From: Don_Schmitz@transarc.com
Date: Mon Aug 3, 1998
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Part 16
Part 16
** Lists of hobby shops and interesting places to visit while travelling.
[Q] I'm going to be in <some city> on business, are there any
[Q] good hobby shops, museums, battlefields, etc, there that I should visit?
[A] schmitz@transarc.com (Don schmitz 4/96)
Following is a geographically sorted list of recommended hobby shops
from around the world. It was compiled both from an open request to r.m.s
for names of shops in major cities, and from my archive of saved posts
answering this sort of question in the past. I didn't try to figure out if a
response came from a satisfied customer or the owner of the shop. I
have no way of visiting all of these places to see if they "measure up"
to any sort of standard, or to make sure all of this information is
accurate.
In addition, Blair Yoshida has compiled similar lists on his web page,
you can find it at:
www.mbnet.mb.ca/~yoshida/shops.html
www.mbnet.mb.ca/~yoshida/museums.html
[I've still got a backlog of recommendations to add, but feel free to
recommend others that aren't in the list].
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Country: Canada
Ontario
Canada, Ontario, Vanier (suburb east of Ottawa)
Hobby House
80 Montreal Road
(613) 749-5245
- mainly planes but also stocks car/armour/ship/sci-fi/misc model kits
- big section on model trains
- lots of reference books/magazines
- very helpful & knowledeable staff
- open Mon-Sat, closed Sundays.
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Canada, Ontario, Orleans (suburb east of Ottawa)
Discount Hobbies
C-5925 Jeanne D'Arc Boulevard
(613) 830-2373
- radio controlled planes
- also stocks good line of plane/car kits, plus some armour/ship/sci-fi
- model kit prices generally a bit lower than other shops
- open 7 days a week
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Keith's Hobby Shop
5205 Younge St.,
Willowdale, Ontario,
Canada M2N 5P7
Tel: (416)-222-4721
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Toronoto
Check out URL www.pci.on.ca/~macnamar/ipms/tor_model_scene.html
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Vancouver
Creative Hobbycraft
43 6th St
New Westminster.
It is between two rapid transit stations (New Westminster,
at 8th St. and Columbia, at 4th St). Hop off at either one and
it should be easy to find. Good selection of aircraft, armor,
cars, bikes, ships, trains, supplies, etc.
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Burnaby Hobbies
5209 Rumble St.
Get off at the Royal Oak rapid transit station, head down the hill.
Second store to the left on Rumble. Lots of airplanes, a bit of
everything else.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Country: England
Bovington (not sure if this is a town, county, or what)
The Tank Museum,
Bovington, Dorset, BH20 6JG.
Phone UK 01929 405 096 096 (visitor enquiries).
Fax: UK 01929 405 360
It's open 7 days a week except for Christmas, from 10:00am to 5.00pm.
From July to September they have "mobility" days where some
of the tanks are actually taken out for a "run around" - usually
Thursdays I think.
The musuem is next door to the Royal Tank Corps HQ (no direct
connection though) and in the heart of the tank training areas
and gunnery ranges. During the week (Mon-Fri) you can usually count
on seeing some Challenger I's and II's driving around. If you're lucky
you can get to see some of the tanks on the gunnery ranges themselves.
There are a couple of car parks 200 yards or so from the rear of
the tanks static positions.
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Country: South Africa
Cape Town
Clowns Toys & Hobbies
Cartwrights Corner
Adderley Street, Cape Town
8000
(021) 454 651
Fax: (021) 454 291
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Country: France
Saumur Cedex
Saumur Armour Museum
Saumur Musee Des Blindes,
E.A.A.
A.C.-49409, Saumur Cedex
The hours are 9:00am-12:00am and 2:00 pm-5:00pm weekdays,
I don't know about weekends.
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Country: USA
ARIZONA
Phoenix/Tempe
Hobby Depot in Tempe,
847 University (1/2 mile west of Mill, SE corner of
University and Hardy.
