First time to come here and I am amazed by the vast collection of tools and materials that can accommodate to your hobby. I came here for the tools required of my Gundam build and this place did not disappoint. I expected to come and go, but I ended up staying to look around for 15-30 minutes. I do not have much pictures of the store, unfortunately, but this is a must to go here if you are a collector or simply enjoy doing builds as a hobby. read more

Mark Twain Hobby Center - Hobby Shops Near Me - Saint Charles, Missouri

My hubby insisted we stop here. He likes to put together models, WW II tanks especially. It was too hot to stay in the car so I had to go in. Oh my goodness! I was shocked at all the amazing items in this shop! Gigantic remote control cars, trucks and even boats! I didn't even know they made them that big! They are so cool! On the other side of the shop is an incredible selection of models! Hubby found a big WW II tank he had to have. But what really impressed me is the fantastic selection of model trains! Every size with absolutely everything to go with it! I had never seen so much stuff! Gorgeous little trees, animals, tiny people and buildings to decorate your train area! Tons of tracks and everything to design your dream train system! I'm not really into trains, but it made me want to be! If trains are your thing, you need to visit this little shop! Seriously fantastic hobby shop! Everyone who was working there was really nice too! Highly recommend! read more

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These guys are great. The store has soooooo much stuff for hobbies. Trains, planes, and gundam models. And rc cars. The rc car guys are very knowledgeable. It does not matter if you are new or experienced, they will listen and then help you out. Really good people, really good store. read more

It is refreshing to get into a hobby shop with such a large and varied inventory. I build plastic scale model kits and often find that their prices are very competitive. And different than buying something from a photo on line, here you have that hands on experience and great service from their employees. And they constantly update and reorganize their shelves, so instead of the all too common pile up mess of kits, you actually can find what you are looking for. It's worth the trip if you ask me! read more

Needed a new battery for an RC plane. I wasn't exactly sure what I needed but they knew right away. They were very knowledgable and were able to answer any questions I had. I will be going back for sure! read more

They have a huge selection of plastic models at prices close to what I find on the internet. Plus they have a great selection of paints, paint sets and weathering products. All the employees are always so helpful and friendly. read more

One of the best hobby ships in the country! I've been around and worked in the hobby industry for decades and these guys not only have the merchandise you're looking for, but know how to help you with it! Everything from Plastics to R/C, Trains, etc... it's all there! read more

Excellent store. No handicapped parking. None. Nada. Not ADA compliant. Schaffer's has at least 2 spots in the very front of their store. As many disabled people that frequent this store it is obvious to me they don't know their customers or worse yet - don't care. Go to Schaffers if you need handicapped parking. They are in violation of City code. Complain!! read more

It is in a good location! There is a good diversity of hobbies to choose from. I felt like a kid in a candy store while thinking about all the fun my son and I will have exploring new and different hobbies together. We came for a model kit I could build with my son and observed multiple opportunities for enjoying things like model rocketry, RC cars, planes, etc., electric trains, and slot car racing. It brought back memories for me. read more

Excellent customer service. Great selection at prices that are competitive with online providers.

The only thing I can rate this place for is their gunpla sets and accessories selection. Great selection of gunpla, paints, even specific decals and action bases. Somebody working there knows what they're doing and it shows. I hope they continue to curate this part of the business the way they are doing currently. As stated in other reviews, there is a definite customer service concern. I needed something out of the case and asked the cashier for help. He told me he couldn't do it and told me to go to the RC counter for help. I went over there and the gentleman was helping another customer so I waited until I could get his attention. Told him I needed in the case and told me to hold on until he was done with the customer he was working with. No big deal except there were other employees behind the counter that he could have handed me off to but that didn't happen. They didn't ask if I had been helped either. Now, I'm pretty self-sufficient when I shop and don't usually take employees up on their offers for help (like at Lowes or something) EXCEPT when I need to get into a locked cabinet. Overall it didn't take too long and didn't think much of it. When he was done with the customer he opened the case and I got what I needed. No big deal. Just curious as to why they have a single Keymaster. Dude at the front desk seems like he doesn't want to be there for the most part. But overall the place is great, and an oasis for an alternative to Amazon when a lot of these kinds of places have closed. I will continue to support this local business, regardless of the few customer service flaws. read more

