Hobby Bench

Usually greeted with sour face and rude lady owner. Shop here often. Hope it stays around. Light rain construction has taken a toll on mood of store. Wish it could always be pleasant.

This is a great little local store that is perfect for the hobbyist or crafter. They have a great assortment of heads, cords, items for jewelry. They also have basic arts and craft supplies for home décor projects or DIY intentions. There is a nice model plane, car and other section with the levels ranging from beginner to advanced. Same with the assortment if remote control vehicles and planes. The staff us very, very helpful and will take you to whatever it us you are asking for. It is like a step back in time to where there were local shops for the local hobbyist and general crafts person could GI to get the necessary items from craft glue to model glue, knitting needles to remote engine primer. It is a hidden north Central gem.

If I had to describe my first and only experience with Hobby Bench I would need to say. ouch!
I recently bought a couple of quadcopters from Amazon for my birthday to get the feel of these new things they call drones. Immediately I could fly the dam things having logged hundreds of hours in airplanes and helicopters so it wasn’t a big jump. But I really needed technical advice on batteries, chargers etc.
The fella behind the counter was very informative and very technical. Unfortunately I was able to understand his techspeak and felt I was getting a great honest opinion of equipment and supplies. I should have stuck to my gut about their pricing and walk away but the man seemed honestly persuasive.
I chose to purchase a few batteries and a battery charger, hoping that these would enhance my flight time. I soon realized that the $ 25 batteries I purchased from Hobby Bench performed less than the $ 3 batteries I had also bought from Amazon. The $ 35 dollar battery I bought for my larger craft had no advantage over the cheap $ 8 batteries online. The sticker shock on the sophisticated charger I bought was also inflated 300% over comparable online pricing.
Another very annoying factor is that you must provide ID to be recorded into the Store’s personal record if you purchase over $ 100 with a Debit card. Refusing to share my personal information with strangers, I used an ATM down the street and bought the supplies with cash.
I love to buy locally but I just can’t afford these guys and refuse to participate in their policy of invading personal privacy.

This is the place to find you RC needs. The staff knows the stuff. They are friendly, and will help you get what you need. I have been to other hobby shops that carry RC’s and the staff was no where near as nice or helpful.
My son and I have bought about 6 rc’s here and will buy more.
They have a great selection of new RC’s and parts. If they don’t have it they will get it for you.

BEWARE OF WHAT YOU BUY HERE!!! Will not do cash refunds so you will be stuck with it or have to buy something else in store. Even with a receipt they will not refund you what a scam. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable but the thing I returned was so I could buy a different one. That they don’t carry so they said we can order it which was nice of them but it is at least $ 50 dollars more than I found it on the Internet. So now I’m stuck having to either buy it on the web and leave my credit at the store which I can’t afford to do or paying a lot more for it. If the staff wasn’t so nice would’ve given them only 1 star since you can’t do zero stars. I just want other people to be aware that you are stuck with your purchase or having to buy other stuff there. They do have signs posted and it’s on your receipt but who reads that stuff they should at least say something about no cash refunds to you when your making your purchase.

Stopped by to see if they had leather working tools and supplies. No. Pretty good selection otherwise with a heavy emphasis on model building, RC toys and rockets.

Great selection of RC cars and model cars. I went in wanting to purchase a model Spanish ship not knowing it took years to build, ended up not getting it since I do not have the patience for all the detailed assembly. I ended up with a RC car that I paid about $ 450 for and broke it on the second use. I went In for a second time and none of the same staff from the original visit was there except for the cashier. Guy who helped me find the part I needed was a little irritated w/​me since I didn’t know the name of the part I was looking for (I don’t know that nerdy kinda ish) but ended up selling me all upgraded parts. I’m an easy sell but was a little irritated with that specific guy, everyone else was cool as ice. You won’t be disappointed with their selections of neat stuff. Forgot to tell you that I’ve wanted a RC car since I was a kid and the one I purchased goes about 60 MPH!

Visiting from Hawaii and stopped at this store. great selection on plastic cars/​ships/​airplanes model kit. Lots of RC Airplanes hanging above the store.

I was more interested in their art supply selection and most of what they had was student grade. They did have a large selection of model pieces if that is what you are looking for. I’m sure I will be back for little things like pencils and erasers.
On a different note, when my husband and I were walking around and checking stuff out, there was some gentleman who kept following us through every aisle. I’m thinking to make sure we don’t steal. This was extremely weird though and made me feel a little uncomfortable. Maybe they should just install security cameras like everyone else.

cool place.

Visiting from out of town. Was amazed at the selection at this store. My personal interest is model rockets, so I was pleased at the selection, There are also a lot of plastic models and an extensive arts and crafts section. The employees were helpful and courteous. Good experience