Tips on this hobby

[ERJ-pilot]

Hi!

I'm new on this hobby (found it after visit a collector's trade fair) and would like to ask you about some tips like reliable shops, best model brands, etc...

Cheers,
Albert

[fleetlordatvar]

short answer is Wafflecollectibles 98% of the time is the cheapest for 1:200, 1:400, 1:500 & 1:130. Sometimes the store is WAY cheaper prices than others especially in the SALE & collections sale categories.

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I only started in Oct 2011. I have learned thru experience some things such as what brands are the least quality (but still good or they wouldn't be in business) in 1/200 i.e. flight miniatures, almost all skymarks IMO.

The question is too vague, there are pro's & con's for all scales, brand names, companies, etc. There are some websites/ stores that have some basic info about the companies; try eztoys to get an idea of what is availbe for what you are looking for. I use it for my wishlist, but hardly ever buy from there because they are not the cheapest overall. Here is a start

1. What scale (many websites have a paged devoted to scale in metric & American measurements)
2. commercial or military; check the website eztoys to see what scales they come in for both. eztoys isn't not the cheapest (waffle & a couple others are), but they all have very good service. (warning people have complained about the personalities of some of the store owners, but again the service is very good). There are also the extremes; 1/1000 & 1/100. Others are also available, not not popular or mass produced
3. Material of model; resin, die cast, plastic, wood (IMO way overpriced!!)
4. budget - the larger the scale the more it will cost; die cast will cost more than others/ the larger the more space it requires