You can't go wrong with Blythes. A Manchester art student staple, this store has saved me countless…read moretimes. The staff in here are extremely knowledegable and will even order in special materials and papers if they're out of stock. They've got just about type of paint from Winsor to Newton and Rembrandt paints, brushes, chalks, gouaches, water colours and graphic supplies and a large range of papers and canvases. I've bought specialist 300gsm paper in here for a menu project and special mounting glue. I had help with the measuring and cutting free of charge and advice of mounting my images. I highly recommend this store.

Blyth Art Shop…read more Blyth's Art Shop seems like a serious sort of art shop for serious sort of artists. Everything is very ordered, neat and clinical. They've got great ranges of paints, pencils and pens, as well as a downstairs section with artist accessories like folders, paper and even natural light bulbs so you can paint in natural light late into the night. There's two or three staff around to help you with any queries you might have in my experience they've usually got the time and patience to help you out properly. I can't help feeling that Fred Aldous across Stevenson square isn't just lots more fun, more well stocked and generally more exciting though.

What can I say about JE? Well, as my readers will know, I hold a certain disdain for large…read morecorporate chains and if they existed in the model world, I wouldn't be using them. However model and hobby shops are usually independents which mean they have to do something more to attract business to them. I have been using JE since 2007 when they were in Prestwich but now they have moved to sunny Middleton. Having had a couple of years away from RC, so much had changed it was like I was a beginner all over again. So what do JE do? Well, a lot! They have an amazing product line so you have choice - and I don't mean average choice either. This shop stocks cheap and mid range cars and bashers, to the expert and high end competition level cars so this really is a specialist place which is great for people like myself who like higher end competition level models which are rarely found in many model shops. JE is a car specialist - I don't think it does any aviation or boats but thats fine as I only do cars anyway, and there are plenty of places that do the other. JE is primarily an off road specialist however they do also stock competition level on road cars too, such as the Xray T3's (of which I am about to buy from them :) etc. Anything you want which they don't carry then they can certainly get it for you which is worth doing. Why? Sure there are other sites on the net which may already have something in stock, but if you live close to JE - I would say its always worth asking them to get you a quote for two reasons. 1) In my experience they always beat anyone else's price anyway (if price is your only motivation I asked for a quote on one car which they quoted me £90 cheaper than the other two businesses who carried it in stock). AMAZING. But more importantly 2) You then have expertise and advice on hand with any part of your car, equipment - venues to try etc. I have learnt a lot from these guys not only in respect to equipment, but also clubs and venues too. When I say expertise I mean expertise. Staff in many shops are totally knowledgable but considering two of the staff I know are pro racers too then you can't get much more experience than that. Stu Wood (who I saw on TV not long ago haha) currently races for TLR (Team Losi Racing) and has won many accolades to date so is a great source of info. Neil is also a sponsored racer too (Orion I think) so already you have two people there to give advice to back yard bashers and hobbits (Hobbits? Thats such a good typo I'm leaving it in - I meant hobbyists) to someone who may be thinking of taking things a little more seriously like national competition. They offer a great mail order service too and if you like Haribo they you will have two things to be pleased about when your packages arrive, as they do tend to send you some with your orders which is a nice little touch. Being on many RC forums like I am - this does not go un noticed by the masses as it's often a topic of conversation (peoples weekends ruined when their order came with no Haribo! haha) Are there any negatives? Not that I have found yet. I mainly buy in person but I am on the site every day and although its a nice site, maybe the site could do with some tweaking with regards to navigation but other than that - I can't think of anything to complain about. Even for someone like me who buys things then changes his mind - not a problem to JE. As they were still new and unopened items they were happy to refund what I didn't need. Superb service! So my closing thoughts... It's often the the little things which make a business - you need to get it all right such as the product line up, the pricing, the staff, the knowledge and the customer service. All I can say is JE Spares tick all those boxes twice over, so if you haven't already tried them, then I suggest you look on their website or pay them a visit soon! (point to note, although they do have a shop you can visit and buy from they are primarily a mail order company, so they are closed on Saturday and Sunday)

One of the best shops I have been to. A great selection of comics plus a continual supply of…read morespecial offers.

When I lived on Oldham Street many moons ago, I used to pop into Forbidden Planet on a weekly basis…read moreto pick up new copies of The Sandman, The Invisibles and other cool comics. These days, I only venture in now and again for something specific, like Reinhard Kleist's awesome graphic novel based on the life of Johnny Cash - I See A Darkness. For me, the layout and interior of Forbidden Planet lacks the ambience and wow factor of somewhere like Dave's Comics in Brighton but their range of comics, manga and graphic novels is faultless. For true fantatics and collectors, they also stock a massive range of cartoon, comic and pop culture memorabilia including tee-shirts, games, videos and toys. Personally, I have my eye on one of Frank Kozak's toy smoking rabbits complete with eye patch.

There are two World's Apart shops in Liverpool and contrary to the name they are actually quite…read moreclose together. This building in Lime street is a mess and needs a sympathetic refurb and clean. I was surprised to discover that actually this shop is part of a small chain. I visited the shop for the first time this week. It's full of comics and toys you simply can't get elsewhere - not that I have tried. So many of the toy figures I could not recognise although I did spot some of the original Dr Who figures and some from Final Fantasy. Forget Toys R Us, this place is a wealth of badges, stickers, games and oddness for kids, adults and fans of things I've never even heard of.

