I was recently told by a friend that HL changes over a large portion of their model section fairly frequently, and offers new models while the old stuff goes on clearance.
I don’t go to HL too often, but it seems to me that they have been carrying the same selection of models for quite a while.
Does anyone know if this is true?
Surely, they jest. I haven’t seen anything new or worthwhile at HL for years, and nothing has changed as of today. Whole bunch of car models, if anyone is interested in that, and a mediocre selection of old Revell airplane models- They’re good for an occasional paint or tool purchase, but that’s about it.
They get their new layouts in late August. Not sure what’s coming, though.
I would assume it depends on what they have in the main warehouses and how much they have of it in stock. I’ve noticed that a lot of items will stay in stock for months, but new items show up from time to time, then dissapear and never come back.
Hobby Lobby has a better rotation than Michael’s though. Nothing has changed on Michael’s shelves in two years around here lol.
Just for fun, and apropos of almost nothing, the current HL headquarters sits on my in-law’s former farm.
The one here seems to slowly rotate some stuff in and out. They now have Bandai Star Wars kits which was a shocker. Their website shows a Tamiya new tool 1/35 M4A3E8, which if the store gets it I will have to pick up at 40% off. Or the Gamma Goat. They seem to rotate the new Revell aircraft kits in quicker than other kits.
I stopped by over the weekend and saw nothing that caught my eye. Lots of auto kits though.
My HL will have new kits every now and then. I check periodically since they often put kits on clearance. Almost picked up the pro-modeler ME-410 for a little over $16.00 but decided to save some coins for a while. They usually carry a descent amount of kits however more 1/72 than 1/48 in planes.
We had a Hobby Lobby open two blocks from where I live just last weekend! In the past week, I’ve used their 40% off coupons to pick up two Tamiya M4A3E8s, several of the 1/72 Star Wars kits, the R2/AMT Klingon Bird of Prey, a couple of resin casting kits, a few paints, and miscellaneous stuff like X-Acto blades and a set of polishing pads.
So far, I’m impressed. It’s a huge improvement in my local hobby scene. Glad to have it in the community and so close to the apartment.
The wife is not impressed, but she’s grateful that we no longer have to drive 200 miles to pick up Tamiya primers and cement.
I saw that on Saturday when I was in there. Too bad they don’t fall in my budget!
I’ll be keeping an eye on those new M4A3E8’s to see if I can catch one going on clearance. Might be a while, but I’ve learned a lot of patience over the last 10 years lol.
One of these days… Pow! I’ll get one. [;)]
You should’ve grabbed that 410 when you had the chance lol. That price was less than they are asking for the 1/72 Academy P-51D.
First, that’s an impressive haul. I was happy when HL showed up down the road from me as well. Before HL there was only Michael’s (who’s selection is stagnant) and Fred Myers (very limited and mostly snap tight).
All of the local hobby shops have died off in my area. So HL is my best supplier of paints and supplies. The local airport has the best selection of kits though lol.
I think it runs for around $50 before the 40% off… one thing I’ve noticed from grabbing stuff on clearance there-the clearance price is usually the 40% off price… go figure
So how do I go about getting these 40% off coupons? I don’t have a modern phone with internets. Lol.
Well, how about a home computer with a printer? Do you have that? All you need is internet access. Go to their website, mobile or desktop, look for the 40% off coupon, and print it up. The discount code and dates change weekly, so you could theoretically print up 6 per week, and use one a day if you’re feeling miserly. Since they’re closed on Sunday and only allow one customer one coupon and one item per visit…
Yep! I got all that. Looks like there may be a new Armour kit in my stash soon. 
They used to carry the good stuff back in the day, Tamiya, Hasegawa…even Accurate Miniatures when they were still around…I have 5 Tamiya P-47s in my stash courtesy of their 40 percenters. I suppose it was no longer economical.
Mike ;
That’s so you can’t use the coupon . It cannot be used for marked down items . T.B.
Last week while looking at their website I saw the Gamma Goat for $16.95 (regularly $50). I went to the store where they were still at $50. They honored the website price but the manager said the website price was wrong. I give the guy credit for doing that, and it turns out he is a fellow modeler…
It does seem like late summer is when they rotate new stuff in, but I seem to see new stuff in about once a month or so. It’s probabaly a good thing for my wallet actually lol!
And you only use it on ONE item PER DAY. It’s not like you can use multiple coupons per item on one shopping trip like Bed Bath and Beyond does.