We visited: Hobby stores around Europe

Marko Paunović, 3th August 2023

This summer we visited several attractions throughout Europe and in these series of articles we will bring you photo reports from each of them. The last article won’t cover any attractions, rather it will give a review of the hobby shops I visited.

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Zwehrener Modellbau-Lädchen

First hobby store I visited was Zwehrener Modellbau-Lädchen in Kassel. It’s basically a model railroad shop but it does have some plastic models as well. Plenty of hobby supplies, paints etc are also on offer. The store manager is really helpful, loves the hobby but knowledge of German is a must. His English isn’t great.

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Address: Frankfurter Str. 243, 34134 Kassel, Germany

Opening times: Mon-Fri: 10-18, Sat: 10-13, Sun: closed

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Berliner Zinnfiguren

Second hobby store I visited was the highlight of the trip for me. Berliner Zinnfiguren. It’s a lovely shop with plenty of display miniatures and busts, both painted and unpainted, fantasy and historical on offer. It boasts several paint ranges, loads of plastic models (historic). Also it is a treasure trove of hobby books. The staff is really helpful, knowledgeable.

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Address: Knesebeckstraße 88, 10623 Berlin, Germany

Opening times: Mon-Fri: 13-18, Sat: 10-15, Sun: closed

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Modulor

Third one on the list is Modulor, also in Berlin. It’s a huge department store with huge hobby assortment. You won’t find any plastic models or miniatures for gaming or display there (only minis there are architectural miniatures in tiny scale). But hobby supplies are a plenty. Prices are high, so the only advantage this place has is that you can get everything in one place – from materials to tools.

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Address: Prinzenstraße 85, 10969 Berlin, Germany

Opening times: Mon-Fri: 10-20, Sat: 10-18, Sun: closed

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Battlefield Berlin

Next up is the famous Battlefield Berlin, a longstanding sponsor of ours. Being mates with the former employee has its perks so I got to enter the store from the back entrance. Huge assortment of gaming stuff, be it tabletop or RPG or just boardgames. Games Workshop, Corvus Belli, Wyrd, you name it, they have it. Wide range of paint suppliers is also on offer. And for us painters they do carry some display miniatures as well.

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Address: Gneisenaustraße 43, 10961 Berlin, Germany

Opening times: Mon/Wed/Fri: 10-20, Tue/Thu: 10-19, Sat: 10-18, Sun: closed

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Hobby 2000

We leave Germany and head to Belgium where, in Liege, we find ourselves in Hobby 2000, a huge warehouse of hobby heaven. Even though there must have been 6 or 7 employees there, none of them paid any attention to me. They must have a busy online store as all of them were busy packaging parcels. The hobby goods were laying around and I literally had to sift through boxes and boxes of minis to find something I like. But at least I could take my time about it. The biggest part of the warehouse is dedicated to railroad, then military models (plastic). Then come the hobby supplies with loads of paint ranges, materials and tools. There are some wargaming miniatures as well as a limited supply of display miniatures (which all seem second hand).

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Address: Quai de la Boverie 78, 4020 Liège, Belgium

Opening times: Mon-Sat: 9:30-18, Sun: closed

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Kit ou Double

Next store is an accidental find that I stumbled upon in Bastogne – Kit ou Double. A proper old school hobby store. Any plastic model you can think of, you can find it there. Probably a lot of OOP boxes and kits as well. The owner is an older gent, leaves you alone to shop around but if you have questions is ready to answer them.

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Address: Rue de Neufchâteau 14, 6600 Bastogne, Belgium

Opening times: Tue-Sat: 10-18, Sun: 13-18, Mon: closed

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Modellbahn Kaufmann

The last store on the list (before an honourable mention) is in Dornbirn – Modellbahn Kaufmann. A dedicated model railroad store – similar to the first one in Kassel, but without the plastic models. The owner is forthcoming and helpful.

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Address: Bahnhofstraße 12, 6850 Dornbirn, Austria

Opening times: Mon-Fri: 9-12 and 14-18, Sat: 9-12, Sun: closed

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Warhammer

Honourable mention goes to all the Warhammer stores in all the cities that I visited. I managed not to enter a single one. Even if I wanted to, they were all closed at the time I arrived. However, they all are alike (like McDonalds), they all carry the same products. And what I managed to see, peaking through the windows, all of them require dusting of the display cases :D

Warhammer Hamburg, Colonnaden 15, 20354 Hamburg, Germany, Mon-Sat: 11-18, Sun: closed

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Warhammer Zwolle, Sassenstraat 15, 8011 PA Zwolle, Netherlands, Tue/Wed/Fri: 12-18, Thu: 12-17:30 and 18-21, Sat: 11-17, Sun/Mon: closed (someone had been high coming up with those opening times!)

