Past hobby shops remembered

[Saito2]

I didn't know quite where to post this. Seeing that brick and mortar hobby shops are on the decline, I felt some that were important to us could be remembered in the "Vintage" section. I had quite a few I visited in my youth but figured perhaps we could look back at them one at a time.

My favorite hobby shop was called Allied Hobbies, found in York PA, USA. It sat in the corner of a L-shaped strip mall. The store's interior was kind of wedge shaped because of this, wide at the front tapering toward the back. It had the typical of the day glass front display window which was often full of train sets and slot car tracks. When you entered you stood at the end of a long glass counter/display case the ran the length of one side of the store. It was here, I first saw many of my beloved Tamiya RC models in the flesh. Seeing an assembled Bigwig here was like meeting a celebrity that had only previously been glimpsed in magazines (or a guidebook ) Chargers, batteries and radio sets were also laid out here. Behind the counter was a wall of pegboard on which various parts and hop-ups hung. Above that was a long shelf fully stocked with new Tamiya kits and the odd RC10 or two.

The store had everything, besides the aforementioned, I bought static models here, from Monogram and Revell muscle cars to Tamiya 1/35th militay models to airplanes of all types. I bought every Tamiya "Junior" (mini 4wds) model here except two (the Monster Beetle Jr. and Fox Jr.) I remember after collecting them all at the time, being very happy when I saw the new Clod Buster Jr had come out. I even bought microscope slides there. In the back was a craft section. The beauty of this, was my mother was happy to come here as well perusing the craft supplies (yarn , baskets etc.) 

I remember, first seeing a Clod Buster here, in action. A customer brought it in with steering issues and the clerk test ran it to have a look-see. The Clod veered off and almost knocked over a spinner rack chock full of those little red and yellow MRC/Tamiya spare parts bags. "Wow, I see what you mean" he uttered before hoisting it up on the counter for a closer inspection.

I bought my first Tamiya RC here, the Lunch Box. I had saved for nearly a year for it and my father very graciously kicked in for the radio gear, an Airtronics Vector Stick transmitter. The clerk who sold it to me was fairly young (early 20's) and seemed pretty excited about it as well. The memory of him reaching up to that shelf and bringing the kit box down on the glass display case in front of me is burned into my memory banks. The sense of fulfillment after all that time earning that money...the size of the kit being finally face-to-face with it and not studying it with a magnifying glass over a magazine ad. Yes, if I had to revisit one hobby shop, Allied would be it. Tell me about yours.  

 

[78Triumph]

My local strip mall in the late 80's and early 90's had a store called "Pet's Pet's Pet's Hobby and Game" in Chester, NJ, and as you can guess, it was half a pet store, half a hobby shop.  I spent hours in there when I was a little kid looking at the shelf of Tamiya kits, the model kits, and the racks of paints.  I always liked checking out the different rc tires and aftermarket bodys.  If my mom had to to do errands in the mall I would just go to the hobby shop until she was finished.  My friends and I would ride our bikes there a lot too.  I remember when I first got my hand me down Rough Rider I brought it there to get another tie rod for it.  The guy who was always behind the counter said "that car is an antique!" and this was in the early 90s.  Who would of thought they'd be so collectible today!  I got my first new Tamiya kit there when I was in sixth grade, the Saint Dragon.  I remember being so stoked and I loved putting it together.  I was in High School and getting away from the RC thing when the shop closed up, but a good portion of my childhood was spent in that hobby shop. 

[Juggular]

I googled "Allied Hobbies, PA" and there is one popping up in Philadelphia.  While the one in York didn't survive, maybe Philadelphia store survived?   

My LHS was Tammie's Hobbies in Beaverton, Oregon.  It's still there.  I don't know if the lazy-eyed clerk is still there or not.  He was knowledgeable and always enthusiastic about helping customers.  You could tell he loved working there.  Great guy.  

There was another smaller shop in Beaverton area, I think.  I had a dual motor Kyosho monster truck.  It was based on a Nissan truck.  Kyosho Double Dare!  I took a Polaroid picture of it and posted it in that shop.  Within a week, I sold it for about $100 or 110.  I would get an occasional call from that Polaroid ad, even a year later.  Eventually, I told the last caller to take down the polaroid.  

