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    Nor-Cal Hobbies

    4.7 (306 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    Froylan E.

    I purchased an Axial SCX30 a week ago and have returned twice for parts. The staff is kind and helpful. They have an insane crawler room with everything from 1/30 to 1/10 scale. They have challenging lines for you to push your rig to its limits!

    Great Xmas shopping haul. All of this for $175!
    Victor L.

    A Christmas Review Story... I went here to find gifts for boys ranging from 5-23yo. I came out with a perfect haul of more than just stocking stuffers. NorCal has a wide range of gifts that are hobby grade toys. They're not your typical Target/Walmart toys but a little better quality for not much more. I love the selection here. Service is key for hobby stores. NorCal excelled today as I was a little unsure how some of these hot wheels looking cars work. A man with Xmas lights necklace came out and showed how fun they can be. A 1:43 scale car can drift right out of the box! One dude started showing off a tiny RC drone, and another was busy helping a customer on RC parts. I don't know how they can staff so many people but they sure did today. Although I was expecting each gift item to be around $50 for each gift, there were some really cool micro gifts like remote control hot wheels for about $25. Last year I bought some RC warbird planes for about $100 each. I didn't see them this time around but that's ok. I want to give a proper review outside of Xmas shopping. I'll return when I'm ready to upgrade my Traxxas truck.

    SCX30 Mini Crawler
    Ray O.

    Awesome service, nice and very knowledgeable staff. I was looking for a mini crawler, and called to see if they had it available, they were friendly over the phone and when I went over they helped answer all my questions. The location is also great, they usually have events in their parking lot, and inside there are tracks for racing and crawling. From what I saw they had a huge inventory, and I bought my rc at MSRP which is great.

    Randy M.

    I am so impressed with the staff at Nor Cal Hobbies. They are extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Will helped me find everything I needed and suggested some stuff to improve my experiences with my RC vehicles. I will continue to support them. These days it is so easy to shop online, but it is so nice to deal with people who know what they are doing.

    Landon rocks !!!!!
    Crystal Marie R.

    I absolutely love . We all the way out from Santa Cruz because my son enjoys being here and driving on the indoor track! It's only $25 for the day to drive and the team is so helpful if any parts need to be replaced! They have an awesome selection of RC planes and boats and and buggies.

    Jim M.

    My grandson and I stopped by NorCal Hobbies to pick up some parts for his big monster truck. Will, the manager, was incredibly welcoming and took the time to help us troubleshoot and answer all our questions. Even though the shop was busy, he went out of his way to assist with the setup and get the truck running smoothly again. The store is well-stocked with just about everything you'd need to stay on the track. Thank you, Will, for your outstanding help. We highly recommend NorCal Hobbies to anyone looking for support or parts for their RC cars and trucks.

    Tam T.

    Took my boys to get their very first RC car and we had the best time. The guys working there were super patient and really knew their stuff. They explained everything in a way that made it fun and easy to understand, even for total beginners like us. Felt more like hanging out with cool RC experts than shopping! The kids were over the moon excited and honestly I was too. We've gotten so many compliments on the car and the boys are still playing with it every single day. It's holding up like a champ and we already can't wait to upgrade it! Seriously such a fun experience. Whether you're a kid or just a kid at heart, this place is awesome. Go check it out and prepare to become slightly obsessed like we did PS: they host parties, teach kids how to build, and you can also come race cars on their cool tracks!

    Gabriel I.

    My son and I had such a fun time at Nor-Cal Hobbies. We recently got into RC rock crawling and found this place in the south bay. Le me tell you it's worth the drive. The staff were super friendly and very helpful. Made us feel right at home. The cost to crawl your RC cost $10 for all day use. No complaints here! They also a wide selection of everything you need for your RC hobby. During our time they had a big race event, which looked awesome. Oh yeah, having a big bathroom for there customers and easy parking was a huge plus.

    Off-Road, Indoor carpet track
    Mike R.

    I am new to the RC hobby. Coming to NorCal-Hobbies, the staff makes you feel welcome and are available for troubleshooting and answering any questions I have. I would like to give a special thank you to Landon. He went above and beyond, helping with getting my first build completed and setup. I have attended a few Boot Camps and plan to attend many more. Eric's knowledge and patience with beginners and children is remarkable. They have a well stocked hobby shop where you can find pretty much everything you could need to keep you on the track. Pit tables are available at first come first serve, and are fitted with pit mats, for all your adjustments and charging needs. My only complaint is that it took me so long to find this hidden gem. Thank you Eric, Landon, Will and the NorCal hobbies team.

    Parts paint bikes cars trucks has a RC they got it. They don't got it they'll order it.
    Chris V.

    Couldn't be happier haven't had my rc cars going in a while, one trip to Norcal got all my trucks back in action looking better than ever!! From the tire choices to color selection to the countless options of new toys!! Definitely a place to check out!

    Driver's Stand at the Raceway
    Ashvin S.

    This place is the place for racing fixing and shopping for RC cars! Great staff. They won't oversell you. In fact they try to save you money whenever they can. What retailer will do that? The collegial vibes in the pits makes you want to bring your cars and stay a while absorbing the great energy and knowledge from other hobbyists. Definitely go to check out Friday night races. You can watch and learn a ton too. My son loves this place!

    My kid is psyched!

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    1 year ago

    Great place with tons of knowledgeable people! Had all the parts to fix my Typhon after I crashed it. Will be back soon!

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    Review Highlights - Nor-Cal Hobbies

    My 4-year-old is obsessed with anything with 4 wheels, so getting back into RC with him has been such a blast.

