That’s me in a nutshell.

Amazon and other forms of capitalist greed are continuing to kill a lot of things.

they probably moved online - brick and mortar shops are expensive to maintain

Come on by where I live. The hobbies are still strong here. Lots of hobby stores still open.

We just had a Hobby Lobby open up in my town. Ain't been there yet.

They are not worth the effort. All Chineseium crap.

Aww.

Not all of it... Hobby Lobby is at least one of Atlantis Models biggest distributors - Atlantis has gotten a lot of the vintage 1950's & 60's molds (Lindberg, Aurora, Revell, Renwall, AMT, ect.) that Round 2, or Revell USA (which is crap today sadly) didn't want, and their kits are all American made. (Though people gripe about accuracy, fit, ect. not seeming to realize or appreciate the simplicity and history of the older kits...) They don't stock much other than Cars & Trucks, but they do occasionally have some decent stuff, especially Bandai kits - which are worth waiting for the monthly 40% off sales. (The owners of one of the local Hobby Shops actually snap up quite a few of those during the sales, to help keep their Gundam kits stocked - ironically they're about the same prices as their distributor.) 🙂

OH! Joy of joys! There's a new Hobby Lobby that just opened up in Hastings Ranch. I believe I can take the buses to that site, but it's more pleasurable if I can snag a ride. That way I can secure my new bought "Treasures" in a friend's car and not draw unwanted attention from cutpurses and Neer'-do-wells.

Now I have an excuse to visit that store regularly. Let's hope with the Olympics coming in four years, the added security will allow me to ride the trains by myself, and unarmed.

Anna and I wander over to Dibbles now and then, a very old very small shop. Anything else in this town is basically WallMart Hobbies, and that includes Hobby Lobby.

Come over, I will take you to the two shops that I know are still in business in the valley.

You're on Mike. Just name the date, time and the best place to meet.

Sadly that is happening all over

It's the same over here, really.

I remember there were two hobby shops here in town, one closed years ago, the other one closed recently.

Toys and videogames shops have closed as well, only one for each is still open (and the videogames shop is a computer store so doesen't sell many).

The only hobby thing that so far seems to be holding up over here is the comics shop.

Well. My hobby (radio electronics) has become part of my profession.
It's everywhere so (I'm from Europe), and the young ones now have a others hobby - just obscure themes, alcohol and smartphones.
(I say that - but I still even have not even completed forty years).

Now that's neat. I used to dabble in electronics too, building Bagged kits like digital dice or miniature railroad crossing like, flashing LEDS. I couldn't quite get the complicated logic circuits to work, but I learned about ICs and such by working at my failures again and again.

More precisely - I'm more on radio and radio communications. I can also work in other industries, from cars - to home electronics. - I am currently working as an electrician.
My father (also the electrician and the electronics) decided that the battery, a small electric motor and a small light bulb are sufficient "toys" for a young child. - It's been so many years ...

The main problem of youth - previously studied the basics. And then, on their base all the more complex and complicated things were created.
Now electronics - "electronics full ready blocks". Therefore, if a block or microchip is damaged, it is difficult for people to find a substitute. And only a few people will be able to assembly a substitute on the basic components.

the hobby shops within 40 miles of me are all closed, one from retirement after 60 years, another cuz the owner was a shady character, his lasted a year, one i worked for...owners son drove it in to the ground and another in gilroy closed cuz they guy...named guy, was a dick. now there are quite a few in the bay area that hang on. one is sheldons hobbys, another is j and m hobbies...that place has been in the same location, same "house" for 54 years and still going strong. that one is in the basement/lower house of the house above that is where the owner and his family live. sadly there are alot that just cave to the net, yet many seem to hold on..mostly cuz fair prices and they treat their customers like friends and family..like stores used to.

Been there, done that.

Yeah, I know. Every time I see the Lionel stuff at the Whistle Stop, I'm reminded of the layouts you've got.

Decades ago ('70s) Radio Shack was my toy store for electronic bits and bobs. Sadly they thought phones were the new great thing, so transistors and coils became harder and too pricey for what they wanted. Then there was the decade plus that I just quit going to Radio Shack because they kept demanding my phone number (the first and much to aggressive at trying to get it.)

They taught us not to go - and didn't have what we needed when we went - and are no more ...

That and a Fry's opened in Austin ...

I used to go to hobby shops, but too many had very limited selection and were priced too high (each sale had to help keep the lights on and many of the shops don't see enough foot traffic ...

Though now I can google what I'm looking for and see who has what for how much.