In that store, I had overheard the store owner and an elderly gentleman chatting about who shot down the Betty bomber that was carrying Admiral Yamamoto during WWII.  How the pilot who shot him down wasn't credited, and his captain took the credit.  Some years later, the controversy came out in History channel.  That pilot lived not too far away in Oregon.  

Occasionally I'd venture into Portland and visited "Bridgetown Hobbies."  A mustached guy there was a great static armor builder.  He was quite attentive and helpful too, though back in early 90's a mustache was a bit weird (he'd look great about now).  All in all, I have great memories of hobby shops.  I wish hobby shops had organized races or building competition or something, so there would be other reasons to go there (I think Bridgetown might have had something like that).  I drove to Seattle to see a model show every summer at the airport.  I entered one too.  My E100 tank didn't win anything, but I had fun building it.  

Fast forward several years, I restored half a dozen vintage Tamiya RC cars around 2000.  I had to find parts on ebay because LHS didn't carry parts for old stuff.  I feel guilty about that.  

 

[Kevin_Mc]

Beatties in Clydebank Shopping Centre near Glasgow - i used to go in there weekly with my mum when we would visit my grandad. We used to always go next door for a come at Colpis and every time i have some of their ice cream i think of the train that ran along just under the ceiling. 

[LeftyAl]

Mine is still open after 25 yrs of me going there.... but has changed dramatically both in content and size. He has moved to a few different locations. RC used to dominate the shop, but now he is more toy store than hobby. It is sad to see as he and his offsider used to really know their stuff about RC and had heaps of spares. The online world and cheap cars on the market have had an impact on him.

You can tell which Tamiya cars I bought at his store as the last thing he does when selling you a kit is open up the manual, turn to the back pages and use a marker to tick off all the parts bags in the box. I must have around 10 cars I got from him, plus a heap of spares and tools etc.

 

[Prescient]

Ah yes, Toy Town in Leamington Spa, Midlands UK. Always had the good stuff including Clod & Bullhead + Tanks. 

 

[Jonathon Gillham]

Mine is actually still open although in its third location and nothing like it used to be.  In the 90s it was in the city so we had to catch a bus to get there, but it was worth the trip.  There were a few smaller shops in the suburbs but they would only carry a tiny amount of stock, maybe 8 RC car kits, some balsawood supplies, static models etc.  The big shop in the city was massive and probably had 100 or so RC car kits, plus boats, planes etc and then another huge part of the store with slotcars and trains.  This was when the TA01/2 ruled the stock car racing, so early 90s.  They also carried some Losi kits which were exotic compared to the Tamiya and Kyosho kits that we could afford (if we saved enough).  We were amazed that these kits were over $500 and didn't come with a motor or speed controller, that just seemed mental to us when we would pay $200 including those things.

They carried a lot of stock and what they didn't have in stock they could get pretty quickly.

They moved to a much smaller shop and then to their current location which is actually pretty big buy in an industrial/commercial part of town.  They still carry quite a lot of RC gear but its mostly RTR with a few TT02 kits.  Their website hasn't been updated for years so you can't trust that when it says they have parts in stock.  Some of the staff are like back in the day and very helpful, but some appear to be too busy to actually help you in store (mostly asking if they have something and the answer is invariably no).

Funnily enough the former manager from back in the glory days has starting racing at my outdoor club.  He must be close on 70 now and is near the back of the field but still there.

[tamiya_1971]

I used to go to a Hobby Haven store in Independence, MO out at a shopping mall and buying Estes model rockets when I was around 13 years old (around 1984). This was my second hobby (the first was baseball cards since first grade).  I would save money during the summer and my allowances and build, buy and paint rockets. This is where I noticed RC cars and couldn't believe how expensive they were. I knew there was no way in heck I would be getting one of those for my birthday/Christmas, especially after finding out there was no radio, battery, or charger included. So I chugged away at rockets for another 2 years. 

Eventually, after a Sears Lobo rc, lusting over rc's in RC Modeler magazine, and finally asking the hobby store clerks the cost on everything, I ordered all my stuff through an ad in the RC Modeler magazine. I couldn't get anything cheaper at the hobby store than I could the magazine. A Tamiya Hornet, an AristoCraft Challenger 250 radio, a 7.2v hump pack, and an Aristocraft 15 minute quick charger. This was great and I think the only part I ever had to buy that officially broke was the bumper.  

