Does anyone know (or remember) the hobby shop that was off Bollinger near Valco Shopping Center? In the Orchard Valley Shopping Center? Hobby World(?) maybe? Is it gone or still there? Are there ANY decent Hobby Shops left in the south bay area?

D&J Hobby is still around on the corner of San Tomas Aquino Road and Campbell Avenue. I haven't been there is months (more than a year?). It seemed to me last I was there that the plastic model section was not as grand as before but the selection still seemed decent.

Yea, Gary I had been going to D&J since I was like 8yrs old, even before they moved to that location. They have lost my business for ever. Last time I was there in February the place was a disaster, stuff in the isles (literally almost impassable in some) and no help to be found. Asked the owner if they carried MIG pigments, he got a bit ruffled by this and asked why I would waste $7+ on those when I could just use pastel chalks, (which I have been using since I was 12 when I purchased my first set there) I mentioned that I had looked but did not see any. He said that they were there and that he would be over in a minute to help me out. Long story short, I waited 5+ minutes and left without anything. It used to be that there was always someone willing to help you out and everything was in order and there was LOTS of inventory. I imagine that they will not last more than another year in that location under the current management. One can always hope that things change. . . .

Last time I was there, it seemed like they were remodeling. I seem to recall that there seemed to be a "No Man's Land" between the doors and the shelves. Maybe I will make a visit three myself this week (need CA glue) and see what is going on there. I do know that some of the members of the local model club still go there and it sounded like they were trying to drum up some support for them at the last meeting.

Gary;
If you know AL one of the old timers that used to work there, tell him I said hi. He was a great guy, little cocky at times but goes with the territory, but he was very knowledgeable and honest. I always appreciated his knowledge and advice.

just d&j not much of any thing no paint and an ok armor selection. i cleaned them out last time
what ever happened to hobby world that was in mountain view?

One of the reasons that D&J has gone downhill is probably due to Al no longer working there. I seem to recall he moved. I agree that Al was a great guy and I miss him.

I went to D&J for the last time last week. The remodel seems complete....they carry about 1/4 of what they used to have in stock. The model section is sparse compared to what it used to be and everything is overpriced.
My wife asked for some help finding some drafting pens (the same type which she had purchased there last year) and was told by some spiky haired/pierced adolescent (the sales staff) that D&J never carried them. He actually started to argue with her and basically told her she was crazy.
Nope, D&J on a steady downhill slide since Al left and the final straw was last week.

I don't know of any other hobby stores in the south bay.

C.

The kid is the owners son and his is a few cans short, if you know what I mean. Is not helpful, doesn't have a clue about model kits and is slow is every sense of the word. Once you get rid of the people who actually CARE about the business, things are going to decline and service and selection seem to be the two that are most noticeable. I can only hope that some one rescues them from themselves.

I live really close to D&J I dont go there because the service was not so great and the prices were/are kind of high. I used to frequent Yannis Hobbies in Mountian View but he closed down too.

I dont know where to go in the CA Bay Area to learn or find out what I need to do to start the modelling artform. Any suggestions out there???

You might try going to one of the IPMS club meetings. There is one in Fremont and one for Silicon Valley. Note that for the July meeting of SVSM, it will be at a RoundTable Pizza (2129 Morrill Avenue, San Jose) instead of the usual place.

D&J sure changed and not for the better unfortunately. I haven't been there in a couple of years and went from an "alert" email from a modeler who works near there. I heard that D&J laid off all the women staff and removed the arts, dolls, crafts, and other departments. When one sees almost no modelers' models in the display cabinets after the takeover, that is usually not a good sign.

True, the D&J stock is a quarter of what it was before. D&J still probably has the best paint selection in the Bay Area though.

I would think Berkeley's ACE Hardware is now the best hobby shop in the S.F. Bay Area in terms of stock and selection now that Yannis has closed down.

Talbots is in San Mateo and JM Hobby House is in San Carlos. S.F.'s Japantown and Chinatown are the best places to go for Gundam and most Japanese Sci-fi models, including some FineMolds. S.F. has a few smaller hobby shops found in the Yellow Pages.

I haven't been to the two shops in Gilroy although there are a few Yelp reviews saying that they are pretty good. There's a Hobbytown in Fremont and a hobby shop in San Leandro which I haven't been too either.

I work near D&Js and visit it frequently since it beats reading e-mails in a cubicle during lunch. Yes, the plastic selection took a major dip in the last 5 years. I don't know why they needed a race track in the store as adding it is of very dubious value.

