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Northfields Model Shop (London Zone 3)


sub39h
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OK ...... I visited on Friday August 15th and he is still open ............... he has no plans to close although it is true that his lease is up for renewal .........

 

The owner (Viteck ... hopefully the correct spelling, he's of Polish ancestry) is as chaotic as ever and as helpful and charming as ever ...

 

Whilst I was there he was starting a family off with a Hornby trainset ......... a great advert for our hobby

 

Expect plastic kits, old HD 3 rail, Dinkys ................ all piled up on top of each other ........... just the kind of shop we  would like to spend the day in!

 

But I didn't buy anything - which is the problem he has!

 

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I'm missing something. I can only see boxes and no floor! How do you find anything, viewing spectacles? :pilot:

 

Cheers

 

Tom

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Not been, there and well unless he there is on my next visit to London I may never get to,

 

But if he is and since he stocks N gauge will be worth a visit a bit chaotic maybe but that's the kind of place you find something really special even if it wasn't on your wish list

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  • 3 weeks later...

I paid him a visit on 22 August. As the question about him potentially shutting down already has been answered here, I didn't ask him. Also, he mentioned that he had received his order from Hornby and that we was hoping to make another one. Apparently there's a minimum value that has to be reached for each order.

 

I spent about half an hour there and had a discussion about my planned Christmas layout and ended up buying three Metcalfe card kits.

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  • 2 months later...
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  • 3 weeks later...

I paid my last visit late last year, it so happened I'd picked the day of his daughter's wedding and all the stock that he had stored at home was in the shop, so it was virtually impossible to move (even more so than usual).

 

That's my last visit though, as he has little idea what he has in stock and it was so randomly stacked that it was impossible to look for anything. Some pre-owned items from the Mainline/Lima/Airfix period such as Siphons were on display but he wanted absolutely ridiculous prices for them - one at 3 times the price I recently paid in GE Models in Norwich. In the past he's said he'll offer a discount on multiple purchases but when you add up the individual prices he's just rounded down to the nearest pound, and I would not be surprised if sometimes he manages to round up.

 

I have the distinct impression that his shop is primarily a gossip corner for his model railway club mates and his publicly-displayed collection of models that he'd rather not part with. He'd talk you to death if you gave him the chance, but I'm not going again.

 

I think his N gauge sale might have been related to the arrival of his business rates or rent bill, or he needed something for his daughter!

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  • 4 months later...

I went in there a couple of weeks ago and the place still looks the same.

 

I brought my Hornby loco that wouldn't run and it promptly received some service from Witek.

 

From the used section I bought a used Hornby restaurant car that my four year old daughter wanted as our train set was missing one and I also found some old Corinthian Football Figures from the mid 90s, which I couldn't resist buying.

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  • 4 years later...

I spent a pleasant hour this afternoon talking with Witek.

 

His shop is either a dream or a nightmare depending on your point of view. The shop is literally crammed full of stock. There is so much stock that browsing is impossible. Fortunately Witek has got a pretty good idea of what he has and which box it's stored in.

 

I took 10 n-scale wagons off his hands, most of his stock however consists of 2nd hand OO locos.

 

Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. There is plentiful free parking opposite the shop and it's only a 2 minute walk from Northfields tube on the Piccadilly line.

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  • 3 years later...

I popped in last week as I was in the area. The only thing that has changed is that there is now a notice on the door saying that due to the Coronavirus pandemic, only one person in the shop at a time, masks to be worn and don't touch the stock. And cash only. As noted, the proprietor is an agreeable chap who doesn't want to be online as he wants to get new people into the hobby - although quite how they are supposed to manage it is a bit uncertain given the near impossibility of being able to find or see anything. 
 

Still, I found an Bachmann coach long out of stock elsewhere so I left quite happy.   

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I'm not sure he actually wants to sell anything. My last interaction with him was over an old dusty Bachmann NSE 166 he had in the display cabinet. I asked him 'how much' to which he replied 'make me an offer'. So I offered him £150 for it (fair eBay average price after a bit of googling) but he told me that he wouldn't let it go for less than double that.

 

I picked one up recently for £100. 

 

I decided after that experience that it was my last visit.

 

Guy

Edited by lyneux
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I've been in a few times. Absolutely lovely guy and very helpful.

 

Agree that his shop is a bit of a mess, but there are some gems there if you take the time.

 

I once bought a few wagons, purchases totalled just over £100. He was happy that this was a little under MRSP and I was happy it was just a little over Hattons / RoS prices. I was happy to help a local shop and my purchase what the most he made that day.

 

Don’t go expecting a modern shopping experience, but go if you have some spare time and are willing to look for a rarity. He certainly has time to help the younger generation get introduced to the hobby, I’ve seen him taking the time with a mum and her approx. 8 year old son spend £10.

 

He’ll also get new items in from the manufacturer if he doesn’t have it in stock, and acknowledges that he’ll have to give some sort of discount. I tried to get my Hattons 66s from him, until we both realised it was direct buy only.

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  • 4 months later...
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I visited the Northfields shop this week during a lunch break and can confirm everything written above except that it's got even more extreme, like one of the worst examples on a TV programme about extreme hoarding.  Although during the pandemic he only wanted one customer in the shop at once, you could genuinely no longer get more than that in there now.  The boxes are piled high, floor to ceiling and I didn't dare go between the piles (which would have been a squeeze) for fear of starting an avalanche. 

 

The owner was very friendly but it says a great deal that perhaps only 10% of the stock has a price on it, many are at RRP and also that his pricing policy is based on "What I paid for it plus a bit".  So if he's greatly overpaid for something, he's probably stuck with it.  He said to me that he was thinking of closing the business but since this thread reported that a decade ago, it's clearly just the same sob story to persuade you to take a "last minute deal".

 

"Doesn't want to be online as he wants to get new people into the hobby"; what utter tosh.  If that worked, he'd be selling stuff to them.  For a small cost per month, he could list hundreds of items at a time on eBay and clear his stock in a year or less, allowing him to retire or replace with new stock which will sell.  Based on other's experiences, he seems to believe something is worth what he wants to sell it for, not what he and a buyer can agree it is worth.  I have seen and overheard so many traders at swapmeets with masses of old Hornby and Triang at inflated prices, labouring under the same misapprehension.  This is why his shop unit is stuffed with unsold, faded stock.  If he wants to sell up he needs to produce some turnover and get on with it.

 

I'm afraid either @lyneux is right and Witek doesn't actually want to sell anything or he is just a terrible businessman.  I do hope others visit and find something they want, at a price they are prepared to pay, but if he stocks it, it may take a while to find......

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