???-968-1880
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Try the Hobby Bench on 19th Avenue in the west part of town.
They've had a good selection of plastic over the years.
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For trains, An Affair With Trains on Bethany Home Road, not too far
from the Hobby Bench, is very good.
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What ever else you do in Phoenix, set aside some time to visit the
Champlain Fighter Museum. It's about 1/2 hour east of Downtown.
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Tucson
Tucson Hobbies on Speedway - plastic kits and supplies
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Vlassic Hobbies on Wetmore - plastic kits and supplies
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Craig's Hobbies on Broadway - train stuff
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Arizona Trains on Treat just off of Grant - more train stuff
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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles
Red Star/Lincoln Hobbies
Culver City, CA
310-559-7730
They specialize in collectible kits, and have an amazing
collection of Aurora WWI aircraft kits.
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Bargains Galore/Modelmania
Fullerton, CA
714-992-6194
They have a large collection of OOP kits, including kits that are
missing parts, etc. You should check the kit before leaving the store
- the defective kits aren't always marked, and they're shrink wrapped.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Brookhurst Hobbies
Garden Grove, CA
714-636-3580
Brookhobby@aol.com -or- 103224.2762@Compuserve.com
Brookhurst is a big store, and they carry just about everything.
They also have a large selection of old and OOP kits mixed in with
the regular kits.
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THE BLACK WATCH
8825 Reseda Blvd.
Northridge, CA 91324
818-701-7961
Owner's name is Joe; his little one-man shop sells nothing but
figures and military kits. Quite a few old/discontinued figures
seem to hang around forever on his shelves. He will do mail order
anywhere in the world
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hobby Place
10600 Pico Blvd. (1.5 blocks east of Overland - across the street
from the McDonalds)
open until 6pm every day except Sunday (5pm)
310-836-2000
Standard plastic/RC store. Well stocked with new kits, paints &
supplies, books, magazines. They have a better than average selection
of vinyl figure kits and a good selection of Tamiya and DML armor.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Kit Kraft
12109 Ventura Place (Close to the 101)
Studio City
213-877-5001
A hobby/craft store. They have a very good selection of new kits
and some old kits in the store. They also make their own resin
figures, andhave an extensive selection of RTVs, resins and
other casting supplies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hobby Lobby
on (I think) Victory, near the corner of Hollywood Way.
Burbank
They don't have an extensive kit collection, but they have a
few armor kits (not many), including some books and magazines. They're
mostly an RC aircraft store, with some HUGE and amazing airplanes
hanging from the ceiling (I think they have a 1/12 scale - or larger -
B-17). the best part about the store are the people that work there -
Tony and Addie. they're friendly and very helpful.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Torrance (near LA?)
Paul Freiler's Historical Models
18228 Hawthorne Blvd
phone: 310-542-6391
fax: 310-371-1011
email: HistModels@aol.com
They are a well stocked shop with lots of built models on display.
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CONNECTICUT
Warehouse Point
Craftec Hobbies
152 North Road
806-627-7811
It is a great shop and well worth the 50 minutes it takes me to
drive there. Old kits, new kits, books, aftermarket accessories,
knowledgable & helpful & friendly staff.
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FLORIDA
Miami
Orange Blossom Hobbies
1975 NW 36 ST
305-633-8118
Every kind of model hobby...plastic, R/C, trains, rockets, etc
A most excellent shop ("home" to Aeromaster/KMC)
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Orlando
Colonial Photo and Hobby
Near the center of dowtown Orlando, phone 407-841-1485.
634 N.Mills Ave (Near crossing of 17-92 and 50).
They have many kits, and many after market parts including
etchings, decals etc... Big train, military and car sections.
Check the counter in the back of the store for many of the small
$$ parts that aren't on the shelfs where the kits are. They have
several large binders full of goodies.
