I have noticed from time to time Hobby Lobby mentioned on these forums. I have never heard of the place before seeing it on here. Today I went shopping with my wife. (its her birthday) I saw a huge sign that says, HOBBY LOBBY COMING SOON !! The space, that it is going in is a very large vacant one level department store. Well I guess my question is; How good is it for the model railroader to shop there?
The news is that its about a 15 to 20 min. drive from my house. Thanks for any info. from all who has shopped there.
Sam
Well the trains used to take up a whole aisle here in central Texas but the closed them all out and now they carry very little maybe four train sets. Hopefully your luck wll be better.
SB
If you're looking for train sets it's a good place to start. You can find a reasonable selection of paint and paint supplies in the model section. As far as finding scenic materials, vehicles, structures, individual locos/cars, forget it.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
For model trains their selection was never all that good, some Woodland Scenics stuff, figures, ground foam etc. Bachmann and LifeLike rolling stock, a few bits of cork and some sectional track. They basically closed this out in our area as well. However, the store is a good source for craft paints and all the other supplies that go into creating a layout.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
Their web site doesn't list any stores in New England. Where is the new store going to be?
They have a coupon on-line for 40% off any single item. That would be a great discount on pretty much any MR item, if they carried it. If there are no trains, they might have more generic hobby things like Envirotex or razor saws.
If it were me, I would certainly check it out if I were in the neighborhood. If there are no trains, or if the trains are pretty limited, you might introduce yourself to the store manager and ask if he would be getting any more trains in. A new store needs to understand its target market, and if a number of people ask about a product, there's a chance they may look into stocking it.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I seem to recall reading an announcement here a few months ago that the Hobby Lobby corporate headquarters had decided that they will no longer stock any model railroad items.
Who else remembers reading that?
The location is in Manchester, NH Its going in where Burlington Coat Factory use to be. on Rt. 28. South Willow st. across from the Mall of NH. There is also a Hobby Town USA in the same plaza
Here in the Chicago area our HL's no longer carry any model railroading specific items. As mentioned before they are still a good source for some scenic materials. The 40% off coupons are offered in the local papers every other week. If you sign up at their web site they will also send you a 40% off coupon every other week.
You'd be better off at Hobby Town USA, although the Hobby Lobby still has plenty of model paints, adhesives, etc, so as mentioned, for some basic supplies etc they can still be used. As for model RR specific, they got out of it.
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
You have to remember, to survive, they have to be a Hobby Shop, not a Train Shop. Many model railroaders have in their mind what a Train Shop should be and sometimes are disappointed when they go into a Hobby Shop hoping for a lot of trains.
We have a Hobby Shop in West Springfield, MA that started in Northampton, MA many years ago. He did sell other hobby stuff. There use to be a big billboard on the side of the building with a model train picture on it. When the owner finally sold out, it evolved into a hobby shop with many different hobbies under the same roof and seems to be doing quite well. RC planes, boats and cars are quite popular. There are train layouts also and a fairly good assortment of model railroad stuff. A retired fellow in our club does some DCC stuff for the owner's customers.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
It pays to go into an Hobby Lobby store, and look at the art and craft items they stock, and think how this or that can be used on a model railroad. They stock art supplies, mechanical drawing supplies, K&S metal sheets, Midwest stripwood, foam-core boards, glues, pot-toppers, X-acto knives, bead wire, etc. that can all be put to use on a model railroad.
And the 40% off coupons that can be found in the papers or downloaded from the internet are very welcome.
Dan
I frequent several Hobby Lobby stores. They are great if you are needing paint and supplies. The ones I have been to have some ground foam and ModelMaster paints. They used to have trains, but the selection wasn't that great.
The stores I go to are in Oklahoma, but being that the company is headquartered in Oklahoma City, it's no surprise that they are everywhere within the state. As other posters have commented, they do have some nice scratchbuilding supplies such as K&S Engineering supplies and Excel Hobby tools.
Will
The Hobby Lobby nearest me had a few train sets (Bachmann IIRC) before Christmas, but that was it for trains. They have some general supplies as others noted, but nothing train related. The Woodland Scenics section was limited and the scale lumber was not the full line. Most of their stuff is not really craft supplies. I only drop in only when I am already in the shopping center for some other reason.
