Model Shop Waterford

[Alan564017]

Noticed on another thread chat about model shops in Dublin. Does anyone know what happened to The Model Shop in waterford, I know it moved onto the quays but that was about 3/4 years ago, then vump, gone. . Being from KK I found it handy. I got my first model railway fix in there and now I have to go to other dealers and chase the dragon.

[gm171 kk]

I'm also from Kilkenny and I go to RB Models in Clonmel now mostly. Sad to see the Waterford shop go.

[Alan564017]

gm171, been there too, not too often, only as finances allow. Have you been to New Ross, I havent, just curious.

[Noel]

Noticed on another thread chat about model shops in Dublin. Does anyone know what happened to The Model Shop in waterford, I know it moved onto the quays but that was about 3/4 years ago, then vump, gone. . Being from KK I found it handy. I got my first model railway fix in there and now I have to go to other dealers and chase the dragon.

 

There was a fantastic model shop in Waterford near the Reginald's Tower end of the quays in the 1960s and 70s. I think it either got out of models or closed in the late 70s or early 80s. It carried the entire Hornby Dublo range, later Triang and then early Triang-Hornby. Huge range of model war gear also (ie that time was around the 25th anniversary of WW2). I still have a box of that stuff up in the attic.

 

EDIT: I am reliably informed the original Waterford model shop on the quays was called 'The Sportsman'.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Noel

[Riversuir226]

It closed about three years ago, the owners son is on this site. Mc models in New Ross is mainly radio control and aircraft kits with an odd bit of bachmann/hornby, since the closure of the waterford shop i use marks, model shop.ie and rb models.

[Junctionmad]

I suspect the Internet has killed a lot of shops off

[craven1508]

the owner of that shop that was in waterford is a very good man to deal

with ,i source all my rolling stock from him.

[Noel]

I suspect the Internet has killed a lot of shops off

 

Hmmm! Not sure myself? There are quite different effects the internet has had.

 

The toy sector of the model train market was already in free fall long before the internet really took off. Long ago they used to say every young boy got at least one train set as a Christmas or birthday present before they were 14, but that is all gone, it became commodore 64, Atari, then Nintendo, gameboys, playstations, computers, etc, and now smartphones and tablets that children stare at. And more recently our young spend more time with the internet's social networking and watching Netflix than letting their imagination run wild on imaginary battle fields with toy soldiers and tanks, dog fights with airfix, or interstellar space ship attacks. Now they watch instead of making up their own plots by hand.

 

Most don't use their hands to 'play' or build and interact with physical toys as much, the imagination has been replaced by the dance of LCD screens, hence lego, meccano, kicking a football outside, climbing trees, and model trains are gone by the wayside. The hobby is now mainly the preserve of 'dads' who used to play with toy trains when they were youngsters before LCDitis struck the world. Hence it is now more of a modellers market, with the number of toy retailers supplying model trains reduced due to the exodus of children from the market. Hence a smaller number of high quality retailers specialising in various facet's of modelling products and services. Sure the internet must have had an effect on those retailers that did not compete on price, but modellers are more discerning and price wise than the mass toy market, and it seems that the savvy retailers have found a number of ways to compete. Looking at rows and rows of well displayed models in a retail store combined with the ability to view and handle products is still a draw for some, even if they only buy X% in store and Y% online. As ever with retail, its the extra odds'n'ends that folks often buy when purchasing a larger item that can have more attractive margins.

 

But the main reason we have less model shops, is far fewer little boys get train sets for birthdays and Christmas anymore. It's simply become a smaller and more specialised market for an older age profile.

[Riversuir226]

X mas 2007 in Waterford Smyths toys had bachmann digital trainsets; Byrnes had hornby trainsets and lots of hornby stock & accessories and there was the model centre with all of the above . X mas 2014 in Waterford absolutely 0 stock in.any of the shops. My bet is that the closure of Waterford crystal & other major employers in the city is the real reason.behind it

Theres quite a few of the xbox/nintendo/sega generation on here so i wouldn t put the blame solely at the door of technology.

