New stuff at the Hobby Lobby

MJames70

Sprue-ce Goose

I live in Northern Illinois and the few hobby shops still open ( two closed in the last year ) vary in stock.

Some shops are beginning to cut back on new stock but have started buying old model kit collections

That may or may not be good depending on how old the kits may be and the price asked.

That's usually a sign the end is nigh, when they are taking in and trying to sell a lot of old stuff. It means people aren't buying much at all locally, and are only looking to 'garbage pick'. So the shops buy used low and try to sell old stuff to get something turning over. 

It happened locally in the recent store closing. They did not have enough incoming to get any new stuff. They had some used stuff people fought over tooth and nail, though. It was all that was selling. This is classic hobby shop swirling the drain - You need new things to attract customers, but you can't sell anything you have in stock. So you can't get anything new;  no money coming in. So the old stuff just gets older, and they can't get anything new, so the old stuff gets older....etc. 

I've never seen a dealer sell an AURORA kit.

I recently noticed that our local hl is also carrying a lot more modeling supplies such as sanding items, cements, cutters, etc., and all in popular brand names.

Sprue-ce Goose

I live in Northern Illinois and the few hobby shops still open ( two closed in the last year ) vary in stock.

Some shops are beginning to cut back on new stock but have started buying old model kit collections

That may or may not be good depending on how old the kits may be and the price asked.

That's usually a sign the end is nigh, when they are taking in and trying to sell a lot of old stuff. It means people aren't buying much at all locally, and are only looking to 'garbage pick'. So the shops buy used low and try to sell old stuff to get something turning over. 

It happened locally in the recent store closing. They did not have enough incoming to get any new stuff. They had some used stuff people fought over tooth and nail, though. It was all that was selling. This is classic hobby shop swirling the drain - You need new things to attract customers, but you can't sell anything you have in stock. So you can't get anything new;  no money coming in. So the old stuff just gets older, and they can't get anything new, so the old stuff gets older....etc. 

jtilley

............... Unless you live in a big city, you have to reconcile yourself to getting stuff by mail. (I wonder if even the folks who live in New York and Los Angeles can drive to their hobby shops in confidence that they'll find what they're looking for.)

I live in Northern Illinois and the few hobby shops still open ( two closed in the last year ) vary in stock.

Some shops are beginning to cut back on new stock but have started buying old model kit collections

That may or may not be good depending on how old the kits may be and the price asked.

As for PE , decals or any paint finish weathering products..................... not available locally.....

 except for Vallejo AFV US Army Olive Drab  at Hobby Lobby and maybe one of the Hobby Town stores.

Even finding some items online can be difficult.

I suspect some online retail stores now only buy newly introduced product but don't restock .

That seems to be a problem with Wal-Marts in general. When the company applied for a zoning permit to build a second one here in the teeming metropolis of Greenville, North Carolina, a lot of citizens from the neighborhood stormed the zoning commission's meetings in protest. (The store got built anyway.)

This thread points up an unfortunate fact about model building in the early (well, not so early any more) twenty-first century. Unless you live in a big city, you have to reconcile yourself to getting stuff by mail. (I wonder if even the folks who live in New York and Los Angeles can drive to their hobby shops in confidence that they'll find what they're looking for.)

The other side of the coin is the vast amount of stuff that's available online. I worked in a hobby shop back in the late seventies. The idea of one such shop carrying the full lines of Vallejo, Testor's, PolyScale, and Floquil paint would have been out of the question. And can you imagine what it would take for a local hobby shop to stock the full line of Eduard products - and Tom's Modelworks, and White Ensign, and Gold Medal....

I'm afraid we might as well reconcile ourselves to the situation and make the best of it.

It doesn't surprise me at the graffiti work that goes on at Walmart. Last month we went to a Walmart to see if the wife could find a particular item while I stayed in the car.

Within 45 minutes, I had two different dudes, at different times telling me the saddest life story of why they needed $10 (just short of being abducted by aliens or being Titanic survivors ).

