City-by-City -- Hobby Shops

qcfoundry said:
visited Pittsburgh once to meet M.Fitchenmeyer (sp?) and go to one of his hobby meets - sheesh, probably 6-8 years ago. visited a shop there, but can't remember the name..pretty sure it wasn AB Charles (mine was an older one-story shop). shop was on a street that was on a hill and the store had tons of roco. i wasn't into SS modeling yet and had no idea that these little tanks would play a part in my future collecting...but was def'ly in awe of their assortment. store overall seemed nice too.
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That would have been AB, it was only maybe 2-3 years ago they moved into this new building, old one was supposed to be demolished for the car lot to expand that was nearby but last time I was past it hadn't happened yet.
 
Whereabouts in Chicago are you going to be: suburbs, downtown, Northside, Southside? Are you looking for straight hobby shops, or comic shops too?
 
Since your doing a list i figured i wold chime in for Hawaii.. though its been awhile since i have been to a few of these places its still good to know that they are there for your paint and various other prop making needs..

HAWAII:
Oahu:

Kakaako: Other Realms

Other realms is a Comic book shop with a nice selection of roleplaying supplies

Kalihi : Arm Chair Adventurer

Arm Chair Adventurer is a gaming shop with a large selection of military model kits and a good selection of miniatures . they also cary tamiya , valejo , reaper paints, and a few more then i can recall right now.

Aiea :

Hobby Company

Hobby company is a long time hobby shop that recently moved and downsized they are owned by the same company that operates Honolulu Craft Supply they use to have a large selection of model kits .

Jelly's Books and music

jelly's is a long time retailer of books , music , comics , and roleplaying games they carry a big selection of warhammer and wh40k along with the citadel paints..

Pearl City : Sandy Flemings Fast electrics

Is mainly a Remote control car shop though the shop does also sell model trains

Kailua: Weller hobby craft

Weller hobby craft has a big seletion of model kits ( thought its been a few years sincei have visited the shop) and various supplies.
 
Boogeyman13 said:
Whereabouts in Chicago are you going to be: suburbs, downtown, Northside, Southside? Are you looking for straight hobby shops, or comic shops too?
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we'll be staying with friends in Northbrook, however don't let that limit ya. I've been all over the town. Just give me what you like/know and let me see if I can swing the distance. Thx, btw.
 
twistedxknights said:
Since your doing a list i figured i wold chime in for Hawaii.. though its been awhile since i have been to a few of these places its still good to know that they are there for your paint and various other prop making needs..

HAWAII:
Oahu:

Kakaako: Other Realms

Other realms is a Comic book shop with a nice selection of roleplaying supplies

Kalihi : Arm Chair Adventurer

Arm Chair Adventurer is a gaming shop with a large selection of military model kits and a good selection of miniatures . they also cary tamiya , valejo , reaper paints, and a few more then i can recall right now.

Aiea :

Hobby Company

Hobby company is a long time hobby shop that recently moved and downsized they are owned by the same company that operates Honolulu Craft Supply they use to have a large selection of model kits .

Jelly's Books and music

jelly's is a long time retailer of books , music , comics , and roleplaying games they carry a big selection of warhammer and wh40k along with the citadel paints..

Pearl City : Sandy Flemings Fast electrics

Is mainly a Remote control car shop though the shop does also sell model trains

Kailua: Weller hobby craft

Weller hobby craft has a big seletion of model kits ( thought its been a few years sincei have visited the shop) and various supplies.
Click to expand...

I may have not made my self super clear.
We are looking for hobby shops that sell model kits....not looking for RC models, role-playing materials, trains, etc. This list is calling out hobby shops where one can a good supply of kits or supplies for kits (eg, paints, glues, ABS, etc).

would be happy to add some hobby shops of that nature -- but I need you to amend your list for the appropriate stores. thx.
 
qcfoundry said:
GREAT IDEA.
personally loving the indiana one because i'm in kentucky.
seems only the front page is up (all links = dead).
not sure i'll copy any of the info directly -- kinda like the idea of straight recommendations from each individual here (no offense).
will be checking to see when the site is back up -- thx.
Click to expand...

