Our Story

Thunderbolt Models was created in 2020 during the COVID pandemic by Dale Heys and Terry Rowe and initialy sold second hand model railway items on eBay.

Once the COVID pandemic ended we were joined in the venture by David Chamberalin and we began to attend various Model Railway Exhibitions and Swapmeets around the country with a stand selling mainly second hand model railway items with an expanded stock list including O Scale, OO Scale, HO Scale & N Scale Items.

During the next year our inventory grew and we were joined by Jim Seltzer as another partner with a view to eventually owning an actual Model Railway Shop in the West Midlands.

During 2022 an opportunity presented itself earlier than we expected when we came across a stand in Coventry Covered Market with a tenant who had decided to retire. This stand appeared 6 months before we had planned but the location and availability were an opportunity that was too good to pass up and so in November, 2022 we opened our new premises in the market.

Once we had the stand we were able to arrange various agencies with many of the hobbies main players e.g. Hornby, Rapido, Gaugemaster, Metcalfe, SkyTrex, etc.

Whilst we were in the Market we went from strength to strength however, in April 2025 and as a consequesnce of the re-building of the Lower Precinct area of Coventry City Centre causing the reduction of footfall in the MArket and the Lower Precinct generally the decision was taken to move the shop out of Coventry and to "The Heart Of The Shires Shopping Village" on Watling Street (the A5) between Kilsby and Weedon in Northamptonshire.
We believe this is a good move for us and we look forward to welcoming old and new customers to our new shop and to attending various exhibitions during the year and selling items via this online web site.