Like its geeky counterpart, Forbidden Planet on Bold, World's Apart deals in all things cult. Cult…read moreis often a term used to describe things that have a strong, devoted core audience - or for studio executives something with low viewing figures. But no more, the popularity if this store can be seen on Saturday afternoons as children and adults alike fill the store and rummage through the amazing collections of limited edition, imported and new toys, comics, books, graphic novels, DVDs, posters and clothing for every genre and range of sci-fi, horror and anime franchise.

This shop is the equvilent of a sweet shop for kids, as it offers all sorts of wierd and wonderful…read moregadgets and model cars etc for adults and kids. I dare anyone not to find something in this store which they look at and think to themselves, that'd be fun to play with! Upstairs in the trafford centre is this store, they sell all sorts of model's as in cars, helicopters, build your own, buy pre built, accessories etc. They're really friendly too, offering advice on all sorts of things to do with their trade

Bit misleading this shop. Has nice Star Wars models in all the windows but inside its all lorries…read moreand cars. Really busy with very little room to move about.

I have been wanting to go to this shop for ages but every time I went it was shut, well I finally…read moremanaged to go there the other day and it was open. My 1st impression of the shop was that it is quite small and as such I didn't really expect there to be to look at, but as soon as I walked in the door I realised I couldn't be more wrong, the shop is on 2 floors and is 1 of the biggest model/hobby shops I've ever been in and it is not a big name like model zone but the shop is bigger than any of there shops I've been in. As for what they sell there should definitely be something for every one as not only do they sell model railways but model kits, die cast cars and bikes, R.C. cars and boats etc, scalextric and even dolls houses as built or in kit form as well as plans to build them from scratch! Being interested in model railways that was the area of the shop I mainly looked at and that took up probably about 1 3rd of the upper floor so there was quite a selection although there 2nd hand section could be better but then again thats is probably down to how much stuff people sell to them and when. I went with my father and we had a good look round at everything they sell just to see what exactly they have and there website doesn't really show everything that they have so it is definitely worth paying a visit as you are bound to find something of interest even if you aren't into any of the hobbies there's a good chance you will find something interesting.

Model Zone is a geek's heaven, situated within St. Johns market this is the kind of place where…read moreyour typical nerd can go and spend the day marvelling at the products within. There is nothing at all wrong with this but it just so happens that I am more of a games console man and as such I didn't really understand the fervour surrounding these types of products. This place as the name suggests sells models for war craft games and other related activities and to be fair the range of produce is quite astonishing. As well as this the quality of the products is fantastic and there is much attention to detail here. I was also very impressed with the staff who worked hard to help out each and every customer so they get much kudos for customer service. On the whole a well run establishment which does its best to draw you in to its slightly nerdy world and if we are honest there is a bit of a geek within all of us.

I've never made a model of anything before I don't think, but we used to come here a fair bit when…read moremy brother was a toddler because they had loads of cool trains and cars and he was interested in collecting them. Then, as he grew up and became interested in the RAF, the family would generally call in here if at a loss for presents at Christmas or birthdays, and get him a model aeroplane set. This is quite a fascinating shop if you like geeky things (or at least appreciate them, like me). You can get all the Thomas the Tank Engine trains from here, you can get Meccano sets and Scalextric and even Star Wars, Star Trek and Dr Who collectibles. If you're at a real loss for inspiration for presents, it may be worth while looking round here for ideas, as more often than not you'll see something that you know someone will love. The staff are eager to help and even if you ask them random ambiguous questions they eventually find out what you're talking about and sort you out. It's on the same avenue as the 99p shop so you know you're going for guilty pleasures (ie stocking up on £5 worth of sweets) if your feet take you in that direction.

Ahoy there!…read more Nauticalia is appropriately located amongst the array of touristy type gift shops in Albert Dock. If you are an admirer of seafaring, then this shop is definitely for you. There are a wide amount of ornaments and collectables, some of whom might consider odd if you're not familiar - if you're like me, it's kind of difficult to describe them! Although, I did manage to recognise a barometer - an instrument sailors use to measure atmospheric pressure. Some items may be pointless but you can buy products such as strong weathproof clothing, and thermals all of which are fairly expensive. The member of staff whom greeted me was cheerful and I actually enjoyed the browsing experience which was quite unique. From my visit, I saw a gift cloth with a very interesting description and I'd like to share those sayings about why a ship is called "she". A ship is called a "she" because..... There is always a great deal of bustle around her There is usually a gang of men about She has a waist and stays It takes a lot of paint to keep her good looking She shows her topsides and hides her bottom She can be all decked out It takes an experienced man to handle her correctly And without a man at the helm, she is absolutely un-controllable. It takes a lot of Paint to keep her Good - Looking. And the main reason....It's not the initial expense that breaks you, It's the upkeep!!! When coming into port, always heads for the buoys. Fascinating!!!

Nauticalia seems to have forgotten one of the only rules about owning a shop. Sure, you can make…read moreyour range of products fantastic to look at, but if it's so expensive that people will run screaming, you've failed at business. Then again, this place has been here for years so I'll hush ma mouth. Selling everything to do with the sea, this is a great shop to stroll around and browse the bottled ships, maritime clocks, diving helmets and miniature twin cylinder engines (every home should have one) but, as I said, unless you've recently discovered pirate treasure, the chances of you buying anything whose price you can justify are going to be slim.

massively helpfull chap at this shop realy knows his stuff!read more