Quite a bummer really seeing a good store close down like that. Just the next thing you atleast don't want to happen but in an epic twist, it doesn't matter. For us all, hobby shops offered something at somewhere that isn't very much everywhere.

"Don't it always seem to go... We don't know what we've got 'til it's gone..."

I still know my way around beautiful malls that no longer exist.

(Smiles nostalgically after reading that statement.) Yeah. I was a bit of a "Mall Rat" in my younger days. The Puente Hills Mall and the Montclair Plaza were my main hangouts.

Cinderella City had to be seen to be believed.

It reads like it was "Enchanting."

The huge fountain in the Blue Mall court was something I could and did watch for what seemed like ages.

hobby shops all over us and Canada are closing down because parents are buying there kids an xbox/PS4/Switch and they sit in-front of a screen and Dont do anything creative.... a destruction of the Human mind.... as a result no one is buying model kits or kites or RC cars....

Kids aren't learning to build plastic model kits anymore.

Theres too many other means of entertainment available....And fathers don't seem to be passing down the skills and the love of Making anymore.

Larger shops seem to be surviving.
But smaller shops are just gone.

-Badger-

oh yes. when I was a kid my dad made me and my brother build planes from plain white paper. my brother went all science on it, with wings profile and whatnot; I just built a high-decker plane with swimmers (wheels looked to filigreed to me, so I went with swimmers) in the 1920's style of open-cockpit planes. dunno what became of it, I think I accidentally stepped on it...
at some point we both lost steam, but it was an awesome saturday afternoon. :)

I feel the same way about music stores! I guess this is what they call "progress" :1

Fortunately, Pasadena has ONE old style Music store that has been there since the late 1950s. At Canterbury music they have a vast selection of CDs Tapes, and even Vinyl LPs in hundreds of varieties. I've been able to find the rare and obscure recording from say like Jacques and Perry Electronic music to Mechanical Music machines. (I still have yet to find Strauss "Rippling Waves Waltz" on a Barrel Piano though.) Despite the competition from on line sales and availability, the place still hangs on. I'm guessing one reason is because the store is also a great place for the culturally conscience to hang out, cruise the stacks and discover new and exciting sounds.

Still, I do miss the selection provided by Tower records, or the big Borders downtown. The "Big B" also was one of the few places where I could find those Japanese Anime DVDs that I liked.

Aww yeah. Been there.

I felt like that when Radio Shack closed...and Toys R Us.

Yeah! I used to like visiting Radio Shack if I needed the occasional, odd component, or a quick build electronic gadget kit to solder together for a weekend project. I found their practice of insisting on getting too much personal information on the sales receipt and later their trying to sell me a cell phone every time I bought anything annoying, but it was a fun little store to shop in.

B&B Hobbies was where I bought my first Cox .049 control-line airplane back in the mid 70's. I was surprised it was still here when I moved back after 40 years. They still have the biggest selection of plastic models I've ever seen.

So, you just need to go to MALL*WART. They have everything!

Or not. I don't even know where I'd go if I wanted to buy a model kit. Wait -- yes I do:
http://www.amatostoyandhobby.com/
http://www.amatosmiddletown.com/
http://www.amatosnewbritain.com/

Oh, and: https://timemachinehobby.com/

Actually, plenty to keep me in trouble for time to come... You just live on the wrong side of the country.

Wow I used to live in Glendora and I can tell you that most of the hobby shops there died the day walmart came into town which was back in I think 94?

Yeah. Walmart appeared about then, in the late 1990s. I used to hang out regularly at the little Glendora Hobby shop in the North part of the Village until it closed down. (You might remember my display of built up Japanese battle robot models I had in the front window around 1989-1990.) Also gone, but not forgotten is the Hobby Bench in Covina, and Fantastic hobbies on Route 66 in Azusa. Heh! we might have rubbed elbows years ago.

Used to be quite a lot of hobby shops over here back in the day too. A majority of them closed up for various reasons. Original owners passed away, redevelopment, lack of business due to online shopping. Or, people simply don't have the time or money to afford a hobby any more. Just to name a few things.

Fortunately, there are still a few places that have stayed open. They are just kind of spread out a bit. Ya, if /everything/ closed down, I'd be pretty sad and wondering what's been going on too. :\

Lots of reasons - good chunk is online shopping, change in interests, ect.
Always sad to see the little stores close.

