Or bring some people and each use one. Not that I would know anything about that. Bob Gregory Ruining One kit at a time.
Both of my local Hobby Lobby stores have the new Tamiya M4A3E8 (not the old motorized kit nor the rebox Tasca kit) as well as the Gama Goat. They have the two Bandai Star Wars kits, the 1/72nd scale TIE Interceptor (I bought) and the dual X-Wing kit with a 1/72 and 1/144 scale kits inside.
They have many of the World of Tanks kits by Italeri, about a half dozen different ones like the Chaffee, Type 59, Elefant, Leopard, Sherman, etc.
I mostly buy tools and supplies from them. They have a better selection of polishing pads and fine sandpaper than my LHS has. I have on occasion bought a Revell kit with the discount coupon, since those are reasonably priced already, and with 40% off are a bargain. They have a much bigger range of Testors paint than my Michaels store.
I look for tools in other areas than the model section, too. They have a swivel knife that looks good and a good price, and I’ll use my coupon on it pretty soon. I bought a pair of nippers from the jewelry section that is the best sprue cutter I have ever had!
I mostly buy supplies as well, but when I do I’m looking for anything that catches my fancy under $20.
They are the ONLY place in town for armor kits. I did look into those Italleri 1/56 armor kits for that game “bolt action” and the local comic/game shop will order them for me at their cost. That’s a cool deal for some oddball sized armor subjects. The details look a little soft, but that’s never deterred me lol.
This essentially confirms what I was told, that they get new kits periodically throughout the year, but then get a fairly major overhaul in their selection in the summer. I’ll have to check back in August!
Another quick point:
My local HL sells the Tamiya Sherman for $50. Minus the 40% coupon, that’s $30. You can find the same kit online from numerous sources for around $36.
So, does HL simply raise their sticker prices to compensate for the 40% coupons?
Most likely they do. At least a small percentage. Their sticker prices are around or slightly above MSRP you see on various producer companies websites.
They also carried Trumpeter and current Revell releases like both 1/72 Gato and Type VII/C boats. I remember a 1/350 Trumpeter USS Hornet Flat top on clearance for under $50. I had it in my hands but decided not to get it, bad move on my part…[:'(]
I have two HL’s in my area and there is nothing worthwile to pick up. It’s always the same old kits. Once in a while a new one pops up like the 1/48 Revell Stearman but that one has not been re stocked. I pick up stuff like glue or blades.
A couple of months ago I called the Corporate Office and spoke to a nice lady in customer service. I asked her why they had such an anemic selection of kits and paints. She said the big guys upstairs decide on what stock the stores will carry. Well, I couldn’t help myself and told her that who ever decides is just purely ignorant and not in touch with the modeling community. I mentioned several products that I know would fly off the shelves. In such a large city like Orlando, I know of only two HL’s and two hobby stores, all with limited choices in kits and supplies. I sure miss the days of walking into Orange Blossom Hobbies in Miami. That was modeling heaven!
I suggested bringing back the 1/72 subs and some of the ROG kits along with a better paint selection. She said she would pass the info down and sounded like she was writing things down (or just blowing smoke up my you know what.)
We had American Eagles HS in Seattle and a smaller sattelite store in Tacoma. Both are gone. Best HS in Washington for over a decade.
I get the impression that whoever is responsible for purchasing for the model section doesn’t really understand the nature of the market.
For example, I was there recently and the aircraft section seems sort of haphazard. They have a few cheap, entry level products (old Revell kits) which probably sell relatively well for beginners and more experienced modelers who appreciate the nostalgia.
They also had a very small number of higher end kits (Tamiya Sherman/Gamo Goat/Revell C-54) which I imagine move pretty quickly.
But then they have a slew of random stuff. Old Lindberg reissues, some Academy 1/72 kits, some slightly obscure Italeri helicopters, etc. Nothing wrong with any of that, but I wonder how many people it appeals to?
Most modelers today are not kids, but are adults who are fairly well informed on the products. I wonder if they realize that?
Admittedly, I know nothing about how that company works but it seems that if you spent even five minutes researching the market you would quickly conclude that your limited shelf space is better utilized by selling newer, higher quality kits.
Yes, but I suspect most serious modeler like “us” tend to get our kits from online shops, LHS’s, or other places. The folks that I usually see at the local Hobby Lobby are usually kids and their parents or grandparents. The guys who I see at AMPS or IPMS I run into at the local hobby shops. Never at Hobby Lobby. Different demographics. Hobby Lobby is maybe 5%-10%, if that much, geared towards our hobby. It’s more like the department stores used to be when I was a kid. Yeah they carry some stuff for us. But most of what they carry is not for us. One side of one aisle is kits. The opposite side is supplies and paints. How many aisles of products do they have in any store? And of course there are items they sell such as paint brushes, tools, etc. that are used in other hobbies besides this one.
I actually wish that Hobby Lobby had been around when I was trying to get my kids to build models. The local hobby shops back then really did not carry “entry level” models. They were geared towards the serious modeler like “us”. The local Hobby Lobby near me only opened about 5 years ago. After my kids were past wanting to build models with dad.
I’ve never been a fan of Hobby Lobby. Whenever I would go into one of their stores I always felt uncomfortable, like my every move was being watched. Fortunately there is one decent franchise hobby shop and one excellent family owned hobby shop in the area, each about thirty minutes from me in opposite directions. The excellent family owned hobby shop I have been trading with since the 1970s. The decent hobby shop only fairly recently. There are a few Michael’s sprinkled about and I will occasionally shop at one with some coupons printed out from the website. The stack of Revell kits on the shelf almost all came from a Michael’s.
I think Hobby Lobby bites it, big time! It’s nothing but Michaels re done. While they have some stuff for guys, it’s a womans store. The one near me is huge with just one aisle for model kits. The selection sucks, my stash is almost as big. Paints are Testors enamel and that is it. I personally will never set foot in it again.
Where is this place at? I’m only aware of Colonial Photo and Hobby in Orlando and Hobbytown in Sanford.
Don’t even need a printer. Just show them the coupon in your smartphone browser. You have to sign up for their emails, and they email you a link to the coupon.
Those are the ones…
Well yes,their not a model shop.They are a direct competitor to Michaels,thats what they are.
I doubt they will miss you,your not their target customer.
Yep that’s how I use my coupons.
Frank
Kit selections at either place could be better. They both have excellent paint selection specially Colonial Photo that has some limited Gunze stuff.
Stikpusher, I agree. The target demographic is definitely not people who are frequenting online model forums. And as far as entry level products go, I think they have an alright selection.
My point was simply that if they dedicated more of their shelf space to higher quality kits, they would probably sell very well. I mean, if I knew that HL carried a good selection of kits I’d certainly stop in more often, and probably throw a few other items in the basket, too.
Personally, I like HL. It’s been a great place for my kids to pick up some very low priced models to get started. My son picked up a Lindberg Stuka/Me-262 kit on sale for like $7 or $8. I picked up the Revell Stearman there a while ago for something like $11, a steal. I stop in occasionally and pick up Tamiya primer, pipettes, tape, glue, brushes, etc. It’s good for that type of stuff.
Just to show how much things have changed in the world of modeling:
I grew up in Southern California and we used to have a supermarket chain called Alpha Beta. In addition to being our source of milk and bread it was also my main source of model airplanes, because they used to sell model kits at the supermarket! Can’t imagine that happening now.
K-Mart was my other source. They sold these really cool little model trucks that used tiny metal screws to attach the chassis to the cab or trailer. The box art was unchanged from the 60s, and I loved them. Wish I could remember what brand they were.
That concludes today’s stroll down memory lane.