Hobby Central

Super helpful guys! Very attentive! Tons of models and RC to choose from

I think the owner has cleared out the people that were less than professional. I would trade with him again!

So far I’ve been in here several times and the service has been nothing but top notch. I just purchased the electronics for my rc buggy from these guys and left it with them to do the install. They were more than helpful and even suggested i dont get the most expensive things because it would be overkill. I have complete confidence ill get my buggy back next week (ordered a motor/​esc) and wverything will be tip top.

Always very helpful when we go in with questions or concerns on our RC cars, even though we didn’t originally buy them from HC. Only thing that’s a downfall is they don’t seem to stock some of the parts that we need on a regular basis. I would love to see them have large bins of commonly lost parts like spur gears and pinion gears. I would also like to see a larger assortment of RC bodies.

I appreciate that they usually have a large amount and decent variety of gunpla. Ian and Andrew are cool dudes and always willing to help me out with anything I need.

I come here for the gunpla selection. And its best selection in sd. Also reasonably priced.

I called around looking for help to fix my ¹⁄₁₀ SCT. These guys were very helpful, friendly and went the extra mile. It was a completely different experience compared to the other Hobby Stores I visited. The entire team were cool, passionate and helpful. It was a great experience. I will be back with my mates!

Best Gunpla selection in San Diego, they are very well rounded in the hobby community. Ian is one of the main go to people for Gunpla, if there is something he doesn’t know, he knows people that do.

Very friendly and helpful staff. Exquisite Gundam Variety. Best Gunpla selection in SD hands down!

Best hobby shop i’ve visited in San Diego thus far. The shop is well versed in all hobbies, from plastic models, RC, trains, Gundam, and everything in between!

Train Gundams and RCs. Ok size warehouse store definitely lots to look at. Biggest Gundams collection I seen in San Diego.

I’ve been in the Hobby Central a couple times, I have to say they are very customer friendly and very helpful. I’m into scx10 and rc4wd crawlers and Dave has been more than helpful. Thanks again guys!

I went in to buy a few RC cars and a drone, walked up to the front counter and I was in a rush for buying presents for my kids. We got 3 RC cars and a drone. They where on it and I was outta there our christmas list was closer to complete. Thanks guys for all the help and quickness of you service. We didn’t experience any of the bad customer service reviews that other people claim to have experienced. Thanks guys for the quick in and out and awsome help, the kids loooiooove thier cars and they are fun for me to. We boughtthe traixxis cars

My boyfriend, even at 40 years old, enjoys playing with toys. He recently had a boat load (pun intended) of these flammable batteries his toys run on that needed some sort of different connections put on or something like that. He had spent a lot of money on the tools to do it, but ended up burning his hand. Before he had a chance to burn down our pad, he wisely decided to have his shop do it.
He came over to Hobby Central on Black Friday and asked them if they could do this service for him on 14 batteries because he needed them for Sunday. He said it takes a lot of time to do each battery, so I’m sure they were thrilled with his request on one of their busiest days of the year.
Even though they were really busy and got the request last minute, they were able to get this done for him by next morning, he was really chuffed at that! All at a reasonable price (he tells me.) Because of that, I don’t have to deal with him pouting all weekend because he couldn’t go out and play with his other middle aged mates and their battery operated toys.
So thank you Hobby Central!

Came in today looking for some gundam kits… much to my surprise, they only had a few on an otherwise empty shelf. The store was a bit messy too. Guess this place is more for airplane/​helicopter/​models.

I have to say I’ve been very happy with this store.
Out of the last 5 or so times I’ve been in the store these last 30 days, I’ve been waited on by most of the staff there, and the customer service has been excellent every time, regardless of whether I was spending $$$ or 0.
I started getting into RC fast electric boats recently, which surprisingly is not a big thing here in San Diego. It’s bigger in areas with more lakes and ponds, which San Diego doesn’t really have. Most hobby shops here don’t carry a lot of stock because of it.
But I was able to order my boat from Hobby Central for a better price than most online hobby stores, and I received it within 2 days.
I’ve had to buy Lipo batteries and have Dean connectors soldered on. These guys do great work on Lipo batteries and reasonable service charge to change the connectors.
I will definitely be shopping at Hobby Central in the future.
UPDATE:________________________________
Well, turns out my Lucas Oil RC boat has a small but significant flaw in the hull. Not Hobby Central’s fault, they only ordered it for me.
But instead of insisting I handle it with manufacturer, they ordered me another boat to replace it.
I really appreciate that, it is more work for them, but it saves me a lot of time having to ship the boat back to the East Coast to the manufacturer, and waiting another week for a replacement.
I really like how they handled that, in fact I just bought another RC boat from them while I wait for my replacement boat to arrive. I could have bought it online, but I like the customer service Hobby Central provides.

I wish I could give less than a full star! This place has the WORST customer service! I purchased a battery from them for an RC Car. They RECOMMENDED I buy a new charger but said mine is very common and should be fine. A day after the battery burst into flames! The fire burned my art, floor, and melted shutters!
I came back with what was left of the battery with my receipt and kindly asked for a refund. The store manager stated «I told you to by the other charger». I clearly said that he RECOMMENDED it but it wasn’t needed.
He stated «Even if I could give you a refund I wouldn’t». He was not willing to help out a paying customer and now I am out of pocket over $ 40 just on the battery not to mention the damage.
I HIGHLY URGE * DO NOT SHOP HERE* Terrible experience, will never set foot in the door.

I am new with RC, and all these crazy batteries and how nothing ever seems to work the way it’s supposed to, etc. But whenever I’ve had an issue, the guys at Hobby Central have always helped me fix it.
I think most of the complaints, have to do with customer service. But I don’t really care if they arch their eyebrows when I talk to them, tilt their head, smile and make me feel good about myself. I just want to get my stuff fixed, and they do that for me.

I didn’t want to believe the reviews at face value so I gave them a call as I’m in the market for a kit I know they have many of in many different sizes and qualities.
I could tell by the tone of voice the answering associate used it wasn’t going to be pretty.
I asked him a few pricing questions and he answered like I was inconveniencing him in a Massive way.
I’ve worked in sales all my life and will happily drive further and pay more for quality CS.
Update:
I stopped by a few weeks ago to see what the in-​store service was like.
An African-​American guy was happy to shoot the breeze and educate me on quadcopters. He earned the review revision for the store and a couple more stars.

Ive come in here on a few occasions. Quadcopter, rock racer, paint, and SC truck. Each time, I got crappy service. It’s so inconvenient for them to get off of their freaking computer game to help you. And when they do finally help, it’s, «Uh, oh, I don’t know, I don’t you can do that.» «I don’t even know why they make those, I don’t know what to tell you.» «That’s Chinese crap.» — really, their shop is 8 miles away.
Buy your stuff on Amazon or Hobby King. I will never go in this store again. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt because I had a different problem each time, NOPE.
OH, and 90% of their stuff is overpriced and they offer no discounts.