Anyone recommend the best places to buy Bandai (eg Gunpla) and Kotobukiya (eg Frame Arms and Zoids) kits?
Also accessories, and model gear (paints, Brushes etc - eg Tamiya, Mr Hobby)
Most local sellers have added substantial mark-up on the respective prices from Japan. Eg 1000yen -> $40-60
and for many their range and on online stores are pretty poor
Recommended online sources?
I haven't built anything recently and from what I have searched, there's not really a one stop shop for all your needs. Your best bet would be looking thru eBay stores during sales and search thru auctions for a particular line of kits.
You can also buy directly from 1999 if the shipping is less than the local stores mark-up…
Definitely take a look on eBay and compare prices to places like HLJ. I've found that prices on eBay tend to be comparable or better than other places.
I bought some recently from Banzaihobby. Ended up being just over $100 for each HMM kit. Shipping was around 6 weeks.
Are you looking to buy bad ass gundams or big assed cartoon ladies? Either way awesome !
There's no reason these things need to be mutually exclusive
Time for a holiday to Japan?
I really really want one!
10% off Japanese RRP?
I've bought from Hobbylink Japan(https://hlj.com/), AmiAmi(https://www.amiami.com/) and Otakumart (https://otakumart.co.nz/)
Hlj is probably your best bet. I find that AmiAmi charges quite high shipping when buying items on sale so be aware of that.
Otakumart's a small new zealand store so they have fairly expensive shipping as well but they do occasionally have rare/p-bandai stuff at good prices. I'd recommend them for small hobby tools like nippers etc.
I second Hobbylink Japan. Buy a bunch (at least 4-5) and you will see substantial savings compared to local pricing. They are usually 10% off Japanese RRP so not the cheapest possible but very reliable. Shipping averages to around $10-$20 per kit on EMS (~1 week) depending on how many you purchase at once, plus they can hold your items for up to 60 days.
Why would you want them to hold them for up to 60 days?
Combine shipping on items. E.g. I preordered items that release on 1 July, 15 July and 15 August. Instead of being forced to ship them immediately upon release in three separate occasions and pay three sets of shipping fees, I can wait until all three items are released and combine it into one shipment for cheaper shipping. It's quite useful especially if the things you want sell out during preorder so you have no choice but to preorder to guarantee the item and potentially a lower price than aftermarket.
Wow shipping is insane!
Just tried to order a kit and the cheapest postage was quoted at $69
How did you manage to get the ems price for $10-20?
Only niche stores like Hobbyco. Otherwise, it's all online.