Ah, would that I had one to support.
And isn’t that sad? I was talking with an older fellow at said hobby shop (possibly the owner), and commented on how hard it must be – he has a tremendous and expensive inventory of everything RC (planes/heli’s/drones, cars/trucks), trains, die-cast; plastic model kits, science kits and good toys/educational stuff for kids – and ROCKETS!!! – Estes, Fliskits and others (I found a Der Red Max kit in the back of a hangar, that was really tempting!), even parts like body tubes, engine mounts, centering rings, nose cones; and plenty of A-E engines from Estes and some Aerotech/Quest. He has a great inventory for the scratch builder of anything, lots of balsa and basswood and hobby ply; brass, steel and aluminum shapes, plast-struct shapes, and so on – tools, too, and plenty of finishing products for modelers, like weathering compounds and the like. You can buy decal paper there, for instance. And then the cost of a retail outparcel and store operation to boot – unlike an e-business, his inventory has to be kept looking nice, and so on. I don’t know what an e-store’s loss rate is, but in retail stuff can grow legs and walk out the door, stuff gets dropped and broken, etc… He has trains set up, a small slot car track, and so on – and now coronavirus restrictions; he was closed for a while, of course, and had to retain his employees, who are also enthusiasts and know how to do repairs, what parts you need, and so on. And then like he says, his suppliers are his competitors! It’s so rare these days to have such a resource where you can browse, put your hands on something and turn it over, etc. I’m not bashing the e-stores, I’ve ordered from them when he doesn’t have stuff, but man, when it comes to “retail therapy” you can’t beat that place. The only reason I’m not broke from going in there is I’m not retired yet and know danged well I don’t have time to pursue all the fun stuff I peruse!
. What are you looking at building?
