City-by-City -- Hobby Shops

Only place I frequent in the QC area (Iowa) is Major Art and Hobby. Been going here for some time and they have a pretty good selection. The only bummer I have with it is sometimes the Art/Framing side of the store; it can be a bit unfriendly, if not, come across as pushy.
 
Warwick Rhode Island, (Apponaug to be precise. It's pronounced AP-UH-NOG)

APPONAUG COLOR AND HOBBY
1364 Greenwich Ave, Warwick, RI 02886

Heavy on trains but lots of kits and supplies.
 
Don't see Utah listed yet. We have a couple of very good stores in the Salt Lake City area.

West Valley Hobbies - I had a long talk with the owner the first week they opened and maybe helped convince him there was a market for plastics. While RC is their standard they are a full service shop and carry a great selection of kits: Air, Auto, Armor, Ships and Sci-Fi. You won't find too many older kits but if you want Moebius or Round 2 this is the shop. Also a lot of Gundam kits. Good selection of tools and I buy most of my paints here.

MRS Hobbies - Ok, the initials stand for Model Railway Station but they carry just as much plastic as trains. I picked up a bunch of the Revell Robotech kits here a while back. They carry new releases but have a good amount of vintage kits which I think come from estate sales. They also have some old books, decent tools and paint selection and a Dollhouse section if you are looking for some larger scale items.

I also look for shops when traveling and have found a bunch, many on the current list. Unfortunately many are also no longer around.

However, I finally got to visit relatives in England in 2013 and one of my Uncles took me to this neat shop in Norwich, Norfolk. Langleys downstairs is a very full toy shop but upstairs is where the hobbies are. Great selection of models, especially Airfix. Unfortunately I didn't get to spend as much time there as I would have liked but is definitely on the list to go back to whenever I get the chance.
 
Hobby shops are super rare in Oslo, Norway. But I have found two, which deal in styrene, scale models etc.

Amundsen Hobby (Carl Berners Plass)
Small Size Hobby (Ensjø)
 
I'm from NY I love this place!!!

I took this from the worbla website where they had locations listed. This should help others from different locations!
I'm not sure about items for prop making but they do have worbla. I'm still too new to know if you guys use this stuff.!

They have paint and everything for costume making. The one that I ATTENDED.

Be gentle!!! XD

[h=3]United States:[/h]
  • Boston, MA
Federation Comics 49 Teed Drive – Randolph, MA 02368

  • New York, NY
Manhattan Wardrobe Supply 245 West 29th Street, 8th Floor – New York, NY 10001

  • Raleigh, NC
Elemental Enchantments, LLC 8601 Glenwood Ave. Raleigh, NC 27617

  • Jacksonville, FL
Three Muses Clothing 11570 San Jose Blvd. Suite 16 – Jacksonville, FL 32223

  • Orlando, FL
Embellish FX 2628 Edgewater Drive – Orlando, FL, 32804, 407-251-7110

  • Atlanta, GA
The Engineer Guy 1000 Tradeport Blvd – Suite 1003 – Atlanta, GA 30354

  • Shelby Twp, MI
T.F.B. Plastics, Inc. 51805 Filomena Dr Shelby Twp, MI 48315, (586) 566-7900

  • Chicago, IL
Halsey Onstage 1210 West Thorndale Avenue – Chicago, IL 60660

  • Indianapolis, IN
Downtown Comics 5767 East 86th St – Indianapolis, IN 46250

  • Manitowoc, WI
Stockpile Games 1130 Washington st, Manitowoc, Wisconsin 54220

  • Metairie, LA
David Art Center 3020 N Arnoult Rd – Metairie, LA 70002

  • Omaha, NE
Krypton Comics 2819 S. 125th Ave. – Suite 261 – Omaha, NE 68144

  • Conroe, TX
Space Cadets Collection 27326 Robinson Road #117 – Conroe, TX 77385

  • Austin, TX
Dragon’s Lair 2438 West Anderson Lane Suite B-1 – Austin, TX 78757

  • Boulder, CO
Moon Rabbit Cosplay LLC 2704 B 28th St – Bluff Plaza Shopping Mall – Boulder,Co 80301

  • West Jordan, UT
Beck Leather & Crafts 7884 South Redwood Road – West Jordan, UT 84088

  • Tempe, AZ
Silver Star Comics 1835 E Elliot Rd – Tempe, AZ 85284, #602-750-9464

  • Albuquerque, NM
Just Cos Cosplay Supply 3700 Osuna Rd. NE Suite 505 – Albuquerque, NM 87109