Still, from my weekly visits, I noticed that the plastic model kits selection improved bit by bit over the year. It seems that they are beginning to take note on what is hot out there and what to add to their shelves. They are also getting good reference books, although they disappear as soon as they appear. Which is a good sign.

One person who is missing lately is the old'ish guy with the long ponytail who talks really loud. He seems to be the in store manager.

Replacing him is this person who looks very clean cut with a mustache. Is he the new manager? Is he the reason the store is picking up again?

The ultimate question is, do we want another hobby shop to close down in the Bay Area?

I have been doing my little part supporting the positive efforts at D&J lately, purchasing items when they catch my fancy.

Yannis is gone. All three HobbyTown USAs are now gone. San Antonio Hobby is long gone. Very soon, there will be no walk in stores in the area.

The LA area have lots of good hobby stores and they are all doing very well. I wonder what the differences are between these two areas?

Well the hobby store near Vallco is still around but has entirely moved to Gilroy. It is now "Gilroy Hobbies" and is doing pretty well. In fact they moved everything there, and the store have all the models from a few years back in stock with new additions. If you are in or passing by Gilroy, you should visit the place. I recommend it from a plastic modeler's perspective.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/gilroy-hobbys-gilroy#query:Hobbies

Oh and ignore the idiot reviews on Yelp. None of the reviewers there have any good reason to ding the store. It seems that the people writing the reviews do not know what they are talking about. One of them even gave the store a bad review for having the wrong "signage" on the front. Whatever happened to reviewing a store based on their core business? LOL!

There is a hobby store with pretty good stock in San Leandro area called Hobbies Unlimited. I've been scouting around the bay area hobby shops recently for Tamiya paints and this store has the best plastic model stock I've ever seen lately.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hobbies-unlimited-san-leandro

Thanh

One of the things that might be helping D&J out is that some of the guys from the Silicon Valley Scale Modelers meet up there on Thursday nights (when D&J closes late) then go to dinner afterwards. I am betting that they are spreading some knowledge/information to the people who man the plastic section.

Gary,

If that is true about the local hobby club input, that be awesome! D&J needs saving at this point as I see they are finally putting the effort in, unlike what I have seen weekly for the past 2+ years.

Again, I wonder if that "new guy", older gentleman with a mustache is the new manager or the purchasing guy for the Plastic Models department. He is putting in effort in purchasing new kits and it shows... from the new Airfix 1/48 Seafire to the new Tasca Jumbo kits (and more). Also, every month, there is a sudden spurt of fresh magazine and reference books on the bookshelf before everything is bought by customers.

Finally, there is a 25% off shelf with model kits that recently included lots of DML and Tristar goodies.

It just seems to me, as a customer, that the store is finally picking up again.

On the other hand, I still feel that they need guidance on what new kits to get. They are making the effort but may still be lost.

While it may seem redundant with cheap mail order model kits available online, I feel that D&J needs to be saved as it literally is the last bastion of the walk-in model store in the entire San Jose area. If they are gone, then we need to drive 40+ minutes in rush hour traffice to Hobbies Unlimited in San Leandro. Either that or Hobby House in San Carlos, by Redwood City, a pretty long commute if you'd ask me!

Cheers!
+Y.C.

Good to hear that D&J may be on the mend for the better.

D&J is one of the few remaining SF Bay Area hobby shops that one could consider "large" in that D&J has lots of floor space, not to mention it being in a very good neighborhood and strip mall where one doesn't have to worry about getting mugged there...or mugged getting to it. Believe me, there are some hobby shops out there in very baaaaaad areas!

D&J also has some of the best paint selections I've seen. Not many hobby shops carry all the brands of paint D&J does.

I haven't been back since my last post. I did notice that it just wasn't the plastic model kit selection, but even the train, wargaming, and craft stock was totally depleted. Did D&J sell all of these? This gives D&J a rare "fresh start" to buy new stock and control it now that most of the old stock is gone.

I'd also feel more comfortable if there were modelers' models in the display cabinet. Seems like with the downfall of D&J, the modelers' took their models in the case home with them....not a good sign....a hobby shop with no customers' works on display (anymore)?

People still do visit hobby shops. I just popped into JM Hobby House a couple of weekends ago and noticed that some of the vintage kits I saw long ago were no longer there...kits I would've bought.