Fast forward to November 1988 and there was a help wanted sign up in the Hobby Haven which was now about a mile from my house. Shopping malls were on the decline and strip malls were popping up everywhere. My favorite place had moved a few months before and now it was basically in my backyard. I was saving up for a better real car than what I had, and after working the summer at a movie theater, this would be much more fun. I walked in one cold November evening, asked for an application, filled it out at home, and turned it in the next day.  I was interviewed either on the spot or a day later, hard to remember. I do remember being more excited than ever. I got the job and spent the next 3 years working there during my last year of high school and my first years of college. I can only say that it was a blast. Not only selling rc's, fixing them, and selling them, but getting to talk to so many people with the same interest. Plus there was a discount which really helped.  

After that, I ended up working in some other jobs, but eventually went back about a year and a half later to a different location but the same owner. It was an all around fantastic time. I worked with some great people and also some idiots, just like any job. It gave me a great background on how small businesses operate. I also listened to the owner complain for years about how Great Planes was screwing hobby shops over by competing with them (Tower). He would get so upset that they would sell items cheaper in the catalogs than what he could get them for at cost. 

The second time back I only stayed about a year and just worked a few hours a week while working a different job and finishing up my studies. I truly miss talking to and helping out people with models, rc's, rockets, miniatures, paints, planes, etc.

I'm glad someone out there took a pic of the store before the mall was torn down.

 

[Hibernaculum]

Saito, in some ways it's as if we are lost brothers   Last night, seemingly just before your post, I was also simutaneously babbling about past hobby shop vintage finds... because lately I get the sense that the days of the hobby shop vintage find, are truly over. Due largely to the closure in recent years of most of the remaining hobby shops that have a history dating back to the 1980s.

My favourite hobby shop was, without a doubt, a place called Yennora Hobbies. Located in the Sydney suburb of Yennora. The facade had a small sliding door, and a sign above. It made the shop look small from the outside. And it was located not in a nice retail area, but in a boring industrial area where its neighbours were mechanics and pet food wholesalers and other trade stores.

However...

Once inside, the store turned out to be very long, running about 10 times deeper than it was wide. And the first thing you saw was a vending machine for a cold drink (great on a hot day), followed by long glass cabinets filled with vintage R/C cars for sale on consignment   And of course, behind the counter were peg boards full of parts, and shelves high up on the wall, stacked with Tamiya and many other kits. Along with bargain bins near the counter, which at one point were full of Supershot pin spike tyre sets.

My Dad and I used to make a day trip of it, and drive to this store... and spend about 2 hours just walking around inside, as there was so much to see. Tons of model train stuff too, which we were also into. Sometimes the vintage R/C consignments included partial cars - so that for $40 or so, I might walk away with the front gearbox of a Hotshot, or some such, and still feel happy that I had got something for my vintage restorations without spending hundreds.

This was all in the early-mid-1990s, before the days of eBay and Internet.

I tried very hard to piece together any photos I could a few years ago, of the Yennora store, and wrote at length about it on my site - prompting the owner to get in touch with me, and send me a couple more photos of the interior. Sadly none of the photos show the Tamiyas, but still... take my word for it when I say that I once found a mint new-built Tamiya Lamborghini Cheetah for sale (in the cabinet to the right of this photo below), sitting on the bottom shelf, for $100... among many other things over the years...

For my epic babble about it, you can also read part 1 and part 2.

The store closed in the early 2000s, after being ransacked by thieves. (Why does every great hobby store have a sad ending?)

Great memories guys, keep them coming.

H.

[markbt73]

The ones I remember from my childhood are Whitt's Hobby Shop in the Northgate shopping center in Aurora, Illinois, and a small shop whose name I can't recall in the basement of the nearby Fox Valley Mall. The proprietor of Whitt's is the reason I started with Tamiya; I originally wanted a Kyosho Pegasus, but he wouldn't sell me one, calling it "junk out of the box." He convinced me to start with a Grasshopper instead. I spent many hours and many weeks' worth of allowances there, hopping up my Grasshopper and Blackfoot, watching the cars on their enormous 1/24 scale slot car track, and browsing the static models.

