Visitor to the shop....

[Elm City Hobbies]

I am so stoked, I can't believe it.....feel like a little kid meeting one of their idols.....


Few minutes ago I had a visitor to the shop here, none other than Mike Vallejo, one of the brothers that owns Vallejo Paint.

Him and his wife were in the Maritimes on vacation, and his brother Alex (whom I talk to regularly) told him to stop in and see me.

I saw this vehicle go by the shop about 3 times and then finally stop in....thought it was the usual customer not realizing I am closed on Mondays. Mike came to the door and saw my hours, went back to talk to his wife, but decided to persevere and rang the bell.....then he introduced himself....and I was almost star stuck.

Nevermind meeting your favorite movie star or sports celebrity.....this is one of the celebrities of the modeling world!!

Should I feel foolish that I still have a grin from ear to ear?? LOL

Only thing I am kicking myself for now, is not getting a picture of him and his wife under my sign!! Damn!!!!

 

[spud]

lol. what is it with hoby stores closing on mondays!!!!!!

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Its the only business day I have to do errands, banking, pick up orders, work around the house, etc. Sunday and Monday is my weekend.

 

[Quaralane]

Cool, Scott. Very cool

 

[Junkie]

Don't wash your hand!

 

[spud]

lol. not wasing teh hand may become hazardous in a few days

 

[Gundamhead]

No, hope he washed his after he shook... and before he shook yours. Get it? Huh-hu get it? : ;D

 

[panzerace007]

SCOTT,

WoW !! That's pretty Cool !! Congrats !!! DId He look over your Vallejo Stash ?? ;D

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Oh yes....we had a great conversation about paints and the factory in Barcelona..to which I got an invite to come see the factory if ever I am in the area, which is awesome.

We talked about the new primers and how well they are selling, even he said they were very pleasantly surprised at how well they have taken off. I told him I have been shipping mine all over North America, as there aren't many places that are carrying them, and those that are seem to think they can't ship them through the mail. He told me that there should be nothing in them that would limit being able to ship them, and I replied that I know, but their loss is my gain. Got a guy in Hawaii that regularly gets a couple of bottles a month.

He was very surprised to find that I only carried Vallejo for paint (other than Testors Spray cans and Alclad), remarking that he usually finds Vallejo tucked away in a corner while Testors and Tamiya are front and center. I told him not so here....all I carry, and all I will ever carry is Vallejo. No point in carrying something sub-standard when you already have the best!!

Cool fact.....Mike Vallejo was actually born in Bangor, Maine!!

 

[DXM]

lol. what is it with hoby stores closing on mondays!!!!!!

People in the hobby industry want days off too.
Most people here work Monday - Friday and visit your local hobby stores on Saturdays and Sundays.
So when do people in the hobby industry get a day off? Work Monday to Friday and then Saturday and Sunday. Most Hobby stores are run with minimal staff ( 2-3 members ). If one person is off, that would leave the store understaffed for 2-3 days a week, not good for may reasons ( ie...hate to say this but theft). One person can run a store but what about washroom breaks, lunch etc. If you are alone, you don't get one. Talking from experience, I've had to bust a bladder for 3 hours because the store had customers and I couldn't leave. How would you feel if the staff member asked you to leave the store so they can take a WR break.
When was the last time you visited a hobby store on Monday other than for emergency supplies?
So for staff to have a day off, traditionally Mondays are the weakest in sales, so some stores close Mondays.
Hope this explains things.

 

[spud]

lol i do realise all that, i was just pulling his leg because our only lhs closes mondays also

 

[DXM]

No problem....we get asked that same question all the time. Especially when they came on Monday to finds us closed.

 

[spud]

lol. i went to my lhs store last monday and was pissed cos i new it was closed but i had completly for got about it, i was more pissed over the petrol i wasted driving 40miles

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Yes, being a one man operation, Tue-Sat is quite enough for hours. My shop is in the basement of my house, so I don't have to go far (roll out of bed in the morning, make coffee and go into the shop! LOL)

But I do need a day to do business outside of the shop, whether that is picking up product from my PO Box in the US about an hr away, going to the bank, or just going to the DIY store for a "honey do" project. Need that day to get out and about. Heck, even oil change on the car I have to schedule for that day.