Rude customer service and they are in a rush to check you out. Went in to spend several hundred and i will go elsewhere

This place kicks ass. I just wish they had copper wire braid for desoldering. Not a big deal, but you'd think they'd stock that if they're gonna stock soldering irons, solder, & flux. o__O; I have two old Iwata airbrushes in bad shape, and I need to get new needles for them. The ones they have here appear to fit my airbrush and for cheaper than Amazon which kinda blew my mind - even with the sales tax. Lots of great items to choose from. Trains, cars, airplanes. I bought a gorgeous die-cast/partially handpainted F/A-18 model here. It now adorns my office desk!! As someone who has personally crawled all over/touched various F/A-18 parts and assemblies on a daily basis, an authentic model is key in my book. I was greatly impressed, and it is sooo worth the price!! I wish they had more figure models though, like ya know, girlies with the big boobs. That's really my thing. Airplanes are cool too and so are cars, but nothing gets me like the bewbz. So yeah, tl;dr - epic selection, knowledgeable and kind staff, but needz more bewbz and solder stuff. xD read more

I have been shopping here for several years. Recently, I had bought a monocoat iron. When I used it, it suddenly went to a high temp and melted the monocoat. I have been using monocoat and irons for over 20 years, so I know what I'm doing. Had to use my 20 yr old one. I had bought it in April, they found my receipt. There wasn't a mark on it. When I took it back, I was first told that they would exchange it, but then the manager said no they wouldn't. Very disappointed in the customer service. These days customer service really makes the difference n read more

Great hobby shop they have everything you need if they don't then they would order it for you. The staff is very good I been going to this hobby shop for years and never had any Complaints about it. read more

Mark Twain Hobby Center - Hobby Shops Near Me - Saint Charles, Missouri

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I dealt with Mark Twain Hobby on ebay where they are known as mth-hobby. I purchased a Woodland Scenics water kit. It was classified as new, but when I went to use it the "realistic water" had clearly been partially removed and in so doing ruined what remained by letting air into the container, partially solidifying the remaining water which would no longer flow. They had no interest in correcting the problem. You will find many negative reviews for mth-hobby on ebay so I guess I should have known better. There are many better hobby shops and I strongly recommend you avoid Mark Twain Hobby. They have shown they are willing to sell used items as new. read more

The store is ran by kids. I bought a car, batteries, and a charger all at the same time $800+ but the plugs for the batteries did not even match the charger. I had to return to the store to buy adapters to plug them in. Two months later i came in and bought another car for my other son. After only a couple days it had a programming problem, when we called in, they said it was within time and they could fix it. When i brought the car in for service the same kid that sold me the car, requested a receipt for proof of purchase. He looked in the computer and he said they only made a record of my first purchase. So because HE did not put my information in the computer like the first kid did i had to return home over an hour away to find my receipt so i could bring the RC car back into the store and prove i purchased it there. When i became upset they said they don't want my buisness. They will sell you stuff good luck after that read more

I would loved to have rated this store with 5 stars for their large inventory and convenient location. For a great business, it takes more than that. Rude personnel can ruin a great thing in a New York minute, and that is exactly what we have here. Let me say first that I am a successful executive and still enjoy RC cars... Even at my age of 46. I want to point out that most everyone I have ever dealt with at the RC car counter has been fantastic... Friendly and helpful. Except one... An older gentleman was helping me recently - I brought a truck in and asked for advice on parts. He was very helpful but asked one of the younger (possibly) more experienced coworkers a question. That guy treated him terribly in front of me and other customers. He had an attitude that was not to be believed and then insinuated that I should just 'dig in' and find the problem instead of bringing it in. Wow... I said "up till now most of the staff has always been helpful and friendly. It must be miserable having to work with someone like this. Dude... If you are out there... Get off your high-horse!! Okay so that's how it goes at the parts counter... Again, everyone was nice except for the one D-Bag. Please note that customers don't seem to be allowed to get the parts from the counter and carry them to the register. Once you get to the register, this is where the real experience begins. I haven't met a friendly one there yet. One in particular though seems to go out of his way to be a jerk. He is an older man with a goatee and no hair. I have seen happier faces on iodine bottles. When I go up there I always feel like he suspects me of doing something wrong. In fact, one day I had a white piece of paper that I took notes on and folded it over. The guy rudely says "what have you got there"... as if I was trying to steal something. When I said that it is just a regular piece of paper he said "okay... I thought it was something else". This guy has no business representing an establishment acting the way he does. Final straw... My two kids were with me the other day and looking for toys that they could get. The register guy says "just pick something and be done with it". I have an idea... How about we pick, NOTHING thanks to your attitude. This place has so much potential... it is the ones that don't know how to show respect to their coworkers and customers that really ruin it. I have done RC all my life... I have gas airplanes, 2 DJI quadcopters and 3 RC trucks. Unless it is an emergency I am going to start buying my parts online.. It can wait a few days for shipping. I already made a large purchase online this evening and don't regret it. In the meantime I need to see what other brick and mortar options are around here. read more