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Warhammer Metz, 52 En Fournirue, 57000 Metz, France, Mon/Thu: 13:30-18:30, Tue/Wed/Fri: 10-12:30 and 13:30-19, Sat: 10-19, Sun: closed

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Warhammer Strasbourg, 5 Rue des Frères, 67000 Strasbourg, France, Tue/Wed: 11-19, Thu: 14-19, Fri: 11-13 and 14-19, Sat: 10-19, Sun/Mon: closed

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Latest articles

  • Roman Shield Freehand
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    I will use this article to describe the process of drawing a Roman shield for 54mm miniatures. I won’t be going into the process of painting the basic colours of the shield, just concentrating rather on the freehand itself.

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    I found the design that I liked on the internet. I planned to recreate that design with minor changes. The first step was to draw the basic shape with a graphite pen.

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    Then, using a darkest shade follow the lines drawn by pen to make the basic shapes. Once, done, fill those shapes with the same paint.

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    Check your reference and correct if need be.

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    Afterwards, using the ligher shade begin drawing smaller shapes within the darker areas to get the contours of your design.

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    Start by drawing the simplest shapes so your hand picks up the motions subconsciously finish with the more complex (wings). Watch out that your shapes (wings for instance) have the same number of elements (feathers).

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    Next layer was the first highlight. Similar to the previous step, start drawing the simplest shapes.

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    When you finish with this step, check if you are happy with the depth of your freehand. I wasn’t so I continued with the work.

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    Using a wash, I added further shadows simulating and accentuating the curvature of the shield.

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    In the end, I added the final highlights.

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    U ovom ću članku ukratko opisati proces kojim sam iscrtao rimski štit u 54mm mjerilu. Ovdje neću objašnjavati bojanje same crvene površine štita, već samo kako sam izradio freehand.

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    Na internetu sam pronašao dizajn koji mi se svidio i kojeg ću uz manje modifikacije pokušati replicirati. Prvi korak je bio iscrtavanje osnovnih oblika običnom olovkom.

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    Zatim, najtamnijom bojom prateći linije iscrtane olovkom nacrtajte osnovne oblike te potom popunite bojom oblike.

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    Pogledajte vaš dizajn i prema potrebi korigirajte oblik.

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    Potom, svjetlijom nijansom krenite iscrtavati manje oblike unutar tamnijih ploha kako biste dodali obrise vašeg dizajna.

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    Krenite sa jednostavnijim oblicima i kad vam iscrtavanje “uđe” u ruku, završite sa složenijim (krila). Pri tome, pazite da imate jednak broj elemenata (npr. Pera) po svakom obliku (krilu).

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    Sljedeći sloj je prvi highlight. Slično kao i u prethodnom koraku, krenite sa iscrtavanjem sa jednostavnijim oblicima.

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    Kad završite, provjerite da li ste zadovoljni sa “dubinom” vašeg freehanda. Ja nisam bio sasvim pa sam nastavio sa radom.

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    Koristeći wash, dodao sam dodatne sjene – simulirajući i naglašavajući zakrivljenost površine štita.

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    I na kraju sam dodao završne highlighte.

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    Marko Paunović, 16th May 2024
  • How to pin a bust
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    In this text I will describe the process of pinning a bust to a wooden plinth

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    You will need: sanding paper, pin, pen, ruler, pin vice (or electric drill), clippers and superglue.

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    Sand the bottom of the bust to get an even surface

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    Mark the two spots for pinning on the bottom of the bust. (Two pins make it easier to center the bust on the plinth)

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    Drill the two holes in the bust (use a pin vice or an electric drill)

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    Place the pins and glue them with superglue.

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    Repeat the process on the plinth - first marking then drilling the two holes for the pins.

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    Before placing the bust, dry fit the pins.

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    Glue the bust.

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    U ovom ću članku opisati kako pričvrstiti bistu na drveno postolje.

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    Za to će vam biti potrebno: šmirgl papir, spajalica, olovka, metar, buštilica, kliješta i superljepilo. 

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    Pošmirglajte donju površinu biste.

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    Označite dva mjesta za postavljanje zatika (pina). Spajanje preko dva zatika olakšava centriranje biste na bazu.

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    Bušilicom izbušite dvije rupe.

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    Postavite zatike i zalijepite ih.

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    Ponovite proces i na drvenoj bazi, prvo označite mjesta, zatim ih izbušite.

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    Prije postavljanja biste na bazu, provjerite da sve odgovara.

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    Zalijepite bistu na drveno postolje.

