GHQ Models Forums

I will be driving by san jose this Wednesday heading north and was thinking about stopping by some hobby stores n the area. Does anyone who live in the bay area have any suggestions.

You want to stop by at D & J Hobbies in Campbell.

Biggest hobby shop in the Bay Area, one of the biggest on the West Coast, and now once again stocks GHQ (after some years of absence)!

Not a lot of GHQ, mind you. But some. About a bazillion model kits, all the model railroading and RC stuff you could imagine, model rockets, lots of doll crafts stuff, and of course all of the paints, glues, and scenery supplies you might need. Also a couple aisles of books and magazines. But if as you enter you turn left and go all the way to the side wall, you'll find some GHQ stuff on display nestled in among all the Flames of War, orcs, dragons, and aliens.

Hope that helps.

Oh, and if that isn't enough, there is a large HobbyTownUSA store in Fremont. Lots of models, lots of RC and railroad stuff. Good selection of Concorde and Osprey books. But alas, no micro armor.

I remeber another big hobby store close to moffet field. is that still there?
I remember D&J. I will stop by there

lacamas wrote:I remeber another big hobby store close to moffet field. is that still there?

Not quite at Moffet, but San Antonio Hobbies was a big shop on ... you guessed it ... San Antonio Road in Mountain View. Great place. The moved just around the corner to another spot in the same mall about 10 years ago. But alas, the move didn't work out, and they went under a few years back.

That is sad that the san antonio hobby shop went out of business. I bought my first micro armor back in the early eighties there.

Well i stopped at D&J. You are right about the GHQ they only had 1 peg and then some combat packs there. But i did support the store to the tune of $61.00. Bought a game and some 550pc puzzles.


On a side note. Cheapest gas on the trip was in Salinas CA for $3.52 a gallon. most expensive was just north of LA @ 4.09 a gallon. Avg price was $3.80 a gallon.

lacamas wrote:That is sad that the san antonio hobby shop went out of business. I bought my first micro armor back in the early eighties there.

Yeah, sad to see it go. I bought a fair amount of microarmor there over a span of almost 20 years.

Its hard for any brick-and-mortar hobby shop these days. San Antonio was also cursed by a shopping plaza that was/is in decline. The anchor store, a big Sears, is now holding the last stages of their "store closing" sale, and in the last few weeks I've witnessed no fewer than 3 seperate police chases through their parking lot, including one just 20 minutes ago (my work is across the street, and I like to walk to/from lunch at local restaurants).

The hobby shops that seem to do best are those that foster a sense of community and involvement among their patrons -- D&J now does workshops and demonstrations, and has slot-car racing tracks for tournements -- the HobbyTown in Fremont has some gaming tables (I'm told -- never seen gaming there) -- and there are a few small shops that have substantial gaming table areas in Campbell, Dublin and Oakland. This is one thing that can't be duplicated online. But it doesn't pay off for them if they can't convert it into product sales, cause no one is willing to pay enough for table space to make the lease on a shop.