The best all-around hobby store within proximity to Ottawa. Covers pretty much all the bases in the…read moremodel domain; trains (HO and N, DCC & DC), plastic kits (cars, boats, planes, motorcycles etc), diecasts, magazines, etc. Especially well stocked in model building raw materials. Friendly, knowledgeable and helpful staff. Of special note for the model train community is their train expert who does repairs, upgrades and general maintenance at reasonable rates. Glad to have this store in our city.

A nice, little, local store with lots of selection and very friendly service. They have a ton of…read morehobby-related products (with a focus on model trains and other vehicles) and a very well-organized setup. Those products aren't my particular area of expertise so I can't comment on their specifics. I do know, however, that they have a good selection of tools and scenery items available if you're into tabletop gaming. Basically every hobby tool you could need, they have, as well as an okay selection of paint as well (they are missing some of the ultra-high quality acrylic brands used for wargames, e.g. p3, vgc, citadel). I went in looking specifically for some terrain items from the Woodland Scenics brand and they have a ton of those in stock. Their prices for those items (flock, bushes, etc.) are also very good as well, beating both Amazon and Wal-Mart. There's also a bunch of other items in the store (puzzles, magazines, other collectibles) that I didn't really pay close attention to. Overall, it looks like a great place to go for a wide selection of general hobby supplies.

This is such a cool store right from the entrance that's filled with manga (in English and French),…read morefigures of all sizes, and even has two floors. You could spend so much time wandering and taking it all in.

Imaginaire opened on October 21, 2023. It's a chain from Quebec and this location is the first one…read moreoutside of Quebec. It is located in the Rideau Centre and spans 2 floors. It's huge. It has board games, comics, collectible cards, Funko Pop, LARP gear, dice and so much more. Prices are a bit on the high side, and I didn't see any sales while I was there, but their inventory is huge and it's fun to poke around. (66)

Great little store with very friendly service…read more They sell mainly board games and tabletop games and while the store itself is not huge, it looks like they've got an okay selection of both. It's packed tight, and is definitely a store you can wander around in for some time quite contentedly. The warhammer items they sell are at a very tiny discount (just under 5%) so it beats GW prices, however, there are certainly other places to go for better prices. In terms of paints,they carry both the citadel and privateer press brands of miniature paints (with a very good price on the P3). Will definitely be back to take a closer look at their board games and other items.

We used to frequent Fandom II when we lived here, but moved to Vancouver about a decade ago and…read morehaven't been back. Walking by it last night, we decided to stop in and take a look around. There was a desk parked in front of the door, and someone waiting by it. They let us know that while you could take a walk around, they preferred you know exactly what you were looking for and they'd fetch it for you. Completely understandable, considering the small store and the state of the pandemic. No problem on our end, whatsoever. We let him know we weren't looking for anything in particular, and would just come back another time, and thank you, but he was adamant that there must be one particular thing we'd be looking for. He was getting weirdly accusatory about it, when we had not at all been aggressive towards him. He asked which particular fandom we liked, and my husband said "pretty much all of them - comics, D&D, mini painting-" to which the shopkeeper responded by interrupting, with no levity at all, "that's what someone who's not actually a geek would say." The hell, guy? Rather then try and defend our extensive nerd cred with this uppity troll, we told him we'd rather spend our money elsewhere and happily visited The Comic Book Shoppe, fighting the urge to swing by on the way back with our purchases, shouting "BIG MISTAKE", Pretty-Woman-Style.

This was my second time heading to this store in hopes if finding a board game, and the second time…read moreI have been absolutely floored by the lack of customer service. When we walked in at around 6:30pm on a weeknight, the entire store was deserted but there was a tournament of some sort going on. Te same thing happened the last time we came. I'm all about having tournaments, but these instances majorly hindered the business. The first time we went in there was literally no staff at the counter. Even after waiting, no one ever came and no one asked us if we needed help. The second time we came, there was someone behind the counter, but when we asked for help he said "I can't help you, I don't work here," in an incredibly rude tone. I couldn't believe this! We then wandered around looking for the board game we were on the hunt for, and still, no one seemed to be available to help us. On our way out the door, someone told us to "have a good night." When we asked him if he actually worked there, he said yes and asked if he could help us. He told is he had the game we were looking for, but not the version we wanted because "no one carries it anymore." (Note: we found it down the street at Mastermind Toys - ha!) Unless you enjoy the tournaments they host here, I would avoid this place. That is, unless you check their schedule and make sure not to go during one of their events.

Went in to get some heroclix boosters a few months back and got such great service I keep coming…read moreback. I now come in every Wednesday for the heroclix tournaments and love that they are very good with new people re-learning how to play. I really like the staff and the owner and his girlfriend are both easy to deal with and always willing to help you find whatever you need. Alex (the owner) made sure this week we had a tournament to play in even when the normal judge was out of town. On top of that he even gave out way more prizes then normal too. I would recommend it to anyone looking for card or board games.

The Comic Book Shoppe is a solid place for anything geek-related…read more Among the stuff you can find here are trading cards, great for me since I wanted to get some MtG boosters. In fact, there must've been a promotion going on, since my friend who doesn't play was given a free draft booster, probably in an attempt to keep the noble tradition alive. The other stuff you can get are varied. You have comics (evidently) in the style of manga and western graphic novels. I also noticed some magazines and art books. Aside from these are some interesting board games, apparel, figurines, action figures, and miscellaneous accessories. There's also a place for games; I saw people playing with cards (likely also Magic). The store is completely judgment-free, so don't worry if you feel like you stick out. The staff here are very friendly and will help you find what you need.

