Model shop closed - Hobby box Uckfield

[crompton 33]

One more small model shop gone. A sad day Closed on 22nd  July 2017. Here is a Link with full Details  http://www.bloodandcustard.net   Look under Hobby  box Uckfield            I have used them for over 30 Years.

 

Link to shop site - http://www.thehobbybox.co.uk/

Edited July 23, 2017 by Andy Y
Edited for better title and to give business url rather than just information site.

[MikeTrice]

Sad news indeed.

[bigherb]

Blimey that was unexpected, they where handy for Railmatch paints.

[crompton 33]

Blimey that was unexpected, they where handy for Railmatch paints.

Yes that is where i got my Railmatch paint. Now it look's like i will have to go to Gaugemaster a long trip just for Paint.

[The Great Bear]

Agree with the above a sad loss, was pretty convenient for me - a nice little drive away - especially for getting the odd modelliing bits n bobs l, wire, brass tubing, styrex etc. Now a longer drive to Gaugemaster will be required or I'll just have to plan things better and internet order.

[tamperman36]

Another small local model shop gone thanks to the internet. We need to start supporting these little shops and using them or else we will end up with nowhere that a modeller can actually visit and browse. It will also make this hobby the preserve of the wealthy as once it all goes onto the internet it all become credit card only. Little Johnny wont be able to go spend  birthday or pocket money at the model shop anymore.

[G-BOAF]

That's a shock and sad news. Obtained a then hard-to-get Southern liveried Bogie Van at the back end of 2015, and went back shortly after (5hr round trip) for two hard-to-find Hornby locos! A lovely, proper model shop that will be missed.

Edited July 24, 2017 by G-BOAF

[St Enodoc]

Very sad. I started using the Hobby Box after Kemp Models closed down and it was still a regular port of call on my trips back to stay with my daughters.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Considering its location in a part of England that 'has money', that is a significant loss...

[The Evil Bus Driver]

Yes that is where i got my Railmatch paint. Now it look's like i will have to go to Gaugemaster a long trip just for Paint.

Morris's in Lancing is good. Does a lot of paint. And not as far away as Gaugemaster either.

 

http://morris-models.co.uk/

Edited July 24, 2017 by The Evil Bus Driver

[Nearholmer]

Oh dear!

 

I remember when Keith and his wife first opened the shop (mid to late 1970s?), and although I moved away from the area many years ago, used to look in on those odd occasions that I was back visiting family.

 

The gradual disappearance of model shops is both inevitable, given our collective habit of buying by other means, and sad. There are a precious few left, but they are thinly spread.

 

Kevin

[crompton 33]

Morris's in Lancing is good. Does a lot of paint. And not as far away as Gaugemaster either.

 

http://morris-models.co.uk/

I think Morris will be at my clubs model show in Aug , Will stock up with Railmatch then. Never been to the shop in Lancing . With Hobby box members of model clubs  got 10% off .

Edited July 25, 2017 by crompton 33

[rue_d_etropal]

sad, and everyone blames the internet.

I wonder how many people these days would have the money to buy an existing business. It is not just a case of supporting your local shop, but also being prepared to find a way of keeping it going when the current owners want to retire.

[brianusa]

Its a world wide problem. We live near a large town that once had four or five train related hobby shops where one could always buy bits and pieces, parts, and magazines. One by one they disappeared and now they've all gone. Surely it can't be all due to the influence of the internet, some must be due to natural attrition and those leaving the hobby for other reasons, but the problem remains, where do you now buy all those little things; those you used to stop by and pick up. Now they'll cost you twice as much due to postage and packing, etc, with the inevitable wait.

 

Brian.

[Enterprisingwestern]

I believe it's directly related to the internet, of the people on this thread who bought something from this shop, only one mentioned rolling stock, shops can't survive on tins of paint and "bits and bobs".

The internet cherry picks what it wants to sell to the detriment of the small trader.

 

Mike.

[APOLLO]

Ain't just Model Shops closing. I found the Poundworld shop at the Robin Park retail park Wigan permanently closed this afternoon.