    Mentioned in 90 reviews

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    Tofu's Trading

    Tofu's Trading

    4.5
    (126 reviews)
    1.5 mi
    $$

    Had a great time exploring this local card shop with friends while in Vietnam town! It has AC! It…read morehas other cute merchandise from other local sellers across the bay like art prints, key chains, and enamel pins. Their speciality is of course tradings cards like pokemon and magic the gathering. It's a small store and they also have a back area with two tables for pack ripping or card games. Good place if you need to find some cards for your collections!

    Recently came here for the first time while I was in the area and looking for something to do while…read morewaiting for some friends. When I first entered the shop there were a lot of people just kind of milling around the cases and also lining up. It was really unclear what someone was supposed to do if they wanted to ask about product or look at singles. There were two folks working, one person at the register, and another just kind of there? No one greeted anyone or asked if we wanted to see anything or had questions. I waited in the line just so I could ask someone if I could look at some singles. The person acted like it was a huge inconvenience for them and kept walking away even though I wasn't done looking. I had to keep flagging them down to look at more things. Eventually I kinda just gave up with what I had. I don't think I would come back here. They have a lot of sealed product - some of which is wildly overpriced for the current market. They also had a lot of singles that weren't priced which meant they would look up everything when you asked about price. Not a very friendly atmosphere and the pricing isn't super great.

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    Tatsu Hobby

    Tatsu Hobby

    4.5
    (62 reviews)
    4.1 mi
    $$

    The wife and I were walking around Japan town on Saturday and I poked my head into one of the…read morestores there looking for a new Gundam kit but there was only one. I asked the owner and he mentioned Tatsu hobby as it wasn't far away. First off, this place is kind of hard to find as it is in a completely nondescript industrial complex and far back from the street. There is no way you would just be driving around and come across this place, you have to be searching for it. Also the layout of the store is weird. You first enter into a small room with a couple of display cases, (nothing you can buy I think), with a small desk and a cash register to the right. There was a small man sitting there having a conversation with a person so I wasn't quite sure what to do. My first thought was, "This is it?" But then I noticed there is another room through a open door in the back, so I proceeded through. This is where the kits actually are. The main room is pretty cramped with a few shelves of kits and a table that 3 people were sitting eating at and having nerdy discussions. I wanted to ask a question but I wasn't sure if they worked there or not. I didn't really see that there was really any sort of organization to the store other than the Gundams pretty much seem to be along the rear of the room and other types of kits are near the front. My biggest gripe is that none of the boxes have a price sticker on them. You have to ask the guy up front. Lame. And the couple of kits I asked about were priced higher than other places I normally buy from like Newtype. I'll just stick with Newtype in Union City from now on. Unfortunately they are only open M-F but they do ship and I usually get my orders in a day or two. I wouldn't bother going to Tatsu again.

    Great place for hobby. Cozy but very packed and easy to find items, they have large range of…read moreselection. Prices are comparable to online

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    Kandy Pop

    Kandy Pop

    4.5
    (33 reviews)
    1.5 mi
    $$

    First time visiting this place and I WILL be returning to this location from now on! I've been…read morelooking for a kpop store that has a lot of diversity in terms of artists and has a ton of inventory. AND a place that sells individual photocards?? Instantly sold. I don't know any store that sells individual photocards, and it really makes completing collections and sets so much easier. I was very impressed by the middle table they had in the middle of the store that had many binders organized by groups with individual member PCs that you can purchase. The PCs are a little overpriced, but compared to Mercari shipping/fees and other third party sites, the PCs are basically what you can find at retail. You can basically justify Kandy Pop's prices with the instant gratification without waiting for shipping lol. But overall you can basically buy many photocards for the price of one album which is HUGE! I also love that they have a POB lucky draw/gatcha machine that rotates groups/sets regularly for $5/pull or with an album purchase. You can also sell your extra photocards here! If you have large quantities of PCs, you'd need an appointment but if you have a small handful (like I did), they will probably just buy your cards on the spot. They also have a wide selection of photocard holders, deco stickers and accessories, random assortment of trinkets, stationery, and blind boxes. This place is located inside a plaza inside Vietnam town. Parking may be difficult during peak hours but isn't too bad overall.

    I've been going to this shop when it first opened downtown and it was like a tiny, joy-filled…read morecloset. I great to see how much they've grown and seeing the community they've built is amazing. They have a wide variety of products - photocards, skincare, squishy toys, and of course k-pop merch. I loved looked through their used clothes section for extra goodies!

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    Love the new location!!! Very convenient.
    Love the new location!!! Very convenient.
    Kandy Pop
    Kandy Pop

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    SSi Racing Team

    SSi Racing Team

    5.0
    (13 reviews)
    9.4 mi

    I was researching for go karting teams around the Bay Area and SSi was mentioned several times so I…read moredecided to give them a try. The team is a family run operation with Jason being the head coach (also a semi-pro racer) and Maria handling all the logistics. I booked an arrive & drive session for their 100cc kart at Sonoma Raceway and the entire experience far exceeded my expectations. The kart was in immaculate condition and fine tuned specifically to my build; I met with them a week in advance to do measurements to ensure proper fitment, which was a first for me. Jason and his crew were giving me solid advice throughout the day, answered all my questions, and even gave in-depth guidance on taking the next steps with purchasing my own kart. You can absolutely see the care and passion they have for this sport and how they want to help you progress into a better driver. Although their main focus is driver development through SIM training, they are truly devoted to helping you grow as a driver and ensure you have a fun time.

    We hired SSI Racing team to come out to our office for filming. The staff was great! Maria, Jason…read moreand Carlos helped out staff moving the Go Karts around for particular shots, they let the cast and crew have fun with the simulator in the trailer. I would love to join them on the track one day. Thank you so much for your outstanding customer service!

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    Nor-Cal Hobbies - hobbyshops - Updated August 2026

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