Losing parts, running over them with my chair, throwing things out by mistake, gluing things on the wrong way around - I've done it all . As such I've become quite quite good at getting spare parts. So here's a guide to getting spare parts I wrote a few years ago.
A couple of things to keep in mind.
- This is written from a modeller in Australia's perspective. I know there are other ways may access spare parts, in particular North American modellers.
- Not all companies are mentioned here because these are the only ones I've either used or have heard of being used.
- Some of these methods may have been replaced by newer or better, if you know of any contact me and I will update the page.
- Most manufacturers have a Facebook page these days. If you can't find any details on their web site I'd suggest trying there.
- There is a US Ebay Seller who often sells whole sprues. Unfortunately postage to Australia makes him no use to us down here. It's usually cheaper to buy the whole kit locally than pay the postage chargers he asks for.
Hasegawa
Write to Hasegawa (a old school letter not an email). Address as below
Hasegawa Seisakusho Company Limited
3-1-2 Yagusu Yaizu
Shizuoka 425 8711
Japan
Clearly state what you are after e.g. 1/48 Hurricane Mk IID Kit # JT52, parts L4, A5, J7 and J11. ( in my last case sprue U
Enclose three (3) international reply coupons. You purchase these from the Post Office. You may have to shop around as not post office many seem to have them and many people don't know what they are. Three coupons and the postage cost me about $10 AUD total
Post and wait. The parts will usually appear in the post with a letter or flyer.
I have used this service at least 4 times. Three times I got the parts within 4 weeks. Once it took 4 months but the part did arrive. I expect they didn't have any replacement parts available at the time I wrote and had to wait until they did another run.
A tip. If you after a part from a special /limited edition (excluding the decals or special parts within ) then I suggest asking for the same part but from the standard boxing (hopefully this makes sense). In my last case the part I was after was from a dual 1/48 HENSCHEL HS 129B-1/2 & JUNKERS JU 87G-2 - dual combo boxing. That kit was no longer available so I asked for for the same part from 1/48 Ju87G-2 Stuka “Tank Attacker” Kit No 09054, this is the standard Ju-87G2 kit.
For North American modellers I believe you can contact Hasegawa USA for parts,luck the above method works.
Update May 2019: Both US Mail and Royal Mail (United Kingdom) no longer sell international reply coupons. I guess you can still write to Hasegawa and see how you go.
Update Aug 2019: A post on ARC (here) advised that Hasegawa spare parts can be ordered from a Canadian site Lightspeed Global via their contacts page
Revell
They have a spare parts link on their website
Fill out the form and wait. I also email them on the address on that page.
Don't be surprised if you hear nothing the parts will appear in the post in 3 to 4 weeks. If they can't help they usually get back to you.
Italeri
Contact them via their website
Alternately on the instructions, usually on the back sheet, there is a small form you can fill out and send (via snail mail). I have used this in the past and the parts turned up in the mail.
Airfix
Contact them via their website
Fill out the form and wait for contact.
Airfix used to be excellent for spares, but recently two separate mates have had no luck getting spares for kits. Both kits were current products in their range although not the same boxing. Airfix would not supply them with the parts they wanted, not even for a fee. Alternately I recently had a short shot part in the first Sea Fury kit (the cowling ring) and Airfix replaced it without an issue. It seems to be that if the issue is due to quality they will replace it, but if it's due to damage or the part was missing from the kit they are less willing to help..
Airfix used to be excellent for spares, but recently two separate mates have had no luck getting spares for kits. Both kits were current products in their range although not the same boxing. Airfix would not supply them with the parts they wanted, not even for a fee. Alternately I recently had a short shot part in the first Sea Fury kit (the cowling ring) and Airfix replaced it without an issue. It seems to be that if the issue is due to quality they will replace it, but if it's due to damage or the part was missing from the kit they are less willing to help..
Kinetic/Skunkworks
Contact them via their website.
If you have no joy contact them via Lucky Models. If you go down the Lucky Models path then it pays to have an account and to use the My request Feature. Finally if that doesn't work the owner of Lucky Models Mr. Raymond Chung posts over at the Aircraft Resource Centre Forums.
Kittyhawk
Contact Mrs Sophia Lynn via email (sophialynm@gmail.com).
They will charge you postage for the parts, this is usually $10 USD. Unfortunately I've had to use this service multiple times due to missing or broken parts in their kits.
Rye Field Models
Contact them via rfm@ryefield-model.com
Tamiya
Their website directs you to your local importer. Details of who that is is on the same page. I have had luck with this a long time ago (That importer has gone bust). Good Luck .
Academy
I've heard nothing good about them, Good luck
Trumpeter/Hobby Boss
They have a parts service via their websites. I have no experience on how well it works.
Special Hobby/CMK
Contact them via their website. The customer service link wasn't working when I wrote this but there is a contact page. All reports I've had from people trying to obtain spare parts are that they are unresponsive. Good Luck
For US Modellers I'd suggest going starting to DragonUSA's website
Hello all. I didn't go so well with Mirage. We emailed back and forth, I was willing to pay for the part missing. Jan from Mirage said he would "handle it personally". After a year of supposed customer service I gave up and sold the kit, mentioning the missing part, which thankfully, went to someone who didn't want to do the variant that required it.
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