New York Hs?

[nzl60]

Hi guys

I am lucky enough to be heading over to NYC in a couple of weeks and seeing as we are getting great value for money at the moment I thought I might treat myself to some new toy...sorry...I mean necessary Tamiya items and or other essential items I come across

Can anyone suggest the best Central NY Hobby Store?

Cheers nzl

[gt6++]

You will be hard pressed to find a hobby store in NYC that sells RC kits. It is pretty sad actually. America's Hobby Center is gone (relocated to NJ), though it wasn't much to speak of anyway. Still it was nice to have 1 shop on the island. I think there is 1 in the Bronx, 1 in Brooklyn, and 1-2 in Queens. I never visited them though.

Otherwise there is a hobby shop that sells static models near central park, I think it is in the 90s. Enjoy your vacation!

[Hibernaculum]

That confirms my suspicions too.

I visited New York for the first time in April-May this year, and as I always do, I tried looking for hobby stores in the hotel 'yellow pages' directory (or equivalent).

But I was surprised that there wasn't really anything interesting. I was staying near Times Square, and there was nothing even close to that area.

I was really surprised, and disappointed, given that I had always imagined New York to be a shopping mecca of the world, and that surely they'd have some sort of grand old hobby establishment that had been there for decades. But it seems those days are long gone. And what's more, even the department stores in New York are rubbish when it comes to quality toys. Which leaves you with the giant Toys R Us store, which literally has a Ferris Wheel and a huge animatronic dinosaur inside the store. But very little in the way of hobby stuff, as is the norm for this pathetic toy supermarket chain these days.

One thing I did find in New York though was F.A.O. Schwarz - a really old toy company store, which is pretty big and expensive, and traces it's history back to 1862.

You can read all about it here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.A.O._Schwarz. If you're near it, it's definitely worth a look. There's a tiny bit of hobby type stuff, but the place is so nicely presented and old fashioned that I was quite impressed anyway. They sell a lot of old fashioned toys (and modern chinese repros of old fashioned toys), and also have some original collectibles on display (not for sale). If you appreciate vintage toys of all kinds, it's a must. Far nicer than Toys R Us, IMHO.

London at least has Hamleys, which is a giant toy store with a whole floor devoted to hobby stuff. So there's some amusement to be had (even if you just laugh at the prices - which are 2 or 3 times that of buying kits on eBay!)

In my travels so far, I have noticed that there are very few hobby stores in the popular areas of big cities. A lot of the time, the great hobby stores are just small businesses trying to survive on the outskirts. Which makes me quite glad that at least Hobbyco in Sydney have survived for such a long time (since the 1950s or earlier) and are quite large. Expensive, but still well worth visiting.

cheers,

H.

[queens33588]

This is from the tamiya website. I put my zip plus a 10 mile difference. This is what came up.

enjoy

Flushing , NY

Big Apple Hobby Show

171-69 46th Ave

Flushing, NY 11358-3332

Phone: (718) 961-9611

Kew Gardens , NY

Comic Den Inc.

80-62 Lefferts Blvd

Kew Gardens, NY 11415

Phone: (718) 805-3789

Bronx , NY

Bruckner Hobbies

3587 E. Tremont Ave.

Bronx, NY 10465-2101

Phone: (718) 863-3434

Ozone Park , NY

Sukon's

13521 Crossbay Blvd

Ozone Park, NY 11417-2801

Phone: (718) 641-2828

Glendale , NY

The Marx Man

72-50 66th Street

Glendale, NY 11385

Phone: (718) 418-9439

Ridgewood , NY

Nagengast Hardware & Hobby

6802 Fresh Pond Rd

Ridgewood, NY 11385-5241

Phone: (718) 821-0958

Notes: http://www.nhshobbies.com

Rockville Centre , NY

Trains N Hobbies

91 N Park Ave.

Rockville Centre, NY 11570-4105

Phone: (516) 764-6676

Brooklyn , NY

Greenpoint Toy Center

738 Manhattan Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11222-2910

Phone: (718) 383-8296

New York , NY

Jans Hobby Shop

1435 Lexington Ave

New York, NY 10128

Phone: (212) 861-5075

Bronx , NY

Shipman Concourse

2336 Grand Concourse

Bronx, NY 10458-5202

Phone: (718) 295-5444

New York City , NY

Robot Village

252 W. 81st Street

New York City, NY 10024

Phone: (212) 799-7626

New York , NY

Red Caboose

23 W 45th St

New York, NY 10036

Phone: (212) 575-0155

New York , NY

Manhattan Train & Hobby

14 W. 45th Street

New York, NY 10036

Phone: (212) 840-8700

Brooklyn , NY

Brooklyn Hobbies

3842 Flatlands Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11234

Phone: (718) 951-2500

Brooklyn , NY

Michele's Craft and Hobby Supply

2090 Flatbush Ave.

Brooklyn, NY 11234

Phone: (718) 377-9183

New York , NY

America's Hobby Center

263 W. 30th Street

New York, NY 10001

Phone: (212) 675-8922

New York , NY

Village Comics

214 Sullivan St.

New York, NY 10012

Phone: (212) 777-2770

Brooklyn , NY

Wonderland

6602 11th Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11219

Phone: (718) 680-5111

Distance: 14.8 mi.

Show Map

Staten Island , NY

Brownie's Pro & Sport Hobbies

124 Bennett St

Staten Island, NY 10302-1426

Phone: (718) 727-2194

[nzl60]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the info it is definitely appreciated! It does seem a shame there isnt a 'mega' store as I had envisaged but I will definitely check out some of those stores queens33588 if I am I am close to any so cheers for those addresses.

Hibernaculum I know what you mean about Hamleys, I am currenty living in London and I love the store but do as you do and laugh at their prices, I have a friend who can get me a 30% discount there but even then its often cheaper to buy of the net. Shame really. F A O Schwarz sounds like a bit of me I will be sure to check it out! No doubt probably arriving back in the UK with a much smaller bank balance..but hey what are holidays for if not to enjoy yourself

nzl

[Hibernaculum]

Absolutely Hope you have a great time.

Despite the lack of hobby shops, we still liked New York - huge place with tons to see and do at all hours.

And I made up for my hobby withdrawal elsewhere on the trip, by being lucky enough to score a bag full of vintage Tamiya parts in a hobby store in Paris, and another bag full in Anchorage, Alaska. Parts like Supershot tyres, parts and 959 parts, and Holiday Buggy tyres for $2 a pair and lots more. So I was stoked

cheers,

H.

[Shodog]

Americas hobby Center used to be a gold mine. around 2000 I visited on a business trip and bought 4 huge boxes of parts for $35. They were filled with tons of SRB, wild willy and Hilux parts.

I went back for another business trip in 2006 and they had moved and didn't have squat for vintage parts.