The shop in Fox Valley was tiny, dark, cramped, and full of wonders, but run by a cantankerous old man who apparently didn't actually want to sell anything. There was a display case showing assembled models (including a spectacular Pocher Rolls Royce), aisles crammed with plastic kits from all over the world, airplanes hanging from the low ceiling, and, on a high shelf behind the counter, Tamiya (and only Tamiya) RC kits. They were each marked with Tamiya's MSRP (a prelude of today's situation?), and the owner wouldn't even take the boxes down unless he thought you were a "serious" customer. So I went in and bought my little 1/32 scale Lindberg and Airfix static kits, and stared longingly at the Datsun 280ZX and Wild Willy and Blazing Blazer boxes, ten feet from me, but might as well have been on Pluto.

Fast-forward to college, in the early 90s, and a race track in Duluth, MN, whose name I can't remember either, long gone now. I raced 1/10 and 1/12 scale pan cars there on a carpet oval. The attached shop was tiny, and useless unless you raced pan cars, but it was a fun place to spend Saturday afternoons.

In Minneapolis, I got to know Hub Hobby Center and RC Car Kings, both of which are still there, still doing well, still palaces of wonder. I probably spent enough to buy a full-sized car at those shops during the 10 years that I lived there. And I would bet that, if you were allowed to dig around in the back room of either, there would be vintage treasures to be had even today.

And now, in Portland, there is Tammie's Hobbies, which splits its floor space evenly between RC, trains, and static models. I don't get over there as often as I would like (it's a good 45 minutes from my house), but I have chosen to buy kits there in the past, rather than ordering them from the internet, and I will continue to do so as long as they're there, and have what I want in stock.

[Saito2]

18 hours ago, Hibernaculum said:

Saito, in some ways it's as if we are lost brothers   Last night, seemingly just before your post, I was also simutaneously babbling about past hobby shop vintage finds... because lately I get the sense that the days of the hobby shop vintage find, are truly over

I know what you mean! Just after I started this topic, I checked my email to find a message that you had made a new entry into RC Toy Memories...and it was about hobby shops!

More memories...I had great times at a small hobby shop in a run-down section of York city called Mel's Hobbies. This place was mostly RC with some static kits thrown in. Mel's shop was small, but jamb packed with vintage Tamiya goodness. Its was here that I saw stacks of those tan/brown Tamiya body kit boxes for the first time. He also had the old tire boxes that had their own boxart. I bought Holiday Buggy rear tires there (still have them, in good shape, too) because RC Car Action said something about them being good 2wd tires, especially for the RC10. He had tons of lexan bodies too. 

Mel didn't just carry Tamiya. He had Associated and Kyosho too. Seeing Kyosho Option House parts in person almost made me want an Optima back then (almost). Mel's place was always full of guys chatting it up about RC. It was a lively little place in a dusty corner of town. Mel probably helped me "hands-on" more than any other shop. When the grub screw on my Lunch Box pinion stripped, it was Mel who came to the rescue. I recall my Lunchie being a lot smaller than the Big Brute another customer had sitting on the counter next to it. When I got my 2nd RC kit, a Marui Toyota Land Cruiser (closeout sale from Omni Models, only $49.99!) I dismayed by the strange battery connector and 6V/5 cell battery requirement. Mel hooked me up with not only a battery that would fit but also rewired the MSC to a Tamiya plug, all while entertaining his guest yet not talking down to me. He did caution "that's the first thing that will give you problems" with an accusatory finger pointed at the Mauri MSC. He was right.

The first time I ever went, I didn't know what to expect. My dad surprised me by taking me up to the city, to Mel's,  later one evening after a long day at work. I had asked but didn't expect to get anywhere. I was memorized the place with all those adults talking hard-core RC. I grabbed a Fox Jr kit (my first racing mini 4wd) just so it wouldn't have just been a window shopping trip. Mel has since retired. He sold the business, but it wasn't the same. Now that gentleman has retired as well and the small shop once so full of life is dormant. 

[Peter_B]

On 6/11/2018 at 12:52 AM, Prescient said:

Ah yes, Toy Town in Leamington Spa, Midlands UK. Always had the good stuff including Clod & Bullhead + Tanks. 

 

My Nan used to work there. Her staff discount was used for a few battery packs

[ThunderDragonCy]

What a lovely thread. So many similar stories from all over the world. We really do have more in common than differentiates us. 

