Introducing the Online Store
Back in 2009 I started listing and selling some models I'd built on a certain online auction site that begins with 'E' and ends in 'Bay'. The original intent was to make room for more models.
People bought them. Kept buying them in-fact. I soon started building kits and listing them as soon as they were finished.
One thing led to another and before long I ended up building model aircraft as a day-job. Soon I was buying in a lot of kits for various customers - some of these didn't get built. Certain sections of the house became awash with planes (built and unbuilt). 
So I started selling the unmade kits which were surplus to requirements. People started buying those as well.
One thing led to another and before long I was selling model kits as a one-man band at shows, etc. The plane-building also continued by the way - so the house remained awash with aircraft being built, aircraft kits for sale, aircraft half built.... you get the idea.
At some point I decided that it probably wouldn't hurt to try and be more organised on the model kit sales side of things. I started buying in ranges of aircraft - but specifically those which I knew from personal experience to be good, solid kits. After all, if I've built the thing myself or know others who have tackled the same kit - I can speak with some knowledge and/or authority about the thing I'm trying to sell.
The above meandering tale is how 'The Aircraft Builder' came about. The trading name describes what I do. It also describes what I sell - enabling others to build aircraft in model form.
The online shop has been a few years in the works but not launched properly until now. I was supposed to start in 2020 but the world went a bit barmy and supply chains went utterly mad.
The Online Shop is now online. What can you as a potential customer expect?
The items I stock will be a bit of a mix and I'm aiming to rotate the subjects reasonably often. As tempting as it is to stock the site with nothing but Hawker Hurricanes - I suspect I'm going to need to have a variety of subjects, eras, etc. to be remotely interesting. Cold War Jets. Helicopters. Naval Aviation. Modern. Historic.
Yes, I'm only selling aircraft. I don't know enough about tanks, ships, figures, etc. to know what sells well, what kits to promote to people, what kits to avoid, etc. I do know about aircraft kits however, so that naturally is where I'll play to my strengths.
There will doubtless be bumps and hiccups. Despite the preparation, the planning and thinking over every aspect of this virtual enterprise - I'm not a website designer, a slick marketing type or canny commercial operator.
I AM however an enthusiastic modelmaker and mad about all things aviation. Hopefully that will come across in the content and format of this store. Whether you visit and browse, or visit and buy - hopefully this little corner of the internet will be useful. At the very least, it might be entertaining!
Regards
R North
The Aircraft Builder
July 2025