Welcome to the Rail Tales Plastic Model Page!
Rail Tales began business as a model train repair and layout construction service but long before I was a model railroader, I was a serious plastic model builder. Before I considered creating Rail Tales Hobby Shop as a model railroading store, I purchased and set up a plastic model selection in the old Cville’s Hobbies, Games, and Toys. That’s right, don’t let the name fool you; the very first part of the Rail Tales Hobby Shop to be born was the plastic models section! My goal was then and remains now, ensuring that the hard core plastic model enthusiasts have somewhere to shop and new plastic modellers have somewhere to go for an introduction to the hobby. Come by and see our selection of model kits and support products. I think you’ll like us…
What we carry:
For your modelling needs, we have approximately a thousand kits in stock including cars, aircraft, armored vehicles, historical figures, sailing ships, warships, and all manner of science fiction and fantasy kits in all skill levels. We carry models by Academy, Aoshima, Airfix, AMT, Bandai, Caesar Miniatures, Dragon/DML, Hasegawa, HAT, Imex, Kitty Hawk, Lindberg, MiniArt, MPC, Panda, Pegasus, Polar Lights, Revell, Revell Germany, Takom, Tamiya, Trumpeter, Zvezda, and many, many more. We also have detail parts to help you add that little bit of extra to any model and diorama accessories to put your model in a scene.
Our choice #1: We carry the Bandai Gundam model kits. These models are difficult to get in the US but we buy them whenever we can and stock whatever is available to us.
Our choice #2: We are a direct dealer for Panda and Kitty Hawk (which are owned by a local resident). These kits are not for beginners but when completed are some of the best models out there and the company always throws in a few neat extras that other companies make you buy separately such as metal tracks and under-wing stores.
For your building and painting needs, we feature Vallejo paint and Badger paint and modelling materials by Vallejo, AK Interactive, and many others. We carry a wide variety of brushes, knives, saws, and other tools plus various glues, other adhesives, and lubricants. We carry styrene sheet and shape stock by Evergreen and we carry K&S metal wire, tube and rods. We also have some wood scale lumber stock.
We still have some Testors paints left but Testors/Rustoleum has discontinued their entire line of hobby quality paints (Model Master) and so when we sell out, we cannot replace them.
No hobby shop can hope to carry everything. However, if we don’t have it, we can usually get it in a few days. We welcome special orders and can get almost anything available somehow. Order through us and not only do you support a local business and avoid shipping fees, we actually give you a substantial discount on your special order just to say ‘thank you’ for keeping your business with us! For cash orders, the discount for most products is 20%. Want something that isn’t available yet? Let us know and we can reserve it for you. You get an extra discount for ordering in advance and in most cases, if you change your mind, no problem! Just let us know before the item is shipped to us and we can cancel your order with no return fee. Have a particular area of interest but don’t like trying to keep up with all that’s out there? Let us know what you’re into and we’ll contact you when something you might want is announced. That’s right, Rail Tales is happy to be your personal shopper! Just email us with your contact information and interest or bring a list into the store. Rail Tales not only does your shopping for free, we give still give you a discount for ordering the item from us.
We have a local model club that is always looking for new members. For information on the club: click here For a link to the club website: click here
For Frequently Asked Model Questions: click here
For tips on building models: click here
For tips on painting models: click here