Not to turn this into a commercial for certain hobby shops....I'm a college student on a budget. Where can you get kits (1/35 or 1/48) for not a lot of money? I don't mind filling ejector pin marks etc and I'm not really particular about manufacturer or super accurate as long as I can stretch my modelling $$$. Any suggestions?

Well you can try Ebay, they have some bargains from time to time, just watch the shipping costs. Also you can post here in the Sell,Buy or Trade forum for what your looking for. You might get lucking...

Joe

If you have a store called "Hobby Lobby" nearby they often run a coupon in the paper for 40% off any one regularly priced Item. You can also print the cupon off their website. My local store carries some armor and a good many aircraft. I bought an old Sdkfz 251 (tamiya) for $7 and a PaK 40 for ~$3.

luckymodel is your friend...
Not so much on the newer dragon kits, but they have fine deals on tamiya stuff...

I agree with Joe - If you're patient you can snag some good deals on Italerie kits, some Monogram kits, heck even some Tamiya kits - JUST don't forget shipping.

Ebay is a great place to sit and watch for deals. I get my best deals on holidays, fewer people checking out auctions then. Yes, watch the shipping. A new trend on Eaby is for sellers to really jack up the shipping costs. Around $7.00 shipping ir good for most 1/35 kits. I've seen pepole charging around $20 for a regular kit.

Flea Marktes are also a good place to get kits, but you have to be careful and make sure everything is there.

Thanks guys, I do have a hobby lobby and I only buy kits when they have the 40% off coupon. The problem is I've gone through most every armor kit they have! Some even two or three times!

I think I will also give e-bay a shot again because I got burned on shipping. It almost seems like the only advantage is to be able to get kits you can't at the LHS.

You can also get GREAT deals on new kits - 20-40% off MSRP - in the vendor rooms at model shows. Old kits go really cheap, and there's usually a guy or two emptying his attic for next to nothing. Check the IPMS website for shows in your area. There are spring and fall show seasons. All the shows are from March to June and September to November. In my area I hit 8 to 10 shows a year within a 2 hour drive and do most of my shopping at shows. They're the best place to find OOP kits, too. A lot of the show vendors buy collections and sell them at shows. No tax or shipping, either.

One of the site sponsors, Great Models Webstore, has great sales often.