Well…another hobby shop in my area has closed it’s doors. I find it sad that the smaller “Mom & Pop” stores are becomming more rare, forcing me to go to the larger chain stores for my kits and supplies. Don’t get me wrong, stores like Hobby Lobby do supply what I need…but I miss the local small shop where modelers can gather to talk about thier hobbies, lean against the counter while joking with the clerk, (or owner) describing your latest build, where the owner will display your works in the shop window to attract customers, and to swap trade secrets. The bigger stores is strictly get in…get what you need…get out.
I can appreciate forums like this because part of the fun of hobbies like model building is sharing, comparing, critisizing, and complimenting.
Am I alone with this?
It really is a shame, and not just confined to LHS. Any “mom and pop” store is at risk. When possible, I try to give my patronage to those shops. Sometimes I do resort to online ordering, but overall I go to the LHS if I can for the reasons you mentioned. There are things that you just can’t get online.
You’re certainly not alone. A good many years of my modeling career was spent modeling alone and the only contact I had with other modelers was the trip to the stores selling models (dept.store, bookstore, and would you believe, drugstore. no dedicated hobby shop here at that time). I had a lot of fun building the models but I agree with you that part of the fun is sharing and talking to fellow modelers, people who understand you. Eventually, I joined a model club and kinda made the hobby complete. And now there’s this great forum[:)]
The situation’s worse in the UK. I live in Chester, which is a reasonably large city, (200,000 plus) and we have ONE model store that has recently moved premises, and in the process downsized their model department to fit in more “crafty” things. They now sell only boxed kits from the major manufacturers, and the paints’n’glues to do the job. Not a sniff of aftermarket kit… It’s really depressing.
We used to have a fantastic hobbyist’s model store just out of town, but they closed up after being vandalised almost constantly for months. That was about 10 years ago… My only real option is online retailers… nothing else doing! [:(]
Same here in the south of the UK
I have a 45 mile drive to Hannants , or modelzone stors that sell not much stuff at all
all the small shops have gone , very sorry state of affairs
I live in the Big Apple, and the only REALLY good hobby shop closed a number of years ago. Lou of Ace Hobbies was the best and great person too. Otherwise we are stuck in the city proper with 1/2 hobby shops (mostly arts and crafts or combo R/C_train_model) where
the only major stores are the toy stores and their pickings are slim at best.
I am very fortunate in the LHS area. There is one LHS about 10 miles away that deals primarily with railroad stuff, but does have a fairly decent selection of plastic models also. He has a very small selection of Radio Control items. I am about 35 miles from CRM Hobbies in St Louis. Chris has established the epitome of old fashioned model stores. He has two rooms, one fair sized room that is so full of models stacked on shelves and the floor that it is almost impossible to walk down an aisle without knocking something over. There is another smaller room that is nothing but reference material. A lot of hard back and soft cover books on aircraft and armor, plus a huge selection of the In Action and Walk Around type books designed specifically for the modeler.
There is one Hobby Towne USA and three Hobby Lobby stores in this area also, plus a small modeling section at several department and toy stores. There are 4 or 5 hobby stores in St Louis that deal primarily with Radio Control items, but also stock a fair selection of plastic models and accessories. CRM, Hobby Town USA, the RC stores and my local LHS all have the clerks and/or owners who can and will talk your leg off about models.
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
I’m with you, SKipper. Closely related with your topic are the chains in the forum that boast low, low price from China and Hong Kong, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for low low prices, but people can’t have offshore (from a US standpoint) discounters supply the bulk of their hobby needs, and then be saddened by the loss of Mr. LHS.
What makes this truly a difficult situation is that the “good” models usually cost a lot of money, so the money to be saved from on-line ordering is significant. Some modellers wouldn’t be able to build certain builds without the giant discounters.
While no one has all of the answers, what I try to do is be diverse with my hobby dollars, a little LHS here, some for the squadrons.com’s, a little on ebay.
I’d be curious to hear how others handle the situation.
Two of the LHS that I used to visit here in Tucson are gone… the first one closed shop (and it’s now a Pizza place), don’t know why they closed doors, and the second one went through several owners before closing it’s doors as well, I believe, because the last (original) owner wanted to retire from business. A third LHS here is up for sale because, and I quote the owner, “I want to finally retire a second time.” It is a depressing situation… I do hope the LHS in Albuquerque that I frequented is still there… I used to display some of my works there. Now, all I can do is share pictures. And what we have that passes as a LHS here now is mostly an R/C place!
