General control line discussion > AS TIME GOES BYE

MEMORIES OF YOUR FIRST HOBBY SHOP that led to your ADDICTION?

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Art Schmitt:

--- Quote from: Shorts,David on March 26, 2020, 09:54:53 AM ---STANDARD HOBBIES - Lodi and Stockton, California. The owner was a control line and r/c flier. He opened in 1970 and retired about 2000. I first went in when I was just a baby and would often stare at the kits after kits after kits. There was a stack of 1/2a kits, a stack of profile kits, then a couple built ups kits, like the SIG CHIPMUNK and the GIESEKE NOBLER. The rest of the kits were r/c, but that was okay too.

The ceiling was filled with enough models to spend a week staring at. I'd even get the discard catalogs and pretend I was flying all the planes.  That even became my first job, working at STANDARD HOBBIES till my twenties when Lanny retired and sold it all. Did I mention he was my dad?

During college I ventured into SHELDON HOBBIES in San Jose. My roommate showed up with a box of .049s from his grandpa and we grabbed a little kit at Sheldon's when it was still a true model shop (it's mostly cars and weird stuff now but still has some good hardware). That was my first time grabbing a handle since I was 5 and my first time having no trouble at all flying.

Now I enjoy R/C COUNTRY in Sacramento. R/C Country is a true hobby shop and yes it's still there. His control line section is adequate, but his rows of hardware are fantastic. Great employees who all fly (r/c) and know how to build.

--- End quote ---

Sheldon's got a LOT of my paycheck in the 90's! It's too bad they couldn't sell OS engines.
How about P.E.C hobbies in (Mountain View?) or San Antonino Hobbies "up the street" in San Antonino?

George Fruhling:
In the 1970's the hobby shop on base, at Naval Air Station Memphis, "NAS Memphis" in Millington TN always dad a great selection of control line models and engines. Same with balsa and hardware for scratch building.  Great prices AND no sales tax. And right outside was the flying circle. Just don't try flying with 70 foot lines.  A certain tree got a bit too large for that.  But there was a nice, 6 foot diameter concrete pad in the center. 

Robert Zambelli:
For me, the start was Thompson's Sporting Goods and Hobbies, on North Seventh St in my hometown, Vineland, NJ.
I started going there in the early 50s and got to know the owner, Mrs Thompson, quite well.
A section of the store was dedicated to model aircraft and she had an incredible display of model kits, mostly Sterling (Vineland was around 30 miles south of Philadelphia) and PDQ (in the neighboring town of Millville). She even had some speed kits - Hell Razors and Speedwagons.
One time she made me a special offer: Since glow was "in" and spark was "out", she showed me a shoebox FULL of spark coils and Champion spark plugs, telling me I could have them FOR FREE. No, I didn't take them. Young and stupid, I guess. I was around eight years old.
We moved to the Buffalo area in 1954 and I never saw the hobby shop again   :'(.  I'm sure it's long gone.
But then we found Burd's Hobby shop on Delaware ave, in Tonawanda, NY. But, that's a story for another time.

Bob Z.

Robert Whitley:
Moro-Craft in Edmonton, Alberta.
1/24&HO slot car tracks and all kinds of model airplane supplies but not much that was really modern for the day. (Early ‘70s)
R&M Hobbies which had awesome quality balsa and locally brewed fuel. They always had a really good selection of modern engines, kits and hardware.
Another really good shop was Northern Hobbies but I never went there very often since it was quite a ways across the city for me to get to.
Later another good hobby shop called Sunflight Hobbies opened. It too was pretty good.
Of course most of the owners and staff in all these shops were model builders themselves.

All are long gone and we now have Great Hobbies and Wholesale Hobbies both of which have helpful staff but not much for controlline. They both are generous with gift card donations for our annual contest.

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