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Has anyone dealt with Hobbylink of Japan?


trgt

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They are Japan only, I don:t buy often from them, but that is only because I skip the overseas shipping if possible.  However with that said if you can only get it over seas, they are one of the go to places to buy from.  It used to be you could undercut Tamiya U.S.A. Through them but Tamiya eliminated that some years ago.  That is a fine molds kit, you might never see that truck in a U.S. hobby shop, it might show up on ebay, BNA model world might get it also.  I actually like BNA better now than Hobby LInk because it often seems Hobby LInk does not have that much inventory, where BNA gets all sorts of aftermarket that can be hard or impossible to get in the U.S.

Edited by cbk57
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Very good shop. I ordered from them dozens of time in the past. However, take care as they modified the way they're working some years ago with that warehouse concept and what is in stock is sometimes confusing. Some are "in stock" as far as there are available from their providers. However, this is not always valid... In that case, the order stays valid up to when they get the ordered item...

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LSP used to get review kits from HLJ on a regular basis, but they eventually changed the game and we no longer get those samples. As to reliability, yes, they can be OK to order from.

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HLJ is very good. I have ordered from them in decades. Scott Hard is American and used to always have a big booth at NATS; I don't know if he still does since Covid. Shipping takes a while but is reasonably priced. They get stuff that for some reason is hard to get here, such as kits by Gecko. They have an amazing collection of anime stuff, which to me is weird, but I guess that is the Japan market for you.

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Yep, HLJ is good to deal with. Shipping is from Japan, so does take a bit longer, but were talking weeks, not months. They regularly have sales with pretty convincing prices!

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Yeh they’re good and occasionally have stuff after sold out elsewhere. Exchange rate isn’t bad ATM. They have Anime stuff which I don’t buy except for Miyazaki films tie -in. Lots of Gunpla of course as well. 

Edited by Pup7309
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For a long time, HLJ was about the only way to get kits direct from Japan, and back then the yen-to-dollar exchange rate was favorable and shipping was reasonable.  I don’t order much from them anymore because of the shipping costs, and much better worldwide availability of Japanese kits, but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them as a reliable vendor.

 

My recent purchases from Japan have been from Hobby Search, who has a shipping method called ECMS, which is cheaper than EMS or courier.


In stock there too.

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10111201

 

I recently ordered a 1/35 Fine Molds Type 97 Shinhoto tank and the FM brass barrel for 6200¥ shipped.  Shipping cost was just under 2100¥

Edited by Dave Williams
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