If you have walked into Critical Miniatures on George Street in South Mackay, you already know what Tony Shapland has built. Over 20 years, he has turned a passion for tabletop gaming into Mackay's largest stockist of miniature wargaming products - stocking everything from Warhammer 40K and Age of Sigmar to Flames of War, Infinity, Magic: The Gathering, paints, brushes, terrain, and a remarkable collection of rare and out-of-print miniatures still new in the box.
Tony does not just sell the stuff. He lives it. He also runs Extreme Computers next door for gaming PC builds, and recently added Aus RC Racing to the mix — selling RC cars and hosting races right in-store. The man runs a genuine hobby empire in Mackay.
The website, though, had some catching up to do.
From Storefront to eCommerce - The GoDaddy Chapter
Earlier this year, Beetle Digital built Critical Miniatures' first proper eCommerce presence. Before that the site was informational only - it showed the store and the community events, but you could not actually buy anything online. We changed that by building out a shop on GoDaddy's website builder.
It worked, but only to a point. The GoDaddy platform is fine for a simple business website. For a store with Tony's volume of stock, the complexity of product variants, and the kind of inventory management an active hobby retailer needs — it hit its ceiling fast. The builder was too limiting to do the job properly.
So we made the call to move to Shopify.
Why Shopify Is the Right Platform for Critical Miniatures
Shopify is built for serious eCommerce. It handles large product catalogues cleanly, gives Tony full control over listings and inventory without needing a developer every time something changes, and provides a checkout experience that customers actually trust. For a store that is actively listing rare and out-of-print stock — items that are genuinely limited and need to be managed carefully — having a reliable, flexible eCommerce platform is not a nice-to-have. It is essential.
The new Shopify store is in its final stages and coming very soon. It will feature Tony's full range — paints, models, terrain, accessories, and those hard-to-find miniatures that collectors hunt for — with postage Australia-wide and in-store pickup available.
A Local Legend, Going National
Critical Miniatures has always had a reach beyond Mackay. The rare stock alone attracts buyers from all over Australia. The new Shopify store gives that reach a proper platform — one that is fast, easy to use, and built to grow with the business.
Keep an eye on criticalminiatures.com.au for the Shopify launch.
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