Then a woman pulls up to the front  of the store with a newer very nice looking SUV, parked , got out and began harassing customers for cash! She stood out there for at lest 20 minutes. I mean harassing as blocking your path while she got up close to ask for money.

We are kind of limited on LHS here in SW Idaho as well.  We have MULTIPLE Walmart's that stock very limited kits.  There is currently only one HL; however, they are building another one that is set to open up next month.  We do have a couple of HTUSA locations, one has a decent stock and the other is extremely limited for the plastic model market, they do stock a ton of RC stuff.  We used to have a locally owned hobby store that stocked all kinds of kits, but the larger, corporate stores ran them out of town.

As for the "up-and-coming" graffiti artists at Walmart, they seem to be nationwide.  I guess that our local store has been "lucky" in the sense that they have left the rattle cans in the model section alone, or maybe they just haven't found them yet.

Cadet Chuck

Hobby Lobby is no longer a viable source for serious modelers.

We have two "super" big Walmarts in this little town, and neither of them carries kits or supplies.  If I can't find what I want at the small local Hobby Town, I have to buy it on-line from Squadron or Sprue Bros.

Hobby Lobby is no longer a viable source for serious modelers.

We have two "super" big Walmarts in this little town, and neither of them carries kits or supplies.  If I can't find what I want at the small local Hobby Town, I have to buy it on-line from Squadron or Sprue Bros.

Sounds familiar

Just walked past the model section of Walmart yesterday. I don't see them keeping it much longer since some jerk sprayed all the kits/shelving/paints with silver paint from the paint rack.

mitsdude

All spray paints at my HL are kept in locked cabinets.

All spray paints at my HL are kept in locked cabinets.

Both stores in my area keep the cement and primer out with the MM and Testors paints.

mitsdude

No Tamiya glue in my store. Is it with the Testors glues?

The reason I ask is at my store the Tamiya spray primer is kept in the air brush cabinet not with the Testors spray cans.

I found the Tamiya glue hidden behind some other items in the same area the Testors glue was displayed; top of a shelf about waist high. The stores in my area don't seem to keep Tamiya primer in the same locations. Apparently, managers don't follow a strict rule on how they display such items.

No Tamiya glue in my store. Is it with the Testors glues?

The reason I ask is at my store the Tamiya spray primer is kept in the air brush cabinet not with the Testors spray cans.

Just purchased some Tamiya glue but it is kinda hard to find.

Not every store in Northern Illinois keeps it's shelves fully stocked

Thanks for the info!

Seems more than a little ironic that while the paint/tools/supplies/airbrushes selection is better than ever there, that the actual available model selection has deteriorated so much the last couple of years.

Ive seen the Tamiya primer for about 4-5 months. Didn't known about the glue.

I've already bought from them all the model tools they carry. Paint has been  "as needed" as opposed to stock up for use "someday".

Keep an eye out as they occasionally mark down items that I assume are not selling well. Usually about 50-75 % off.

I sent them an email too a VERY long time back about carrying certain things and never got a response.

Some time ago, I sent them an email requestin gHobby Lobby to carry Tamiya paints. They responded and will look into it. Still waiting and I'm not holding my breath. LOL!

I'd love to see HL expand their paint collection more not only to a handful of Vallejo and Testors Model Master enamels and acrylics. They do have a full line of the Testors square bottles though.

They carried for a short time the Flex a File Touch N Flow kit at a great price with the 40% coupon but they are even cutting back on supplies and tools. I have seen the Tamiya cement and primers for a while on their shelves but their model selection continues to be pathetic.

I have been to HLs in 3 states and they all carry the same anemic selection so it's not just one store.

Tamiya Extra thin cement?

I'll need to look for it. 

Thanks for the head's up !

Glad to know they have extra thin. That's all I use anymore. Thanks for the info.

The last time I was there, they had the Tamiya weathering sets.