Roald
I also remember K Mart, Toys R Us, Food Lion Supermarket, and even some drug stores selling them too.
You may be remembering Hawk Models?
My main source was Kaybee Toys & Hobbies, K-Mart and this local photo & hobby shop. A discount store called Ames, like a lesser K-Mart, moved into the vacant department store in my town’s plaza and introduced me to Matchobx models. I literally bought and built virtually every 1/76 scale armor kit and most of the aircraft kits.
Kaybee carried MPC’s reboxed Airfix armor kits and a sub brand called USAirfix aircraft kits.
Between Matchbox and MPC/Airfix, they are the kits that took over from my building car models.
Rob
K Bee Toys!! Forgot that one too. I just remembered when Sears & Roebuck carried plastic Models and firearms. I still own a .22 rifle with the Sears brand on the barrel.
For us scale modelers, Hobby Lobby is a good place to go if you have kids and you want to introduce them to the hobby. You get a selection of kits and tools whose complexity ranges from simple to intermediate, as well as some things for modelers who are learning more advanced things, like working with an airbrush. So I don’t decry the poor selection, because I don’t go to Hobby Lobby looking for the latest Wave Maschinen Krieger kit, or a Pegaso 90mm knight. I take it for what it is–a store that caters to a range of hobbies, including scale modelers. As others have noted, most of us will tend to buy things direct from kit manufacturers or suppliers. What we want and use is generally so specialized that it’s not worth it to a chain store like Hobby Lobby, or Michael’s or AC Moore, for that matter, to carry those things. Heck, even HobbyTown doesn’t really cover what many of us need.
Plasticjunkie, I owe you.
I googled “Hawk Model Truck” images, and boom. There they were.
http://www.collectormodel.com/category/hawklindberg/#sthash.pF8bE8V9.dpbs
It’s funny, for some reason certain things from childhood stick in your head. For me, those little trucks rocked my 8 year old world. Seeing the box art for the first time in 35 is amazing.
Apparently they were a Hawk/Lindberg line, in HO scale, and cost a whopping forty five cents. No wonder I loved them, it’s all I could afford!
Anybody from Northern NJ would remember these stores for models in the 60’s
Branch Brook
Two Guys
EJ Korvette
Always had models,especially remember Aurura kits.
I’m glad to have a Hobby Lobby in town. It’s great for supplies and the occasional bargain on a good kit every now and then. If there is anything special I want, I order online. When I was a kid we could find kits easily-Kmart, local five & dime stores, TG&Y, and K&B Drug stores. One of my favorite hobby and craft stores, Ben Franklin, was about a 2 hrs drive but they had the ultimate selection of kits, supplies, and R/C stuff. I remember they had a whole aisle for just planes and another for ships. It was good stuff, too-lots of Tamiya, Hasegawa, etc… it was awesome. I sure miss that store, it became a Michael’s when they first opened up and wasn’t the same since.
I rely on Michaels and hobby lobby for their discount. I’ve started to teach a plastic modeling class in our home-school co-op group for the past 2 years and I usually have 10-14 kids in each class, this next year I have to teach 2 semesters! So I try to buy the same kit for everyone each class. Makes it easier on me.
I have to use a lot of 40-50% coupons but what the heck! The kids love it.
John
Yep, that’s a perfect fit, if you’ll pardon the pun.
Hi;
Did you say Hobby - Lobby has new models ? Since when ? I don’t think , except for " Snappers " as I call them , that anything has changed much . At least it hadn’t when I was there Saturday July 8 2017 .
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.
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I started shopping at Colonial when I first moved to Orlando in the summer of 1973. The store actually fronted on Colonial Drive back then, around the corner from where they are now. At the time they were a Squadron outlet and they were the only game in the central Florida area. When I lived in Valdosta, GA, I would have to drive to Jacksonville, FL to find kits and supplies. I don’t remember the name of the shop I went to in Jax but I think it was out on Blanding Blvd somewhere. Having a shop like Colonial so close by was a real treat and a boon to my modeling hobby back then.
I suspect that there is some variation from one franchise location to the next. We have two here in the Lehigh Valley, PA, and they both carry the selection described above: Lots of Revell cars; Revell re-issues of Monogram 1/48 kits, including the large bombers, and the smaller single-engined aircraft; Revell ship kits, from box scale to 1/1200; Tamiya armor kits, 1/35 and 1/48; Revell snap-together kits (ex-Monogram); and some Star Wars kits whose brand I can’t recall. They also have those Metal World PE kits. As far as supplies go, they carry Testor and Model Master paints and Vallejo acrylics. They have Aztek and Paasche airbrushes. I’ve probably forgotten some items, but that’s a description of the general selection at any given time. And that doesn’t include the general hobby supplies that we can use for scale modeling, like craft store brand acrylics, etc.
Baron your stock rundown is a carbon copy of the one HL near me and suspect the other one a few clicks away has the same boring stock. Too bad they don’t carry Vallejo Air cuz even though I don’t like acrylics I may just give a couple of colors a try to see how they behave.
Hey Mike !
What’s with the gas guages in your posts ?
In Ohio we have a chain of stores called Drugmart. They have about a 15ft. section of aisle with Revell models and Testors paint and supplies.(Like the ol’ days) Lately they have been putting them on clearance. Months ago I picked up a bf109, Spit, and PT109 for $25. Today I picked up a F4U, F6, and a P47N for under 30. I hope they are just getting rid of their inventory and restocking with new kits. It’s the store that got me back into models.
Picked up the Revell Mig on clearence at DrugMart along with the Meserschmidt a month or so ago. Yeah I keep buying stuff there hoping they will restock with new stuff.
In Hobby Lobby today they had a Squadron pre-painted P-47. Very basic kit. I think we will see a big change in the next month or so
If you had a free account with Photobucket,you now have to pay big time for 3rd party posting of pictures,if you don’t upgrade your account,your pictures will no longer link.
My posts? That’s my new signature piece. Amazing what Photoshop can do if you know how to use it. Mine is unique. [;)]
What brand names does Hobby Lobby have for paints? I see Vallejo and Tamiya products listed on their website. Does that mean that there is a good selection of such paints in the stores?
My hometown in Northeast Ohio had a Drugmart. I guess that was where my model habit started as a youngster. But, there are no Drugmarts in Southwest Ohio.