Update! The latest news is that the site will, in some form, be taken over by a new operator. That's obviously good news for the modelling commuity, but a lot will depend on how effectively the transition is managed and how well the new owners maintain the site in the future. It does mean that some of the potential enhancements to this site may be delayed a bit until we know more about their long term plans.
Visitors to the UK Model Shops website at ukmodelshops.co.uk will already have seen a site banner announcing the closure of the directory.
This is a big loss to the modelling community. It was an invaluable resource for modellers and losing it leaves a big hole. For shows and events, our own event guide continues to be available and hopefully will fill that particular gap as much as possible. But there was a lot of stuff on UK Model Shops that we've never covered, such as the layout directory, club listings and detailed shop information.
I've already had a couple of people contact me to ask if we can add those resources here (in fact, that was how I first heard about the site closing!). How much of that is practical depends a lot on two things: firstly, the amount of work involved, and secondly, the level of demand for it. With that in mind, here's a brief initial overview of what could be on the roadmap:
Detailed shop information
We already have a shop directory, and if you're an official stockist of any of the main brands then you should already be in it. But it's fairly limited at the moment to just names and locations. It would be nice to add the ability for shop owners to update their own listings with more detailed information. So this is something I'll look into, although it may not be the highest priority.
Club directory
This is definitely something I'll be working on. I've been a club member in the past, the only reason I'm not now is that there isn't one conveniently close to me. With our day to day lives increasingly moving online (including websites like this one), a model railway club is still the best way to get involved in the hobby at a social level as well as offering the opportunity for those with limited space or finances at home to do some hands-on modelling and layout operation.
Fortunately, we've already got the basics of a club directory, since the majority of events are run by clubs so the event directory already contains a lot of the necessary underlying data. So this is likely to be a realistic, short-term project.
Exhibition layout and trader database
Comments on RMweb and social media suggest that this would be a valuable resource. But if it's going to be done, it has to be done properly and be comprehensive. There's no point advertising a directory that's just half a dozen layouts that everyone already knows about and a bunch of traders that do all the shows anyway. I'll give it some thought. But unless I get a clear indication of demand, as well as reasonable certainty that I can keep it up to date, this is probably a lower priority.
Small suppliers database
This is something I would absolutely love to do. It was, for me, one of the most useful things on the UK Model Shops website. But, again, it's something that needs to be reasonably comprehensive right from the start to be useful.
For the supplier database in particular, I would love to hear from any suppliers who had their business listed at UK Model Shops. To make it work, I need to know what you want from it as much as what I want from it. So get in touch, and we can take it from there.
But the same also applies to anyone else who used UK Model Shops as a way to advertise their events, shops, layouts or whatever. If you've got suggestions on how I can improve the site to better meet your needs, then please get in touch.
If you want to get in touch, the simplest way is by email to the site's regular contact address: [email protected]. But I'm also on RMweb as MarkSG, where you can drop me a PM. Or, if you're on Facebook, this website has a page at facebook.com/RailwayModelsUK where you can contact us by Messenger. Or use the comments section below to let me know your thoughts.