missing hobby shops

Sometimes you get lucky and do have both. It all depends if the area where you live has the hobbyist base to support those shops in spite of internet competition. When the owners make it a place for us to go in and enjoy all the banter and BS, instead of mere hit and run shopping. I enjoy the forums here very much for the serious, silly, and mundane. But fortuantely there are also a few LHS within a short drive where I can get my fix of styrene addiction catered to. And of course the monthly meetings of AA/NA... I mean AMPS/IPMS... Yes there a few 'holes in the wall' here from shops that are now history. But the few survive.

I still got a decent one 5 minutes from my house,but you are right,Internet prices are cheaper but you will always remember those days of sitting in the car and opening that package before you pulled off.

I dont mind paying a bit more for the experience of being in a good hobby shop.

stikpusher

I dont mind paying a bit more for the experience of being in a good hobby shop.

I agree. I haven't bought many kits (yet) but I will ALWAYS look first to the LHS.

Much to my surprise and displeasure,my local Hobby Town USA vanished.I was in there just a few weeks before and the guy I usually BS'd with never mentioned any problems.

It's life.  For years I used to go to a small hobby store, but went when the owners retired (to be honest, it tried to have a bit of everything, which meant, a tiny amount of things, so, whilst it inspired interest in new hobbies, it never had enough). 

Another one I went to is being turned into apartments (but they moved nearby), and another went online when the owner sold up and went to live in the country in semi-retirement.  The saddest was a huge one which closed after, oh, 50 years,  because the idiots who ran the area began to charge around $8/hour to park, killing off the customers.  They said it was to protect the enviroment, and we should go by bus not auto, and it wasn't to raise money.  Well, they have gotten half their wish - we don't drive there anymore!  Sorry, so upsetting, knowing how a large, popular LHS was killed by idiots.

Still, on a brighter note, I still have within a 30 minute drive two large general hobby stores, and four LHS, of which one specializes in plastic, one in railroads, and two in r/c (one them does no plastic, but has a good range of paint, glues, etc).  So, not too bad!

  I do have a LHS 12 miles away,  but they cater mainly to the RC crowd.  That is an interesting group of guys, just not my thing.  ( I crash and burn enough with static plastic ).  For those of you who have the best of both worlds,  I sincerely hope you never loose it.

I'm pretty lucky in that I have a few LHS's here in Edmonton so I have a fairly decent selection. The one I go to the most actually just expanded (doubled in size almost) so I don't think they're going anywhere anytime soon.

I've seen hobbystores in malls before, not that unusual actually,.

We have two good ones left in the Seattle area and a smattering of Hobby Towns. One decent one closed earlier this year. I don't ALWAYS buy local but try to drop by once a month and at least buy supplies if not a kit. Not only is it great to have someone open when you need that one paint TODAY, but it's also nice if you have a shop where people know you and keep an eye out for you; I've had things show up ordered specifically with me in mind  because the owner knows I have a thing for THAT plane or THESE markings. Doesn't bug me the same way similar services from websites (like Amazon) do.

gunner_chris

I think they were a chain that was in a mall. They are obviously long gone. Kinda weird now to think of a hobby shop in a mall.

When I was a kid, a hobby shop opened up for a time in the mall near my house. It was great. My mom would go shopping, and I'd go to the hobby shop. The owner was a young guy (I was like 10, so not too great at placing ages, but there was a time where he kept an emergency bag since his was was 9 months along...so probably in his 30s). 

Then one day it up and closed. And a watch repair place opened there. And then the mall completely imploded. It's a Wal-Mart now...

There was also one in a mall in Phoenix. I remember it being pretty dense with stuff - not just models (and a great selection of them), but die cast, RC, gaming, kites, those crazy expensive horses that the girls like so much...

I try to buy local but its 45 niles to the hobby shop and thats not next door but i still try to buy there..

That definitely stretches the term "local!"

Used to be a place I went that was a barbershop in front, hobby shop in back... The barber/owner was an avid kit modeler who combined both his chosen careers in one place..

Unfortuneately, when he retired, both places disappeared..

Just got back from Colpar Hobbies.  There are having a sale this weekend, but there is a show in Loveland Saturday, so I had to go shopping today.  Not too surprisingly there were several guys there from the local clubs.  I spent a pretty decent chunk of change there, among the items was the Renwall/ Revell  "Atomic Cannon".   I got it just because I never had that beast growing up.  I might actually build someday, I have no idea where I'm going to put it.

I hope we never lose Colpar.  I've been going there since the mid-seventies, when I moved to Denver.  We've had a lot of shop close during that time to today.  Rather sad.  I even worked part time in one of them.  It's been gone since the early eighties.  There used to be a real nice place in Greely that I would drop in on when my job took me up there, which was quite often come to think of it.  It changed owners a few times, then moved and then closed.  Too bad.  Use to be able to find some rare stuff there in the stacks.

Seeing friends there today gives the hobby shop experience something special.  Just another fun aspect of the hobby.  Of course I'll see several of those guys tomorrow and also see if the dealers will have anything I "need".  There will probably be one of those atomic cannons there for 10 bucks.

Doug

I like to visit local shops when I travel on business or personal trips.  It beats sitting on the bed watching the TV in the hotel room.   I don't mind dropping extra dollars to buy a kit or stuff.  Nothing beats the experience shopping at those hobby shops...

I will be visiting Salt Lake City and Orlando... anybody know good shops?  LOL