Nevermind a day off for my own sanity. Even though I am not open, I am usually working still putting in orders, or mailing out parcels to customers.

 

[panzerace007]

SCOTT,

Again, Fantastic !! Yeah, I don't get it either. I live in Richmond V.A. & Neither LHS' carry Vallejo. They Refuse to. One of MY AMPS chapter Buddies even placed a very large order with one of them. I mentioned to th MGR. that maybe That'll turn th head of the Owner , to consider carrying Vallejo ... ???? I think all They see is th Start Up fee . Which, I guess you can't blame them, but what I think would have been a stroke of Genius on Vallejo's part - When Tamiya had trouble supplying North America with Paint ... maybe Vallejo should have seen th opportunity & dropped Their initial start up fee a little , just to get th Paint in th Stores !

Incidentally My Friends order consisted of Every Single one of Vallejo's New Primer Colors + some other colors He needed to Re-Up on. After I talke d to My Buddy & Told him how awesome th Black Primer was & that Vallejo had come out with th New Colors ! It's Genius on Vallejo's part. Those colors double as th Base coats too. 1 shot - primed & painted in th base color. Now all you have left is to do a lil shading, etc !!

BTW- Does Vallejo have a dedicated U.S/North American distributor ? ( I don't mean Stevens, but like a Vallejo U.S.A. or Vallejo North America ? Might be worth checking into ? It seems to work for A.K. Interactive & for MIG productions ?)

Cheers to you for being able to work from Home !!! & a Very Cool brush with Celebrity .... Sounds like Elm City Hobbies should make a "Business Trip" over to Spain ?? Can't you write that off on your Taxes as a Business expense ?

*p.s. I have Their Black Primer & Love it, for th simple fact that it's ready to shoot straight from th Bottle to th A.B. !! My next colors are th Dunkel & Afrika Corps colors !!

 

[Grendels]

Yes, being a one man operation, Tue-Sat is quite enough for hours. My shop is in the basement of my house, so I don't have to go far (roll out of bed in the morning, make coffee and go into the shop! LOL)

But I do need a day to do business outside of the shop, whether that is picking up product from my PO Box in the US about an hr away, going to the bank, or just going to the DIY store for a "honey do" project. Need that day to get out and about. Heck, even oil change on the car I have to schedule for that day.

Nevermind a day off for my own sanity. Even though I am not open, I am usually working still putting in orders, or mailing out parcels to customers.

I sure know how you feel here. I have a small business, and take Fridays and Saturdays off. Most of Friday is spent running errands and catching up on personal issues. So that leave me with just Saturdays off.

I talked with my accountant today and told him that I build models to keep my sanity.

Great to hear you got to meet an Idol!

 

[MilitaryAircraft101]

Yes, being a one man operation, Tue-Sat is quite enough for hours. My shop is in the basement of my house, so I don't have to go far (roll out of bed in the morning, make coffee and go into the shop! LOL)

But I do need a day to do business outside of the shop, whether that is picking up product from my PO Box in the US about an hr away, going to the bank, or just going to the DIY store for a "honey do" project. Need that day to get out and about. Heck, even oil change on the car I have to schedule for that day.

Nevermind a day off for my own sanity. Even though I am not open, I am usually working still putting in orders, or mailing out parcels to customers.

I sure know how you feel here. I have a small business, and take Fridays and Saturdays off. Most of Friday is spent running errands and catching up on personal issues. So that leave me with just Saturdays off.

I talked with my accountant today and told him that I build models to keep my sanity.

Great to hear you got to meet an Idol!