"My" shop was Longhurst and Skinner, a little independent toy shop on Midland Road in Bedford, England, before Toys R Us and the rest destroyed independent toy shops. It had lots of the usual 80s fayre up front (Barbies, action man, transformers etc) but one side of the shop window and a separate counter at the back were always dedicated to modelling and RC. The back counter had a top shelf where all the RC boxes would be stacked (mostly tamiya but must have had a Kyosho and a ninja), shelves full of Hornby trains and Scalextric cars, airfix models and tamiya juniors (the only thing me and my friends could actually afford).

There would be Hornby trains and Scalextric in one side of the front window (I had a few model trains and listed after a Scalextric) and one day in 1989 an impressionable 12 year old me looked in the window and saw The Future. The Tamiya Thunder Dragon suspended in mid air on fishing wire and I was hooked! And that very car is the car I have today (albeit with virtually no original parts!!!). I got it for my 13th birthday.

I still love browsing model shops. 

[moffman]

Beatties in Newcastle was my shop😏! Going with my mum on a Saturday she would go over to Bainbridges (now John Lewis I think) and i would spend my time looking at the in store video of the tamiya rc car range in beatties so much so the manager very kindly give me a copy of the vhs video😁 this was the time when children were free and actually interacted with each other (way before the mobile phone ya know the good times😉) my mum would then come over to beatties and we would go over to Fenwicks and have something to eat, oh I really loved them times and have fond memories🙄,  I found my first ever RC club because of beatties!, there was a second one in Newcastle owned by beatties called leisure world and I got my first ever real RC in the leisure world store (ford ranger). 

[martinjpayne]

Anyone remember Gregory's Models / Robin Thwaites / Beatties in Arundel Street, Portsmouth: best place for Tamiya in the 80's, and Ray Browns in Kingston Road, Portsmouth if you wanted Kyosho (or helicopters, plane & boats).

[berman]

On 6/11/2018 at 1:47 PM, Jonathon Gillham said:

Mine is actually still open although in its third location and nothing like it used to be.  In the 90s it was in the city so we had to catch a bus to get there, but it was worth the trip.  There were a few smaller shops in the suburbs but they would only carry a tiny amount of stock, maybe 8 RC car kits, some balsawood supplies, static models etc.  The big shop in the city was massive and probably had 100 or so RC car kits, plus boats, planes etc and then another huge part of the store with slotcars and trains.  This was when the TA01/2 ruled the stock car racing, so early 90s.  They also carried some Losi kits which were exotic compared to the Tamiya and Kyosho kits that we could afford (if we saved enough).  We were amazed that these kits were over $500 and didn't come with a motor or speed controller, that just seemed mental to us when we would pay $200 including those things.

They carried a lot of stock and what they didn't have in stock they could get pretty quickly.

They moved to a much smaller shop and then to their current location which is actually pretty big buy in an industrial/commercial part of town.  They still carry quite a lot of RC gear but its mostly RTR with a few TT02 kits.  Their website hasn't been updated for years so you can't trust that when it says they have parts in stock.  Some of the staff are like back in the day and very helpful, but some appear to be too busy to actually help you in store (mostly asking if they have something and the answer is invariably no).

Funnily enough the former manager from back in the glory days has starting racing at my outdoor club.  He must be close on 70 now and is near the back of the field but still there.

Hobby City?

My local haunt when I was a kid was Trainsville in Taupo. Had a massive train layout in a room behind the counter, and plenty of RC and slotcar stuff on top of train and modeling supplies squashed into its little premises. I also remember the tamiya videos playing on the vhs a d the 10 inch tv! I used to spend far too much time there but used to spend all my pocket money and paper run on slot cars, mini 4wds and later RC. Then I moved up to Auckland to live with my Dad and Heritage Models in Glen Eden became my local. Thats when I started racing my T&E bought Boomerang at the Bancroft Cres track (which is apparently called West Auckland Radio Controlled Car Club).   

[StrokerBoy]

"The Model Shop", Hull, England.  Above the door was signwritten "The most exciting shop in town" and they never had any arguments from Trading Standards about that.