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GEORGIA
Marietta (Atlanta)
R. E. (Bud) Colvin
AAA Hobbies
1869 Cobb Parkway, Suite 400
770-933-0768
"Everything for the Scale Modeler"
Plastic kits only, with accessories
M-F 1000-1800
Th 1000-2100 (open late)
Sat 1000-1700
Sun 1300-1700
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Norcross (Atlanta)
The War Room
2055-F Beaver Ruin Road
Norcross, GA 30071
(770) 729-9588
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Atlanta
You might try Southeastern Hobbies on Peachtree Industrial. Its
right across the road from the Brookhaven MARTA station. A very
good store in my opinion. Strong on everything, included one of the
best train selections available for train enthusiasts.
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IDAHO
Boise
Perhaps the best, is the chain Hobby Town. They're located
near the Boise Towne Square Mall. A bit down (up?) Milwaukee,
actually, in the shopping mall bordered by Target and
Egg Head Software.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The second and oldest, is Ralph's Toys and Hobbies. It's in the
shopping center on the North East corner of Overland and Five Mile.
It's about a 2 miles from the mall.
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MARYLAND
Wheaton/District of Columbia
Squadron Shop,
Wheaton, Maryland,
Its in a shopping center at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and
Randolph Road. You should be able to find Georgia Avenue on
any Washington DC map. It starts out downtown and goes roughly
northwest.
Get to the Washington Beltline (I-495) take the Georgia Avenue
north exit. Keep going north until you see the Randolph Road
intersection. The Squadron Shop is in the shopping center which
is on the north east corner of the intersection. It has a sign that
says hobby shop.
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MICHIGAN
Detroit
P&D Hobby Shop
31902 Groesbeck Hwy.,
Fraser, Michigan 48026
Tel: 810-874-7443
Note: This shop is in the northern suburbs of Detroit, and covers
scale models, electric trains, and every type of remote control
model.
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Old Guard Hobbies (2 locations)
35806 Van Dyke (Brentwood Plaza)
Sterling Heights, MI 48312
810-977-3969
or
27508 Ford Road
Garden City, MI 48135
313-425-7470
I think the Garden City store either has or is about to move.
Sterling Heights store: pretty good selection of AFVs and reference
material and some nice work in the showcase.
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MISSOURI
Kansas City
Waldo Hobbies / Brian Nelson
8045 B Wornall Rd.
Kansas City, MO 64114
(816) 361-1367
Tues-Fri 12-8
Sat 10-5 / Sun 1-5
Waldo Hobbies specializes in military models of all types and
scales. Brian buys kit collections from time to time which
supplies him with a good selection of out-of-production kits.
He carries resin and photo-etched accessories. He will deal over
the phone and mail orderis not a problem.
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NEVADA
Las Vegas
Peterson's Hobbies.
There are two locations: The one out in North Las Vegas
(Civic Center Drive) has lots of books and lots of kits. It
is also in the vicinity of Nellis AFB. Take a drive out and
loiter by the fence for a while if it's not too hot.
The other Peterson's is okay, too, but it doesn't have the kit
selection that the NLV shop has. It's bigger on RC, though. Check
in the phone book for location.
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NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque
Hobbies n Stuff
on Osuna N.E.
It is a family owned business and the folks there are very
helpful. Their names are Stan and Helen Johnson.
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NEW YORK
Buffalo
Niagra Hobby & Craft Mart
3366 Union Road at Walden
Buffalo, New York 14225
Tel: 716-681-1666
Note: These guys advertise as the "Biggest Hobby Store in
U.S.A.". They are large. For example, when I was there they had
about ten Monogram 1:48 scale Liberator bomber kits in stock at
about $15 each.
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ACE HOBBY SHOP
1801 Pierce Avenue
Niagara Falls, New York 14301
Tel: 716-282-9753
- My personal favorite area store (along with Niagara Hobby)
- Slightly higher prices on some items
- 10% discount if you are a member of a model club
- excellent selection of armor, cars, planes,etc
- area's largest selection of verlinden supplies
- although this shop is about 30 minutes from Buffalo, it is
well worth the trip!!
