The finest shop around. Extremely honest and fair. Very generous with his time to show my son what…read morehis car needed and didn't need. No upsell at all. If you're not coming here you're going to the wrong place. Travel you won't be disappointed

ATTENTION LOCAL…read moreBUSINESS OWNER BLATANTLY MAKES HOMOPHOBIC COMMENT TO NEW CUSTOMER In the past few days I decided to pick up a new hobby to pass some time during the winter. Just yesterday I picked up an RC car off of marketplace and was toying around with it outside and quickly found out that it would be more suitable on a track rather than the narrow roads around my trailer park. I did some searching on google and found a hobby store not too far from me that has an indoor race track meant for these things. Before heading there today, I called the shop and politely inquired about their race track and what the process is for using their track, assuming there would possibly be a sign up, or some other barrier to entry before you can actually utilize the course. The owner informed me that the track is open on weekdays for practice runs, and that they do races on fridays. Not ever mentioning that there is a fee, or that they require an audit of the machine before operating it on their track. So I thought cool, seems like a chill place where people can leisurely go and have fun with their toys, and maybe the community is pretty welcoming to new hobbyists. Well, I was apprently very wrong about that. After maybe 10 minutes of racing my little toy car around their track, I decided to go check out the shop to see if there would possibly be an option for a car that would perform better on their track instead of my "cheap little amazon" car. So I go up to whom I presume to be the owner to ask him if he would possibly have any recommendations. Mind you he paid no attention to me up until this moment because he was talking to an employee/customer for quite some time. I was then quickly shamed because apparently I did not understand the rules, one of them being that the tires on my rc car have tread on them and will "fuck up the track". Shortly after I was also scolded for apparently not paying the $15 track fee, when there is literally no indication that there is any barrier to entry or that you have to pay before using the track. I would have gladly paid the fee and followed the rules if the owner actually treated me like a customer, rather than some guy coming in to purposely mess up their race track. I then explained to him that I did not hear about any fee when I talked to him on the phone, and that there are no signs located anywhere in the store stating the rules. He then responded with, "when the fuck is anything free in the past 100 years". Which I totally understand, but maybe you should mention that to your customers before they come into the store, or maybe not have the door to the track wide open where anyone should just walk in. I was then told to "get the fuck out of their store and never come back", and as I was walking out this person blatantly yelled at me, "yeah get the fuck out you fucking faggot". So unfortunately my expectations for a welcoming community in a new hobby ruined, all because of one person that should not be running a business if they're going to treat people like that. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR BUSINESS

I have used Hiawatha Hobbies for years. Their selection is always excellent, their prices very…read moregood, and a customer service that responds to both emails and phone calls promptly. Generally their shipping is quite fast. In saying that in the past when an item was slow to ship and they could not complete the entire order they did not charge me shipping which was unexpected, but a nice touch I thought. However, their products always arrive well packaged. Never have I had a product damaged when shipped by Hiawatha Hobbies. I absolutely recommend Hiawatha Hobbies and will continue to use them going forward. They are a great stop for model railroaders.

Submitted and on line order, when I received it two items had been damaged by UPS. I called that…read morethey shipped replacements the same day. Great customer service!

this guy named jeff is amazing! he showed me all his trains!…read moreif you have kids that like trains this is a amazing place for them! please come here-Henry

Ron's Mundelein Hobbies is a gem. The main focus is on model railroading. Train sets, locomotives,…read moreindividual cars, buildings and materials for landscaping layouts are offered. A large selection of model cars, airplanes and ships is also on hand. Large stocks of Tamiya and Vallejo paints, cyanoacrylate and plastic glues are maintained. K&S Metal and Evergreen Plastics products are there for the scratch builder. And model rockets are also offered. That is a lot of good stuff, but what makes Ron's a gem is the service and the people working there. Stop in sometime, you will see what I mean.

