What have the department stores done to all the models?

I think Walmart needs to be kicked in the butt because they are such a huge chain they can afford to put out a better selection than what they do.

And shame on Toys R Us for the same reason.

I miss walking into that place a seeing 2 whole rows of models and a great selection of model rocketry too.

Times are changin.

Mike

I dont know if this has been said before but i remember as in the 60's all the department stores carried models in their toy departments . There wasnt that many model manufactureres back then so it was  just a couple of shelves . I'm refering to Sears , Penny's , Mont Gomery Wards , May Co. ,etc . Well a few of them are not in business any more . I used to go to Sears and pick up 1/32 Hasegawa kits and thought nothing of it .For a while back in the 70's Kmart was carrying Tamiya kits . Walmart up here has 6 to 8 kits on a shelf and they are usually Revells rebox of Monogram kits . As a kid we had plenty of Ma n Pa hobby shops around in So. Cal., man did i love them places . A lot of the the excitement of the hobby for me as a kid in the 50's was going to the hobby shop with my dad ( he was a model railroader ) and drooling over the selection of kits . Shelves stacked with models !!! It was paradise !!!

Yep! Especially now that i am trying to build up a bit of a stash, i'm still in amazement that finding kits aren't as easy as it used to. I remember actually going into Toys R Us too to buy my very first kit at age 7 (a small snaptite kit of an F15) and i vividly remember a whole aisle that was solely models. Same with some of the other big chains- Kaybee, Playco, and a few others that escape me for the moment. But now, outside of the internet and hobby shops, i can't seem to find em! Could it be that generally speaking, the craft is dying out with really young generation? I sure hope not.......

Thanks for the review! Sounds good enough to visit next time I'm past that way, 78 is such a great highway - much less cars than other highways near by. I'm in the same boat with a LHS 1/2 block from where I work, I stop by to pick up paints, glues, plastic rods, a magazine or two, and a occassional kit, but in general their kit prices are just too high compared to the Internet.

waikong -

Sorry - I forgot to give you an update on Maplewood Hobby.  I've been there twice already.  The kit selection overall is pretty good - while the shop itself isn't really big, they do have a pretty good supply of kits of all types.  Cars are the most numerous overall and have their own side of an aisle.  The other side is armor, then aircraft.  Ships are inside the door to the right.  The owner mentioned that he needs to restock after the Christmas rush, but I don't know if that was true or if he was just trying to talk me into coming back again.  The paint selection is very good - they have Testors MM, MM2 and Acrylic, as well as Polly-S and Humbrol, and other Testors (for cars, I guess) and maybe one or two other brands I didn't recognize and can't remember.

They don't display their own builds, although a small workbench in the back by the armor section has either builds or repairs going on.  They have a sizeable figures section and a large table where, last time I visited, they were coming to grips with a couple of new games involving micro-sized ships and small figurines.  They have at least 3 racks of books (the Osprey rack is the best stocked) and the aisle side across from the paints is stocked with supplies for all sorts of kits, not just plastic.  They seemed to be low on several supply items but said they were getting a shipment in soon.

As far as their kit selection is concerned, I was actually trying to avoid getting any kits at the time, seeing as my stash is so big and has waited (patiently) so long to be built.  As I mentioned they have a lit of car kits, and the armor section seemed well-stocked - but I'm not looking to do any armor yet, so I didn't focus on it.  I'm planning on starting with aircraft, and their selection didn't seem to be all that broad.  They had a number of 1/48 kits from Classic Airframes and Hasegawa and Tamiya, but I'm a non-jet builder and they had a lot of jets, but besides that they had a lot of the same aircraft, albeit in different scales and from different companies.  So from that point of view, the variety was not that broad.  If you want an Fw-190 or am Me-109, or maybe an F4U - they will have it.  For my part, I'll go back every so often if I need paint (it's 10 minutes from work and very easy to get to off of Route 78), and to see what kits they've added.  But I'll keep my eyes open online and at other shops as well.