My nearest hometown has one toyshop.
Its there since 1956. Sadly, to me, their sortiment can no longer serve me.
Their young childrens sortiment would require me to be a dad, which, ahhh... Fails due to the absence of suitable company to create a need for childrens toys...
and the other part, the part with electric gasoline and electric powered RC vehicles and scale model trains, well... My current job doesn't pay me enough to afford such things on any realistic timeline.

I dissassembled my fathers Märklin H0 railway and packed the items last winter.
For leaving them standing a quarter finished for another five years would see them rust and dust over.
Instead I got a 3D printer, which I use for educational and special spare part manufacture at home.
Its electronics and mechanics are the same type of technology that is my hobby, anyway, but using it I can fabricate special parts from generic plastic which, in former times, I either bought , costly made-to-fit for me in the local store , or would have assembled myself from bought semi-specialized components.

Borders Books going kaput. Had one store accessible close to work and one store close to home respectively. That stung.

That, and the fact that they made damn sure to take Waldenbooks down with them...

Yeah, sadly I've had to deal with this sort of thing since when I was still a pup in the 90s. NAFTA came in and all the decent paying jobs went out. The 'Mom' and Pop' stores went next, including every single comic store, games store, and electronics store were gone in less than 4 years. Even the R/C car race track that people from all over the county came to... just 'poof', like they never existed. Wasn't until I finally got my own internet connection in '99 or '00 that I was able to then wander back into some of those hobbies, if on'y in a limited fashion due to my own bad financial situations at that time. :/

Same thing in my part of Arizona, The last of the old time hobby shops closed recently. Need to see if Michaels or Hobby Lobby carry balsa for scratch building - been wanting to do some builds from my copy of Keith Laumer's old book on designing and building model aircraft. Managed to score a copy of it - ex library book. Looks like it last circulated in the late 80s from the card in the pocket of the inside cover. Was a fave book of mine to check out when I was a kid.

On the plus side, The Whistle Stop here in Pasadena carries Balsa wood, Brass, Steel and plastic materials for the scratch builder. That shop has been in business since 1952, and in their current location for almost 40 years. I've wanted to build a couple of Keith Laumer's aircraft models for years as well. Most the designs are available online, but enlarging or reducing them to the proper scale might require help from a print shop.

Great to meet another model building enthusiast who also remembers Mr. Laumer.

I remember doing a double take when I first saw his name on a collection of Bolo stories when I was in high school in the early 80s, it clicked that this was the author of the model airplane book I'd loved. Got into those tales and all the Retief and World of the Imperium tales. Hehe years ago I had many a small balsa glider on the roofs of the neighbors homes - one of Laumer's designs, the Pipsqueek. 2 sheets of balsa and you could build a squadron of the things. Ah scaling up plans, I took drafting and mechanical drawing in Jr High so I could learn to do that. Would work on plans after completing the assigned work for class. Teacher took notice and asked for copies of the plans when I was done. Heh, one side effect of learning that type of drawing, made my attempts at cartooning look damn flat and stiff.

belgian comic artist Hergé used to be a technical drawer, hence why after the first issue of Tintin he went to a very flat lineart style without shading or shadows. not everybody's darling I guess, and it wouldn't work without colour, but he knew how to write, too.

Don't forget the story where the fellow who'd built a model of the bad guys' Bolo gave Retief some vital information about it!

Ironically, the friendly cook's name was "Chip." which was my boyhood nickname. Reading that story, "Project Gutenberg" made me wonder if I had met Mister Laumer in a previous life or something. I was working as a dishwasher and assistant cook in a small restaurant at the time I read the story. I found out much later that Mister Laumer was an avid model builder and designed many flying model airplanes. (The plans are still available online, too.)

Retief and the Bolos were masterpieces of the craft. You are a master of yours.

Thanks! I needed that.

Sincere, too.

same thing here in germany.
there is a store for paperworks, school stuff and toys down our main street. I think it has been existing since the war if not longer. they cut down on model railway and similar stuff years ago, and model kits are nearly absent. I still go there from time to time looking for those plastic sleeves I store my arts in. it's kind of sad, but really, most things are sold on the net these days.

a model railway shop downtown Stuttgart closed earlier this year, after like, 60 years. they only sell online. main reason was that the city failed to make the vicinity attractive enough for people to pass by, and the rent for the shop rooms went up again. so they took consequences...
another toy shop, existing since 1875, had to grow very small. they used to have a three-story house, now it's the back half, two storeys, and the cellar they have left. at least they are still existing, selling lil kids stuff, plushies, dolls, model railway, model kits, and RC stuff.