Enjoy
Paul
While "Hobby Lobby" does have hobby in their name its more of a crafting and decorator store then a hobby store. Even here in central Georgia (a model train wasteland) you can find hobby shops in the oddest places. They are hobbyists that happen to run a hobby shop to support their hobby. They don't advertise. You have to search them out. The last few pages of MR is a great place to start.
Johnnny_reb Once a word is spoken it can not be unspoken!
My Train Page My Photobucket Page My YouTube Channel
As stated before, Hobby Lobby here in the Midwest is more of a craft and decorator item store. Lots of silk flowers, pottery, picture frames, cake and candy making supplies, etc. But they do carry lots of art and crafting supplies that can be a boon the scratchbuilder. Glues, paint, balsa wood, and hobby tools. It helps to think "outside the box" when scanning the shelves. For instance, I found some scale "chain" for one of my scratchbuilding projects in their homemade jewelry aisle.
Is our town we have seen 3 of our 4 LHS close their doors in the last decade, so Hobby Lobby and Michaels craft stores have become the default goto locations for ordinary hobby supplies.
As also stated they do carry some MRR items, including train sets, during the Christmas season. Then things thin out over the summer.
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
I was looking at third-party information about Hobby Lobby online, specifically searching for new store openings, but I came upon the information that to some extent the company abides by certain religious principles. That doesn't bother me particularly, as it's not a religion that funnels money to terrorists, but one thing they mentioned is that the stores are not open on Sundays.
If that's true, it's important to know when making shopping plans so you don't waste time and gas going there only to find the doors closed. Seems like a competitive disadvantage to me.
1) Yes, all the Hobby Lobby stores I have seen are closed on Sundays. I admire their principles, but you do need to plan your shoppping ahead.
2) They run a "40% off" coupon about every other week at www.hobbylobby.com Look under in-store specials. They run other coupons too, but these "wildcards" are the most useful.
3) As mentioned, HL is basically a craft store that handles a FEW model items. On the good news they often have good deals on various grades of paint brushes, some airbrushes and parts, some paints, glues, etc. Our local store (Lincoln,NE) still has a small rack of Woodland Scenics stuff, but that means you can still get some trees at 40% occasionially. You never have too many trees! They often have deals on craft knives, blades and other tools that every modeler needs. They handle some stripwood, foam board and some other items that can be used by a creative modeler.
So, not a "train store", but certainly handy to have available.
ollevon I have noticed from time to time Hobby Lobby mentioned on these forums. I have never heard of the place before seeing it on here. Today I went shopping with my wife. (its her birthday) I saw a huge sign that says, HOBBY LOBBY COMING SOON !! The space, that it is going in is a very large vacant one level department store. Well I guess my question is; How good is it for the model railroader to shop there? The news is that its about a 15 to 20 min. drive from my house. Thanks for any info. from all who has shopped there. Sam
As other posters have mentioned, it is mostly a craft & decorating store, not a model shop. There is a good selection of art/craft items that can be used for church school, VBS,etc. They are closed on Sunday. They do enough business in 6 days. Big selection of holiday items. Some may compare HL with Michael's. Part of the fun is to check out clearance items.
for hobby items, it may be a better HO store than N or other scales. It is the last national retailer that carries any hobby items.
The one in marion,ohio has airbrush supplies and paint. They had some cars and train sets. Prices are normal on paint, but had no railroad colors.
Yes, it's more of an arts & craft store than anything else. But they do have a fantastic Christmas section. My wife and kids love to go before Christmas because they have more variety than anything else around here. I can pick up the scratchbuilding supplies I need at the same time.
i wouldnt waste the time or money at hobby lobby. the same goes for us here in AZ; most of the stores now are just small sets mostly n scale, thats about it!
LV4TRAINS INC.
I have been to Hobby Lobby many times. The only chain store that is close that I have not been to is Michael's. When I find one, I will go in and make a comparison someday.
yeah Michaels’ is another one that used to be good with model trains back in the day. they are more crafts then anything else these's days! LV4TRAINS INC.
yeah Michaels’ is another one that used to be good with model trains back in the day. they are more crafts then anything else these's days!