I guess I have a taste for non-standard aircraft, but I'm already tired of seeing all the endless variations on the same aircraft - Fw190, F4U, Me109 - and that seems to be what you see on LHS shelves more often than not.  Can't blame them for making available what is popular, or possibly stocking what is available to them from the supplier - and it's impossible unless you're a warehouse to stock enough to make everyone happy.  But seeing as it's the closest LHS I'll keep going back now and then for supplies and maybe the occasional kit - even if their prices may not be the best (and I don't know since it's the only one around so I can't compare with anyone else yet) it'd be a shame to see one more LHS bite the dust.

Next up, I'll see if I can find my way to Hi-Way Hobby in Ramsey.  Sounds like an excellent shop!

Here inside the DC Beltway, the last dedicated hobby shop closed about 4-5 years ago.  Now there are others a reasonable drive away--like Grandad's *just outside* the Beltway--but I, like many others here are sans car, and take subways/buses to work... Most of the still open LHSs are not transit accessible (unless I missed one?) and I do all my shopping online now. 

Clearly this is not a as dire a situation as some are in, just the situation here in the nation's capital.

FlyNavy1958 

I heard that Michaels was going to discontinue carrying models. Toys are Us stopped years ago along with Kay B and others.

When I got back into the hobby a little over a year ago, I was shocked because I couldn't find anyone carrying models anymore.

I really had to do some searching and was dissapointed to find out the only real choices I had for my area was online.

 

Kolschey wrote:

PaPa-John wrote:  berny13 wrote: I have been thinking about the same thing for many years. Even Michaels here has stopped carrying model kits. I went there yesterday and they have only a few car kits. I asked what happened to their big selection and was told they would no longer carry model kits. It is lucky we have a Hobby Lobby in town or there would be no place where I would be able to get modeling supplies except for mail order or to travel 100+ miles to another hobby shop. There is a Michaels in my home town of Regina, Sk.  This store has a half decent selection of models.  Also every two week their flyers have two coupons for 40% off any item in the store, as long as it not already on sale.  One coupon per person per day.  I am new to modeling and the other day snagged a 69 Dodge Super Bee 2n1 with the coupon I had.  Brought the price down to a decent Canadian $ cost. John Not bad that. I often make use of AC Moore coupons.  I do wish, in American dollars, that Michaels and AC Moore didn't have such markup on thier models. Kits that I've seen at other retailers at  under $10, I see at AC Moore/Michaels at $12-14.   Just my 2 cents.

Same problem up here with the markup.  With the coupons, the cost in Canadian $ is approx. $13.00 including taxes.

 John

PaPa-John wrote:

berny13 wrote: I have been thinking about the same thing for many years. Even Michaels here has stopped carrying model kits. I went there yesterday and they have only a few car kits. I asked what happened to their big selection and was told they would no longer carry model kits. It is lucky we have a Hobby Lobby in town or there would be no place where I would be able to get modeling supplies except for mail order or to travel 100+ miles to another hobby shop. There is a Michaels in my home town of Regina, Sk.  This store has a half decent selection of models.  Also every two week their flyers have two coupons for 40% off any item in the store, as long as it not already on sale.  One coupon per person per day.  I am new to modeling and the other day snagged a 69 Dodge Super Bee 2n1 with the coupon I had.  Brought the price down to a decent Canadian $ cost. John

Not bad that. I often make use of AC Moore coupons.

 I do wish, in American dollars, that Michaels and AC Moore didn't have such markup on thier models.

Kits that I've seen at other retailers at  under $10, I see at AC Moore/Michaels at $12-14.

 

Just my 2 cents. 

berny13 wrote:

I have been thinking about the same thing for many years. Even Michaels here has stopped carrying model kits. I went there yesterday and they have only a few car kits. I asked what happened to their big selection and was told they would no longer carry model kits. It is lucky we have a Hobby Lobby in town or there would be no place where I would be able to get modeling supplies except for mail order or to travel 100+ miles to another hobby shop.

