i have to agree on westbourne, also pandaan models but they are in teh process fo changin hands
Locally i have three model shops, one seems to have a bit of everything ,mostly RTR ,cars boats planes etc ,plastic guns model kits . Huge shop but not dedicated to any one kind of model, unfortunately teh customer service is NOT good, i fear it`s partly due to the high staff turnover they appear to have, lack of knowledge and weekend part time young people.
another model shop on teh opposite side of town stocks a very good range of Rc cars and planes and have been recomended by local model clubs but i find them a bit expensive , i paid £68 for a piezzo gyro for a heli, only to find that midland heli`s sell teh exact same for £32 !!!! you can imagine i was happy when i found this out !
lastly i have scoonie hobbies local,they do seem to stock a lot of cottage industry type of bits and peices, plenty of info and advice, if they cant help then they can put you in teh direction of someone who can. they have a wealth of fellow modellors contacts due to the fact that they do most , if not all the main model shows up and down the country. BUT i do buy a lot of stuff or even check out prices before buying in a shop. i dont have to travel,pay for parking/buses and won`t be dissapointed when arriving at shop that they dont stock that viatl part !
on the WWW it`s a buyers market which is good in some ways, but as far as advice,experience or guidance then one to one whether on the phone or in person cannot be bought. it could/.does put people off due to buying something that the new owner doesn`t have the knowlede or experience to assemble. Which would certainly put most people off , FULL STOP !
unfortunately there`s not much if anything that can be done to change the way things are going, but as long as there are model shows where traders and experst alike congregate it should stave of the wolves of RTR !