House of Hobbies

This place is a genuine treasure and almost a «snapshot» back in time before video games became the common pastime for so many.
I have been going to HoH since my Grandma used to take me to their original Clearwater location on South Ft. Harrison, when I was a little kid.
I miss that place so bad. It was great fun to see the owner have to use a step-​stool to climb over that cluttered counter to get to his seat behind the cash register!
A family business, still going strong for decades, that guy with the white crew cut is «Bob,» the owner…
…and Bob has more information about ANY retro hobby than you can imagine!
His selection of old and new plastic model kits is the stuff of legend. I have brought out-​of-​town friends here just to browse for kicks, and they always leave finding something of pure wonder!
While not my passion, Bob is also the guy to go to if you are into ANY radio-​controlled sort of hobbies whatsoever! Car, plane, boat, etc… He is an RC expert!
HoH’s inventory is vast and impressive. But if you can’t find it here, just ask Bob and he will gladly order it for you!
I wish more parents would encourage their kids to put down the video game controllers, and build a plastic model kit. An afternoon of glue and paint can be FAR more rewarding than just silly and hollow, temporary pixels on a screen.
How much more rewarding? Actually, I now run a small side-​business, making and selling my own sort of «model kit» related art objects.
While he may never know his impact, Bob the owner here, is one of my main influences that introduced me to the joy of building and painting objects with my own two hands!
So please give HoH a visit! In our modern «video game» era, this sort of place has become almost extinct, and that is a real shame indeed…

great place very nice owners, i bought alco santa fe a +b «g «scale locomotives. great price i could not get a better deal on ebay its a family owned place not a corporation, they have alot of stock on models trains remote control boats cars etc.

I love this place. It is a true family owned and operated store. They are all very knowledgeable and very friendly. Any time I need anything I head to this store. You can’t beat the prices they have either.
If you are into or looking to buy any type of RC model this store is the place to go. They have retail sales and they can repair your toys if you have a tendency to crash them. (I do not know anything about crashing RC helicopters in a blaze of glory

This is just another store where they have inventory that you will absolutely not see anywhere else. Strange and obscure plastic toy manufacturers some that have probably been out of business since I was in middle school. The owner’s knowledge is amazing. If you have any reason to visit a hobby shop, go here (there?)