21-12-2024 - Newsletter #232

The Mini-Kiwiland Shop showroom has special opening hours the coming week:

Sunday 22 December: 11.00am - 3.00pm
Monday 23 December: 11.00am - 3.00pm
Tuesday 24 December: 11.00am - 4:30pm
25 December - Christmas - CLOSED
26 December - Boxing Day - CLOSED
Friday 27 December: 11.00am - 4:30pm
Saturday 28 December: 10.00am - 3:00pm

The Mini-Kiwiland Shop is NOT CLOSED between Boxing Day and the New Year.

More than a 100 Academy kits are on their way to New Zealand. Most are not on the website yet. They should arrive in February (sea freight).

Kovozavody Prostejov has released a kit of a New Zealand Grumman Widgeon (NZ Tourist Air Travel), which is now available in the Mini-Kiwiland Shop.

More diecast models have arrived of the Batman Automobilia Collection.

Four Revell kits are on sale for a limited time only!

I'm considering stocking Monument Hobbies (Pro Acryl) paint, but I'm wondering if there is any demand for it. Feedback is highly appreciated.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Robert

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13-12-2024 - Newsletter #231

Another week with lots of new arrivals. For the complete list click here.

Billing Boats is a new brand for the Mini-Kiwiland Shop. I would like to try wooden kits, but I wonder if there is enough demand for them. Other brands I am considering are Amati, ModelExpo, Occre and Artesania Latina.
Feedback is appreciated!

Over 30 Citadel contract colours are temporarily on sale with 25 percent off!

9 discontinued ICM kits from Ukraine are on sale as well. Up to half price!

Robert

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06-12-2024 - Newsletter #230

The growth of mailorder is such that it is becoming more difficult to combine it with the showroom. In order to better organize the work, the showroom will now open at 11:00am instead of 10:30am during the week. I may open before 11.00am if I'm ready, but that is not guaranteed.
On Saturdays the showroom remains open from 10:00am.

Among the new arrivals are kits from ICM, Revell, Special Hobby, Kinetic and Waterloo 1815.
Restocks have arrived from Vallejo paints, Army Painter and AK Interactive.

More new arrivals will be added to the website in the coming days. For a list of all the new arrivals click here.

Thunder Model is a new brand for the Mini-Kiwiland Shop. First stock is expected in January.

Robert

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28-11-2024 - Newsletter #229

Many of the items that came in have been added to the website. Brands like Italeri, Faller, Roden, MiniArt and Eduard. Too many to list in this newsletter. For the list of all new arrivals click here.

The coming days I will try to work on new arrivals from brands like ICM, Revell, Waterloo 1815, Trumpeter and HobbyBoss.

Robert

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22-11-2024 - Newsletter #228

A lot has arrived this week. Not everything has been entered into the system yet. To keep an eye on the new arrivals, it is best to follow the 'new arrivals' page.
This week I entered new arrivals on the website from AMMO by Mig Jimenez, Airfix, Gamers Grass, Heller, Mr. Hobby and Zvezda.
More new arrivals of various other brands will be listed in the weekend.

Robert

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16-11-2024 - Newsletter #227

Thousands of items are expected in stock in the coming weeks.
The long awaited sea shipment with 4 pallets from Europe will most likely be delivered on Tuesday. However, it takes time to enter everything into the system.
In addition to this shipment, I expect more from other suppliers as well.
To see what comes in every day, you can best follow the 'new arrivals' page on the website.
I will probably send out extra newsletters in the coming weeks with more details.

Pricing everything in the showroom takes a lot of time, while entering shipments has priority. This means I will place new stock unpriced in the showroom. Prices can be requested at any time of course. My apologies for this.

Because the showroom is too small for all the stock, older stock will be removed from the showroom to make room for new arrivals.

A lot of paint has arrived in the past week. More than 130 colours of AMMO's Atom paint for example. Also many restocks from Vallejo, AK Interactive and the Army Painter. More restocks should arrive every two weeks from Europe.

The first Molotow markers have also arrived.

A new brand for the Mini-Kiwiland Shop is Metal Earth.
Metal Earth kits are made from high quality steel sheets. Each model features amazing detail with parts cut from one or more square steel sheets. Easy to follow instructions are included with each kit and NO GLUE OR SOLDER REQUIRED! Simply snip out the pieces and bend the tabs through corresponding connection points.

Robert

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07-11-2024 - Newsletter #226

Thousands of items still need to be added to the website. This takes a lot of time. To speed things up, I started adding items without images or descriptions. This way, I have now added more than a hundred AK Interactive paint colours. More will follow.
I will give priority to the items that users add to their watchlist with more information. Items with watchers also have a greater chance of being stocked (faster). I cannot stock everything and will give priority to watched items.

