Phil’s Hobby Shop

Variety of inventory (especially for the RC enthusiast). Parts for repair of most items. Knowledgeable and helpful staff. Excellent customer service.
Brian, Robert, and Kirk care about their customers as much as their passion for their hobbies. They don’t go for «the big sale». They take care to answer all your questions honestly. It’s obvious when you speak with them, that they want you to be satisfied with your purchase and happy with your hobby. They want to earn your repeat business.
They have mine. Started going 20+ years ago when Phil was still the owner, and Brian a «newbie». Now, I got into a new hobby, and Brian made sure I got the right start, by giving me honest opinions and helping me make an intelligent start, without a large investment. I had so much fun, I brought my son in, as well as a few co-​workers who are all excited about their new hobbies. Brian and his staff helped me with replacement parts, and helpful suggestions, as I learned the ins and outs of the hobby. They even examined my equipment when I was having difficulty troubleshooting.
Now I’m ready to go to the next level, and a larger investment in my newfound hobby. Brian was right there with invaluable information and offering to help with any questions I may have.
I could have purchased through some online store, but I will always go to Phil’s first, before purchasing elsewhere. Far too many businesses don’t understand the value of good customer service and building relationships. The folks at Phil’s Hobby Shop sure do — without a doubt. I refuse to go anywhere else, and I recommend them at every opportunity.
I urge you to support your local hobby shop before making that online purchase. You won’t regret it.

Rude, rude, rude! My son spent $ 300 on an RC car that broke within a week. The car was under warranty so we brought it back to be serviced or replaced. Days after the promised return date the car still hadn’t been fixed and we were informed that they were too busy to be bothered with it. We picked up the car, which was left disassembled and brought it home. So much for the warranty! The staff was not friendly at all and generally treated us like we were a bother. The guy doing the repairs watched us like we were going to steal something! The only reason we even went there in the first place was because there’s no other hobby shops on this side of the bridge, but we’ll be making the trek over to Hobbytown in Tampa next time for sure!

This is a great little hobby shop. They stock a reasonable quantity of r/​c boats, cars and planes as well as static models and model rockets. They also stock a pretty full line of paints and tools. The staff are very helpful. They don’t carry everything in the world but they’re happy to order stuff for you. I once bought a kit from them that was missing a part. They opened a another kit just like it and gave me the part from that one. (and of course pulled that kit from the shelves). This is the kind of neighborhood store that’s becoming rarer and rarer. You might be able to find stuff cheaper online but in my opinion it’s worth it to pay a little more to have them there when you need them. I gave them 5 stars because, even though their stock might be a little (and I do mean little) thin, they’re really stocking about as much as they can in their space and doing about as well as a general family owned hobby shop can do. (oh and by the way. . the Mexican market/​restaurant next door … REALLY good)