There is a Michaels in my home town of Regina, Sk.  This store has a half decent selection of models.  Also every two week their flyers have two coupons for 40% off any item in the store, as long as it not already on sale.  One coupon per person per day.  I am new to modeling and the other day snagged a 69 Dodge Super Bee 2n1 with the coupon I had.  Brought the price down to a decent Canadian $ cost.

John

One thing I notice that has not been address here is the fact that with the closing down of LHS's and the decline of department stores carrying models and supplies the number of online hobby shops has actually increased and so has the majority inventory of models and supplies. It seems to me that online retailers have pick up the slack. While I dont agree with outragous shipping costs associated with these online hobby stores there is more access to getting supplies that some LHS's did not or would not carry. This is actually a BOON to us modelers that we have access to online hobby retailers and their access to products we couldnt get at LHS's. I still like the LHS's but when you have to have it and your LHS cant get it, buying it online works just as good.

Air Master

I like your perspective McFingers. Its a healthy and positive spin on the current situation. And accurate.

One way of getting others involved is to set up a display at your local library in one of there display cases. A few models, some tools, paint and a phone number for information.

I have started a little group this way and who knows how far it will go.

Mike

 

 

ok well oddjob007, Doom Grr, and I sit at lunch talking about models models models and we feel like such nerds cos no one else in our school builds models...

 

Shellback wrote:

I'm not positive , but there does seem to be a good ratio of young modelers on these forums , so maybe this hobby does have more of a future than we realize .

Good news: My six-year old son has already built his first model with my help (a 1/72nd Hasegawa F-51), and he keeps bugging me to go the LHS so he can get another model to build; he wants to build either a 747, like his Grandpa flies, or an A-10. So there's at least one up-and-coming model maker for the future!

LIKE MEEE!!!!

hmm well found a new hobby shop about 10 mins from here... have yet to go there, cos of my mom's eye case

I'm not positive , but there does seem to be a good ratio of young modelers on these forums , so maybe this hobby does have more of a future than we realize .

I have been really surprised when reading this thread... My perspective and outlook is completely different.

Over here in England, I remember there being a model shop on just about every street corner (at least thats how I remember it) and toy shops all stocked a healthy amount of models too. I think they began to die out soon after space invaders showed up - they either closed up or evolved, usually specializing in model railways, radio control cars, or selling more toys, or branching out into sporting goods.
By the time I was 17-18-19, I was having to drive miles to pick up a 1/72 military vehicle, and once Esci was no longer on the shelves, that was pretty much it for me. It was either swap to more expensive larger scale models or quit - so I quit.

All I can say is, thank god for the cold war! And the internet.

It looks to me like while we were all playing play stations, those guys on the other side of the curtain kept the tradition alive, especially in small scale. When I see the stuff being made in Eastern Europe by short run, I just can't believe it, my dreams have come true!!!

And then there is the internet... It is the real saviour of the hobby. I can actually order a model direct from Poland -- how amazing is that? And to think I used to get the hump having to drive to the next town.

And I can't recal people standing around talking in a model shop since about 1979... but here we are, having a chat, from the comfort of our own homes, and we are spread all over the world.

So in many ways, the situation has never been so healthy. Technology has advance, production costs are actually down... I mean, when it comes to injection moulding, the introduction of modern computers has got to have made things quicker and less labour intensive. We may not get the models for any less, but if it means there is more profit in models, then there will be more available, and they have to sell less.

It's not my main business, but the wife and I opened an internet shop a few months back.. just becase I can. More and more people are shopping online, and if you have the space for stock, it's easy to do. You can run it in your spare time from home, it doesn't have to be a full time job (although your website is open 24hrs a day!). Meanwhile, square footage, especially on the high street is just stupid money... When I look around now, all I'm seeing is cafes, wine bars and boutiques... even estate agents and travel agents are shutting up shop and going online. It's just the way of the world. If you don't have products that customers have to try on or taste, then there is no need to have a physical presense in the real world.

So if hobby shops are closing down in America, I wouldn't see it as a symptom of the decline of the hobby, I'd just see it as the decline of the highstreet store and the rise of the internet shop.

However, getting young people involved in the hobby so that it will continue, does seem to be a problem.

