I try to support local stores. I have enough kits so I’m looking for paint usually or material. Fortunately the LHS are starting to stock more than Testors. The aftermarket goodies, especially figures, are probably not going to show up in a store anymore outside of larger manufacturers.
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Dont have an LHS at this time,but when I did I always bought from whatever source was cheaper.
My buying an occasional kit or jar of paint wasnt going to keep anybody in business.
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I will support a LHS if it has what I need, but the majority of LHSs do not now that I have mostly gone into buying resin kits.
It takes a very good selection of stock to compete with online stores. And most LHSs don’t know what are the “winning products,” which are from overseas, not made in the U.S.A.
LHS owners should look at comic and wargaming stores that stock most of the items needed for their hobby. Unfortunately, many LHSs do not stock what is needed for the hobby, preferring plastic kits over resin. I find this odd considering that wargaming has resin pieces so it’s not as if a LHS is stocking plastic for hobby health reasons.
I have been to great LHS in Japan, Canada, and the U.S. and I have bought from them and supported them while I was there. Unfortunately, many of the U.S. hobby shops have since closed before the pandemic. The ones in Japan and Canada I believe are still there. It’s just the nature of how the hobby is viewed and supported in some nations.
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I quit the LHS scene almost twenty years ago and haven’t regretted it yet.
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The traders I have been using have just opened up a proper shop in Glasgow. They are a family of modellers who began because they wanted access to all the products but at reasonable prices, so started trading at all the UK shows, then with lockdown etc the online really took off. They were doing it all from home but now have a fantastic wee treasure trove of a store. A lovely family and if there is anything they don’t have they will get it in for you. I know this sounds like an advert but I have absolutely no affiliation, just appreciate what they are doing, and why, so therefore support them as much as I can.
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Hello from Quebec in the great white north, eh. I’m in Sherbrooke a couple of hours east of Montreal. There were a couple of great hobby stores in the Montreal area (namely Udisco in NDG and Hobby Junction near the airport) that I used to make a regular pilgrimage to but sadly they have both closed in recent years. There is a really cool book store in Sherbrooke called the GGC (not sure what it stands for) that has an awesome toy department with a small hobby section. This is where I buy my paint (Tamiya acrylics mostly) and glue. Plus they have art supplies and that’s where I buy my brushes and oils. For Vallejo, Humbrol and other supplies such as sand and gravel fixer and the like I order online from a hobby shop in Toronto called Sunward Hobbies. I don’t really buy kits that often as I have my own “wall of shame”. I DO buy the odd figure or figure set, usually online from eBay or this cool online shop, also in Ontario, called Ultracast. As you can see, I try to keep my hard earned retirement dollars here in Canada as much as possible. But our LHS situation is somewhat limited. Happy modelling to everyone!!!
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My LHS is about an hour away. You walk in and it is like being transported back to the 70’s. Kits cost about 10 to 15 dollars more than online. They try to keep up with what is currently available online. Their advantage is they also sell old kits that you cant get online because they buy collections. Even so, they may not have what you want when you want it, but my online suppliers have the same problem with “back ordered”.
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Hello Igor; I live in Montreal and I share your pain about Udisco, and Hobby Junction, both of which I referred to above. Sadly, when Mark (the owner of Udisco) died of cancer, his sons quickly liquidated the company, and, apparently, the owners of Hobby Junction just got tired of the whole thing! In the past 60, or so, years, there have been many LHS (remember Trainatorium?) and they’ve all disappeared. Currently, the only shop left is Ted’s Hobbies, in Dorval, but plastic kits is only one hobby among toys, games, arts/crafts, and D&D, that the store caters to. Even though it’s usually more than 30 min. drive, it’s where I go for paint, glue, brushes, and the odd kit.
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I can’t support my LHS as there isn’t one.
I haven’t lived in a city with a LHS within 75 miles for well over a decade. Where I live previously there were ten LHS within a 45 mile radius in the 1990’s. One survives in today’s age and thrives. They treat customer well, are flexible and embrace trends. R/C, WarHammer, Collectable card games arecpart of their revenue stream. I support that shop by visiting if I’m in the area.
On the bright side $13 for shipping seems trivial compared to a 150 mile round trip and three hours to buy two bottles of paint that are 50/50 at being in stock.
These online stores are my new LHS’s
Spruebrothers.com
Plastic Model Store Ukraine
Hobby Easy
Lucky Model
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I have strong loyalty to my local hobby shop down in Tucson, AZ… As for online model retailers, my loyalty goes to Sprue Brothers and Burbank House of Hobbies, while internationally, I go with BNA Model World in Australia.
I haven’t bought anything from Andy’s Hobby HQ yet, despite them being “local” to me; but I will as soon as i am able. I have a backup hobby shop in Hurst, TX - Hobbytown USA; which I go to when I am visiting the kinfolk up in Ft. Worth.
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I live in northern Maine and I’ve used Burbank house of hobbies quite a bit. Orders get processed and shipped very quickly. For me generally 2-3 days from order to arrival in my dirty little hands.
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Exactly the same here. My loyalty goes to a multitude of online stores. And I’ve gotten very used to this form of shopping. I will add… Good customer service goes a long way in this business.
—mike 
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Speaking of HobbyTown, there are some good ones in Colorado in Texas. Just because they’re a chain doesn’t make them bad.
At any rate, don’t forget your $15 off coupon good until the 21st. Nothing inspires loyalty like saving enough money to go out to Popeyes for lunch.
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