  • Burbank, CA
Plastic Depot 2907 N San Fernando Blvd, Burbank, CA 91504

  • San Diego, CA
ePlastics 5535 Ruffin Road, San Diego, CA 92123

  • El Cerrito, CA
TAP Plastics 10760 San Pablo Avenue – El Cerrito, CA 94530

  • Fremont, CA
TAP Plastics 5160 Mowry Avenue – Fremont, CA 94538

  • Mountain View, CA
TAP Plastics 312 Castro Street – Mountain View, CA 94041

  • Pleasant Hill, CA
TAP Plastics 1478 Contra Costa Blvd. – Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

  • Pleasanton, CA
TAP Plastics 6010 Johnson Drive Suite C – Pleasanton, CA 94588

  • Sacramento, CA
TAP Plastics 4538 Auburn Blvd. – Sacramento, CA 95841

  • Sacramento, CA
TAP Plastics 4506 Florin Road – Sacramento, CA 95823

  • San Francisco, CA
TAP Plastics 154 South Van Ness – San Francisco, CA 94103

  • San Jose, CA
TAP Plastics 1008 Blossom Hill Rd – San Jose, CA 95123

  • San Jose, CA
TAP Plastics 1212 The Alameda – San Jose, CA 95126

  • SAN LEANDRO, CA
TAP Plastics 3011 Alvarado Street – San Leandro, CA 94577

  • San Mateo, CA
TAP Plastics 606 South B Street – San Mateo, CA 94401

  • San Rafael, CA
TAP Plastics 900 Andersen Drive – San Rafael, CA 94901

  • Santa Rosa, CA
TAP Plastics 2770 Santa Rosa Avenue – Santa Rosa, CA 95407

  • Stockton, CA
TAP Plastics 1859 Pacific Avenue – Stockton, CA 95204

  • San Leandro, CA
TAP Custom Fabrication 3011 Alvarado Street – San Leandro, CA 94577

  • Tigard, OR
TAP Plastics 15230 SW Sequoia Pkwy. – Tigard, OR 97224

  • Portland, OR
TAP Plastics 2842 Sandy Blvd. – Portland, OR 97232

  • Bellevue, WA
TAP Plastics 12021 NE Northup Way – Bellevue, WA 98005

  • Lynnwood, WA
TAP Plastics 4232 196th St. SW – Lynnwood, WA 98036

  • Seattle, WA
TAP Plastics 710 9th Avenue North – Seattle, WA 98109

  • Bellingham, WA
The Foundry: Bellingham Makerspace 1515 N Forest St – Bellingham, WA 98225
[h=3]Canada:[/h]
  • Montreal, QC, Canada
Bow-Chou 196 Sainte-Anne Blvd – Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, QC J0N 1H0

  • Ottawa, ON, Canada
Daley Kreations 613-315-1220 – Ottawa, ON

  • Toronto, ON, Canada
Silver Snail 329 Young St. Toronto ON M5B 1R7

  • Toronto, ON, Canada
Rotblotts Discount Warehouse 443 Adelaide Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 1S9

  • Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Artists Emporium 1610 St. James St – Winnipeg, MB R3H 0L2

  • Calgary, AB, Canada
Industrial Plastics & Paints 5-5558 1st Street S.E. – Calgary, AB T2H 2W9

  • Edmonton, AB, Canada
Theatre Garage 3711-98 street – Edmonton, AB, T6E 5N2

  • Kelowna, BC, Canada
Industrial Plastics & Paints 1-1934 Windsor Road – Kelowna BC V1Y 4R5

  • Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Industrial Plastics & Paints 2052 Boxwood Road – Nanaimo, BC V9S 5W5

  • Richmond, BC, Canada
Industrial Plastics & Paints 150-12571 Bridgeport Road – Richmond, BC V6V 1J4

  • Victoria, BC, Canada
Industrial Plastics & Paints 776 Cloverdale Ave – Victoria, BC V8X 2S7

  • Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada
Industrial Plastics & Paints1110 – 1971 Broadway St – Port Coquitlam, BC, V3C 0C9

  • Courtenay, BC, Canada
Industrial Plastics & Paints 2-2946 Kilpatrick Ave – Courtenay BC V9N 8P1

  • Vancouver, BC, Canada
Coast Fiber-Tek Products 1306 Boundary Rd – Burnaby, BC V5K 4T6
[h=3]Brazil:[/h]
  • Porto Alegre, RS
Nanashop +55(51)9894-3413
[h=3]Panama:[/h]
  • David, CH
El Granujas Avenida 5A E, Boulevard Acropolis, Local 6, 507 788 8962
 
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CrystlNinaStar,
I appreciate all the info you provided, but you may have done it in error. The opening post states the specific purpose of this thread: to find locations where one can find quality/possible-rare hard-to-find kits that donate towards studio scale models. Your listing is more aimed at the cosplay community. Why don't you open a similar thread in the cosplay forum , but aimed at finding good locations for cosplay supplies and start it with your wealth of knowledge you spilled in your post.
 