Good news for online buyers in the North Island: There is now a maximum of $11.20 in shipping costs for urban deliveries. This has the advantage, for example, that an automatic e-mail can be sent with the total to be paid, without having to wait for an e-mail from me. This automatic e-mail is only possible when at least 1 item does not fit in a medium box. This still needs to be programmed, but it will most likely be completed over the weekend. The maximum rate of $11.20 for urban deliveries is already valid.

The large shipment of 4 pallets with a few thousand products from Europe arrived in Auckland 10 days ago, but has still not been delivered. No idea why. Very frustrating. Hopefully everything will be delivered early next week. My apologies for those who are waiting for new stock to arrive.

Molotow is a new brand for the Mini-Kiwiland Shop. They are best known for their chrome markers. Stock should arrive in a few weeks.

Robert

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24-10-2024 - Newsletter #225

The original idea for Mini-Kiwiland was to create an outdoor miniature New Zealand park (1:24 scale) as an international attraction. A Hobbyshop would be part of this together with a souvenir shop and a cafe.
At the beginning of the pandemic, investors and sponsors unfortunately withdrew their support. Workshops were closed and volunteers 'retired'.
There is still no prospect of investors returning due to the poor economic situation (worldwide).
Eight years ago I started the Hobby Shop for Mini-Kiwiland to be able to buy parts for the miniatures and generate some income. This became a success during the pandemic.
I still have about 25 models of New Zealand buildings in production, some of which were on display in the showroom. These have now all been removed to a room next to the showroom to make room for more stock.
These models and more can still be seen, if you do not go left to the showroom at the top of the stairs, but straight ahead. There is a closed door with glass, through which you can look into the room.

The intention is to show more models here than were originally in the showroom. Not all models are (fully) assembled at this stage.

Here is a list:

Auckland Ferry Building (2.6 meters long), Wellington City & Sea Museum (2.4 meters long), Invercargill Water Tower, Paekakariki Railway Station with Signal Box, Hokitika Clock Tower and Customs House, an Opotiki and a Cambridge Church, Waikanae Post Office, Otaki Courthouse, Shannon Bank Building, Petone Police Station with Prison, the first Petone State Houses, Waitangi Treaty House and more.
The 1:24 scale DC-3 (NAC) has also been moved to this room.

The models are not finished, but the layout gives an idea of ​​what the intention is for Mini-Kiwiland.
Hopefully the attraction can be started again somehow in the future.

Robert

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16-10-2024 - Newsletter #224

From now on, every two weeks a shipment will arrive from Europe with paint from Vallejo, the Army Painter and AK Interactive. This way, sold out colours can be restocked more quickly. Larger quantities will also be purchased, so that it happens less often that colours are sold out.
Many colours from AK Interactive (both 3rd Gen and Real Colors) still have to be added to the website. Unfortunately, that will take some time.
As soon as AK Interactive is in order, I will start on the next paint line, which will most likely be SMS.
AMMO By Mig Jimenez is once again coming out with a new paint line: This time it is 'Ionic Smart Colors'. Especially for figures. If you are interested in this, please let me know.

The Eftpos machine from ANZ in the showroom has been replaced by a terminal from Smartpay. This has the advantage that from now on you can pay with Credit Card and Paywave in the Showroom. Smartpay is able to offer different surcharges:

1% surcharge for Paywave
2% surcharge for Credit Cards

I try to keep the prices for products as low as possible and also give discounts to regular customers. I would rather not increase the prices because of credit card payments, so a surcharge in this way is a good solution. Other Eftpos providers have 1 option for surcharge, but I don't think it is reasonable that Paywave has the same surcharge as Credit Cards. I expect that in the future, the banks in New Zealand will further reduce the rates for Paywave. Why such a simple, fully automated system is so expensive here, is a mystery to me. As soon as costs for Paywave go down, I will consider no surcharge.

Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to pay with credit card on the website. That is a separate system. I made the website myself from scratch and simply do not have the skills to connect it to an eCommerce portal. The portals are in a different computer language. I want to look into this next year, but in this case too there will be a surcharge for those who want to pay via the internet instead of a bank transfer.

Robert

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09-10-2024 - Newsletter #223

I have started selling used items. This is more of a test to see how it goes. The computer system of the Mini-Kiwiland Shop is not prepared for this. As a result, selling used items is currently not possible on the website . Instore only. Sales of used items are therefore not eligible for the loyalty discount program. The discount program is fully automated.
The used items are currently placed at the counter. These include HO scale vehicles, G scale items, magazines, Bburago diecast models and diecast motorcycles.

Robert

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