 

Business rates etc etc has a lot to do with shop closures. Our (Wigan) fairly new multi million £ town centre "Grand Arcade" has several empty shops, a couple of big ones too.

 

Brit15

[Nearholmer]

Yes, we've hot a couple of big units empty in an otherwise very prosperous shopping "mall" locally, and I've noticed a bit of subtle downsizing going on, too. WHS has moved to a unit with probably 1/3 of the floor area of its predecessor, and they seem to have 'rationalised' what they stock, presumably on an 80/20 basis. They may be losing to the internet, but I'd guess that big 'barn' shops selling craft gubbins, and big chain bookstores have walloped them as well.

 

K

[St Enodoc]

I believe it's directly related to the internet, of the people on this thread who bought something from this shop, only one mentioned rolling stock, shops can't survive on tins of paint and "bits and bobs".

The internet cherry picks what it wants to sell to the detriment of the small trader.

 

Mike.

Fair point Mike, but some of us don't have a lot of choice. Without the internet I couldn't contemplate what I am modelling now.

[Enterprisingwestern]

Fair point Mike, but some of us don't have a lot of choice. Without the internet I couldn't contemplate what I am modelling now.

 

I'm not necessarily saying it's a bad thing and nobody should buy from anywhere else but their local model shop, but, as in your case, changing demographics and consumer habits have totally changed the way we shop.

I have great admiration for anybody with the cahunas to run a model railway shop these days, especially a non big box shifter.

 

Mike.

[acg5324]

Shame about the Hobby Box, brought loads over the years both in the old and new shops.

The Brighton area has long been a desert for Model shops, you can't even get a tin of Humbrol enamel in the city ( I think ). I guess the rents on a shop are prohibitively expensive anyway.

Having moved to York I now have two shops in the city to choose from.

[brianusa]

I believe it's directly related to the internet, of the people on this thread who bought something from this shop, only one mentioned rolling stock, shops can't survive on tins of paint and "bits and bobs".

The internet cherry picks what it wants to sell to the detriment of the small trader.

 

Mike.

While this message has a point, over the years I at least spent many Dollars on high end items, locomotives and rolling stock as well as accessories. So its not for the lack of trying; its just that the 'little guy' has a hard time keeping up with high discounters, rising rents and the ever increasing costs of new stuff. Throw in a poor economy and he's in trouble!

 

Brian.

[bcnPete]

Likewise I remember going over to the shop to buy a few bits about 30 years ago when I lived in Burgess Hill - it was a better option than flicking through the pages of the Modeller and sending off for bits by snail mail.

 

Part of the pleasure was having a chat with Keith and his wife in the shop.

 

Fond memories indeed...

[BlueLightning]

Hi All,

 

Just thought I would let everyone know i went into Train Times in Eastbourne today. He has brought most of the remaining stock from the Hobby Box including the Railmatch paints. He also plans on stocking Railmatch from now on.

 

No connection other than a customer.

 

Gary

[spikey]

Well, am I glad I Googled "The Hobby Box" to check opening times before reluctantly venturing over there tomorrow for some paint!  Can't say I'm surprised they packed up: I went in there twice after Mark and Annie left, couldn't warm to the new owners at all, and came home telling the lady wife that I gave them two years tops ...

 

Shame really, 'cos I'd been a customer ever since the "Knocking shop" days in Framfield Road.

[jjb1970]

I think it is about a lot more than the Internet. Obviously the Internet has changed the retail market and has affected almost all retail sectors. I buy almost all of my books online and most of my electronics products and homeware.

 

Something easy to forget is that the shift to mail order pre-dates the Internet. Shops like Hatton had very slick mail order operations sucking up the market long before the Internet.

 

However even without the Internet I don't think business rates are helping shops and I think the hobby is a lot smaller than it once was. Yes, we have more producers than ever before and a splendid diversity of products but production runs appear to have shrunk hugely and more releases seem to be relying on mechanisms such as crowdfunding and pre-ordering to avoid risk.

 

If the hobby is smaller, business rates and other costs are high and competition from the Internet is intense then it's hardly surprising that smaller shops struggle.