Keith sold the store to a new owner who has kept on the old staff. We will keep our discount, so keep on supporting the store and we'll still have a 1st class store we can go to. Hopefully my job situation may change here shortly and with the change in hours, I can participate once again.

Great News - an LHS that stays alive

I wish the new owner luck in his new venture.
Hopefully those in the area will support him.

Well good, that makes me happy. I can start by ordering some RPG books I need.

Good news indeed.

yo steve
don't know if you remember me, rebelsoldier, am back in the saddle sorta again.
was out sick and 4 operations last year so i lost touch. drop me a line and we can do some catch up...

rebelsoldier

What's the name of this store in Dallas, Since Bobby Hall's went away it's are hard too find any "good" ones other than those that sell more toys than models ! I suppose tough that an old fart like myself expects too much from hobby stores anymore.
Lou

Well, here it is a year later. Things sure changed from that optomistic post last year. The new owner turned out to be a major BOZO. He fired Tom the first day and ran off most of his customer base pretty quick . By November, the store was gone. The Dallas platoon pretty much folded up last year, but we hadn't realized it for 2 or 3 months. I occassionaly here from one of the fellas asking what is up, but I think several of us have kind of hunkered down due to the crash of the economy and fear of jobs. I'm still working and ship building in case anyone is interested. Oh I still do a couple of tanks a year, but the new Japanese 350 scale ship kits are just exqusite requiring several months each to complete.

Well, Bobbye (yes, she spelled it that way) Hall's wasn't the only good shop to close. In fact, as far as armor goes, Phil's was even better. In all, 16 shops have folded in the DFW area since 1989. The Hobby Hub, all three Olde Tyme Hobbies, Van's, Hobby Maker - even old man Tolson in Ft. Worth had a pretty good place.
The good news is that Squadron still has their great open house every year. The deals are so good folks come from around the country to get there. I'm fortunate not to be confined to this area, which pretty much has nothing any more other than this event. Not even the HobbyTown in Arlington is worth going to. Thankfully my jobs take me to other locations on a regular basis. For example, folks in the Denver/Aurora area are very fortunate to have TWO Colpars, and in the Springs a couple of fairly good Hobby Towns.
So it's not that shops like this can't prosper - median incomes in both regions are probably very close. Someone just needs to come along again who has the business savvy, the customer skills, AND the right location to bring us another good shop.

The Hobbytown in Plano moved and really screwed the armor section in the process. Not too much further to the one at 75 and Walnut Hill.

Paul

yo blaster
ya still have same phone number?

reb

hobbytown in arlington is still open for business, and he's reasonable

reb

See above post. They're not keeping up with the newest releases, and the prices just aren't competetive. For supplies, I just use the 40% off coupon and drive across I-20 to Hobby Lobby.

Other than paint, I pretty much go with Mail order.I have gone into both the Hobby Lobby and Hobytown in Arlington and like the man said, they are so far behind what is current in the build world as to pretty much be a waste of time. Besides, the kits I am buying pretty much now are in the $100 - 200 range and you ain't going to find those stocked as retail bangs them up in the $350 area. I go to the Squadron open house, but preices are high compared to other places. I generally go and buy a handful of paints, walk around and look and eat the lunch.

About the only good 'Model/Hobby' shop left seems too be Wild Bill's in Irving. Nothing against Die cast, children's toys, games, puzzles, endless line of crapppp, science projects, and collectibles for those who haven't got the ............................................................to even consider tackling a model, that Hobby Lobby and the like carry, and as the stack what little amount of models they carry to appease us old model builders by stacking the box's on their side edges to appear they have full shelves?.................... " YA CAN'T SLING A DEAD CAT WITHOUT HITTING A DA** TOY STORE IN THE DFW AREA'
Sorry about that just had too get it off my chest.
Chief

I feel better TY for letting me vent. Bobbye Halls had models, trains, RC, scratchbuilding supplies. Now they come out with die cast for those who can't figure out how too...............................opps there I go again.