To keep your sanity!?!? Gee, it makes me nearly lose mine! LOL

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

SCOTT,

Again, Fantastic !! Yeah, I don't get it either. I live in Richmond V.A. & Neither LHS' carry Vallejo. They Refuse to. One of MY AMPS chapter Buddies even placed a very large order with one of them. I mentioned to th MGR. that maybe That'll turn th head of the Owner , to consider carrying Vallejo ... ???? I think all They see is th Start Up fee . Which, I guess you can't blame them, but what I think would have been a stroke of Genius on Vallejo's part - When Tamiya had trouble supplying North America with Paint ... maybe Vallejo should have seen th opportunity & dropped Their initial start up fee a little , just to get th Paint in th Stores !

Incidentally My Friends order consisted of Every Single one of Vallejo's New Primer Colors + some other colors He needed to Re-Up on. After I talke d to My Buddy & Told him how awesome th Black Primer was & that Vallejo had come out with th New Colors ! It's Genius on Vallejo's part. Those colors double as th Base coats too. 1 shot - primed & painted in th base color. Now all you have left is to do a lil shading, etc !!

BTW- Does Vallejo have a dedicated U.S/North American distributor ? ( I don't mean Stevens, but like a Vallejo U.S.A. or Vallejo North America ? Might be worth checking into ? It seems to work for A.K. Interactive & for MIG productions ?)

Cheers to you for being able to work from Home !!! & a Very Cool brush with Celebrity .... Sounds like Elm City Hobbies should make a "Business Trip" over to Spain ?? Can't you write that off on your Taxes as a Business expense ?

*p.s. I have Their Black Primer & Love it, for th simple fact that it's ready to shoot straight from th Bottle to th A.B. !! My next colors are th Dunkel & Afrika Corps colors !!

Vallejo used to have an importer, but they went out of business about a year ago. I am not sure how influential they actually were, as both of my other suppliers also carried Vallejo, and the prices were about the same.

Personally, I wouldn't like to see a Vallejo USA, as from a dealer standpoint, right now I have the option of buying full boxes of paint (6 to a box) or individually. Where I don't currently carry the Air or Game lines in stock, if someone wants a specific color, it is nice to be able to order just one bottle for them, instead of having to buy a box of 6. I think with something like a Vallejo USA, for dealers anyway it would eliminate that.

As far as start up costs.....Vallejo is actually probably one of the cheaper ones out there. Doesn't mean it isn't expensive to get set up still. With Vallejo when you get the entire set up...you pay for one box (6 bottles) of each paint color on the rack, and they throw in the rack for free.

No one else does this, Testors, Tamiya, etc....you pay for the product, and they soak you with the cost of the rack as well, usually at a discounted rate vs buying the rack separately, but still....after dropping a pile of cash to purchase the product, I think the rack should be thrown in for free. In fact when I bought the Testors spray can rack, it was actually cheaper to purchase the rack separately and then purchase the paint separately, than it was to purchase it all as one unit, and quite a bit of a difference, like $200!!

Talking to Mike, he said that their sales have increased quite a bit in the last couple of years, and a part of that is people like me pushing the product every chance I get.

SO, having said that......................


BUY VALLEJO!!!!


BTW...I know Richmond, VA is a big place....but do you happen to know a Michael Spainhour? Just send a couple of Vallejo products down to him this morning. LOL Small world!!

 

[Eastrock]

I also started to use Vallejo paints, since one local arts shop announce that they applied to be a local dealer... so I don't have to buy online. They will be going exclusive vallejo products, since LHS here is dominated by Tamiya products which cost more. I'll just have to wait in December for the Model Air to be available here locally.

 

[huntr]

I too feel the vallejo pain...

the only Vallejo I can get in my area right off the shelf is in the pre-packaged kits of 8 or 16.... I have never seen the primer in person
aside from the absence of primer.. the main problem there is I only want or can use 3 or 4 bottles in each set (I did buy the face painting set eventually)

much like elm.. my lhs owner said they could get me any paint I need/want in any quantity even 1 bottle.. which I thought was a bit strange but now I understand the why/how of things a little better

I hate to have to be like this but if I am going to have to wait some weeks to get what I am after anyway... I might as well shop online and get the best price
hopefully what I can save per bottle will partially offset the priority shipping that I will likely get so my toys get here quicker
at this point it seems like the only way I can get the paint I desire without having to wait a month for it