SPA Modeler

Wanna stop at a LHS on the way from LA to SD. Thinking Military Hobbies or Brookhurst. Any recs?

Stik and Duke will chime in for more info. I know their website looks pretty good since I've got my eye on a couple items.

jkim wrote:Wanna stop at a LHS on the way from LA to SD. Thinking Military Hobbies or Brookhurst. Any recs?

I can recommend two: Brookhurst Hobbies, and also Military Hobbies in Orange. Both are great shops. Brookhurst is bigger and has more inventory, but Military tends to have more hard to find items.

Thanks for the last minute recommendations! I ended up stopping by Brookhurst Hobbies. Didn't spend too much time there since my wife was with me. It's a great shop with a very good selection of plastic models as well as books and magazines. I was tempted to buy an assortment of Dragon 1/48 kits that they had on sale for $24 but decided against it. Picked up a few sanding sticks and some paint just to give them some business. I'm sure I could've bought more if I had more time to think about it.

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Yeah, there are times when I could drop a whole paycheck in there...

And who says you can't stop by on the way home? Tell her you "forgot" something. Drop her and the girls at a mall nearby.

Yeah, now that I’m working day shift, I can make a stop after work... as opposed to before when I worked swingshift and would go by on the way in to work...

I love model shops and am sad that there aren't that many left. But I find it hard to justify buying kits at the LHS because of the price. I saw the Meng Jagdpanther kit at Brookhurst and it was somewhere north of $50. I can get it on EBay directly from China for $32 shipped. In order to support my local LHS, I usually buy my paints, glues, and assorted tools there but buy my plastic, resin and PE online.

John, what day were you there at Brookhurst? I was just in there a few days ago spending half my Christmas money. The other half was spent at Military Hobbies. We may have been in there the same day.

I personally love to buy from Hobby Shops. Yeah, the prices are higher, but generally I don't have to pay for postage and I get to take the model home right away without having to wait for it to ship. It feels great to me that I can bring a model straight home and start it right away. That right there to me is worth the 'price of admission'!

Next time you come out, let me or Carlos know so we can meet you at one or more shops. If you have more time, I could also take you to Pegasus Hobbies and Tony's Hobbies and Toys too. Both are very large hobby shops with amazing selections.