[Alan564017]

hard to agree or disagree with the comments above, how does the shop in clonmel survive ? (fair play to it), slightly smaller metropolis than waterford. But them again id hazard a guess that most modelers will travel. I enjoy a bit of a noisy in dublin or portlaoise, wouldnt dream of going to the big retailers.

[Riversuir226]

He covers a huge range of different types of modelling and dolls houses, i try to get up to him a few times a year and i know quite a few of the local lads from waterford do the same, he also offers a very good mail order service via his website.

[Blaine]

hard to agree or disagree with the comments above, how does the shop in clonmel survive ? (fair play to it), slightly smaller metropolis than waterford. But them again id hazard a guess that most modelers will travel. I enjoy a bit of a noisy in dublin or portlaoise, wouldnt dream of going to the big retailers.

 

As 226 has said, they obviously have what people want to buy at the right price. A model shop cant survive alone on railways, over 20 years since the last purely model railways shop closed....

[StevieB]

I was talking to the proprietor of my local secondhand bookshop here in Pershore recently and he said that, of all the topics that might be of interest to the male of the species, railways was the one in serious decline from a book point of view.

 

Stephen

[tuby]

The economics of the retail trade are also having a major effect. Rents in High St locations and shopping centres are so high that only shops with huge turnovers can survive in them and model shops are not in that league, they now tend to be in obscure locations hence the hobby is losing it's public profile. Before I retired I was a regular visitor to London on business. In the late 80's there were at least 4 model railway shops in the centre of London and all went in the 90's, there were probably more but they were the handiest for me.

[Noel]

The economics of the retail trade are also having a major effect. Rents in High St locations and shopping centres are so high that only shops with huge turnovers can survive in them and model shops are not in that league, they now tend to be in obscure locations hence the hobby is losing it's public profile. Before I retired I was a regular visitor to London on business. In the late 80's there were at least 4 model railway shops in the centre of London and all went in the 90's, there were probably more but they were the handiest for me.

 

Yes for nearly 20 years I collected stock from 'The Signal Box' who were a superb mail order company in the UK (pre-internet), but I see they too closed in the past few years and they were one of the largest suppliers.

[Gordon]

Hi I would like to know if there is a call for us to open a craft and model shop in waterford or models and trains as we are thinking about this please let us know 

[DERAILED]

There used to  a shop - The Model Centre  73 Johnstown, Waterford - George (?). Years since I was there - is it gone?

[Georgeconna]

Yes long gone, used to like popping down there every now and then. some Good RC gear too. George was a sonud chap and organised the Local Waterford model shows too which were quite good.

A quick pop over the river to the Station then to have a gawk at whats about then.

He mostly catered for the Local RC Scene, If a bricks and motar shop is required well I think the shop closing down answers that question for you.

Edited April 3, 2020 by Georgeconna

[Midland Man]

Is there a model shop in clonmell?

[RedRich]

18 hours ago, DERAILED said:

There used to  a shop - The Model Centre  73 Johnstown, Waterford - George (?). Years since I was there - is it gone?

Yes a few doors down from Philly Grimes pub. George moved to the Quay down by the Munster Express office. It closed as has been said some years ago. I have to say George and Helen are lovely people and are missed 

I didn't care if a model was cheaper on the net I always bought my models there it feels more personal walking into the shop examining the model and walking out a happy customer  I use Mark's now and make the trip to Dublin more often then buying online. If I can't make it to Dublin then I buy online. I have also bought at exhibitions. If we don't support the shops then they close and the majority of us don't want that.

Rich,

[Georgeconna]

15 hours ago, Midland Man said:

Is there a model shop in clonmell?