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    Krunoslav Belinić, 9th May 2024
  • Forbidden Psalm Demo 03
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    We continue preparations for our traditional Agram Arena Summer - TURM2024 with demo games of Forbidden Psalm, the game that will be played in July at the Arena. In this game, our Ana, the organizer of TURM, sets up a game for Seb and Domagoj, and this time she lets them pick their own crews!

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    Another game at Ana's, but this time Seb and I didn't play with premade warbands... we chose minis and did the whole warband creation process! The scenario we played was setting up mortsafes and looting tombs. I was extremely lucky with my magician and found 3 treasures in the first tomb, one of which was a relic.

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    Seb had a little less luck with the treasure, which got him into trouble with the skeletons. As I started the game with a few lucky rolls, I decided to invest in positive karma and help him with the mobs. At the end of the third move, Corpse Collector appeared, a large monster that we decided to defeat with joint forces.

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    To slow his progress, I summoned a Skeletal Warrior, an affiliated gang member, behind his back. Karma paid off because my gang member, Vid, defeated the Collector with a lucky mace hit and earned another relic!

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    I think we've mastered the rules and independent play quite well, and I'm looking forward to Turm!

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    Nastavljamo sa pripremama za našu tradicionalnu Agram Arenu Summer – TURM2024 demo partijama Forbidden Psalma, igre koja će se igrati u srpnju na Areni. U ovoj partiji, naša Ana, organizatorica TURMa, organizira partiju za Seba i Domagoja, ali ih prepušta same sebima i pri izboru svojih vojski!

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    Jos jedan game kod Ane, ali ovaj put Seb i ja nismo igrali s premade warbandama… odabrali smo minije i odradili cijeli warband creation proces! Scenario koji smo igrali je postavljanje mortsafeova i pljackanje grobnica. Imao sam izuzetne srece sa svojim madjionicarem i u prvoj grobnici nasao 3 blaga, od kojih je jedno bila relikvija.

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    Seb je imao nesto manje srece sa blagom, sto ga je dovelo u nevolju s kosturima. Kako sam igru krenuo s nekoliko sretnih rollova, odlucio sam se investirati u pozitivnu karmu i pomoci mu oko mobova. Na kraju treceg poteza pojavio se Corpse Collector, veliko cudoviste koje smo odlucili savladati zajednickim snagama.

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    Kako bi usporio njegov napredak, iza ledja sam mu prizvao Skeletalnog ratnika, pridruzenog clana bande. Karma se isplatila jer je clan moje bande, Vid, sretnim pogotkom buzdovana savladao Collectora i zaradio jos jednu relikviju! 

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    Mislim da smo poprilicno dobro savladali pravila i samostalnu igru, i veselim se Turmu!

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    Domagoj Krpan, 28th April 2024
  • AGRAM LEGO SECTION - Fourth Lecture and Final Part of the Build
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    U srijedu 24.4. u sklopu naše Agram Lego Sekcije i službeno smo završili sa serijom predavanja  paralelno sa izradom LEGO makete dvorca Hogwarts!

    Posljednje predavanje u ovoj seriji je počelo u 18:00 i trajalo je otprilike sat vremena u kojem je naš Marko prenio sva iskustva sa putovanja u Billund i posjete Legolandu i Lego House-u.

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    Ulaz na predavanja je besplatan i otvoren za sve te prijave nisu potrebne.

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    Izrada makete je rezervirana za članove Agram Lego Sekcije. Ukoliko se želite uključiti u sljedeće projekte, javite se za više informacija na ums.agram@gmail.com .

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    Za kraj, ekipa je provela struju, odn. rasvjetu kroz cijelu maketu. 

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    A rezultat je bio magičan!

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    Marko Paunović, 24th April 2024
  • AGRAM LEGO SECTION - Third Lecture and Part Three of the Build
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    U srijedu 17.4. u sklopu naše Agram Lego Sekcije nastavili smo sa serijom predavanja o arhitekturi paralelno sa izradom LEGO makete dvorca Hogwarts!

    Predavanje je počelo u 18:00 i trajalo je otprilike sat vremena uz živu diskusiju o dvorcu Hogwarts, odnosno o stvarnim lokacijama na kojima su filmovi snimani te koji su poslužili kao reference i inspiracija J.K.Rowling prilikom pisanja knjiga o Harryu Potteru.

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    Ulaz na predavanja je besplatan i otvoren za sve te prijave nisu potrebne.

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    Izrada makete je rezervirana za članove Agram Lego Sekcije. Ukoliko se želite uključiti u izgradnju, javite se za više informacija na ums.agram@gmail.com .

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    Mario Grgurev, 18th April 2024

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