My son, who WAS a loyal customer of Mark Twain and who has also spent a fair amount in this store returned today from his most recent bad customer service experience to state "he will no longer support this establishment". Not all sales people have adopted the manager's lack of usefulness when it comes to listening and understanding the customer. It was most likely due to my son's young age that he was unjustly treated and dismissed. I would suggest if your child has a high dollar ticket item to return that a parent should be with them to stand up against this type of treatment. read more

The shipping is fast and reliable. They had supplied me with all the things I needed for my plains. Thanks Felipe Rivera, Puerto Rico. read more

This place has everything you need for your hobby. The only issue is getting the parts from the employees. They have 0 interest in helping you find the parts you need. They act like what you have going on is a huge inconvenience for them and they give you attitudes. Now I'm 100% new to this hobby so I'de like some friendly advice/tips which I have yet to receive. Walked into the store the other day and the employee literally said "You're going to have to find someone else to help you, I'm too busy" with his shit toned attitude instead of just saying "hey, give me a second I'll be right with you". What I have been doing is finding parts online so I can avoid this store all together which is a bummer because I thoroughly enjoy actually going into hobby shops especially one that's right up the street from you and receiving the parts you need the same day instead of waiting. If I do go into this store I make a parts list with all the part #'s I'm after and just slide it to the employee so I don't even have to talk to them anymore. Overall, high quality and vast selection of parts for reasonable prices but the employee situation is pathetic. read more

This store has tons of inventory!!! Unfortunately I won't be returning anything soon. Rudest personal I have ever come into contact with. Don't waste your time... Go to Schaffer Hobby. They are much more friendly!! read more

While they had the item I needed and price was decent, it's not too cool when the counter person talks about you to another customer while you are one aisle over and they don't know it. The discussion was about how much I spent on a quadcopter and how little I knew about them. The rest I couldn't hear as he quieted down when I came back around the corner. I would probably go back even though it's a bit of a distance for me. read more

Stood at the rc counter for 15 minutes while a customer worked on his nitro car and the counter man stood there watching. No one else in store 3 workers standing around at the check out counter. I'll order through amazon now and atleast get some service read more

If they don't have it, you don't need it! We come all the way from Illinois and it's worth the trip for this hobby shop. Great selection, knowledgeable staff and decent prices make this a destination shopping experience. We make the trip about once a month and it's always worth it. read more

Great assortment of products , but customer service sucks at the cashier. I was recently buying an RC truck and my daughters and wife shopping and looking around the store when I was deciding in which truck to buy. One of the sales person at the cashier told my 4 y old daughter to stop touching, in a rude manner, the cheap products that they have at the cashier and she started crying after that. No way to treat kids. read more

I've been trying to find a good source of Tamiya models locally, and Mark Twain Hobby Center is the best I've found. I've both visited the store and placed an order online. I was really impressed with the organization and cleanliness of the store. Everything is presented well easy to browse though. My online order was processed quickly and arrived in good shape. read more

I've been coning here since I was a kid and it's always been a great source of inspiration and fun. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable, and they stock for an impressive variety of hobbies. They have discounts sent out regularly via text and they just held a customer appreciation day with free food, shirts, and tons of giveaways. Just a great place to ahop read more

Cool place tons of part but don't ask for a part by what u need or you will wait hour for kid to decide what model the part u need is off of let's just say I beat him with my smart phone but all in all they had my part and tons more read more

