Tips – Suppliers

Wood

From Doug: Looking for wood strips or any other stuff for building? Check out www.modelerscentral.com.  When I purchased my mahogany  strips from them I received them in a week.  A good source for building materials.

Small metric screws.

​If you need small metric screws and nuts among other things, Prime Miniatures in the UK is one source. They stock screws as small as 0.6mm diameter.

Hardware and Fasteners

When you learn that you need some of those hard-to-find small screws, nuts and washers, two of the best suppliers are: Micro-fasteners and Model Fixings. Micro-fasteners are in the USA and their stock is mainly imperial sizes, but they do have some metric hardware. Model Fixings are in the UK and specialise in metric hardware. Their range also includes taps and dies, bearings, and O-rings. 

Epoxy

Rick told us about some epoxy which he had obtained from Noah’s Marine in Etobicoke and was very economical, at $28.30 for 12oz. Look for Ark Composites Epoxy Repair Kit.

Figures

If you are looking for figures to populate your model, here is an option. Gunthwaite Models offer a comprehensive range of 1/72 Royal Navy figures in a variety of clothing and postures. Visit Gunthwaite range. These figures would work equally well as Canadian Navy. To obtain prices you will need to visit one of their stocklists.

Motors and Switches

This information previously appeared in our May 2016 newsletter. Hansen Hobbies has LED’s, switches and electronics in their catalog. For example, you will find receiver-controlled switches here: Hansen Hobby switches. Solarbotics has, amongst others, low voltage, low speed, geared motors. You will find them here: Solarbotics geared motors. Solarbotics list Sayal Electronics as one of their distributors. An 8-channel radio-controlled switch was also listed, but that supplier is, apparently, out of the business. A search on ebay for “8 channel remote control” will show up some similar items.

Hydraulic Systems

f you are making a model of a vessel which has an operating stern ramp, or similar, it was almost certainly opened and closed by hydraulic cylinders. Did you know that you can purchase hydraulic systems of model size that will allow you to replicate the real thing? RC4WD sells equipment on their website at: http://store.rc4wd.com/.​ Their hydraulic cylinders come in lengths between 3.5″ and 8.25″, with an outside diameter of 1/2″. The equipment is not cheap; the average price of a cylinder is US$90, with hydraulic tank, pump and controls in addition to that.