Hobbietat

Our ONE STOP SHOP for all of our hobby needs :) Recently my boyfriend got into his RC Crawler phase, and was in need of parts & advice in this new hobby. As soon as we walked into this store, immediately we were greeted, attended to, and helped with any questions we may have needed help with. Jason, along with the rest of the awesome crew there are very knowledgable in their products, and the hobbies in which their store stocks. You don’t feel pressured to have to buy anything when you walk thru their doors. If you have questions, they will always answer them to the best of their knowledge, and with such patience. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE:) We will always come here for all of our RC needs.

it seems the other reviewers came here for cars and rc copters or drones
i come here for my fishing gear.
their items are surprisingly competitively priced for it being a local shop, maybe because fishing is just their side business?
i’ve compared it to sports authority and prices beat them if not equal. competitive even with pop fish. Just as educated as well.
sports authority on the other hand had totally uneducated employees. for me i do my research online as best as i can but still have some debates. For example i asked sports authority if pro-​line fishign line was better than the cheapy ones or if i would have to soak it in warm water still yet to get the bigger spool memory out and the guy just said «yeah you probably gotta soak it» just soo unsure and reiterating what i just said.
This place on the other hand, the one thick local tan guy at the fishing counter seems very knowledgeable. Even uncle with the mustache seemed knowledgeable. THe one guy that tried to help me at first, at least stated he wasn’t too good with the fishing, i think he was more so the rc guy or model guy. I give props for him trying, and appreciate once my questions went beyond his scope mustache uncle took over.
don’t try to use them as a test run place, i think they can tell when you just wanna sample and use them as a demo store and shit.
for me i’m patient, and i see they talk story with customers, so sometimes it takes awhiles for a cashier to be free, however it’s not like i took the initiative to ask for one either, i’d imagine they’d have been happy to ring me up if i did. Personally i dont mind waiting, i wasn’t in any rush and was checking out other random items.
fishing hooks, jigs and lures all seem competitively priced, definitely cheaper than online a lot of times when you factor in shipping rates.

I think this place is great, I have been spending money in there for years now, and knew nothing about building RC cars back then, now I build them regular all because of what I have learnt from them. Not enough old school mom & pop stores around anymore.
I hope they stay around forever so my kids can enjoy the place too,

I can’t believe how rude these guys are! Came to buy some stuff for my son but they only cared about talking to each other. Will never come back!!!

This place sucks. Spent $ 4000.00 on an inspire 1. Bought local so I can get support if I ever needed it. All I got was rudeness and no knowledge of the product what so ever!!! This place sucks big time. Buying online from now on!!!

REALLY DISAPPOINTED!!!
I have done a LOT of business with Hobbietat over the past few months after getting into RC helicopters. I was on a role and thought I had found a great place. It took the staff a few visits to get used to me, but once they realized I was a repeat customer, they warmed up to me and we started building a relationship beyond the standard patron/​business. That’s how you win customers and gain new ones through word of mouth. Then today… :(So, I was looking for a Blade product to replace a mall copter I purchased back in November (the one that got me started in this hobby). I wanted a fixed-​pitch nano I could fly inside when it was too windy outside and I didn’t want to exert the focus necessary to fly my Nano CPX (which I also bought from them). I went in looking for either a mSR or a 120 SR. I know Horizon had discontinued the mSR, but sometime there are still some out there. Today I was lucky, I though. I saw an mSR box, marked RTF, but it had a note on it saying BNF (which is what I wanted). That should have been a warning. Anyway, it was, what I thought, simply that. A RTF without the transmitter. I agreed to purchase it and brought it home. First thing I noticed when I got it home was that the manual was for an RTF (no BNF instructions). Second thing, was there was only one battery (HH says it come with two). But the final straw, and reason I’m writing this review, was that the heli simply won’t fly. I have flown more advanced models, and should easily be able to handle a FB FP bird. It’s HORRIBLY unstable. Couple that with the fact that the vertical fin is missing, and I’m pretty sure I was sold a used helicopter. I am INCENSED. After showing my loyalty to this store, and spending a pretty good bit of money with them (purchased three helis and a whole ton of parts/​batteries/​charger/​etc), and showing an indication to continue my patronage, and I get this. Oh, and all sales are final. So yeah, I am disappointed. But, we’re on an island, so it isn’t exactly like I can drive to the next town and visit a hobby shop there.
All in all, the folks there are pretty nice. Just check out what you buy before you walk out. With companies reducing packing materials now (good for them), it isn’t always apparent if a product isn’t brand new (bad for us).

Great store for all of your man toys (women too!) The true hobby store is fading out of existence but Hobbietat has withstood the test of time and online shopping. If you need just about anything dealing with radio control vehicles or fishing then this is the place to come. Knowledgeable and friendly staff, awesome owners, and just a great place to spend an hour browsing and dreaming of being able to afford one of everything they carry. You may find what you are looking for cheaper online but if you don’t support your local hobby store, there won’t be anymore local hobby stores. Then what will you do when you need a new axle for your RC truck the day before a big race? Besides, you can’t put a price on the knowledge the staff has.

