Right under my very nose!

[pingvuiini]

The other day I happened upon a brick and mortar hobby shop called Brookhurst Hobbies that has apparently been around for decades but I have never known about or been to. Not only that, I would say its one of the better hobby shops that I have seen. With regards to armor kits, supplies and book resources, I would rate Brookhurst above Yellow Submarine in Akihabara, Tokyo and EOL Modelisme in Paris, France. But all three of those stores still pale in comparison to Univeral Models Limited in Mongkok, Hong Kong.

I am glad I found this place as two of my other regular shops, The Military Shop in Long Beach and Hobby Warehouse in Lakewood, have closed down. I have always enjoyed being able to browse around in a shop, look at built models and purchase supplies, but one thing that I have noticed in ALL brick and mortar stores worldwide is that the model kits are two to almost three times as much as I can get online. Still, I plan on visiting Brookhurst Hobbies many times and trying out new things. They have models, books and paints from manufacturers I've never even heard of! So if you're ever in southern California and making your mandatory visit to Disneyland be sure to make a quick visit to Brookhurst Hobbies.

A few pics:

 

[arohk]

wow that's a big store, bigger then the one we have here like you I like to go in and look around and the prices are higher then online of course. The one thing I do enjoy about the store here is if a model comes out like the new 1/200 scale hood I can pay it off instead of having to come up with a lot of cash right away which is very helpful at times.

 

[chukw]

It's a nice shop, for sure! Pinvuiini. I used to haunt The Military Shop on a regular basis- have we met? I did that 1/72 U-Boat in the front case, along with several AC builds.

 

[myhobbyroom]

I am blessed with having a great hobby shop, in a near by city, that is a 40 minute drive from my home.

 

[Jimi]

holy cow, now thats what a call hobby shop heaven!

 

[Mikey_W_1980]

WOW!! I would love to have a store like that near me...sadly there arn't any near Stafford in the Midlands (UK)

Very jealous

 

[spud]

our hobby shop is a disgrace compared to that, :-[

 

[pingvuiini]

It's a nice shop, for sure! Pinvuiini. I used to haunt The Military Shop on a regular basis- have we met? I did that 1/72 U-Boat in the front case, along with several AC builds.

I remember that sub in the case! But not sure if we've met. I miss the convenient closeness of the Military Shop since I live near CSULB. If I am in a jam there is a hobby shop called RC Street Shop right in the same parking lot as the 24 Hour Fitness gym that I go to on Bellflower and Spring. As their name suggests they are mostly RC, but they do have a full rack of Tamiya paints if I need something quick to finish a model. Brookhurst Hobbies is about 12 miles/20 minutes away on the 22 Freeway, so its not all that far.

I was looking thru my photo archives and found some pics of the other hobby shops I mentioned. I'll post them for fun:

=========================================================
Akihabara district, Tokyo, Japan. This is the electronics and toy area of Tokyo. Aside from model kits, Tokyo and Japan in general has the most intense toy culture I've seen.


Entrance to Yellow Submarine

Model kits at Yellow Submarine




=========================================================
Mongkok district of Hong Kong.


Lots of general shopping in the area, but the absolute king of model kits (as far as I've seen) is here: UML!

 

[joeym]

Brookhurst Hobbies is my most frequented hobby shop. I love it. I was so sad when The Military Shop closed. I am close to you right by CSULB. I have been to RC Street shop quite a few times.

I also like to go to Rob's RC Hobbies in Huntington Beach every now and again. Another good place is Ultimate Hobbies in Orange. But I think Brookhurst Hobbies is the best out of all of them since they pretty much specialize in model kits of all kinds. We are neighbors!!!

 

[Robbo]

wow thats a big store, great find

 

[Swanningabout]

This place looks like paradise. I'm in a city of some 600,000 people and we have lost several hobby shops since the 90s and 2000s. The ones left are tiny compared to this. However, I would say the prices are better than what is usually charged online, if you consider the postage involved.