GHQ in the Bay Area?

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Sat Jul 20, 2019 10:30 pm

I'm going to be in San Francisco next week and I was wondering if anyone was aware of wargaming or hobby shops in the area that carry micro armor.

Thanks!

regia-marina · Post by **regia-marina** » Sun Jul 21, 2019 6:26 am

It use to be the San Antonio Hobby Shop in Mountain View. Unfortunately it's gone now. I bought my first ships and tanks from them back in the 80's. Good memories!

Steel Arrows · Post by **Steel Arrows** » Sun Jul 21, 2019 7:51 am

I know this is not quite in the area. If you plan to deviate your travel. In Los Angeles Ca area in city of long beach is the War House game store on willow ave.
They are the last of the local game shops that still sell allot of the micro armor.

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Mon Jul 22, 2019 7:12 am

Thanks for the tip, Steel Arrows! Long Beach is not far from home at all. I'll have to check it out after I'm back home!

nashorn88 · Post by **nashorn88** » Tue Jul 23, 2019 3:54 am

Yea nothing within 100 miles that I know of.
A few gaming store south of SF.

San Antonio Hobby And D&J uses to have the best selection of GHQ in the past. Too bad internet kill all the local hobby stores.

Mk 1 · Post by **Mk 1** » Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:19 am

D&J, San Antonio Hobbies ... oh the good ol' days.

There was a small one-man shop in Sunnyvale in the Town & Country in those days too. Long since gone.

More recently Game Kastle used to have some 1/285 stuff at their Santa Clara store. But AIUI they don't have anything smaller than 15mm for a few years now.

There used to be some 1/285 stuff at HobbyTown in Fremont. But that store closed a few years ago.

There was a shop in downtown Oakland, just off Broadway. Fairly large 2nd floor affair, with a bunch of space devoted to gaming tables. There was an East Bay Miniatures gaming club that used to play there frequently. I only wandered in once, but vowed to go back. Never did. Can't find it online, so I am assuming it's gone too.

If you do find any, let us know. I'm sure there's enough of us here that would be interested.

regia-marina · Post by **regia-marina** » Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:24 pm

D&J, San Antonio Hobbies ... oh the good ol' days.

There was a small one-man shop in Sunnyvale in the Town & Country in those days too. Long since gone.

Mk 1- It looks like you and I frequented the same places. I forgot about D&J. They had a good selection of GHQ products. I take it they are out of business now. The store in Sunnyvale was called Mickey's Model Shop. I loved that place! I bought a lot of Airfix soldiers, among other things, when I was growing up in the 70's and 80's from him. I miss those times and stores too.

Mikee · Post by **Mikee** » Wed Jul 24, 2019 6:41 am

I used to go to San Antonio Hobbies too. I lived in "The City", and drove down to Mountain View periodically for good stuff. Not familiar with D&J, though. San Antonio was a biiiig shop, with all kinds of hobbies; it was fun just to root around after I spent all my money, & see what was available. Then, one day I went down there and it was gone, gone gone! I seem to remember hearing (although I no longer remember the source) that the owners just wanted to retire.

I actually started going to San Antonio to buy D&D figures; didn't play the game, but liked to paint armies of orcs, goblins elves, etc. One day I went down for more, and there was nothing of D&D to be had. If I remember right, there was just a sign stating that they would no longer sell fantasy stuff because it promoted satanism, black magic, voodoo, & witchcraft. I don't believe games can do that. but it did start me on a new hobby - miniature ships.

On an (un?)related note; during my marriage my wife was inducted (invested?) into a white witch coven during a solistice party. I was at the induction (investiture?) but nobody told me what was going on. The tale is too long to relate here, but it ended with the "witch mother" (sorry, but I don't remember the proper title) giving my wife a large magical topaz gem with a big chip out of it. She told my wife that the topaz had a flaw because my wife had a flaw in her personality, and that when my wife fixed the personality flaw, the flaw in the gem would disappear.

My wife did not take kindly to correction, and I never saw or heard anything about the coven and the witch mother again. Since I was eventually divorced, not turned into a toad, she may have left the coven. In my case, Fireball's statement regarding "She Who Must Be Obeyed" was a survival action.

nashorn88 · Post by **nashorn88** » Wed Jul 24, 2019 1:23 pm

I just remember Franciscan hobbies in the city carried ghq and cinc.
Think I got my 1st pack of ghq from there.
Good times back then I used to buy 1/700 ships destroyer were $1.00
Also there was Shelton game store on Geary street. Think they had ghq but at that time I was into Heritage and mini fig15 mm.
I really question living here. Quality of life isnâ€™t what it used to be.

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 8:50 pm

I'm back from San Francisco and as expected I found no micro armor. No gaming or modeling stores worth noting in fact. Too bad considering the area's history and its ties to the military.

My grandfather spent 25 years in the Navy and he had a lot of great stories about San Francisco in the 40s and 50s. He was in patrol squadrons during WW2 (SBD, J2F, and PBY mostly). His favorite,though not terribly dramatic, story about San Francisco was when he was there in early 1942 at the same time that the Hornet was in port. He had his leave form in his hand and he wondered why Army B-25s were sitting on the dock, but he was more interested in seeing his girlfriend. As he was walking toward the gate his CPO was shouting at him to stop because they had a work detail and they needed him. He pretended that he couldn't hear the chief and he kept walking. Apparently, his girl was more important than loading those B-25s!

chrisswim · Post by **chrisswim** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 8:57 pm

Redleg, great story. Thank you for sharing.

regia-marina · Post by **regia-marina** » Sat Jul 27, 2019 1:19 am

chrisswim wrote:Redleg, great story. Thank you for sharing.

Ditto!

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sat Jul 27, 2019 5:43 am

The lower brain was in command!

Steel Arrows · Post by **Steel Arrows** » Sat Jul 27, 2019 8:21 am

Hey Redleg

Don't forget to visit the warehouse. I just picked up some items which had old pricing and saved a few bucks. They got a lot of both modern and ww2 land, sea and air.

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Sat Jul 27, 2019 8:47 am

Steel Arrows - I will definitely stop in as soon as I can! Thank you for the tip!

panzergator wrote:The lower brain was in command!

LOL I think youâ€™re right! Good thing he skipped out to meet his girlie though, as she would later become my grandmother!

My intent was not to turn this thread into a Grandpa Bud thread, but I canâ€™t help myself and I must share another funny story about him.

In 2009, when he was 88 years old, I took him to an air museum in Chino, CA. He was shuffling around the museum looking at aircraft and telling me stories while a troop of Cub Scouts was running around on an airplane scavenger hunt. When we got to the Douglas Dauntless exhibit he became more animated and he got a real crazy look in his eye as he stepped up to the group of scouts and declared in a loud voice, â€œThatâ€™s the plane that blew the hell out of the Japs at Midway! Sank 4 Jap carriers! Blew the crap out of â€˜em!â€ The kids couldnâ€™t decide if they were intrigued or frightened and the scout master looked horrified as my grandfather continued talking about â€œKilling Japs by the boat loadâ€. I was laughing too hard to be any help as the scout master tried to herd his kids away from the crazy old man.