The Last Square "Wargamer's shop"

[jb]

I know there is a thread somewhere in this seemingly endless list of threads on the subject of "shops"... Truthfully I don't feel like looking for it...
Anyways during our game today at the Last Square, I went over and took a few pictures of their GHQ retail display. Just to let some of you know what it still feels like to "go to the shop" and get some...

[SSgtBuck]

wow, that's better than internet p o r n

[Mk 1]

Aack. Flidgellll. Hummnihummmnnni. ( <=== Mk 1 throwing a fit...)

How come we don' got no shops like that around ME?!?!!!

[WHM]

Curious to kinow how does Last Square promote microarmor?

Based on the wall space they MUST do something.

In N.J. the few stores that I know of that have gaming are more into Orcs(?) and stuff. Microarmor passesd away for them a long time ago.

Pity really, I used to drive miles to go to their stores and now I don't.

[jb]

Curious to kinow how does Last Square promote microarmor?

Based on the wall space they MUST do something.

In N.J. the few stores that I know of that have gaming are more into Orcs(?) and stuff. Microarmor passesd away for them a long time ago.

Pity really, I used to drive miles to go to their stores and now I don't.

... I can only guess. That guess would be that they sell everything, and promote all genders of games and related type hobbies. I'm sure that luck of the die roll also plays a genuine part...

[DeanMartin54]

Where is this!??!

Are there any stores like this in New York maybe Central New York????

It is a dream come true!

[jb]

Where is this!??!

Are there any stores like this in New York maybe Central New York????

It is a dream come true!

Madison, Wisconsin...

[dougeagle]

Sentry Box - Calgary AB - chock full of GHQ goodness, and currently offering US pricing on their stuff - go, go strong Canadian dollar! And only 1.5 hours from home!

Yes, that was my first thought as well. Last time I was in there, which was last summer (07) the set up was slightly different that what I remembered. But, its no longer a simple drive across the city (at certain times... 1.5hrs ) now its a full days drive down there.

[cbovill]

It's been over ten years since I had a store like that in the town I live in. I went on a business trip to Seattle last year and almost had a heart attack when I stopped in at American Eagle and saw that they carried EVERYTHING GHQ - had no idea that these brick and mortar stores still existed!

I want one in my town!

Chris

[WHM]

In the state of cofusion (N.J.) there were four stores that carried microarmor, Complete Strartegist (also in NYC), Imagination Workshop, Gamers Realm. and a hobby shop in Princeton.

All closed except Complete Strartegist. Frankly the guys who ran the NJ store did not strike me as all that motivated.

Frankly it would seem to sell a line of figures it would seem it is a necessity to host gaming as it helps to display the product.

[Extra Crispy]

I don't think you need to host gaming to promote a product. In all honesty every game shop owner I talked to before opening my shop here in Cincinnati (no GHQ yet but I'm thinking about it) seemed to be unanimous: gaming space does not pay for itself and if they had it to o over again they would give it up.

You pay rent and utilities on that space 24/7 365 days a year and it has to produce as many sales per square foot as the rest of the store. It just can't do that...

A good display of painted figures never hurt, nor good staff who can discuss how to paint it, rules to use, etc. If you hire a troll who'd rather sit behind the counter and paint or talk to his friends, well....

[jb]

I don't think you need to host gaming to promote a product. In all honesty every game shop owner I talked to before opening my shop here in Cincinnati (no GHQ yet but I'm thinking about it) seemed to be unanimous: gaming space does not pay for itself and if they had it to o over again they would give it up.

You pay rent and utilities on that space 24/7 365 days a year and it has to produce as many sales per square foot as the rest of the store. It just can't do that...

A good display of painted figures never hurt, nor good staff who can discuss how to paint it, rules to use, etc. If you hire a troll who'd rather sit behind the counter and paint or talk to his friends, well....

This is off of the Last Squares website...
"The Last Square opened in 1995 with 2500 square feet of space. While most was devoted, of course, to retail merchandise – there were specific design features put into place to encourage the “peopleâ€￾ end of the hobby. For example, chairs were scattered about the shop encouraging folks to sit and read – or perhaps to help someone wait patiently while somebody else shopped. Aisles were made especially wide to encourage a feeling of open-ness, while at the same time keeping items accessible to all. A permanent strategy gaming area was set up with a large gaming-height table (composed of smaller tables for maximum flexibility.)


The original shop has expanded three times since 1995 – now encompassing 6200 square feet. With the first and second expansion we started adding fantasy games and miniatures to our (at that point) strictly historical store. The third expansion allowed us to open our doors to plastic kits and models, trains and rockets. Each expansion also allowed the shop to carry more lines of paints, more board games, more hobby tools – more everything."

[macscrooge]

Considerable in-store GHQ stocks are also held by Wargames Emporium in Sheffield. Bit of a trek for those of you in the US though...

[Panzerleader71]

It has been a very long time since I have seen that level of concentration in GHQ minis in a store. The last time was CanGames about 10 years ago. Way back before I was even remotely interested in collecting 6mm armies. That is the way it goes, I get interested in something, and the supply of that something disappears from my area.

[Mk 1]

I saw a display of similar proportions (maybe even a bit bigger) at Brookhurst Hobbies in L.A. a couple years ago. It was some of the folks on this very forum (notably Mobius) who directed me there.

That display had more breadth in total micro-scale stuff, but not quite the depth of GHQ stuff in particular. Lots of cast resin terrain stuff there from multiple sources. Still a credible GHQ display, but not quite as impressive as pictured here. And, at 300+ miles away, it IS a bit of a drive...

I am recalled to the days when the Bay Area had 2 very large hobby shops, and micro-armor was carrried at both, as well as at several smaller shops. Ah, the glory days before webstores, when I could walk in to a shop and start buying for my WW2 Soviets, or my modern Soviets (when they were still Soviets), or my modern US Army, or my USMC, or my French, or my Israelis, etc. etc. .... building army after army, and never finding an opponant!

At this point I don't think there is a single shop in the Bay Area that carries micro-armor. Even Game Kastle, with TWO gaming locations (they rent an appartment in a building next to their first store just to fill it with gaming tables, and have recently expanded to a second store with a room dedicated to gaming table space), the place where PaloAlto (of this forum) runs his almost-regular micro-armor games, doesn't carry a single item in 6mm scale.

PaloAlto (James) on the left running a small game at the Game Kastle, with Jagdpanther rules. To his credit he has tried to get a group coming in for regular gaming -- has managed about a 2-out-of-3 hit rate for his microarmor-once-a-month calender efforts.


Close-up of one of the larger games PaloAlto has run at the shop.

Well, at least they carry Valejo paints. My local hobby shop source for Poly-S paints, the brand I prefer, closed-up last thanksgiving.

Sigh ...