Yep, Was there only once. forgot about that place.

https://rbmodels.ie/

[DiveController]

22 hours ago, Gordon said:

Hi I would like to know if there is a call for us to open a craft and model shop in waterford or models and trains as we are thinking about this please let us know 

@Gordon If I understood correctly you're a retailer thinking of opening/re-opening a model shop to include railway models in Waterford? Expressions of support do not necessarily guarantee you long-term business stability. AS has been said above, model railways alone is unlikely to succeed as a business venture and you probably need quite diverse merchandise to attract sufficient customers to make it a viable proposition; plastic models, railways, Irish railways, RC planes & boats, doll houses etc. You might contact the IRM boys to see whether you both wish to sell any other their products which are growing in popularity. YO should be able to conduct a poll on her and see what level of support you get from Waterford locals, those somewhat further afield, internet sales (if you can compete with the larger retailers). Tuppence etc  

[Riversuir226]

On 4/3/2020 at 6:34 PM, Gordon said:

Hi I would like to know if there is a call for us to open a craft and model shop in waterford or models and trains as we are thinking about this please let us know 

Theres definetly a market for it in the city and county, plus theres a lot of potential business coming from the surrounding counties. 

Railway models and model kits would definetly be a viable business. 

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by Riversuir226

[Wexford70]

33 minutes ago, Riversuir226 said:

Theres definetly a market for it in the city and county, plus theres a lot of potential business coming from the surrounding counties. 

Railway models and model kits would definetly be a viable business. 

 

I disagree, given the volumes you would need to sell to cover rent, rates and other overheads. Let alone make a living from it. Prices will always be compared to those online so you are competing with a very large market, often with lower overheads. 

I would be cautious about investing in such a business. Do your planning well and be realistic. 

[jhb171achill]

I suspect that a CRAFT shop might find a market, but model railways would end up being a very peripheral aspect of it.

[DART8118]

As part of your planning, find out how many modelling clubs there are in your catchment area, what their annual spend would be and what percent of that spend you could capture.  In the context of COVID-19, consider the numbers that are currently on the unemployment register and ponder the wisdom of starting a new business in these very difficult economic times.

8118

 

[NIR]

Bricks and mortar, a physical shop, is not working out even for established businesses at this time and Waterford is a very small place. I live in a conurbation and can't think of even one railway model shop within it.

Edited April 7, 2020 by NIR

[Riversuir226]

4 hours ago, Wexford70 said:

I disagree, given the volumes you would need to sell to cover rent, rates and other overheads. Let alone make a living from it. Prices will always be compared to those online so you are competing with a very large market, often with lower overheads. 

I would be cautious about investing in such a business. Do your planning well and be realistic. 

20 years of retail management tells me different, there is a market there. Theres a large amount of kit builders in the area, plenty of rail modellers in the area and thats before looking into other model markets. 

If you add crafts to the product offering then all the better. 

Nir Waterford may seem like a small place but it has a large catchment area.

The key for success in Waterford is location the cbd isnt the best place to be due to access and parking problems. 

 

Edited April 7, 2020 by Riversuir226

[Liam_Murph]

I would love to be proved wrong, but I would be very dubious about a modelling shop having any real longevity in Waterford. A whole range of stores (and other businesses) belonging to lads I know are struggling there. Combine a weaker market with the change in younger generations interest as Noel said and it paints a bleak picture for modelling shops outside of the biggest cities.

In general, I think the cost of the hobby could turn away a few youngsters that show any interest. When most "exciting" locomotives  frequently cost over €150 and a rake of carriages or wagons could take a serious chunk out of a confirmation money haul or summer job earnings, it doesn't allow them to dabble in the hobby to the point where they will commit more to it. It takes a serious enough addiction to get to the point where they will throw money like we would at the latest IRM or Murphy's releases.

[Georgeconna]

Hard Graft in a Shop, Looks at Marks, Nearly Every weekend the lads are out and about in shows etc , tough ol station and hard to claw a few quid in against the online offerings these days.

I do like shops though, Internet is cold.