Have you been in a Sears store lately?  Try finding a nice pair of pants in that place. 

I'm not familiar with the show or the shop you are speaking of, but do you attend the IPMS/NJ show in Wayne NJ around April? Its a good show with lots of vendors, I've been going for the last 3 years. There's some members of that chapter on the forum too.

Let me know how the Maplewood store turns out, next time I around Paramus shopping maybe I'll take the whole family on a detour.

Thanks for the tips!  Maplewood is about 20 minutes away from home, and even closer  to work.  As soon as I get myself set up with a workspace, I'm there!

MicroMark - I'm not sure about them any more.  I've gone to work past their building every day for the past 4 years.  For at least 2 years now the big sign on the front of the building has been gone, and their website looks like they only do mail order now.  It was a sweet place to visit - it's always nice to check out the tools you want first-hand before purchasing, and they always had some decent bargain bins as well.

Avenel Hobbies - I remember that name from back when I still subscribed to FSM, Scale Modeler and Military Modeler.  Never went there, though - I was never sure back then just where Colonia was, and at the time there were a few shops very close by, so I didn't have to travel far to get what I needed.  Times have changed, though - and I now know the area to boot! 

 One question - I don't remember how I found out about it, but I do remember going to a model show a couple of times down in central Jersey. This would probably be back in the mid to late 1980s, and the show was in some town off of the NJ Turnpike (Cranbury area, I think?).  It was sponsored by a model shop in the area, I believe.  All I remember about it was that there were a few tables stacked high with what were then hard-to-find kits (such as the old MPC 3-in-1 kits) at what seemed to be reasonable prices.  Like a garage sale of older stuff the shop couldn't keep on their shelves because of space issues.  I doubt either the shop or the show (if that's what it was) are still around, but does anyone have any idea what it is I'm referring to?  Sorry I'm so vague, but the only thing worse than my eyesight is my memory.

I believe you are right about Skybooks, definitely into the late 80's or early 90's. Polks didn't make it into the 90's though I'm pretty sure. 

I'm in Staten Island, but I had also worked  in Summit, NJ. Not too far from Basking Ridge. Unfortunatley not too many around here, only 1 store in all of Staten Island. There's Avenel Hobbies in Colonia - near Linden, that Wingnut introduced to me, but haven't had a chance to drop by yet.

For tools, micromark is in the Chatham area.  A friend of mine use to pick up stuff for me there once in a while.

Have you been to this shop in maplewood?  http://www.maplewoodhobby.com/ 

When I was stationed at Ft. Dix, I used to visit a shop called Air Hobby right on Rte 38, on the north side of the road across from Miller Ford in a small plaza. They had a lot of vintage kits, but mainly aircraft, a good number of cars and some armor and ships.

It was in between Mount Holly and Lumberton. The last time I stopped by was December 2002, so I know it was opened then. Not sure about today. There was also a shop up by Princeton, but I don't remember what it was called.

When I first arrived in NJ in 1999, Allied Hobbies at Burlington Mall, Cherry Hill Mall, Freehold Mall, and Deptford Valley Mall had decent selections, but by the time I left in 2001 the stores started leaning heavily towards RC cars, RC planes and trains. This was good for grabbing deals but bad in the long run as the selection was not replaced.

waikong, kp80 -

 Thanks for the fond memories!  I live in the Morristown, NJ area and used to plan occasional trips into NYC around the need to stop at both Polk's and Skybooks.  Anything else could be skipped - but those two stops were mandatory!  But I could swear that both shops must have lasted at least until the late 80's or early 90's - I dragged my wife along on these 'walking tours' of NYC, and we got married in 1987, so I know that both paradises must still have been there until 1987 or 88.  I remember being in such a state of awe at Polk's that I literally didn't know what to do - there was too much to see!  I still have a 1/450 Akagi kit in my stash - I think it might be the only kit I actually purchased at Polk's - once there I was always stymied on how to carry a bunch of large model kits around Manhattan the rest of the day, so I would usually rationalize that I'd either a) come up with a  better plan next time or b) be able to get what I wanted somewhere closer to home.