And this is where the "kind of broken" comes into play. :)

It should be back up by the end of the month. I've got to tear them down and build them again from scratch. :(

But here is a link to the Google Map I'm trying to build of places I need to hit, for your reference.

http://goo.gl/Ap6F

Not much by Kentucky, since I'm based out of Indianapolis, but if I find any specific hobby stores, I'll definitely put them in this thread. :)

Tony
 
Tempe, Arizona. Hobby Depot. 216 West Southern Ave. Lots of kits, armor, sci fi, planes, cars of all ages. He sells consignments, also. I picked up a Monogram Voyager 2 years ago for $40. Rockets, slot cars, trains.

Phoenix, Arizona. Hobby Bench (2 locations). 8058 N 19th ave (NE corner 19th and Northern) and 4240 west Bell road (NW corner 43rd and Bell) Airplane kits, some armor at both. Sci fi and cars also. Trains, rockets, slot cars.
 
Kit Kraft in Studio City, CA -- best hobby shop EVER.

I can even back up that bold statement with a couple of quick anecdotes:

They used to have a guy that worked there at the counter. He also painted these elaborate build ups of their SF hobby kits. He eventually left to work for Sideshow Collectibles as their head of creative development: His name is Tom Gilliland

Last year, I walked in to Kit Kraft and asked the clerk if he could recommend the right silver color for my Polar Lights C-57D, "Forbidden Planet" space cruiser kit." A guy steps up from a corner and introduces himself: "Hi, I OWN the original C-57D Forbidden Planet space cruiser... how can I help you?"

Best hobby shop EVER.
 
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upcoming trip for me to Portland Maine, starting in Boston. Anybody have any shops in those neighborhoods or along the path? thx
 
I'll put in a plug for two:

Hobbytown USA, LaVista, NE: Not at all like other Hobbytowns as it is VERY well stocked with plastic for good prices. In fact the plastic selection has expanded a little over the past two or three years as it is their primary business. Paint and tool selection is also very good to excellent.

Hobbytown USA, Omaha, NE: Same franchise owner as LaVista. This one caters more to RC (since it has indoor on road AND off road tracks), but it is a BIG store with a decent plastic selection as well for good prices. The tool and paint selection is also excellent.

I would say if you are only into plastic, LaVista is the better stop (it is a suburb of Omaha). But both shops certainly don't stick to the status quo of what Hobbytown USAs are perceived to be.
 
Burbank house of hobbies, in (of course) Burbank, CA very good, always helpful, small but well stocked.

Colonial Photo Hobby in Orlando, Florida. Large, well stocked, but full retail price on everything.
 
JMChladek said:
I'll put in a plug for two:

Hobbytown USA, LaVista, NE: Not at all like other Hobbytowns as it is VERY well stocked with plastic for good prices. In fact the plastic selection has expanded a little over the past two or three years as it is their primary business. Paint and tool selection is also very good to excellent.

Hobbytown USA, Omaha, NE: Same franchise owner as LaVista. This one caters more to RC (since it has indoor on road AND off road tracks), but it is a BIG store with a decent plastic selection as well for good prices. The tool and paint selection is also excellent.

I would say if you are only into plastic, LaVista is the better stop (it is a suburb of Omaha). But both shops certainly don't stick to the status quo of what Hobbytown USAs are perceived to be.
Click to expand...

I'm looking at you -- suspect.
I only go to Hobbytown for supplies (paint, welder, etc) -- NEVER kits. I understand they are brick-n-mortar and have to cover their costs, but they are still quite high -- and don't get me started on kit costs at Hobby Lobby.
I will admit, my Lexington store is fairly helpful though -- both with finding stuff as well as advice of the HOW-TO type.
 
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