10/13 so if your in the area pop along and show your support to this model shop. Hopefully i will be popping in to have a look and i will let you know what it now like.

[Nige201980]

Just been in tags of Doncaster great service with a little stock not much but they say new stock is arriving daily so hopefully it will build up quickly and got 10% of as opening day will post pictures later when I get home.

[Paul]

Just been in tags of Doncaster great service with a little stock not much but they say new stock is arriving daily so hopefully it will build up quickly and got 10% of as opening day will post pictures later when I get home.

Sounds promising Nige, look forward to the pics.

[Wayne]

I spoke with a guy that worked in there just before it closed as i was in there getting stuff cheap The story he told me was the guy that owned them wanted to retire and he had no one to leave it to and no one wanted to buy it so closed it all down. I dont know if there is any truth in what i was told or not. But its still sad none the less.

[spruecutter]

Looks like Rapid Hardware in Liverpool have bought a load of the ex Modelzone stock from the store that closed in the city centre. In some cases the price stickers have been left on - with the same over inflated prices.

[rodders]

Hi All,
I've heard that WH Smith's are opening modelzone areas in some of their shops. I don't if it's correct but i read it on their facebook page. obviously, it will be in the big branches but if they stock varnishes, washes that are hard to get through the post it may be worthwhile.
Cheers.

[Lee]

Nice!

[UKscalemodeller]

Yes just the big.stores I think, but I don't have much hope for their prices.

[Nige201980]

like Ian say's they probably be really expensive.