Rmember the days when you could walk in to a Toy’s Are Us and see a whole row of models? And rockets.
Now if you were to go in to Toys are Us, you won’t find one model or rocket.
I think this is terrible.
If the biggest toy store can’t carry even one model, does this say anything about the model industry and where it might be going?
Your hard pressed to find any stores carrying models.
Wallmart is the exception but there selection is crap and have only a few kits.
Of course there is Hobby Lobby but there few and far between.
Hobby shops are disappearing, stores that carry models are disappearing.
Heck, you use to be able to go in to a drug store and find models.
What has happened?
I miss the good ole days.
Just venting, a little.
Thanks for listening.
I have been thinking about the same thing for many years. Even Michaels here has stopped carrying model kits. I went there yesterday and they have only a few car kits. I asked what happened to their big selection and was told they would no longer carry model kits. It is lucky we have a Hobby Lobby in town or there would be no place where I would be able to get modeling supplies except for mail order or to travel 100+ miles to another hobby shop.
I would not worry. Models are far from disappearing. I find that the department stores just don’t want the hassle of broken bits and giving advice plus giving all the paints est. I have 5 specialist shops in my city and one store with nearly the whole Revell selection so we are hardly in trouble lol.
Berny, I hear ya man.
And Michaels is soooo expensive.
The closest Hobby Lobby for me is over an hour away.
Richard, I think your one of the lucky few.
My local Toys R Us still carries some AMT/Ertl car models and has just started carrying the reissued AMT/Ertl Star Wars kits. My local Michaels still has a fairly decent assortment of car kits and some Revell-Monogram and Testors aircraft.
For me, it’s God bless Hobby Link Japan and the internet in general.
But I do miss the experience of picking up the box in the store, holding it in my hands and looking at the side panels.
I don’t even go into a Toys R Us anymore.
Nowadays its just toys for kids.
Yes Michaels currently has a limited supply of models but there very expensive and
apparently ther not going to carry models anymore.
I miss pickng up the boxes and looking at them too.
Yup, thank god for the internet.
Last time I have been to a Toys R Us had no models cant stand the place anyway. The Kmart here has a few models Star Wars, few Revell cars, ships, aircraft, and AMT cars. I am thankfull for the internet.
All the Kmarts in my area have no models.
I’m serious folks, its only Hobby Lobby and thats over an hours drive.
Along with the closest hobby shop which is also an hours drive.
And I live in one of the most populated states in this fading republic.
Its a shame.
More venting,sorry.
Gentlemen,
It’s simple, that very thing which we praise, the internet, has buried department store models as well as the Mom-n-Pop local hobby shop.
My guy locally shut his doors to go on-line. Well I hear he got thumped because of deals like Squadron etc. The nearest hobby shop to me is n hour drive away in Northern Virginia traffic. Basically scratch the entire morning to run down and pick up something as simple as paint.
Personally, I think that if stores stocked an assortment of kits on the shelf, then it might spark more interest with younger kids in the hobby. I also understand from a business standpoint, you don’t keep items on the shelf that don’t sell. I’ve gone into a Wal-Mart and Michael’s on the East Coast and they will have plenty of kits on the shelf, but head out West (CA) and there’s not much there.
Part of the problem as I see it is the prices at a hobby shop. These days when I have less excess cash, I can’t justify paying $25-$35 for a model when I can go online and get the same kit for 3/4 the price. I like going to hobby shops and I really want to help out the small business hobby shop (theres only 2 mom and pop shops left within a 20 mile radius, there are a couple Hobbytowns but they don’t count), but I can’t rationalize the costs anymore.
Thats the problem, decent quality kits cost an arm and a leg but the cheap ones are garbage. Then you include the paints…
I went to the LHS last saturday to get some paint. A big closed sign on the door, paint racks missing and advertisiing for some health product. I looked through the glass and thought I saw some kits on some shelves, but I won’t go back. And an article in the paper recently said the train shop I buy things from is closing. The owner got old, and no one is interested in taking it over. NOw it will be a 35 minute drive if I want to handle the box first. The local craft stores have a very small selection.
Hey Wayne, that LHS wouldn’t by chance be in Salem?
Didn’t you say that you lived somewhere around Akron?
Maybe it was someone else. (could be losing my mind)
I drove almost 2 hours through traffic to get there a few weeks ago and there was
a closed sign in the window (during the day) and the hours on the door said they were open.
All of the shelves were still stocked.
Very weird.
Dealing with the internet and the cheap prices Waly[censored]World and other big box stores is what is killing the LHS. Save 25% on the kit, then realize you need a specific color right now to finish your model for a show or other deadline and the nearest hobby shop is an hour away and will close in 25 minutes and an internet order wil take at least 4 days and double or triple the cost of that paint and you begin to see what we’ve done to ourselves.
The phrase “Penny wise and pound foolish” comes quickly to mind.
It’s strange… I’m from a small Central/Eastern European country, and when I came here t o study I expected that I’m going to the plastic model heaven. Back home there were 10+ dedicated hobby stores, two or three big (I mean BIG) model Conventions… I didn’t know what I have. Besides mail order we have a small model store 30 miles away. Somehow in Europe more people take this thing seriously I guess.
I second that emotion! I will always support my LHS, even though it will cost me some dough to do so. They’re good people, we can have a conversation, and I buy enough that they are starting to give me sale prices all the time. They know I could buy online (and sometimes do) and still support them, so they are willing to support me, too. They can’t afford to stock the AM pieces, nor can they carry all the various kits, so that is what I buy off the 'net. They are willing to share, and so am I!
Hey guys-I moved to Cleveland about 8 years ago-and have seen the demise of 3 hobby shops already-there are still two good ones left but their hours keep dwindling. Thank God for the 'net.
PS-you still can’t beat the thrill of walking into a shop and having that kit immediately in your sweaty hands.
Yes, I believe the internet has killed quite a few hobby shops.
But I will continue to support the LHS (whats left) even though there prices are through the roof.
I guess, just get what you can at the LHS then get the rest online.
I work at a LHS and from my point of view people arent as loose with their money, like someone said people dont want to spend an arm and a leg on luxury items. But inbetween Thanksgiving and Christmas The store thrives, especially in Lionel and trains.
As for online shopping I think that my boss ( the owner) as solved the problem. He allows customers to place orders through him, and since he gets it from a distributor instead of an online store it arrives faster and usually costs less.