Local Hobby Lobby selection changes - Model Railroader Magazine
maxman
mlehman
JTT is associated with Bachmann?
No. It's MRC.
maxman,
Thanks, I knew it was someone familiar.
Yeah, I don't want to open up the LHS can o' worms, either...
On the other hand, what happens when there is no LHS? What about all those kids whose parents will never take them to a LHS, but who might be in HL every other week? Frankly, it's a good thing when there is even a minimum amount of model RR stuff where folks can come across it who might not know that they just might be a model railroader?
HL is just the successor to all those dept stores, pharmacists, and hardware store owners that used to stock model RR stuff. If you can remember the early 70s, it was just starting to fade hard then. K-mart -- of all places -- used to be one of my favorite stores to visit when I visited one of my grandmas, as it had a fairly large model RR section and not just at Xmas, either. That was in Terre Haute, Indiana, where the competition was the model RR dept at the local sporting goods store. I'm sure K-mart is gone and pretty sure the sporting goods place is, too, although I did my best to support them with my limited funds of being barely a teenager.
These sort of places were and are no substitute for a real LHS. I spend most of my money in various LHSs, even when I do mail order. Nothing against the big outfits we know online and in MR, I use them once in awhile. But if I see something train-related in an unusual place, well, I consider it just supporting the cause to let them know that there is interest by dropping a few $$. HL has been up and down as far as me finding something there. I don't expect much from them other than them having some basic supplies in stock when I need them -- and that 40% coupon, of course
HL and stores like it have nothing to do with the fortunes of the LHS. Mostly they serve a different market than the usual model RR suspects. That's a good thing and I'll encourage HL in the hopes that their fickle relationship with model railroading improves. They sure have enough stuff I'll never even walk down the aisle for, so I figure there's room for growth