NOTE: I’ve only gone here once, and I was in a hurry.
This place is impressive. They have a wide variety of model rockets, cars, planes, and all the stuff you need to fuel your hobby. I went in to find some rocket engines and found them right away. The staff was friendly and helped me find the correct engines quickly. They also advised me on the rules for flying rockets in Hawaii. The prices for the engines were a little more expensive than Amazon, but after you add in the shipping cost to Hawaii, this store’s prices were cheaper.
I will probably go back to this store. I would love to just browse all their items. So unless they do something that makes me change my mind, 5 stars for selection and service!

They are helpful to new flyers, but the plane that they sold me was no good. It never left the ground for some reason. I think it is the transmitter but it looked like the box had been opened and the plane was taped back in. I will return the plane asap for a refund. I do give them 2 stars instead of 1 because they where helpful and kind.

Simply put, simple and honest.
The people working were very friendly, and very informative. I mentioned I’m here for some paint, and when I pick some stuff out, the guy told me about the other types that would probably be better for me. I know he wasn’t trying to upsell me because these were cheaper than the ones I had originally picked out. They even helped me find a tool I needed from a very vague description (I only know the Japanese name).
⁵⁄₅ will recommend to those with model kits that need paint.
They also have fishing tackle, RC cars and helicopters as well as parts. Definitely worth checking out!

The Hobbietat may be the last Hobby Shop on Oahu. Unilocal lists gaming, comic, animé, and toy stores as «Hobby» shops but that just isn’t close to accurate.
I am looking to acquire or build an multirotor copter to do aerial photography and called all of the shops listed on Unilocal.Each store told me that they don’t do RC or that they might have some cheap indoor mini RC helicopters, one had the Parrot AR Drone… not very helpful in my quest.
When I finally got to speak with someone at Hobbietat, I thought all hope was lost because they only had one small copter in stock and it was nowhere close to what I needed. Just before hanging up with them, I asked if they do RC builds at their store and the young man said that they don’t, not really, but they could. My last question: Would your shop be able to assist me with building my own Hectacopter or Octacoper? He made my day when he said yes!
So, I don’t have exactly what I wanted, but I have a place to go for some help with a project that, at least right now, is above my ability. Looking forward to working with the folks at The Hobbietat to get this project off the ground… pun intended. :)
EDIT:
Initially, I was going to give four stars for the support, less one star for not having inventory that fit my needs. After some thought, it is important to point out that the reason there are so few hobby shops around is that folks are spending more money online buying something already built for less than they might pay at a brick and mortar store such as this. It may not be possible to compete with these online prices, but service like this and the help that The Hobbietat offered in building my own multicopter more than earned them a 5 star review.

Staff is very friendly and knows their stuff, very helpful in every aspect, have choke parts for every make and model. If they don’t have it they will order if for you, or if you broke a part that’s covered under warranty, they will replace the part if they have it and send in your broken one. But… I spent $ 600 + in Feb and $ 600+ in March. Lady ringing me up didn’t even say Thank You after purchase!

Great store! The staff knows about their products and is willing to help you. They even let me fly 2 of their RC heli’s to see what my skill level was (I am a beginner but understood the controls) so they suggested the step up from the basic beginner’s model of heli. When we were finished with selecting my bird, they even suggested common replacement parts before I left (since I didn’t live to close). They are friendly, they know about their products, willing to talk to you about your interest, and over and above all it was a peasant experience to be ale to feel comfortable in the store knowing you got what you needed/​wanted ad would enjoy the most.
I like that they carry parts in the store so I didn’t have to wait for them to come in from some other place. As well, my wife is interested in flying a RC plane and they were very helpful in suggesting a good beginners plane for her.
I’ll definitely be returning to this store for all of my RC wants and needs!

Great customer service and great parts for my rc. If they don’t have the part I’m looking for they order it in for me and call me as soon as its in., when ever I got any questions, their workers help me out and actually answer my questions with tips, rather than half ass answers., the car parts are reasonable too… I always come here for my parts for my rc

My dad was into helicopters for a while. We came here to purchase one. It was a bit pricey, but you pay for what you get. They sell quality products and have most of the parts for them as well. Also, the staff is extremely knowledgeable and very helpful! They sell those gas cars and boats and things as well (not sure about the technical names). If you’re into these things, I definitely recommend stopping by here.

Last time I came to this store it was pre internet days. Same place, same location, same setup. Just got back into the RC car hobby. Got my first Nitro gas powered car and needed some parts. They staff is very knowledgeable about their products. They question you on what you are doing to find out what the heck you need. Prices are a bit high but they have most things in stock. The price comes with the knowledge of the staff so it’s worth it. vroom vroom, here I come.

Check out this store if you’re looking for parts for a model airplane, fishing lures or related stuff. It’s a bit out of the way, a few blocks into Palolo Valley on 10^th Ave, off Waialae.
I made a mousetrap car and a small canoe out of balsa wood and thin copper pipes from this store.
Prices are good, selection is hit or miss.