Another shop closes. Just got the news last night. The mostly N scale G&G trains of Leslie Michigan is no more. Gary & Mike decided to call it quits for many reasons. The inventory has been bought up and the shelves are gone. Those of you who saw them at the Ft. Wayne and Mt. Pleasant shows saw their last appearances. N scalers throughout the region will miss them dearly. Farewell good friends.
Always sad when a shop closes, even if I've never been there.. Almost like a star dropping out of the sky.
I only got to visit once, but I spent every cent I had happily. Such nice people too, this is a shame.
Gary and Mike did a great job at that shop. I always enjoyed their presence at the Ohio N Scale Weekends and I really was hoping to make it to their shop this spring. Sign of the times unfortunately and part of the reason why I did not pursue the idea of having a shop in my home state of NH. At least as whole, we still are not as bad off as the RC Hobby.
Yeah, RC hobby is getting worse faster! Now we order a lot of things from....China! RC LHS are dying even faster than MRR ones!
Problem with R/C is that it grew explosively. Almost out of control, instead of gradually. Too much of that growth was just as a fad. Boom and bust scenario. Reminds me of the Beanie Baby fad......
For whatever reason, I’ve worked in the RC industry (mainly aircraft) for over 10 years in the manufacturing and distribution. First for the largest distributor, then the now defunct Flying Models magazine and now currently JR Radios. There are many differences between the two hobbies and would take far too long to go into detail here but I’ll sum it up as follows: If your going to model rail road, your always going to have to build something. I know there are ready to run locomotives, cars, pre-built buildings and such but with this Hobby, it’s hard not to build something. Also model railroading models encompasses so many different activities. RC, you model the plane, or the boat, or the car. When I got into RC in 1987, you joined an RC club where you could fly your model, joined AMA for liability and insurance, built a model stick by stick, covered it, finished it, broke the engine in, had the Club Safety Inspector check it out, then you learned how to fly. Now you order a foam ready to fly easy flying electric and learn to fly from your back yard or park. The sense of community within RC is almost gone and the constant fighting amongst themselves has gotten worse. Both my wife and I see it everyday as it is both our full time jobs. I can tell you that railroad modelers do indeed have some struggles but compared to what I see on a daily basis, we are still way ahead.
Hey Jim, another fellow R/C'er doing MRR also! I'm an AMA Associate Vice President, District 2. You pretty much hit it right on the nail and to add the on slaught of drones arriving on the scene causes a lot of conflict with the old guards. And the fighting begins... Also, at least here in the Northeast, real estate is at a premium. It's quite a challenge to find a few acres of clear land for flying when it can be used for lots to build multi-million dollar houses. With the recent Chapter 11 announcement of Hobbico, it really makes you think where the industry is going. Is Horizon Hobby next???? I do both as living in the Northeast when it's too windy (not really too cold as we are a die hard bunch!) I go down to the basement for some MRR activities. Two hobbies to cover the entire year. My wife thinks I'm immature playing with "toys". LOL!!!!
Many moons ago, I was a member of both the Concord Skyhawks and Concord Aero Guidence (CAGS) back in NH. Way before 2.4 and electric. I have not re-upped my AMA since the magazine went bust so I think the last time I flew was at the last Hobbico E-Fest in 2016. My wife Angela works at Hobbico so the bankruptcy, industry talk and rumors is an everyday occurrence. Likewise, I work for JR Americas and if your into the hobby, you've heard all those rumors too. Unfortunately R/C is a career not a hobby or a passion for me. The lack of time, good weather, and prevalent attitudes of a lot (not all) R/Cers has all but crushed any desire to go to the field or race track. Jess my Jeep has replaced the RC planes and 1/32 slot cars have replaced R/C cars. I may fly again someday but for now I'm happy with the other toys.
That is sad news about G & G. I only made it to their shop once but would see them at the SE Michigan shows they attended. One of the few places that I could trade money for Z scale. Sent from my 2PS64 using Tapatalk
G&G closing was a shock. Talked and bought from Mike at Ft Wayne show. No mention of selling. Sold to Blue Rail Hobbies in IL. They always had lot of tables at shows. Will be missed.
