Welcome to Adventure in Miniatures information page.  I will try to give you helpful information about the world of miniatures and encourage your comments and contributions. 

My interest in miniatures goes back about 25 years.  Quite by accident, I stumbled into a small store on a side street and by the time I left the store I was hooked on miniatures.  I couldn’t wait to begin a project.  After I decided the type of miniature project I wanted to create, I found it difficult to find shops and sources for the products I was seeking.  I found most things while just out shopping. Tucked away in various shopping centers would be a store that sold miniatures.  Sometimes they would have what I was looking for in stock but often they would not.  It is important to realize that retailers (and websites) can not carry everything. 

Some miniatures are mass produced in factories.  Many are not.  Hand made items are literally hand made.  That means that these artisans create and assemble these products, one at a time, and sometimes they are back ordered until this person (or persons) can make more.  There are companies that employ these artisans to assemble their products from kits.  They are paid by how many they complete and how well they are done. A lot of miniature products are made in other countries: Europe and Asia are examples.  That means that reordering takes longer. It also means if a product is discontinued, you don’t know until you try to order it.  So, the products are either made here in factories, by artisans or imported.  Why is any of this important to you, the customer?  If you are creating a project with a time deadline, you want to plan ahead.  Not a bad idea to have a second choice in mind either, just in case.  I hope you always find what you are seeking, and you don’t run into back ordered or discontinued products, but being forewarned might take the edge off your frustration if it happens.