This place is great and well worth the drive from IL. There prices are very competitive and the selection is amazing! Some of the coolest stuff I've seen. I've recently(in the past two weeks) gotten two quadcopters from them with great service. One actually had a bad motor from the start and in one phone call I knew it was gonna be fixed for free. What great service and friendly service. read more

I called about buying a Traxxas Ford GT R/C car. It was advertised for $229 on both the store web site and EBay. I talked to Darren (sp?) who said he was raising the price to $289. He did not agree to sell it for the advertised prices. I have never experienced any type of retail store that would not honor its correctly advertised prices. You may call that "bait and switch" pricing. I hung up and bought the car from another store the same day for $229. They even gave me bonus credits toward other purchases. read more

I had to travel to St.Louis for a wedding from Tn. We have no hobby shops where we live, so I searched and found this shop in St Louis. I called them before our trip to check out a few items I needed. When we arrived I have never seen such helpful people in my entire life. They were friendly, experience and very knowledgeable. They remembered my call and found what I needed quickly. They had a great variety of train landscape, buildings and rolling stock. They were a complete hobby shop, and the best selection of train items I have seen in a store. I wish we lived closer, but I am sure I will visit again in the not too distant future. read more

piece of crap store!!!!!!!! bad service , they dont know wanything about helis , went there to set up my heli they came back the same and they charge 100 bucks AVOID THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

for a store that has so much cool stuff . It has been a disappointing trip every time i drive the 40min drive to see them. there are only a few RC shops in the Metro STL area and the others are even a farther drive for me. The staff here is rather laughable. there are usually 3-4 old guys standing around up front milking the clock and browsing the web behind the desk. While in the RC department their will be anywhere between a few to a couple dozen people trying to get parts for whatever vehicle they are working on. and while mark twain may very well have the part you are looking for....GOOD LUCK getting the ignorant service clerks they hire to be able to find it. half of ther stuff isn't listed on the website for RC parts but can be found in store, while the other half says its in stock on website but then i have come to store only to find nothing. the staff is also almost completely computer illiterate. If they have to look anything up on the computer...you might as well walk away or do it yourself on your smart phone and show them. MTH use to be a great place to shop. now the owner clearly has stopped caring about his customers and store. save yourself a huge headache....shop on-line. read more

I call about 3 days before going to there hobby shop about a certain remote control truck. Before I left I called one more time because they said they only had 1 left. There assured me they had one in stock. I made the 40 minute drive one way there to pick up my item. Get there and they said they were sold out and it was a "glitch" in the computer... A manager said when they get one in he will knock off 10 bucks... I went there because my truck I wanted is on back order. I will not be returning back and will be sticking to my local hobby shops! read more

I ordered a model freight car that was hard to find, but they had it in stock. Very fast shipping at a reasonable cost, about half what other stores have charged. Also it was packed very securely which is not always the case when ordering model trains on line. Very pleased with their service. 5 stars from me. God Bless. read more

One of the only R/C stores in the STL area worth your time. They may not have the largest selection of puzzles, but they're a nice resource to have regardless :-) read more

Good stuff, fair price, helpful staff, what more needs to be said. Well just a little more - They have about as good a stock of model airplane supplies as any local hobby shop I have been to in years. read more

Just found this little gem - very helpful clerks, had a long discussion with what felt like the owner. Has a good combo of model RR stuff for both the beginner and old timer - was able to find some electricals needed, castings, etc. Highly recommend to at least visit and see what they have. read more

Let me echo what you'll read everywhere else on the web about Mark Twain Hobby. These guys are all smiles and helpfulness, until you come back with a problem. I bought a rather expensive RC Helicopter from them, and after unboxing it, found that one of the gears were stripped. I boxed it back up, and drove it back to Mark Twain. Keep in mind that I didn't want a refund, only an exchange for a working unit. Not in this life. They weren't exchanging anything. There excuse? "It's been flown.". Well.. duh... I had to take it out of the box and power it up to know that it was broke. Not in a million years. No exchange. No refund. No nothing. We'll be glad to sell you some parts if you want to fix it YOURSELF. Don't waist your time or money here. No service what-so-ever after the sale. I'm contacting the Missouri Attorney General, because Missouri law says you HAVE to issue me a refund if I have a receipt and I'm under 30 days. So... enjoy talking to him about it. All others... BEWARE. read more