U.S. Sources for Hobby Paint and Tools

[VF-1A Grunt 2]

One thing I haven't found on this forum (maybe my search fu is weak) is information about good sources in the U.S. for the paint and tools, especially Japanese brands, that a lot of members use to build their Macross models. As I get back into this hobby, I've been searching for U.S. dealers to buy my supplies from and thought I would share what I've found so far.

Obviously Amazon and eBay are good sources for many Japanese products, and I've bought a bunch of Hasegawa kits from both sites. Paint such as Tamiya and Mr. Color is another matter - you can get them from those sites, but I prefer dealers that have a large selection so I can get them all from one source. There's a hobby shop in Fairfax, VA called Hobby Works, which I believe is a local chain, and they offer general hobby products, including Japanese paints. However, they are out of stock of about 3/4 of their colors, so I went looking for another source online.

I found a shop called Red Frog Hobbies in New York that has a pretty good website with lots of paint and tool brands listed, including Tamiya, Mr. Color, Alclad, Testors, and Vallejo:

http://www.redfroghobbies.com/index.php

They have a decent number of tools, and some model kits, although not everything you might be looking for in one place. I ended up ordering 30 different Mr. Color paints and clear coats (33 bottles for $2.99 ea) and 2 bottles of Alclad ($7.59 ea), with $9.95 shipping down to DC. The prices were better than my local shop, the selection was much better, and I thought shipping was very reasonable. The Mr. Color paints arrived in 6 packs as shown in the attached photo - I'm guessing that's how they're shipped from Japan, and the store just repackaged my order in those boxes.

EDIT (Mar 2, 2016): I just received an order of more Mr. Color paints, including some Mr. Base White and Mark Setter, from HobbyWave in Blaine, Washington. Shipping time was a little slow (ordered on Feb 21 and received on Mar 2), but their prices were good ($2.99 per bottle and $12 flat shipping rate for 13 bottles). Here's their modeling supply page:

https://www.hobbywave.com/modeling_supplies

Some colors, like Mr. Color Tire Black, seem to be out of stock everywhere. I ended up ordering that one off eBay from some place in Hong Kong. Hopefully it's legit...

Just thought I'd share a couple U.S. sources for modeling supplies that I was satisfied with. I'll continue to add to this list in case the info is useful to others. Any other good recommendations out there?

Dave

Edited March 3, 2016 by VF-1A Grunt

[Sildani 261]

Look up Piper Hobbies in Chantilly, just off Metrotech Drive. Tamiya and Mr. X products are always in stock.

[VF-1A Grunt 2]

Wow, thanks, looks like a great store from a quick look at their website. Not sure how I never heard about them.

[no3Ljm 1,356]

Try GundamPlanet.com. And browse their Tools section. They're located in New Jersey, I believe. Hope that helps.

[VF-1A Grunt 2]

I went out to Piper Hobbies in Chantilly two weekends ago. It's a nice general hobby shop, but they unfortunately don't seem to have any sci-fi models and don't carry Mr. Color paints. They do have Tamiya and some Alclad, plus Vallejo and other U.S./European paint brands. They told me that Mr. Color paints are getting difficult to order in the U.S., so they don't carry them.

I received a paint order with HobbyWave - added the info in the original post.