Opened in 1962, it was tiny, yet it sold everything.  A narrow central door, and a window display either side crammed with beautifully finished models.  There'd always be people stood outside admiring the display.  Inside there was a central unit with a small train set permanently running round, surrounded by accessories and rolling stock.  All the walls were floor-to-ceiling boxes : RC kits, static models, die-cast cars, Hornby trains, Scalextric, plus paints, materials, tools, catalogues, everything.  If there were half-a-dozen customers in the shop, you had to wait outside - it was that small.  I still don't know how they did it, if there was something you wanted, they always had it in stock somewhere, the old chap that ran it knew exactly where it was.  I bought my Pumpkin kit there in 1989, and countless static model kits before that.

The owner retired in 2006 and it was taken over, but it changed direction (to compete with ModelZone, HobbyCraft and Toys R'Us ?) and was never the same.  It finally closed in 2011 (see pic) and is now an office for a local coach-tour business.

Edited June 14, 2018 by StrokerBoy
Photo added

[Hibernaculum]

Brief note... some years ago I traveled in the UK, and the USA, and elsewhere. And on my journeys, I visited many hobby shops. But there were two which I saw, but did not have the actual time to visit. One was in Cambridge, UK. The other was in Oakland, USA.

The latter seemed much bigger.

I suspect neither of them exist anymore. Does anyone know if a) they still exist, and b) if they used to be any good? Basically I have always wondered if I missed out on something great, by not stopping by either of those. Both probably had a boxload of original Audi Quattro front bumpers and Willy tyres sitting on the counter.

[Hibernaculum]

Also, I always thought it was funny that this shop (this image is taken from an advertisement) appeared to have inserted the man on the right, artificially into the photo. Did they really need to fake-insert a dude in order to have someone reaching for packet of... (what vintage gold can it be? Wild Willy tyres? Kyosho Scorpion shocks? Scorcher black bumpers?)

I'd have posed for them, swimming in a box of those kits and parts if they'd wanted. Fully naked even.

The image is from "Ren Models", from Cambridge UK, in 1982. I am just not sure if that's the Cambridge Hobby store I saw but did not visit (as mentioned in my previous post)...

[Maverick74]

My favorite hobby shop was classically dubbed “The Hobby House” located on Preston Hwy in Louisville Ky.    It was the only hobby shop around at that time.  That is where you went to venture in RC.  It wasn’t more than 5,000 square feet but was packed with all the classics from Tamiya and Kyosho.  Had just enough room for any hop ups that were out on the market.  I can remember the wall of tires and body’s that was strategically placed by the kits and the smell of new rubber that came from them.  It sported an out door dirt track that wasn’t anything special but that is where I caught the bug in the summer of ‘84.. That’s where I first saw the Frog get air and was amazed that it didn’t break on impact and how fast it was.  Growing up in the late 70’s-80’s we were use to radio shack and Tyco quality RC then to see oil dampening machines that you had to build is where I got my mechanical inclination I have today.  I can remember seeing the top end models and dug into my pocket and had just enough for The Grasshopper which MSRP at around 60 dollars and a Futaba Attack controller that cost more than the kit around 70 I think.  I got a hump  backed 7.2 battery and a MRC 15 min quick charger and never again did I look at RC the same!  Around 86 The Hornet was just out of my reach at 80, the Falcon at 99 and a dreamers dream of the Fox was a whopping 135 and the Monster Beetle around 128. They had its own case of modified motors.  I drooled after seeing my first Trinity Joel Johnson modified and started mowing lawns for my next kit.  Of course only the wealthiest at the time could even dream of the RC-10 or The BigWig which were over 225.. no RTR’s there.. was unheard of except at Radio Shack or ToysRus which no way was even in the same class.  I eventually procured all the ones I wanted but didn’t have access to a track like they had in the west coast so the BMX bike track became my favorite place to go and still is to this day.  I still love dropping them to watch them absorb the drop with no bounce.. don’t know why but always thought that was cool.  The hobby  shops today in no way rival the ones when Tamiya was boss.  Fortunately I was able to have my children following my footsteps to keep the hobby alive.  These are but a small part of my memories,, thanks for your stories for it brings back wonderful memories

[Jonathon Gillham]

12 hours ago, berman said:

Hobby City?

