What aisle do you avoid at your LHS?

It's the sewing and beed stuff ...games.

My LHS has RC /boats..but never the warbird plains that im interested in ..there more RC cars and such ..my wife goes one way and i go the other ..in my work travels..ie ..big cities ill hunt down there hobby store for hard to find stuff like paints and other supplies..nearess city is vancouver...over 8 hours away  

I walk past the scale trains and Warhammer/Sci-fi stuff.  I liked trains as a kid,  but there’s no way I would have the time or space to devote to this hobby.  

Hi Bill ;

 Yeah , I did better when I called them from Antioch ( Bethel Island .) and special ordered something I would call in a week ." Yep , it's here " And send a bank money order to them and the post office would bring it up to my office in the Marina in about three days . It had to go to Sacramento first , of course !     T.B.

Tanker - Builder

Hi Bill ;

 I bet we passed by each other in the store .The only Hobby Shop I know of on Ocean Avenue is where Franciscan Hobbies was . It's too bad they closed . But they did have a long run .

 Now before I left the " Golden State " I bough much of my Hobby Supplies from the Former " Rara Avis " Trains . The new " Just Trains" re-opened in the same place in Concord and I  went there for scratch Building and Paint supplies .

 Joan was a sweetheart . And she and I worked together to get ships and boats on her Train layout in the store . I built the ships and she paid in materials and stuff . Great arrangement for both of us .

 

I never got to meet the Owner Bill, but I knew his son John pretty well. They limped along with their RC cars for awhile. There's a big market for that out in the Sunset, but I think most of those kids grew up and got real rice rockets.

It was the kind of hobby store that got a lot of customers, but not much sales.

Bill

Oho !

 Now that's something I cannot do . I have to look at it all . Armor for instance . I don't build a lot of it , But I use the kits for parts on small boat models like Coast Guard Cutters  and Salvage Vessel  models .

 I sometimes avoid the Consignment aisle because I know I will spend money I shouldn't .

Hi Bill ;

 I bet we passed by each other in the store .The only Hobby Shop I know of on Ocean Avenue is where Franciscan Hobbies was . It's too bad they closed . But they did have a long run .

 Now before I left the " Golden State " I bough much of my Hobby Supplies from the Former " Rara Avis " Trains . The new " Just Trains" re-opened in the same place in Concord and I  went there for scratch Building and Paint supplies .

 Joan was a sweetheart . And she and I worked together to get ships and boats on her Train layout in the store . I built the ships and she paid in materials and stuff . Great arrangement for both of us .

Jrock83

I was in my LHS yesterday, Brookhurst Hobbies in Garden Grove, and for the life of me I have no interest in armor of any kind. Please don't condemn me everyone who likes armor lol. I just can't get into armor for whatever reason, even though I've pondered it. What, if any, aisles do you guys avoid while looking at your LHS?

 

Im like most of the other guys here. Nothing that I try to avoid, but I pay no mind to a few areas of Brookhurst... The pre built stuff, the civvy cars, and the gamer stuff... the areas I make a beeline for? The clearance area and the new releases...

Of the two shops I frequent most, there's no real way to avoid subjects that don't really interest me.  One shop has magazines and publications on the side of one aisle and aircraft above them and on the other side of the aisle.  Next aisle over has cars, armour and some naval stuff on one side and die cast and a bit of sci fi on the other side of the aisle.  At the top of this aisle is the bargain bin.  Next aisle has building / diorama supplies on one side and the train / railroad stuff along the wall at the back of the store.  When you walk in, the front of the store contains the new releases and then left of that is games, puzzles and adult colouring stuff.  To the left of the aisles note above is the paint, decal and hardware (brushes, compressors, tools) section.  You can ignore what doesn't interest you but you can't get around without seeing it.

The other store is a giant open space, for all intents and purposes.  It's well laid out but you have to pass displays, tools, paints etc, to get to the models and then pass the cars, armour, naval and sci fi stuff to get to the airplanes at the back of the store.

Doesn't bother me though.  It's nice to have four big stores in the city that one can get their kits and supplies.

littletimmy

I "try" to avoid the checkout isle......  

Now THAT'S funny!!   

Tojo72

None,I like to browse the whole store,always might find something interesting.

 

I dont “avoid” a certain aisle of subject. You never gonna know what you’re gonna find that piques your interest.

patrick206

Sci Fi for me too, and I wish they wouldn't even carry the violent video games. 

One aisle I've been eyeing is armor, never built a tank but want to try one. Also cruised through the boats, been thinking of a sailboat with planking, a real art I think. Love the lines of the Blue Nose.