waikong - Ramsey is a bit too far north for me to reach easily, too.  Whereabouts are you located?  I only know of one hobby shop in my general area that sells kits (I just got back into building after close to 15 years, so my knowledge of what shops are where isn't very up-to-date).  But I'm pretty sure F&M Hobbies is still in business on Rt. 10 West, in Denville.  Memory tells me that it was a pretty well-stocked shop as far as plastic models and supplies was concerned.  I need to get there soon - I'm sure after 15 years most of my paints have dried up.  And while I'm there, might as well pick up a kit or two.....   What shops are in your area?  I'd love to spend a Saturday afternoon gazing longingly at stacks of model kits.  Just like the good old days...

Thanks for the info, Its a bit more north than I expected. I'll check it out next time I'm in that area.

Skybooks was in the 50's, east side, near Park Ave I believe. They specialized in books regarding aircraft and military stuff in general. Like Polks, its no longer around, but I think they lasted until the mid 80's.

Jan is pretty good, I use to visit them more often when they were in the 70's and when I worked in midtown NYC. They do have nice display case full of airplanes. There's another shop called the "Red Caboose" on 23 W45th street. Its in the basement, looks like a train hobby only shop until you get downstairs. Its split half/half models & trains. They also have books & supplies. Be warned though, its NOT very orgainzed there and needs a through cleaning, but you can find some good stuff there. The website is www.theredcaboose.com

There are a few others with smaller inventory, as they specialize more in Gundams, SciFi, or Comic related models. They do have supplies though. Here's two that I know are still in around:

www.villagecomics.com 110 West 3rd st 

www.imageanime.com at 103 West 30th Street

 

 

Waikong,

It's Hi-Way Hobby House in Ramsey, NJ.  They have a web site, www.hiwayhobby.com.  Back in the 70's, they were located in this little shack along Route 17, then it got knocked down and a larger building was put on the site, and they expanded into the new building.  I try to spend an hour so there once a month just to scout around, I never get tired of looking.

Talking about Polk's, my father used to take us into NYC every Christmas, and one year he said he had a special stop for us to make - Polk's.  I was about 14 and never knew it was there.  I used to be in awe walking around in there, there was so much to look at.  It was one-of-a-kind!  I don't remember Skybooks, was it close to Polk's?  The only hobby shop I know of in NYC right now is Jan's on the Upper East side (check out the ad in FSM).  Great shop, a good selection of kits, supplies, and a very helpful and knowledgable owner.  He has a great display of his own work right in the shop -- very talented guy.

 

kp80, what store in Northern NJ are you talking about, i would love to take a look. I know there's one in Springfield, but never been there.

 Polks! Talk about a trip down memory lane, I loved that store. There was one whole floor for plastic and a nice display if I remember correctly. I would hit that and Skybooks at the same time.

In Canton Ohio there use to be a model shop called Modelers Haven.

I loved that place. Many plastic kits, RC, Contests. It was great.

They use to advertise in FSM. The nicest around.

Of course its gone now. And that was part of the reason I left the hobby.

We need the local Hobby Shops, for many reasons.

Support the ones that are left, all of them, as often as you can.

 

 

There is a big hobby shop in northern NJ that I go to, but its about 20 miles from my house.  I still go there a lot and buy my kits there.  I noticed they branched out into a wide array of hobbies, not just plastic models.  Trains, slot cars, rockets, fantasy genre (games, etc.), plus science kits, mineature horse collections, die cast, figures.  Wish there were more like it.  They're all very knowledgable and helpful on every aspect of the hobby.  They even have a display case of finished kits when you walk in .  I remember NYC had Polks' Hobby Shop on 5th Avenue until '85.  Five floors of hobby heaven!  We have a small LHS in my town, and he carries some kits, etc., but mainly specializes in RC.  I noticed a lot of "hobby shops" are now basically all RC.

I've got one of the old Lindberg XB-70s sitting in my stash in my basement. Check out the other thread regarding how your stash got so big and see if you can spot it.