The model shop I have been using for the last 10 years has gone directly to my client to ask for more money. Needless to say, I will not be using them anymore. Does anyone have any shops in the greater Chicagoland area they would suggest/recommend? I have a project that will be hot in January and I would like to get a jump on finding a new place.
Do you really need one in Chicago? Seems models can be made anywhere in the country nowadays, with these fancy CAD systems and hi tech FTP sites 
If you’re willing to look elsewhere, I’d recommend Scott Models in Cincinnati, or RPM in Austin, TX. Two of the best I’ve ever seen!
Can you Private Message me the name of the shop?
Herbst Lazar Bell Inc
(312) 454-1116
345 North Canal St
Chicago, IL 60606
FYI: I think HLB sends all their modeling stuff to their facility in California…I could be mistaken…
If you’re not held to the Chi-town locale:
http://www.aerosportmodeling.com/
In Ohio, but these guys honestly put everyone else I’ve used to shame…they’ve never let me down…
No they have a shop in the Chicago office. They do have offices in Ma and CA but these sites don’t have protyping facilities.
look up Schmidt Protypes in Menominie Wisconsin. The inhouse shop I used to work for in the Pacific NW used to use them when they were in a crunch
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I like local shops because normally I need an estimate for a proposal long before cutting metal or even before any concepts have been developed. I have found those types of meetings are best held in person.
fueledbycoffee - It was my AE who called the client. When I complained to the owner, he apologized and hopefully chewed out the AE. The client that was called happened to be my most important and I can’t jeopordize that relationship by using that shop again. But, I don’t want to badmouth the whole shop because of one stupid SOB. If the owner fires the AE, I would consider using them again.
Does anyone know if Wielgus is still around? They were on Ohio, and if I recall correctly, they were a little bit pricey.
Fair enough.
As far as Wielgus goes…
Wielgus
Greg - gblanken at wielgus.com
320 W Ohio, Chicago (River North)
312.943.1950
http://www.wielgus.com
They are were pricier than the other we use, but I have heard their work is top notch. Also, they might have moved to the West Loop, around Fulton & Ashland, so that address might be out of date.
They used to be one of the best!