there is no RPG hobby shop downtown anymore, the next is in the next big city. one used to sell comics and novels mainly, and RPG stuff on the side... I used to get my first fixes of AD&D there, including those little tin figures you try to paint like your character. XD
the passage they were in was to be renovated, so they closed shop, fleeing the rising rent fees. the other shop was badly run and closed too, a few years later...
I don't think there are more than two specialized music shops in all of Stuttgart left of the good handful I knew. there is one really big book store, but their comics department is unkempt and not very large. :P

they built two large malls on opposing ends of the central money-spending-area, each have more or less the same shops you can find in the middle of the city. and many shops are empty, some are even rented out as part-time storage area... seems like germnans aren't that keen on oversized malls where you can't find the toilet in time. or your car in the garage down there. or the exit.



someone should place a clothed skeleton in a corner.

Das ist sehr Schade. Jetzt muss Ich biss Halloween warten um Plastikskellett zu bekommen. I know the perfect place to pull that Skeleton gag too.

Just no hand cuffing the plastic skeleton to conduit on the roof of a shopping mall... Did that when working security at the one in Flagstaff some years ago. Was trying to prank the maintenance crew, but we had a heavy snow and it was covered till spring. HVAC crew found it and freaked out big time. Plastic cuffs and display skeleton that was being tossed in the dumpster by a Spencer's store.

Gppd one. I tip my cap to you.

make a comic off it. :)

Well found sheet balsa at Herpy Derpy (Hobby Lobby). Was in buying a couple of frames for my 2 commission pieces of Hovard and Inge - Barn wood frames. Yeah, that skeleton prank worked out very well because of some actual rib bones on the roof. Ravens would scavenge bbq ribs from a Ruby Tuesdays restaurant dumpster and leave them up there. Dang near got fired for that one... Was worth it though.

To the internet, and big box stores.

Yeah I think we have one of the last model shops in the area in my town, and they probably survive mostly by online orders...

We had 5 hobby shops within a short drive. Now only the 1 is left! I sti9ll go there regularly.!

This hit a little too close to home. Was a sad day to see all the Games Workshop stores shutter some time ago. ;_;

There's a small family run hobby store near my college where I get most of my models from. Looking from their ads in my collections of old magazines I believe they've been around since the early 90s. I guess the owner is in his 50-60 now. Sitting on the top of the kit racks are models built by him and the kids, which are definitely show-grade by the way. Even the Mrs. is very knowledgable about model building.

I like to stop by their shop after school just to chat and buy a pot of Gunze paint or two. They are now one of only two model shop in the city, the other one is located in a mall dedicated to hobby stuff - from models, airsoft, hunting, bike, camera, vinyl, RC, die-cast, camping et cetera (Yes! there's actually such mall in my city!)

There also used to be a model railway store too with a pretty big layout, but unfortunately, they've closed their door in late 2000s

Sad really.

IME there have been two main things killing hobby stores.

First is a shift in hobbies. Simply put, the kind of kids who would hang out in hobby stores don't start with model kits and toy trains but with games like Minecraft.

Second is gatekeeping on the part of the stores and their regulars. This is a mix of direct hostility to new people¹ and a slow squeezing out of entry-level products.


The internet is a lesser problem than those, alongside what I call 'stock poisoning', (the slow buildup of stuff that simply doesn't sell²).



1: Not a universal problem, but a problem at enough stores that it hurts all of them.

2: This is what finished off a lot of game stores, often they were theoretically OK but had so much was tied up in various supplements for games no one had played in years that they couldn't swing the day to day expenditures.

I've noticed too.

The Incense shop got bigger though.

Heh! Over here in Pasadena, the hobby shops close and are either converted into restaurants, or Vaping Vendors. The last Hobby People store on Hill, is now an Indian Restaurant.

Yup. Heck, even my favorite thrift-shop closed several years ago. Now all I have are the chain-type ones like Goodwill and similar. Granted, can get some great deals on stuff there occasionally! Especially if you find something you want to get and it bears a price-tag matching that day's special color. Got a nice Rayovac battery charger (with two bonus rechargeable D-cells inside) for $1.99! (original price $14.99) The pricing overall isn't terribly consistent, see things either over or under-priced fairly often. But at least with the daily deals the over-priced stuff can be gotten for a more reasonable price. I miss Radio Shack too. While it was nowhere near they heyday of my father's youth during my lifetime (judging by old magazines that listed projects built with many a part no longer carried) it was still quicker than waiting on things to be shipped in via online ordering. Prices weren't any better, sometimes worse, but it was convenient. It was well over a decade ago that the local hobby-everything (Radio-control planes, trains of all sizes, RC cars, models, chemistry, and more!) closed its doors. I miss the Clover-Leaf, 'twas a wondrous place for a child. I've found other sources for things to tinker with, there's surely no shortage in today's disposable world! It only partly salves the nostalgia but it'll do for now. Still need to get a job so I can afford joining goings-on at the local Maker-space!