Quick update on greater Pittsburgh. I haven't been to AB Charles in a couple of years, but they were a great place for scale models and related supplies. Toby Tyler's is also on my list of places to visit, I think all of the better stores are out the suburbs (where I rarely venture). I mostly do furniture and human-scale stuff, so what I need for work/art comes from raw materials shops like Curbel Plastics, Allegheny Plywood, and Noftz for sheet metal. They're very business oriented places so the prices are low but delivery is expensive, don't visit without a truck or trailer. Artist & Craftsman in Squirrel Hill usually has the paint or oddball glue I want and they have good hours and much better prices than the CMU art store in the UC. I also rely upon McMaster Carr for a lot of stuff because ground UPS shipping often arrives in 1-2 days. I suggested it to a friend who was looking for odd-sized screws, he placed an order around 3pm and it showed up the next day.
 
Just an update, Ralph sold the shop. It's now known as Model Citizen Hobbies, same address. The new owner has expanded the product line & now carries a lot of import stuff, such as Gundam & Votoms kits.

In St. Petersburg, Florida: Ralph's Hobbies, 5208 66th St N Ste D

Ralph is an old-school hobby guy. He sells mostly injection-molded styrene kits & supplies for building same. He tries to keep a wide variety of kits available, and buys collections of old kits when he can. (A while back, he had not only a set of the old MPC R2-D2 and C-3PO kits for sale, but a Six Million Dollar Man kit from the 70s.) Whether you're looking for a newly released kit or an older kit that's out of production, pay Ralph a visit if you're in the area.
 
I'm shocked this one has not been mentioned.

http://pegasushobbies.net/catalog/

It's perhaps the largest hobby shop in the US. If you live in SoCal, take a day trip to see this amazing store... They have way more then their website shows.

Jeff
It is mentioned in post #2 of this thread.

I use to live 20 miles from it, it was a beautiful place to behold. I would drive out almost every weekend to it, best selection of any type of models I have seen anywhere in my life. Plus some of the staff were incredibly knowledgeable and always helpful. It is the only thing I miss about living in California.

- - - Updated - - -

Another great store in California is Monsters In Motion.

Store hours suck but you can order online as well, still it is a very fun and unique store to visit in person.


187 West Orangethorpe Avenue. Unit-K
Placentia, California, 92870
U.S.A.
Store Hours:
WED - SAT: 10:00am - 4:00pm
 
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I'm lucky enough to have friends in different cities and to get to occasionally travel for work, which allows me to hunt for more model kits in different towns at new (to me at least) hobby shops. I'm always eager to hit a new town in hopes that it may have a great shop to find some vintage kits that i've been looking for.

I thought perhaps we could make a sticky thread to aid other travelers in search of kits?

I realize that some people may not want to "give-up" their hunting spot in fear that their local kits being picked off. This may be true, but try to realize, there may be kits in your local haunt that you no longer want/need, but may "feed a weary traveler", lol. In the spirit of being a good neighbor, share what you know.

I will collect each person's contributions, copy/paste it to the first post to aid in an easy to read/access page of these hunting spots. Just provide the State, City, Hobby Shop, and possibly a short note about what to expect? You can also provide a hot link to the store and that will be included (provide a FUNCTIONING link to the store, not to a google search of possible hits). I will also post the contributor's post number in this thread beside their name to read the full review of the store.

Please do not post a Hobby Lobby or a Hobbytown USA (or any other national chain) -- anybody can do a two second search on google to find those and they are usually the same thing from town to town. In addition, note the the forum you are in. We're not interested posting hobby stores that focus on RC or trains or whatever -- this is about getting the resources for model scale kits and resources to construct and finish them.

If you are lucky enough to get to try out one of the following spots in your travels, try to thank the poster for their info.



ILLINOIS:
-Chicago, Al's Hobby Shop (per Less than Super Ostrich, #108)
Als has been closed for years.

Please update your info.
 

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