About the only good 'Model/Hobby' shop left seems too be Wild Bill's in Irving. Nothing against Die cast, children's toys, games, puzzles, endless line of crapppp, science projects, and collectibles for those who haven't got the ............................................................to even consider tackling a model, that Hobby Lobby and the like carry. As they stack what little amount of models they carry to appease us old model builders by stacking the box's on their side edges to appear they have full shelves?.................... " YA CAN'T SLING A DEAD CAT WITHOUT HITTING A DA** TOY STORE IN THE DFW AREA'
Sorry about that just had too get it off my chest.
Chief

Wild Bill's ?????????????????????? I don't remember everything but unless you were into cars, their plastic model selection was the pits. There is a Much better selection of tanks, figures ships, etc then Wild Bill's has at any Hobby Lobby or Hobbytown.. I used to sneeze whenever i pulled a golden oldie out of the stack at Wild Bills. And prices, well i don't pay full retail for nuthin in models. But I haven't gone there in a long time. Last I remember they didn't stock Dragon tank kits or Trumpeter ships...palese Toys, you want to talk toys....90 % of Wild Bills was remote car racing. Which is a great Hobby, just not mine. The Hobbytown in Arlington is pretty heavy into electric trains. Once again, a hobby, just not mine. The 3 great Hobby stores, Phils , Hobby Maker, and Keiths storeall featured other things besides plastic model kits. So what do you do now. Say Hey...the internet and run to the closest store for paint, glue and brushes.

You are so right.
Dallas has basically gone down the toilet as far as real hobby shops go. There is no more Phil's Halls etc. There was a place called Planet Hobbies, less than six months adios
I've virtually given up on the hobby here. It's not the same looking at a picture on a screen.

Hello All:
I am sorry for the state of affairs in Dallas re: LHS. April 1, 1968 was the first day of my first job. I was in Jr. High and Bobbye Hall gave me a job behind the counter to sell and clean up. Boy was I in heavan (had my cake and ate it before anyone else) I was able to see the new releases before any one and to purchase same. A guy named Bill and I would take boxes of armor, a/c, books, decals, and paint to the IPMS meeting at the Coka Cola building once a month. Bernies and MAL would be there also. Those were the days of .98 cent models and a new one was released it seemed every week. Now $50.00 kits and wait time is years. Back in the 80'S there was good hobby shop on Shepard Ln. in Balch Springs that was really good, I cannot remember the name or if it is still active. Give me those LHS days again.

Robert

Although I've been quite busy and away from the hobby for a while now, I too have noticed the hobby shops have pretty much gone the way of the dodo. It's sad but we still do have mail order which kind of takes the sting out of it but nothing can compare to the comraderie of a hobby shop. I've not been to the Plano Hobbytown since before they moved but I had a feeling they were going to stick more with RC toys and their Warhammer gamer crowd, as that's where the money is for them.

Those were the days. I moved to Dallas in '66 and was thrilled to see that I was in biking distance of the Billie (not Bobbie) Hall's Hobby Shop in my Dad's old Model Railroaders. Sad to say it was already gone, but Bobbie's was going strong. Sad to see them going.

I've read this entire thread, and I still have no clue what hobby shop was referenced in the first post. Could someone help me out? I too am appalled at the state of DFW hobby shops.

Phils was outstanding; I loved the older out of production kits you could find there. Hobby Maker in Bedford was OK, but the owner (a big, fat guy) was a total jerk. I saw a guy in there with a shopping list, and the big fat owner virtually accosted him, thinking he was a competitor comparing prices! Plano Hobbytown is probably my favorite. MAL in Irving is a joke; how is it even still in business? I've been there a couple of times, and they have no more models than I have in my garage...

A former Armorama member opened a shop up at Preston and Campbell. He sold it to someone else and it eventually closed. Neat while it lasted. I've forgotten the name of it.

I think the Plano Hobbytown was better before it moved. The Hobbytown at 75 and Walnut Hill is better than the one in Plano now IMO.

Paul

Interesting. I went in the Walnut Hill location a few months ago, and they had hardly any plastic at all. I'll have to go back and check it out. I was not aware of the Preston/Campbell store. A few years ago a guy opened a shop near Campbell and Custer. It was more like he just rented the space and moved all of his collection in there, because I don't think there was anything new at all. He too was mainly an armor guy. Didn't last long.