[DSY011]

Apart form The Lord and Butler in Cardiff, which I have already said is a very good Model shop, I have 3 other shops even closer to me. All 3 are in Bristol. About half a mile from my home is Modelmania. It is run by Brian Tozer and his wife. Both are very well up on model railways and road vehicles. they have a good stock and will go out of their way to get anything you may want if it is not in stock. they have 'n', '00', 'HO' 'O' and a few others gauges also. They are also keen to help with questions and problems.
The next closest shop to me is Antics which is about a mile from me, in the city centre. They are more a model aircraft shop in Bristol, but do have about a third of the shop set aside to model railways. They have a good stock of track, locos, coaches and wagons in both '00' and 'N' gauge, but not a lot of other things like buildings, people etc. Not a bad shop when it comes to price.
The last shop in Bristol is about 3 miles from me but it is on my way home from work. It is the 'Gloucester Model Warehouse' in the Southmead area of Bristol. It carries a large stock of mixed equipment and rolling stock as well as a good range of spares and scenic material. They also have a chip fitting service and layout building service.
I try to use all the local shops as I find unless there is a very good offer from an online shop, by the time I have paid for the post and insurance, I could have had it the same day at about the same cost as on the net. I can also test the locos in the shop before I buy it and don't have to wait days for a replacement if all is not well. Two of the shops also sell on web sites and if I go in and say ' but you sell it for £?:?? on the net, I get it for the net price anyway.