Scale Model Supplies

This place is HUGE! I am more an armor model person. So this place is stocked with mass selection of Tamiya/​Dragon/​Academy/​Italeri/​Tri-​star/​Trumpeter/​MENG/​Zevzda. The price about average price similar to what it cost on eBay. The good thing is you don’t have to wait for shipping and you can literally see the box beforehand.

A must see! HUGE shop with a great selection. I was there primarily for model trains, and was amazed. Huge selection of old stuff new-​in-​box and a good used selection (go to the waaaay back). Prices were a bit high on some of the oldest stuff but for newer (discontinued) licos and rolling stock I thought they were pretty reasonable, esp. for a brick-​and-​mortar store. Lots of plastic models as well. Great place, well worth a visit. Nice to see a hobby shop thriving!

I’ve been here many times in the past 15 years, but I think it is time to write a review.
This is not your suburban strip-​mall hobby shop. (If you want that experience, try Hub Hobby Center in Little Canada.) There is some parking along the alley, but you may find it occupied by people sitting in their cars and tapping on their phones. The alley and pavement of the parking itself might seem like it hasn’t been repaired in years (it hasn’t).
The store itself is in the basement. You enter from the corner door on the street side of that alley wall you parked at. The steps down seem like they haven’t been maintained well. (I do not know if there’s an elevator down there; one may exist, but I haven’t used it.)
When you get inside, though, there’s a HUGE variety of items.
You like model trains? They got ‘em, all scales, locomotives, rolling stock, buildings, kits, scenery, track, you are set. Books and magazines, too.
You like model rockets? They can handle it.
You wanted to build a model of the Saturn V rocket when you were kid, but never got one? They have it. You can get a submarine model if you want, too.
There is dollhouse stuff, and horse model stuff… and a huge slot-​car race track in the back. See, this store seems to occupy the entire basement of the arcade of shops on the southeast corner of Lexington and University. If you are looking for some sort of model stuff in the heart of St. Paul, you should be able to find it here.
Prices are comparable to Hub for products I’ve bought, too.

Place smells. Smells bad. Like piss and mold. Bad enough to chase me out of there yesterday, and I’m a plumber. Still giving them five stars because they really do have a huge selection of supplies and random model kits, but the smell is especially bad on the west side of the building. Hope they get that taken care of.

I have mixed ratings for this shop:
*****5 stars for their selection. Nobody has the deep stocks of scale model-​related junk and new treasures that this place has. Nobody could – because there’s not really a market for it. Materials, kits, memorabilia – they have it all, and they have LOTS and LOTS of it. You will spend hours just wandering through the long aisles of stuff unavailable elsewhere (see below).
*1 lousy star for their mean, elitist attitude – especially toward kids. If you’re part of their middle-​aged (most likely) single male demographic, then you’re at home at Scale Model Supplies. You’ll likely stand at the counter and chuckle with them, or join ‘em upstairs for a smoke break. But… if you’re a kid or a newcomer, don’t expect any warmth or acceptance from these scale model troglodytes. They are sitting on a treasure trove of sometimes priceless hobby items. If this business was only friendlier to kids, they’d grow their customer base – that’s a rock-​solid certainty. Small parts would get broken, mishaps would happen – but that’s going to happen with a retail business that puts their stocks within customers’ reach. Kids grow up, grow out of Thomas The Train, and move on to rocketry and more expensive toys.
If you want to take advantage of their awesome, huge slot car racing track – be there on Friday afternoon sometime. Or on a Saturday between Noon and 3PM. Otherwise they will not honor their posted raceway schedule for paying customers. On the day we were there, they were rather heartless in this regard.
So part of me is with Joe I, Guillermo H, and Richard S, who wander the aisles gazing at dusty treasures found nowhere West of Akihabara. The other part of me wants to drive right past this surly mancave to ChooChoo Bob’s – where you’ll get a warm, kids-​can-​touch-​the-​stuff welcome – and leave with a sucker and a smile. Unfortunately, you’ll find about 5% of the inventory at Bob’s. Your call. Leave the kids at home if they don’t have a thick skin. My 6-​year-​old son left crying.

Recent visit to buy rocket engines after being away for a while (through no fault of this place)…I noticed that the giant train set up appears to be gone, but other than that this place remains a basement of wonders. Staff person on a recent visit was nice, and I lost track of time cruising the isles just looking. It had a sorta musty smell this time around that I had not noticed before, it sorta smells like a grand parent’s house. A not unpleasant smell, but a smell none the less. I wasn’t put off any — and just wandered and wished I had the time and disposable income, because there is more nerdtastic awesome here then I could ever hope to do.

I was looking for a place that sold Plastic Model Kits. So I asked around and my friend suggested this place …
All I can say is this is the Mother load !!!
It is unbelievable how many kits they carry Planes, Ships Tanks, Slot Cars & Trains.
I personally spend hours in there every time I go in.
It’s a lot like the «Northland Toy Show» the first Sunday in May at the State Fair Grounds. Except open everyday !!!
Tell em the ZERO sent ya.

I was looking for laserprint decal paper, since Hub Hobby did not have any, and luckily SMS had it. It was a little on the spendy side ($ 3 a sheet), but as I had never printed decals before I was willing to pay more for a smaller batch from a local shop.
The store is very large, not particularly inviting (very dingy) and some of the stock looks like it has been sitting around for a very long time. The selection of items is vast though, so there’s a good chance that you can find what you are looking for, be it for models, trains, rockets and RC projects.