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Flyhawk, Very Fire, Fujimi kits in the UK?


Vlad

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Are there any UK based model shops that stock 1/700 ship kits by Flyhawk, Very Fire and/or Fujimi? I occasionally see sporadic stock at some online shops but not found one with a reasonably complete catalogue.

 

The ones you do find in the UK tend also to have ridiculous mark-up compared to online prices direct from China/Japan, but I'd be happy to support a local retailer with a sensible mark-up to avoid months of shipping time.

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  • Vlad changed the title to Flyhawk, Very Fire, Fujimi kits in the UK?

I stock Flyhawk kits.  Regarding mark up, you probably don't know that trade prices from Chinese suppliers are often higher than retail from Chinese sources.  If you see what you think are high mark ups this is in fact nothing to do with UK or other retailers charging significantly more than usual, it is down to Chinese business practices.  Also you forget that costs of shipping, import tax and operating a business in the UK are significantly higher than for those selling kits on ebay for example.  So no, kits sold by UK retailers do not have 'ridiculous mark ups', if you want to try starting a business to do what you suggest then you are very welcome to try.

 

Mike

 

 

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Ah, I see we are making assumptions about how overseas manufacturers set their pricing, how much we pay in taxes, how long stuff sits on shelves and how much markup UK businesses apply to imported model kits.

 

To be completely blunt, until you've got the trade price list from the suppliers and worked the numbers, it's unsound to make remarks about markups. If you just don't like the price that's one thing but if you know how hard UK small businesses had to work, how hard they try and how little money there actually is in this crappy little industry. As such, remarks assuming big fat profit margins come across as downright insulting to those trying to make stuff available here.

 

Rather than drive down prices, this just makes businesses say "sod this" and stop stocking more exotic stuff from overseas.

 

There are a lot of ship modelling products which nobody in the UK stocks anymore - I just added the superb Pontos Model to that list before Christmas. Even being the only seller of something in a country isn't enough to satisfy those who whine and moan about assumed margins and compare to pre-tax prices from eBay sellers in China. I stopped bothering with Very Fire ages ago because Chinese sellers were selling kits (sans UK tax of course, but that doesn't matter to people who just look at sticker price and complain about taxes later) cheaper than Very Fire would supply to me.

 

All Mike or I get out of importing is the opportunity to do away with your lead time by buying it for you long in advance and not getting paid for it until you decide you want it the day after. If you're not willing to put a monetary value on having it available at short notice, you instead have to not complain about lead times to get it from China.

 

I'm happier now I've dispensed with all third party products. It's not worth the hassle.

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  • 1 month later...

I am soo glad then I bought 2 sets last year of the Pontos Ship Pedestals

from you !

for the record always been delighted with the service from both of your businesses ( and I always try to buy from a🎄uk supplier )

thank you both 

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  • 1 year later...

Quick thread revival here, because I saw several Very Fire kits at Modelkraft on Frome Model Centre's stand and it was suddenly very tempting.  They had 1/350 kits of USS Montana and Louisiana, both unbuilt projects but absolutely fascinating - the proposed successors to the Iowa class.  And at £99.99 they looked to stack up pretty well against, say Hobby Boss's USS Alaska or Guam, which are a fair bit smaller but cost more.  That's assuming they're decent kits, though.  Anyone have any experience of them?

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Jadlam stock Very Fire, Flyhawk and Fujimi and frequently offer good deals.  Have a look at their Clearance section and you will find models from all three makers currently available.

 

Kent Models stock Fujimi at competitive price, when I last looked.

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