I felt accepted there like one of the regulars as soon as i stepped in. The people are warm and…read morefriendly, they are accepting of anyone. The comics are of high quality. It's not cheap pulp crap you see elsewhere. It's printed on real nice paper. People love these books. You can tell people there are having the time of their life. I would go everyday if I could but believe me, I have a busy schedule. I do.

When I visited the Trainyards for the first time, the first store that I hit was Michaels. I parked…read morewithin a few feet from the main doors and walked in. As with most Michaels stores, this one is huge and spacious. It has a ton of aisles and I can never figure out where the calligraphy section is. I feel like I need a map of the store. I did like the silicone moulds. I bought a couple of dog-themed ones for a friend. You can either make ice cubes or bake in them, or anything that suits your needs. I love the flexibility! I relived my youth by seeing Spirograph and macrame kits. I ended up getting a crocheting kit that was on sale. I like picking up a skill and crocheting, it is. Speaking of sale, there are a lot of bins with items that have been heavily discounted. I recommend checking them out. I was heading towards the checkout and a frazzled woman approached me. She looked at me and said, "Oh, you don't look like you work here." I was wearing a Snoopy t-shirt. Um, no. She decided to interrupt a transaction between a customer in front of me and the cashier to ask her question. This woman got her answer and I could tell that she was going to head in my direction and bump into me without watching where she was going. I held my crochet kit, which served as a shield. Yep, she plowed into it while I said to her, "Don't ram into me." Too much drama for a visit to a Michaels store, I tell ya! Anyway, the cashier was so sweet, apologizing. She asked me whether I had signed up for Michaels. I don't shop here all that often and said that I didn't think so. Well, after she looked up my phone number, it turns out that I am. Nice! I paid and walked out with my crochet kit, and my two silicone moulds. It's a good store, but watch out for the occasional weird shopper. (266)

Michael's craft store is a bit of a wonder to me. I've always lived in downtown, major Canadian…read morecities. Seeing as Michael's tends to pop up in suburban strip malls, I was overwhelmed by the size and offerings Michael's had. If you're looking for arts and crafts supplies, you've come to the right place. They have an extensive selection of scrap booking, sewing, knitting, beading, painting, framing, floral arrangement, and bake-ware supplies. I found myself at Michael's to sign up for their Wilton cake decorating class. They often offer 50% off specials on the courses, making it only 22.50$ for 4 weeks of 2 hour decorating classes. Their Wilton selection was decent, however not complete. It's a little disappointing that the store offering Wilton decorating classes was missing basics like piping gel. Be aware that Michael's generally ALWAYS offers a 40% off coupon available online here: http://canada.weeklyad.michaels.com/coupons/?storeId=3983&promotionCode=Michaels-121209C Normally when you make a purchase, you also receive a 40% off coupon for 1 item, which can be great. Be aware that customer service at Michael's Trainyards is often lacking; there's typically anywhere from 5-20 people waiting in line but only 1 or 2 cashiers. If you're looking for service on the floor, good luck! However, if you know what you're looking for and are looking for a good selection of art and crafts supplies, it's definitely worth checking out.

These people robbed me. Ordered a package from them. Month later no package has arrived. Called…read morethem and said I would be refunded in 4 weeks or less. 6 weeks later I call them again. They told me I wouldn't be getting refunded at all. This business deserves to fail it is employed by liars and thieves.

Please stay . Store shady practices.I order a tcg pokemon booster box minutes later I saw that I…read moreorder the non-enhanced version . Contact costumer support multiple times minutes after the order was placed and they respond say they would take care of my issue and my order still was shipped after multiple requests minutes later the order was placed . Stores like that they will ruined the experience of hobby

I realized during this trip that I missed reviewing a number of places that I had stopped by during…read moremy last trip to Ottawa nearly four years ago. One of them was Paper Papier. Oops! Back in November 2015, I stayed in ByWard Market and walked around. I stumbled across this gem. The store sells stationery, greeting cards, fountain pens, and more. I ended up getting two greeting cards. I got one with a polar bear for a friend who absolutely loved it. I got another one that showed the Rideau Canal during the winter for another friend. I love unique cards and she was thrilled that I thought about her during my trip. I have always loved stationery and pens. This store has a fantastic selection of fountain pens. I remember longingly looking at all the Lamy pens and ink refills. There are plenty of notebooks to choose from if you like scribbling notes here and there. It's nice adopting the old-school method of doing things, especially when you cell phone, laptop, or tablet runs out of battery power. I'm so glad that this store continues to exist and thrive. It's closer to the U.S. Embassy. It's worth dropping by, especially when you are looking for cool gift ideas. (212)

This store is gorgeous! Lovely cards, decorative paper, and notebooks. They have a huge selection…read moreof the popular Leuchtturm1917 bullet journals and planners. In the back corner of the store, there's a beautiful selection of assorted plants and flowers. I also saw a couple of Filofaxes for sale hidden in a cart at the front of the store!