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HOBBYTOWN USA
Sheriden Centre
3332 Sheridan Drive
Amherst, New York
(716) 833-7700
- Very good selection of armor, cars, planes
- prices slightly higher than niagara hobby
- 3rd on my personnal list (I regularly visit the top three)
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TIM'S HOBBY SHOP
2226 Union Road
West Seneca New York 14224
(716) 656-1790
- Part Time hours (4-8pm)
- small store, limited selection
- 3-4 miles south of niagara hobby
- some different kits
- pretty steep prices
- some sale items reasonably priced
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FIELDS HOBBY CENTER
3523 UNION ROAD
CHEEKTOWAGA NEW YORK 14225
(716) 681-6440
- limited selection of cars
- no armor
- Tamiya ships 1/350 scale
- 20% off sticker price on all plastic models
- decent prices (with discount)
- 1 mile north of Niagara Hobby.
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HOBBY LODGE MODELS
971 Grant Street
Buffalo, New York 14207
(716) 875-4559
- good selection of armor,cars,planes
- decent prices
- I think that the main reason to stop at this shop is that
they don't do a lot of business, and as a result they seem to
have a selection of models that span the last several years. You
may see kits here that you won't find anywhere else.
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HOBBY WORLD
1309 Erie Ave
North Tonawanda New York 14120
(716) 693-3366
- very good selection of "discontinued" cars
- limited plane selection
- very limited armor selection
- check here for hard to find car kits
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New York
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Ace Hobbies
35 West 31st Street (between 5th and Broadway, 3rd floor)
212-268-4151
I haven't been there for about a year but Ace always had one of the
best collections of new kits that I've ever seen--in almost every
category but particularly aircraft and armor. There are two sets of
prices--for members and non members. Since becoming a lifetime
members is pretty cheap it's often worth it to join on your first
visit just to get the lower prices.
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Jan's Hobby Shop
1431 York Avenue (I think its between 81st and 82nd Streets)
212-861-5075
While the owner is known for his RC ships, this shop is literally
stacked to the roof with kits of everything from cars to ships with
aircraft and armor stuck in between. This is the place to go in
NYC if you're looking for an older kit that's no longer stocked at
ACE but is probably gathering dust somewhere here.
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Military Bookman
29 E93 St.-- one block east of Central Park, downstairs in a brownstone
212-348-1280.
A really good collection of rare and out of print books on war and
military stuff. With the closing of the other two specialty military
book shops in Manhattan this is the place. Can be pricey for some
stuff so be forewarned.
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OHIO
Massilon
Showcase Hobbies
[more details please]
Lots of out-of-production car kits.
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OKLAHOMA
Oaklahoma City
Go to The Hobby Shop, in Crossroads Mall, near the crossroads of I-35
and I-240. The best in the state (IMHO...I've known Mike for 18 years
and have always been satisfied by the selection)
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Tulsa
Discount Trains and Models
8988-X South Sheridan Road
Voice (918) 495-1525 / Fax (918) 495-1520
Trains, Plastic Kits 20% Discount
10-7 Tue-Fri / 10-5 Sat-Sun
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World Hobby Warehouse
4625 East 31st St
(918) 254-4210 Daily
Aircraft Out of Production
1st and 3rd Saturdays of the Month 10-5
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PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh
A. B. Charles and Son
3213 West Liberty Avenue (this part of the city is known as Dormont)
412-561-3068
From downtown Pittsburgh, cross the Liberty Bridge, continue through
the Liberty Tunnel, then continue about 2 miles - shop is on the
left in a busy retail area - has lots of kits/stuff in the front
window and a good sized sign.
Trains, RC planes/cars, and the cities biggest selection of
plastic kits and supplies.
