I've been hooked on modeling since 1971, My 5th year on the planet, Way before the local "Mom & Pop" hobby shops started to close. What are your fondest memories of your favorite hobby shop(s)? Do you still have the "holy grail" tool or kit? What are they? What keeps you on the bench?... scraping, detailing, finishing and driving you to create your next rendition?

I remember going to a hobby shop in the Dallas, TX area with my dad when I was a kid in the 1970s. It was called "The Hobby Hub". The memories are kind of vague, just that I went there with dad and it was a fascinating place for a kid who liked building models.

There was a store out here called Railway World or something like that. They specialized in RR but carried some new and lot of used kits. I got quite a bit of my stash there, for about half of the retail price. I picked up quite a bit of vintage Tonka stuff too. I miss that place!

What are your fondest memories of your favorite hobby shop(s)?
Started in 1980. Only one shop in the whole country. However departmental stores were selling model kits. Tamiya, Hasegawa, Airfix, Matchbox and the odd Arii, Otaki, Nichimo and Revell. Tube glue and airfix / humbrol enamels

Do you still have the "holy grail" tool or kit? What are they?

I regretted not buying the Halycon Aliens Dropship. Back then it was really expensive and would have cost me about 3 months of part timing.

What keeps you on the bench?... scraping, detailing, finishing and driving you to create your next rendition?

Looking at my hoard and the guilt eating at me.

My "Holy Grail" hobby shop was "Bob Hales Hobbies" (Bob Hale was a television weatherman and celebrity on the West coast, and an avid hobbyist) in downtown Seattle. My dad took me there for the first time in 1969, as a father-son outing while my mother was touring Europe with my Aunt. Dad and I couldn't afford to go on the trip, he had to work, so we spent a lot of time together for that three week period. I'd been to several local shops before then, but this was the most interesting shop I'd ever been in-- to my 16 year old eyes they had everything. We had about fifteen good hobby shops of all types in my local area, but now all but one really good shop are pretty much gone. I used to have several "holy grail kits" in my day-- but thankfully, those old kits have all been replaced by newer more detailed molds. So now I try only to buy kits that I don't have to modify to make them more accurate (but that's not always the case). I guess today, Wingnut Wings would have to be my "Holy Grail" of model kits-- and they just released a Sopwith 5F1 Dolphin, which was about the last kit I've wanted for the last 50 years, so I guess I can die happy now!
VR, Russ