Here in Ontario one of the best hobby shops for RC boats and sailboats is going from having a retail store where you can see and handle the merchandise to a WWW store. They are the sole distributor of Dragon line sailboats and supplies in Ontario.

http://www.leadingedgehobbies.com/webstore/wecs.php

I like hand selecting my balsa-sheet materials which is getting harder to find a store with stock.

I buy from model shops every time rather than amazon,eBay etc. We should all do the same if we want to keep these very specislist outlets, and not just for modelling

In 2003 there were 5 model shops in the Poole/Bournemouth area not including the rare plastics shop. When leaving for SA in 2009 there were only two in existence. Shortly thereafter Channel 4 closed down and on another site in 2017 was a thread saying that Westbourne had moved and shrunk. Then later that they were not responding to emails and had closed. Sad reflection of our times - the internet whilst very useful has killed off so many traders - its a great shame as most of the people who ran or owned them were usually a pleasure to deal with.

Here in SA I am now faced with a 2 1/2 hour drive to buy balsa etc since our only local (50km) Hobby shop closed last year. Courier costs are astronomical - most times exceeding the value of your purchase.

Hi
Thanks for the info on Mick Charles as I was saying only yesterday to the wife, I must try and get to Mick Charles some time soon, so that has saved me a run from Brighton.