Kind of disappointed with Niagara Hobby and Craft Center

[bikerraypa]

I sold one of my motorcycles to a fellow in New York. I had to meet him in Buffalo, so I took the opportunity to visit the Niagara Hobby and Craft Mart. I have seen advertisements for this place in the Attractions racks at Interstate rest areas from New York to Cleveland, so I was really hyped.

http://www.niagarahobby.com/travel_card_new.pdf

And got pretty disappointed. Overall, it was a nice little local hobby shop (with a pretty disorganized selection of N scale stuff), but that was it. Certainly nothing like the advertisements. Examples.....

1. "Biggest in the U.S.A.!!" -not much bigger than the LHS, and not as big as any run-of-the-mill Hobbytown USA

2. There is only one store like it in the U.S.A., perhaps the world! - in that it is the only Niagara Hobby and Craft Mart in the U.S.A, fine. I'll give them that. As far as "wow" factor, nope.

3. A multi-level interactive N-Gauge, HO-Gauge, O-Gauge, and G-Gauge train layout - apparently, a very well hidden one. I saw a display of some stuff that wasn't actually doing anything, interactive insofar as if you looked at it, it was there.

4. A rare, fully-restored 29-ton caboose in the parking lot - OK, this was pretty cool, but closed. Take a picture in the parking lot and that's about it.

5. Bring Your Camera!!! Don’t miss the great photo opportunities!
- see above

Please, don't get me wrong. As hobby shops go, it was good. Very nice people and very helpful staff abound. They had some nice trains, and the prices were fair. I picked up a set of N scale street lights and some Woodland Scenics dogs and cats, and a piece of balsa to make a new motor mount for one of my planes, but none of it was stuff that I couldn't have gotten at the LHS or from Walthers or Tower at around the same price. I mean, I just finished the bike transaction, so I walked into a hobby shop with a touch more than three thousand dollars in my pocket, and spent twenty-nine bucks. Which, incidentally, is USUALLY the other way around. [:I]

I just hate when something isn't quite as advertised. [:(]


Ray

[Anonymous]

In another thread (or somewhere else, I forget!), I mentioned my disappointment in the shop description ads in the back of MR. When I first got back into the hobby I was interested in all sorts of stuff, especially scratchbuilding materials. So I used the ads on my travels to nearby New England.

Some ads said the shops carried "complete scratchbuilding supplies" - ha! A handful of stripwood and stryene strips or such. Most of their descriptions were in no way representative of what they actually carried.

And when I asked about particular items, they would always reply "We can order it for you" - heck I can order it for me. Thanks but no thanks. This type of B.S. does not do them any good at all.

Bob Boudreau

[SPFan]

I used to visit Niagara Hobbies just a few times a year. About three years ago they reduced the space devoted to trains to other hobbies. Their prices were never very attractive being close to list in most cases. I don't waste my time there anymore. For a very good selection of HO and a great selection of N gauge your best bet is LBC Hobbies in Williamsville.

Pete

[MichaelWD]

I was to Niagara Hobbies several times with the last being Tues. 5/3/05. I like it because my wife can shop too. My child love the wooden train . They keep him amused while we shop. Pricing is about the same as most hobby shops. Did you pu***he buttons on the multi scale display layout. It did look like they were taking advantage of the slow time(summer) to redo the layout.
Did you check out K-Val hobbies on the north side of Buffalo. 277 Hinman Buffalo/Kenmore area
Pete where is LBC? I did not know that they carried HO.
MIke Dickinson

[SPFan]

[quote
Did you check out K-Val hobbies on the north side of Buffalo. 277 Hinman Buffalo/Kenmore area
Pete where is LBC? I did not know that they carried HO.
MIke Dickinson

[trolleyboy]

Niagara is all right,but if your in Buffalo anyway pop accross the boarder and look into Niagara Central Hobbies in St Catharines Ontario.N scale wise they haven't got a ton off stuff but they do cary the full line of planes and tanks as well as all your major Train scales. There is a large craft section for the ladies as well.They are worth a look. I live an hour from them but I try to make it in once a month. St Cath was my hometown for many years so he's still my LHS Rob

[slotracer]

I moved away from Buffalo a long time ago, but visited Niagara about 2 years ago when we had to attend a funeral there. Like others said it is a great General line hobby store and even has crafts stuff for the wife so she likes stopping in but it is not a very good train store. KVAL was great, I remeber going there on my bike in the early seventies when it was just a small room in back of the pattern works . I imagine Bob is getting up in years to the point that he has, is did turn over operations of the store, sad to hear it may be declining.

I have been to some absolute horror stories of shops in various places that came from the recomended shops listoings in back of MR or RMC while traveling over the years. I recall one in the St Louis area that had a couple 20+ year old tyco junker diesels and maybe a half dozen blue box cars that comprised about half their inventory, the balance was brass atlas snap track and some misc stuff. Went to one in Green River Wyoming once that was in an old garage/barn....it had part wood and part dirt floor, it was mostly loaded with old farming junk in the rafters (No drywall in the place !) It had no more than 10 blue box kits sitting piled on some old wood boxes that served as a counter and a few old lifelike engines in 70's boxes taht were so old the celophane had yellowed and cracked, the box faded and were proteded by a THICK coating of dust. How the called tehmselves a model train store was quite a stretch. The owner had a display case of various plastic UP locomotives on the wall that were his and not for sale.
I have been in horse barns that were cleaner and in better shape than this place.

[CraigN]

bikerraypa,
I'm glad you posted this before I wasted my time!

I used to drive for a local Drug company and one of my stops on Tuesdays was at Painted Post N.Y.
They used to have a great train shop (lackawanna hobby if I recall correctly) in a little strip mall near Pizza Hut.
The owner was very freindly and helpful and carried alot of stock. I have never seen as much N Scale as he carried before or since! He also had a large stock of H.O..

I don't know if he is still in business, but visiting it was the highlight of the week for me!!

Boy, do I miss that Job!!