GM, what a bum deal about a two hour drive to HS. I feel very fortunate, with a really well stocked 4th generation HS in my town.

Patrick

 

There are several armor models that sort of bridge the gap between one genre and another. For instance, a car modeler could try a military HMMWV, Jeep or other wheeled vehicle like a Stryker. Or find an armor kit in the scale you usually build in, like if you build 1/72 or 1/48 scale aircraft, build a tank in scale with you usual kits. For a ship modeler, build an amphibious tank that is similar to a small boat with tracks.

When I visit my local hobby shop, I tend to not go down the car aisle, boat aisle and train aisle. Not that I am avoiding the aisle, but in the limited time I have in the shop, I'd like to spend it looking at any of the available new armor kits. If I go in there and there aren't any new kits or anything marked down on sale, I might check out aircraft or sci-fi model kits or the clearance area for any bargains.

littletimmy

I "try" to avoid the checkout isle...... ROFL

I avoid the RC aisle. I just can't imagine spending all that time and $ only to wreck the thing attempting to fly it.

Actually my LHS only has 1/2 an aisle devoted to plastic. The rest of the whole store is all RC, but it's handy if I immediately need a jar of paint or glue etc.

 

 

 

I've been trading with Colonial Photo & Hobby since 1973. It has been a family owned business since 1954. In that time I've bought lots of models and lots of stuff for my photography hobby as well. When I go into the store, I try to look at everything in the model department. I never know what will strike a chord with me, so I try to see everything I can. Today, our IPMS chapter has a build day at the store, so I'll probably be doing some browsing and maybe spend a little of my allowance on something I may or may not need.

We do have a Hobbytown nearby, but I generally only go there for a monthly build day. Plus they tend to cater more to the RC crowd than to us modeling folks.

The HobbyTown USA store in my area closed just about the same time I started back with modelling.  There is a local train store owned by a very interesting guy, and I will go there for styrene rod and the like.  He has a few kits, but it really is a train store, and I CANNOT afford to start that hobby no matter how much I want to.

When HobbyTown was open, I checked out everything, everytime.  N scale trains, R/C, every kit.  I only ever bought WWII aircraft and armor, as well as supplies, but I liked to browse.

Now my favorite locally owned brick and mortar is an artist supply store.  

Real G

The macrame section.  Bead craft isn't my thing.

 

Big fan of Brookhurst Hobbies - I haven't been there in a few years but used to go up to SCAHMS figure contests and some of the OC IPMS contests - including the nationals and I'd always go into Brookhurst.

Hmm... I like everything.  In the past I mostly did 1/48 military aircraft but find deviating a really fun experience.  Mostly because I don't know much about the subject or genre so I just build - very relaxing.  I suppose if I had to pick, I'm not interested in the comic book type figure stuff - though I really appreciate ones that are well done.

The macrame section.  Bead craft isn't my thing.

Generally I tend to avoid the Sci-Fi, Space section but other than that, I am like a kid in a candy shop when I go to my local hobby shop.

I'm not into R/C so I don't walk around there. That leaves pretty much all the other aisles open to browsing.

Bill, I remember Franciscan Hobbies

The only isle I "used" to avoid was Armor until I was talked into trying it "once". Well, I built it, then another. I'm working on #3 and #4 with 2 more in the stash. Still working on other builds too.

Now I can honestly say that I don't pass up any isles in a store because you never know when something will strike your attention. The only worry is will the wallet Ok it.

Jim  

I go straight to the modeling aisles only....the rest of the place does not exist 

I avoid the electric train aisles.  That’s one more hobby I don’t need to invest in! 

Sci Fi for me too, and I wish they wouldn't even carry the violent video games. 

One aisle I've been eyeing is armor, never built a tank but want to try one. Also cruised through the boats, been thinking of a sailboat with planking, a real art I think. Love the lines of the Blue Nose.

GM, what a bum deal about a two hour drive to HS. I feel very fortunate, with a really well stocked 4th generation HS in my town.

Patrick

Hi,

I don't know that I actually "avoid" any aisle, but I guess that I spend a lot less time in the sci fi and Gundam sections than any other.

Pat

I "try" to avoid the checkout isle...... 

Avoid is a strong word. And where I used to have three good LHS, now there's only one and it's two hours away.

Back some time ago, I used to spend a lot of time at a hobby store on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco. There was a decent model railroad department. R/C was run by a big loud guy who talked blue all day long. He could be heard all over the store. It drove me nuts and I stopped going there. They closed a couple of years ago.

I guess my answer is that I wish I had a LHS that had an aisle that I could avoid.

Bill