Today my local hobby shop closed it`s doors for the last time, but on the up side managed to get a Panther G with eduard zimmermit, and an Academy Jagedpather 1/25 scale, all for $35 so it just goes to show every cloud has a silver lining.
Dave
i am sorry to hear that…but…that is a great deal![BH][BH][BH][BH][BH][BH]
That is sad, but in this day of mailorder, all is not lost. And you got some good cheap kits
Sad to see so many small hobby shops closing down, but the competition from the big discount shops & the internet is killing them off. I try to buy all my kits & supplies at the LHS, even if it costs me a little more.
Regards, Rick
Must admit I will miss the service the conversation with other guys into the same things, mail order is good but I will miss that personal touch, the kit boxes stacked from floor to ceiling even though I`m 42 i still felt like a kid in a candy store every time i went in.
suppose this is the down side to progress.[:(]
Dave
Sorry guys, but you just don’t get the instantaneous conversations, and the relative security of knowing that nobody is gonna kipe your checking account number over the internet, by going there…i like my hobby shop–buy hey bradshaw, do you have a local IMPS chapter, or maybe AMPS, you could always go to that for the conversation
Sad news but a great deal. Personally I am a little bit more fortunate than most in the sense that i have three HS in my area. 2 mom and pop places and one Hobbytown USA. I am on a first name basis with the HT mostly because its only a 3 minute drive from my house. One of the Mom and Pop places I dont goto anymore because while they have a nice selection of models and supplies they prefer selling to the RC car crowd as evident by the fact that half the store is taken up by the stuff and the other half is taken up by models, Model railroading and everything else you would find in a Hobby shop. The other place, which by the way is farther away than the other two, is the best. I was fortunate enough to meet the owner at the region 2 event in October of last year and have been spending my big bucks there. Yes he is more expensive but he can get me what ever I need and in a timely fashion.
Seems like the LHS in on the endangered list more and more. If I can find what I want, I usually buy my kits and basic supplies from the LHS and I go to the internet for the more specialized/hard to find items (like PE, resin and such).
But it sounds like you made out like a bandit with those kits you picked up before the doors closed for the last time. Silver lining, indeed.
The demise of the LHS is sad indeed. Still, I only buy the necessities anymore from them. They never run any specials, so I look to the internet. My LHS is well established and pretty much the only game in town, so it should survive untill Starbucks comes knocking on their door. [V]
Well my hobby shop is great. I live five minutes walking from there (that is about a block). If anybody knows Venture Hobbies in the Chicagoland area, then that is the store. It is the biggest in Chicago area. It’s great, and I love it. I go there every day, even though I don’t buy anything on most visits. Still over a three year period that I lived there, I spent a lot of money there. Next thing that I’m going to get from them is the dragon Tiger!!! OHH Yeah, Alex can’t breath, UUHHHH YEAH, UUHHHH YEAH!
Man I so lucky.
I hope that they open another store for you, and then you will be happy again.
I feel your pain. My favorite LHS has also closed its doors for the last time. I really liked the guy who woned the place too. Well, good think there are three more LHS’s close to me.
Very Sad indeed the only Hobby shop about 3min away is Hobbytown USA but it is family owned, and I am on a first name bases w/ the Model dept. Mgr, good guy, but sadly I just dont want to pay full price for kits sometimes if he has duplicates he will sell them to me for %50 off but that is very rare , for kits that are fairly expensive,(college is key here) I usually look to the Internet, even evilbay I have taken the risks on there and found great kits for really really, cheap but there is that risk of being screwed over. I to have seen to many good mom and pop shops closed due to the lack of survivability youd think there were enough people in the Dallas FW area to keep a shop open but it is just not true.
Sorry to hear that. It’s good that you got a good deal on the kits, and that is a hell of a deal, but seems that more and more local hobby shops are closing their doors, and the average age of the serious modeler is on a steady rise. Doesn’t bode well for the hobby.
Let’s hope that there is another hobby store nearby! Would think that ‘over the rainbow’ wherever that is there would be more than one hobby store around? Otherwise I’ll just stay this side of the ‘rainbow’! I have the choice of three stores within about 7 miles of my house.
Glenn
My LHS is primarily R/C with a smaller section for plastic kits.
Planes/ Armour etc.
It kind of sucks but the way I look at it if it wasn’t for the R/C then I wouldn’t even have a LHS to go too.
I try to buy as much as I can from them but they don’t have a large selection so I use thje internet a fair bit.
The age thing depresses me. I consider myself a (fairly) serious modeler, using resin AM and PE and the liek, and also taking the trouble to weather, give oil washes paitn and etc. However, I belong to the local IPMS chapter, and the youngest guy there (besides me; age= 14) was 30 years older than me. Not a single other kid.
The real sad thing is the guy is retiring he is 66 and just wants to slow down a bit you think somebody would keep the shop going I wish I was in the position to. By the way guys over the rainbow is in the UK, I live in Northumberland, in the borders middle of nowhere but Gods own country, so the trip to the local hobby shop was a look forward to thing, just as well I have the forum and all you top guy`s keeping me intouch.
Thanks Dave
I remember being heartbroken as a kid when the local Squadron Shop (yes, they used to be brick and mortar!!) closed. I used to spend hours there. I think it was the main reason I drifted away from the hobby. Now that I’m back I’m thankful for the multitude of online stores. While they do have model kits - and some armor-the shops in my area don’t specialize in them any more. I guess to survive they need to cater to a wide variety of people.
T-34,
Where exactly is Venture Hobbies in the Chicagoland area?
I go there for business periodically…and need to find a good spot for “stuff”.
Stu
It is a sad but true fact that the mega stores like Wal Mart, Lowes and Home Depot in conjunction with mail order places are driving out the local Mom & Pop stores. This is pretty much applicable to LHS, hardware, variety, grocery or any other subject. It is nice to have a small, local store where you can buy $2 or $3 worth of items without paying for mail charges and waiting several days to get the items. This also requires that the customers buy the larger items at the little stores so that they can make a decent profit. A nickel or dime profit on a one dollar item is not going to keep them in business.
I buy out of production and unique, hard to find items from the internet stores and evil bay, but try to get most items from my LHS. [alien]