No shops at all here in Mandeville, LA but at least I have one good one left in New Orleans…about a 45 min drive across the lake from here. It really is a shame though as I also miss the good conversations and comaradarie of the past. Plus that, Hobby Lobby et al don’t have nearly as much good stuff as one of the old shops.
My LHS isn’t that great for modelers; that is, they have plenty of kits, but their prices are usually too high. However, I buy paint and tools there, and they have some role-playing game stuff that I also hit every now and then.
I understand about buying local, though. I don’t get anything for my mountain bike or running gear online; there are a couple places in town that get my business exclusively. Good service, and it’s good to give back to the community!
One of the few model stores near me just converted to a scrapbook store. Seems scrapbooking brings in more revenue which I have to agree. Ever see how much one pays for a little plastic doo-dad, made in China, to glue on a picture that maybe cost $.04 to produce but sells for $6.00? Geeze, I think what I pay for PE and aftermarket model parts is a good deal. Many of that stuff is made by mom and pop companies that sell to us on the internet and at shows.
That is another point I like to make; although LHS are diappearing, I am noticing a lot of basement manufactures whom I have met on the phone and in person. These folks seem to be doing all right in our industry and have gone out of their way to keep the business personal. However, big business is working to destroy them as well as lawyers start sending them letters to cease production because they are infringing on the profits for the shareholders of the company ,that bought the company ,who owned the company, that made some doohickey that was patended 75 years ago, which the now present company still claims the rights to.
Scott
[soapbox]
i normally buy about 50-50…50 percent of my kits are bought at a LHS about 45 minutes away here in NJ…They have a good selection of ships and armor and planes…I do buy alot of ships from ebay and squadron.com, only because the prices are much cheaper than my LHS…plus, its easier to get PE parts or aftermarket parts for kits online…so, i do 50% LHS, 50% ebay and squadron.I remember about 7 or 8 years ago, there was a great hobby shop in the mall here…there were 4 aisles of ships to choose from, from 1/1200 to 1/200 scale…it was amazing…they had great prices and offered discounts when you purchased a few kits…plus, they gave away kits when you signed up for their mailing list…it was cool.they lasted i think 1 or 2 years and thats it…sad to see them no longer around
Yeah,
It’s true…I have to drive more than 25 minutes just to get to a decent hobby shop and I live in the NYC…I"ve noticed though the hobby stores charge a little more for models…than sites on the internet…
They are a lot of fun though.
One of the main problems is the tradition of building models is not being passed along anymore the way it was with some of our fathers, etc.
Tank
thats true…my father got me into model building when i was 5 or 6…i build some ugly viking ship, which i still have to this day.it was aweful…but thats what started my addiction…i know when my son is old enough(only 18 months right now), he will be shown the “light” and take over where i left off…i could see us building about 1000 ships and taking over my house[:D]
I guess I’m rather lucky. I live within driving distance of two hobby shops, though neither is really local. I live in southeastern Michigan, within spitting distance from Ohio. The first one is in Ohio, about an hour, hour and a half drive south. It’s big on RC, aircraft and cars, but it’s got a decent selection of models and piant. (The only place around to get RLM colors.) The other is about a half-hour drive the other way. J-Bar Hobbies (there’s an ad in Finscale magazine) is a great store- it’s like a warehouse, I swear. The actually specialize in cottage-industry, little known kits. Basically a hobby shop owned by people who know the hobby. Unfortunately they charge a bit too much (compared to others) even on the same kits. But looking at all this, I guess I can’t complain.
It stinks that the LHS are closing. We lost two in Wichita over the last 2 years. There is another store in a town that I go through once a month that is closing later this year. You pretty much hit the nail on the head.
Cheers,
Eric
Yeah,
You know, if I could go back, I would have saved all of those models I built as a kid…Boy though, it would be a bunch…I don’t remember all of them but I know my dad kept me pretty busy with it and I feel it’s helped me in other areas of life. What a great tradition to pass along…I have a daughter and am not sure how things will go…Does Revell do a version of Barbie’s Corvette?
Tank
The LHS is truly an endangered species. The one I frequent is on the verge of closing after 20 years. The large internet stores can sell a few dollars cheaper than the local guys & are killing the small shop owners. The owner of the shop I frequent has told me of customers who come in, look at all the new kits & AM merchandise, then say That looks good, have to send an order to Great Models. Oh Well…
Regards, Rick