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Philadelphia
Alfred Capelli, Jr. Hobbies
313 Market St
(downtown near the Liberty Bell)
phone: 215-629-1757
Hours are Mon- Sat 9 - 5:15
The storefront is misleading cause its fairly narrow but the store is
deeeeeeeep! and has a great selection of just about everything under
the sun. The owner is a really nice guy and very affable and he is
extremely neat and organized. It's probably one of the most organized
stores I've visited.
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TEXAS
Austin
King's Hobby Shop
8810 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78753
phone: 512-836-7388
Has a good selection of plastic model kits, Estes rockets,
model trains, and games.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Village Hobby Shop
2700 W. Anderson Ln.
Austin, TX 78757
phone: 512-452-6401
Also has a good selection of kits (including some 'off the
beaten path' kits), rockets, and trains.
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HobbyTown USA
2500 W. Parmer Ln.
Austin, TX 78727
phone: 512-246-8904
HobbyTown USA
4107 S. Capital of Texas Hwy.
Austin, TX 78704
phone: 512-440-7877
These shops (one on the north side of town and one on the
south) carry the standard selection of plastic kits, good model rocket
selection, and very good selection of tools and adhesives.
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Dallas/Fort Worth
Hobby Maker
HobbyTown USA
Wild Bill's
Bobbye Hall's
[no details given, check the yellow pages]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
For plastic modelers I would recommend Phil's Hobbies in Farmer's
Branch, Hobbymaker in Bedford, Collector's Shop in Mesquite, and
maybe Wild Bill's in Irving. MAL in Irving has the widest s
election of books and magazines.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hobby Maker
Bedford, TX (Dallas/Ft Worth Metro, near DFW)
1424-F Airport Fwy
817-267-0991
Plastic Kits (Aircraft, Armour, Autos, Die-Cast, Sci-fi,
figurines, doll-houses, trains)
M-F 10-8 p.m.
Sat 10-6 p.m.
Sun 12-5 p.m.
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VIRGINA
Reston/District of Columbia
Piper Hobby, which is near Dulles Airport, in Sully Plaza (?),
where US Route 50 intersects with Virginia Route 28, I think.
Check the phone book, call them and they can give accurate
directions from where you will be staying.
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Roanoke
Crossroads Hobbies and Crafts of Salem
1104 W Main Street
Salem, VA
???-387-3414
Comments: Seemed to be well stocked, general hobby shop.
Probably the best of the ones that I visited.
Directions: Take Orange Avenue (Rt 460) through Roanoke to
Salem. Keep going, as Orange Avenue turns into E. Main Street
first, then W. Main Street.
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HobbyUSA
Town Square
1402 Town Square Blvd
Roanoke
???-563-8131
Comments: Franchise. OK general selection.
Directions: Go out Williamson Road (Rt xxx) about 3 miles.
Shopping Center is on the left, and the road to it is marked.
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The Rail Yard
7611-A Williamson Road
Roanoke
???-362-1714
Comments: Train oriented, some other models and supplies
Directions: Go out Williamson Road, past Town Square, past Happy's.
Shop is on the right.
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Sterling
Hobby House, Sterling VA
Route 7 West just before the intersection of 28 and 7. Turn
right into the Cascades shopping center - it is in the back
across from the 7-11.
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WASHINGTON
Seattle
---------------------------------------------------------------------
If any r.m.s. readers ever get a chance to travel to the
Seattle area, you need to visit the Museum of Flight. Not only
is it a marvelous collection of some aircraft not duplicated
elsewhere, the bonus is that they attached the little red building
that was Boeing's first factory and design office to the museum
proper. Replicated or remaining within are many of the tools,
jigs, fixtures, engineering offices, and actual parts that were
used in the building's original location. I believe the building
was floated via barge to its current location. The museum is on
Marginal Way, not very far from the SeaTac airport. Other
highlights are a pretty good gift shop (excellent book selection),
and a B-47 parked behind the main building. Plus, if you time it
right, you'll see some flight testing going on out back.
rec.models.scale FAQ, part 17
FAQ Table of Contents