My local haunt when I was a kid was Trainsville in Taupo. Had a massive train layout in a room behind the counter, and plenty of RC and slotcar stuff on top of train and modeling supplies squashed into its little premises. I also remember the tamiya videos playing on the vhs a d the 10 inch tv! I used to spend far too much time there but used to spend all my pocket money and paper run on slot cars, mini 4wds and later RC. Then I moved up to Auckland to live with my Dad and Heritage Models in Glen Eden became my local. Thats when I started racing my T&E bought Boomerang at the Bancroft Cres track (which is apparently called West Auckland Radio Controlled Car Club).   

Yes thats the one, Hobby City. Did you go to it when it was in the original store in Nelson street?

Funnily enough i remember heritage models too, I bought my Vanquish mini 4wd from there, the gold edition.

And I'm a member of the WARCCC which is at Bancroft cres still. They don't run meets but they maintain the track for members to use anytime.

And I was trying to buy a Boomerang from T&E (Trade and Exchange right?) but then my jate told me his brothers had some old cars so I bought one of them instead.

I suppose we're in New Zealand so we probably played football against each other or something as well

[junkmunki]

22 hours ago, martinjpayne said:

Anyone remember Gregory's Models / Robin Thwaites / Beatties in Arundel Street, Portsmouth: best place for Tamiya in the 80's, and Ray Browns in Kingston Road, Portsmouth if you wanted Kyosho (or helicopters, plane & boats).

I remember the Beaties in Portsmouth., I used to ride my bike across the ferry from Gosport and go there to get spares.

[junkmunki]

There used to be 5 model shops dealing in rc stuff in the area round where i live, sadly they are all gone. In Fareham there was Bunce's model shop at the top of town, then in the middle was SRM racing, then into Gosport there was AJ models who specialized in rc helicopters and stuff, then in town there was a shop i cant remember the name of and finally there was mainly plane n trains who only closed down at the end of last year due to the high rent on the shop. I have bought rc stuff in all of them over the years. It really is the end of an era for small  independent model shops.

[Mark_C]

We had a Beatties, downstairs was all trains and scale kits, but upstairs was all the RC stuff. It was quite a small area and all the big boxes made it quite cramped. I always wanted one of the black and yellow bags! I don't ever remember buying much from there though, because 10-15 minutes walk away was an independent, better deals and advice, it was away from all the other shops, so it was a special journey to get there, the best it was there was a fab chippy one the way there where you could buy a massive portion of chips for next to nothing.

They did everything, all the railway stuff etc, planes, boats, cars. I can always remember they had a helicopter (from memory it was a Sea King), it was £550 and they had it for ages, it was part of the furniture until one day I went it and they'd sold it - I can remember pointing to the empty space and looking at the guy with a look of mild shock on my face and he just aid "yeah! we sold it!". 

I also remember being there and the guy behind the counter noticing a parking warden, which he duly announced to the customers in the shop, 80% of them quickly disappeared to move their cars as no-one bothered to pay to park (pay and display in spaces in front of and behind the shop) as it was always so quiet usually 

Long after I went there, the shop got changed to a hobbystores (a chain in the uk). Maybe 5 or so years ago it then closed, don't know what happened as the chain is still around. There is only one shop that does a very small amount of R/C stuff now and is in a satellite town a few miles out of the city - their main business is the scale kits and games workshop sort of stuff. From a look around, the nearest decent R/C shop is about an hours drive away.

[berman]

1 hour ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

Yes thats the one, Hobby City. Did you go to it when it was in the original store in Nelson street?

Funnily enough i remember heritage models too, I bought my Vanquish mini 4wd from there, the gold edition.

And I'm a member of the WARCCC which is at Bancroft cres still. They don't run meets but they maintain the track for members to use anytime.

And I was trying to buy a Boomerang from T&E (Trade and Exchange right?) but then my jate told me his brothers had some old cars so I bought one of them instead.

I suppose we're in New Zealand so we probably played football against each other or something as well

Yes I remember taking the yellow bus into town, I think there was 3 shops in town, I think ModelAir used to be in town too before it went to Mt Eden. I went to Hobby City in Mt Wellington about 2 years ago, mostly traxxas and other uninteresting rubbish. 

Yeah i got my boomer and a porsche 959 in bits for $50! Got the boomer going first!

I have a pic in my showroom of me racing my king cab against a hilux mr and monster beetle I think.

Haha probably!