I was fortunate to grow up during a time when most US cities had at least one real hobby shop. “Real” defined as a shop full of new and old kits as well as an assortment of paints, building supplies, modeling tools, magazines, after market parts, decals, etc, etc.

The key element of a real hobby shop was, of course, the proprietor. The owners of real hobby shops were modelers that knew WWII history and could explain the basics of model building and painting to newcomers and, most importantly, took the time to do so. A real hobby shop owner understood that his shop was usually the place for local modelers to meet, share techniques, compare builds, and help those new to the hobby. Real hobby shops functioned as de facto modeling clubs for many that didn’t have access to scale modeling organizations like IPMS or similar.

And now, real hobby shops are almost extinct. Anyone with gray or no hair that cut their modeling teeth on Matchbox or early Airfix kits knows this to be true: real hobby shops are a dying breed. By the late 90’s most hobby shops had been forced out of the market by franchises and on-line purchasing. So it was with a sense of relief that I first waked into Skyway Models sometime in 1995 and realized that I’d just moved to a city that had a real hobby shop and that it is.

Many (most?) of my kit reviews begin with a snide comment directed at the evil owner of Skyway Models, Emil Minerich: the man that’s kept me supplied with new kits, paints, tools, and weekly laughs for the last 25 years. Emil, like many small business owners around the country, is hurting right now in the wake of the Covid shut-down. The loss of any small business to this pandemic is tragic; all the more for businesses like Skyway Models that hearken back to time we’re not likely to see again.

To help Skyway Models make it through the the Covid shut down members of Seattle IPMS instigated a program whereby customers can purchase Gift Certificates now (when the funds are needed) and redeem them at a later date when that new Tamiya or Eduard kit comes out: now that’s an awesome plan!

I’ve had multiple customers come to my shop for an airbrushing lesson while they were visiting Seattle for family or business. After our session most of these customers made time to visit Skyway Models and their only complaint was not having sufficient room in their luggage for all the kits they wanted to take home. That said I’d like to extend an invitation to all those customers of Model Paint Solutions that occasionally visit Seattle or have plans to do so in the future; pick up a Skyway Models Gift Certificate and help one of the last real hobby shops through these crazy times.

In addition, if you’re looking for a rare kit, long out of production, it might just be sitting on the shelf at Skyway. Emil has a huge collection of old and rare kits and offers a shipping service.

You can purchase a Skyway Gift Certificate by transferring funds via Paypal to [email protected]

You can Visit the Skyway Face Book Page here.

Or, you can give Emil a call at (206) 772-1211.

More Pics of Skyway↓

Happy Modeling!

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