Model Empire is scheduled to close March 28th, 2026. In the mean time they are having a clearance…read moresale to move out their stock.

they say it's a small world. absolute wonder of a spot on one of the greatest strips of retail in…read morethe region! worth it even if you think you've outgrown miniatures.

This place, tucked away behind an unassuming hand-lettered sign on a corner in mostly deserted…read moredowntown Kenosha, is probably one of the best of the remaining RPG stores in the United States today. I do not say that lightly: Inside you will find a half dozen rooms catering to every possible role playing game taste, from Dungeons & Dragons and GURPS to obscure, esoteric and forgotten titles from the golden age of paper & dice gaming: Car Wars (actually, an entire gigantic shelf devoted to Steve Jackson games), Traveler, countless board and card games, die cast miniatures, old issues of Dragon and White Dwarf and seemingly every cyberpunk manual and sourcebook ever printed. Especially strong when it comes to indie/self-published works, this place is an important archive of an influential subculture, one that is directly responsible for what is now considered mainstream geek/videogaming culture (there would be no Game of Thrones, no Grand Theft Auto, no Call of Duty, were it not for the tropes and character attribute systems honed in this scene). It's like a museum where everything is for sale. That alone would be enough to merit this place 5 stars, but on top of that, it also caters to model builders and model railroaders, with every conceivable kind of kit and diorama accessory stacked to the ceiling, plus all the Xacto knives, glues, paints and reference books needed to perfect any scale modeling creation. In addition to having space for regularly-meeting RPG groups, Friends' also serves as the headquarters for a regional scale railroading group. If you visit, note that the store is cash-only (they have an ATM). There'll be a cat roaming around, and probably a few hobbyists just hanging out and shooting the shit. If you're coming from Chicago, note that there's a Metra stop just a few blocks away (call ahead to verify hours). Places like this are disappearing, as more and more people get their gaming fix online, but Friends' seems to be going strong -the proprietor told me it's been around 29 years, and that they're eyeing a larger, 4,700 sq. ft. space down the street so they can display even more product. Only fitting for a gaming store located in the shadow of Lake Geneva, from where Dungeons & Dragons itself was unleashed on the world. EDIT, SEPT. 2018 - Stopped by for the first time since my initial visit. Business has moved to a new location - 8501 75th St. (see flyer in photos). They're still awaiting a some municipal permits, so call first before stopping by.

The selection is nice here…read more Unfortunately the place smells gross and becomes more overwhelming the longer you are in there. I had to go wait in the car because it was too much. The owner was very nice What was supposed to be a quick browse to look at the model car choices and paint selection turned into being inside for an hour minimum The paint we picked out has to get returned since there was chunks of something in it. As if it was sitting on the shelf for years

My granddaughter is obsessed with NeeDohs, so we were out on a mission to find them. We originally…read morestopped by the Aldi next door, only to discover it was out of business. While we were there, we noticed a line forming nearby and decided to check it out. To our surprise (and my granddaughter's absolute excitement), it was HobbyTown doing a NeeDoh drop at 10am! The line kept growing and at 28 degrees we were freezing, but there was no way we were giving up our spot. Thankfully, the owner opened a little early and everything was very well organized. They limited purchases to two per person, and since we were third in line, we had time to pick exactly what we wanted. Such kind owners and a great experience overall. We'll definitely be back to explore the rest of the store.

We visited today and what a great experience. The employee who helped my son was really an amazing…read moreguy and was so kind to my son and helped him find a model airplane. He was really patient and kind in helping him find what he was looking for. It's a very neat store!

Experienced doll maker and repair services. Full service store front and online store.read more

Apparently out of business as no one answers either phone number, they do not return calls nor do…read morethey respond to emails.

This place is packed with old collectible games and toys! It seems a little disorganized, but the…read moreowner knows where everything is if you just ask him what you are looking for.

Floor to ceiling toys, games, and collectibles. A good place to go to find that toy line or game…read morethat has been discontinued. I'm definitely going back again....and again.....and again