One thing I truly miss about the hobby shops I used to hang out at was the stores served as a great place for others of like mind to gather and chat about the goings on in their little corner of the world, or just simply "Talk Plastic" about their model building projects. Much like the Tonsorial parlor, General store, or Cigar shop in the days long gone, it was also a place to socialize. The big Pegasus Hobbies shop in Montclair is still very much like that, but it's almost an hour's drive from Pasadena. (At times with heavy traffic, maybe two hours.) Every time I attend a model kit swap meet and show, or visit an established hobby shop in another city, I yearn once again to return to the hobby.

Yeah. As a young introvert with little to talk about I mostly window-shopped while buying more super-glue for the cheap models I tried to assemble but it was always fun to see the assembled models on display and listen to others talk plastic! I did talk with some of the staff or shoppers occasionally, usually by listening to great stories of their past projects and the difficulties overcome along the way! Thanks for poking those dusty memories! Hadn't touched them in too long.

dawwwwww....

poor Mister Foxy -.-


yes. such things are always sad..

I try to stay hopeful by thinking that maybe another hobby shop will open soon, and fill that empty space.

*fingers crossed* ^^

There was a hobby shop in my town for twenty years. Was going strong, had an electronics section, plastic model section, RC section with cars, boats, helicopters, and even planes.

Guess what one of the first victims of the coronavirus was? The hobby shop is no more now and was replaced by some sort of boutique 'Home Goods' store.

AAAARRRGGGHHH!

(I scream because the restrictions from COVID 19 are threatening to close Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena for good. It's the only decent book store in town too.)

COVID-19 is burning through "legacy" retailers and privately-owned stores like a California wildfire. I fear at the end of all this we'll either be all dead or forced to shop at Amazon. Not sure which is worse.

I agree. Chances are we'll all be forced to do our shopping online instead of going out and getting stuff if the Tech Mavens have their way. What was it? I believe the feature "Elysium" gives a chilling account of how things might end up if trends continue.

I miss video rental stores!

I miss the GOOD video stores too! We only have one rather "Small and Sleazy" video store in Pasadena, where the floors are sticky, and the air is oh, so "Funky."

Berkshire Trains in Lexington Kentucky is still going strong, and I source most of my equipment from their scrap bins.

I had to check Berkshire Trains out because I have a long time "Pen Pal" in Lexington, KY. They have an interesting collection of "1:1" scale museum pieces on their lot.

I know the feeling... (Have seen a lot of businesses I've gone to for years go under in recent years.) 🫤

That stupid "COVID 19" scare with the Government shout downs of businesses like restaurants and craft shops did a lot to kill small businesses out here. That and the constantly escalating rent and taxes put a lot of my favorite "Haunts" out of business. It seems the only constant over here in this city is "Change." Of course, when a favored venue is forced to close, it not only hurts those who work there, but the customers as well.

I completely agree.
The last few nice, quiet Restaurants & Cafe's also went under out here as well. (One of which was built in the 50's, and not far from the airport. They had a nice 1930's-40's Jazz/Big Band that would play certain nights.)

And thanks to the lockdowns, I was "indefinitely furloughed" from my former employer, and couldn't finish my degree at the time due to the school's requirements. (I sweated & scraped to get into both - unlike some who's relatives got them in, they seem to just take it for granted...) As well as having had a few other things fall apart. 🙁

On a related subject, I follow Drum and Bugle corps competitions, but during the pandemic, gathering in large groups was prohibited or restricted, so even though these young performers would dutifully practice their music and routines, it meant there would be no audiences to watch the shows, or judge the performances. Some of those performers slipped from the prime of their youth, and when the pandemic rules were lifted, some performers too old to participate due to age restrictions.

"Captain...?" I need to install some sort of "Pinger" to let me know where you've responded, and when. I'm watching you because you come up with responses that are interesting to me, and close to my experiences.

I can relate there as well, it is a sad situation all around. 🙁

"One Ping. One Ping Only..."

And that works. 👍🙂
(Just don't call me "Late for Dinner"!