What comes around goes around. This quote was found under a picture of a hobby shop on page 44 in an artical titled “20 years of Model Railroading”.
“The big story in model railroad marketing in the past twenty years is the growth and expansion of the local hobby shop. In the early years, almost all hobbyists had to rely on mail order buying. Now almost all of us are with in a few miles of a hobby shop, its well stocked shelves of model railroad kits and supplies, and the priceless and technical help of its owner and his associates.”
Going to the hobby shop was a high point of my preteen years. It still is, in that I am lucky to be within walking distance of a great HO train shop.
Very interesting. Things always change. Some things are like fashions, they keep coming back around every so often.
I don’t have much of feeling either way on this. I have memories of riding my bike to the hobby shop in town and drooling over the N-scale glass case. But now with on-line stores, kids can jump on the internet anytime and droll over the pictures that in many ways allows them to get a better look than I could ever get through the glass case. They can also read and participate in forums like these and get advice from modelers all over the world. There was absolutely no way I could even dream of this resource in my youth. The closest thing we had was magazines which (if you wanted) always seemed to take money away from buying that new boxcar.
So some things get better while some things go away. I’d say things are generally better.
I really do enjoy browsing in an LHS, and support two on the Island. However, I do have limited income now that I am retired, so I have to shop carefully for the big ticket items, like locos. Canadian Model Trains has been my on-line store for locos because their service is very good, and the prices are reasonable, if not spectacular…but usually considerabley cheaper than the LHS’s.
Interesting - I now find that to get more unusual parts I need to use mail order services. My LHS have the standard Hornby/Bachmann/Dapol etc but there’s often not much choice in kits, decals are a non-starter, and if you want paint you have to find a close equivelent in the wargaming ranges (hence my use of Citadel Minatures and Tamiya paints). For example, one long-term project requires a paint colour that only one manufacturer produces. I’ve seldom seen their products in any LHS so ordering direct from the factory is the only option.
I love the LHS, a bike ride 10K, then drooling over everything, which takes a long time nowadays since the selection has expanded, I hope it stays around for 30 more years…(it started in the mid 70s)
Matthew
Around my neck of the woods, the nearest hobby shop is 70 miles away in Tucson, Arizona, and the nearest beyond that is over 200 miles one way, north of Phoenix.
Fortunately, the one that is only 70 miles away has very attractive prices and a good assortment of HO and G scale – actually equivalent to mail order when shipping charges are factored in, so I visit it at least twice monthly.
I always try to hit the LHS (and not so LHS) monthly and pick up something if only to support my LHS.
If I have to travel for work and can fit it in, I try to visit your local LHS too. Have made some great finds that apparently you did not want. Thanks!
My LSHs basically deal with “garden variety” HO, although there’s nothing wrong with that. If you want supplies for scratchbuilding, detail parts for other scales, or even a different variety of HO equipment, they would have to special order them through Walthers. I can order supplies myself much quicker and cheaper than they could. Although Walthers stocks a lot of supplies, there are many parts and supplies they don’t carry and are only available direct from the manufacturers, either on-line or over the phone. I usually try the LHSs for small-ticket items first. If they don’t have them in stock, I order the supplies I need on-line.