Nice Hobby/Model Shop in Astoria, Queens

There's a Hobby Shop on 30th Avenue in Astoria that's pretty interesting.

They don't have a LOT of models, but they have a good amount of Gemini Jets stuff, and a couple Herpa ones as well.

The thing that makes this place interesting is that they apparently stocked models years ago....and no one ever really went their to buy any. So, their stock is the same,a nd they might have some that are otherwise out of stock and hard to find. Not to mention the prices a little lower.

I actually bought my first two models there a couple years ago (DL 777 and UA 744), and went back there recently and found that nothing had changed in terms of stock.

If anyone is interested in going to check it out, here's hte address. Note their hours!!! They are only open a few days a week.

Rudy's Hobby and Art
35-16 30th Avenue
Astoria, NY 11103
(718) 545-8280

Open Wed-Sat, 11:00am-6:30pm

Wow, thanks for the post. I will definitely check them out. On West 45 Street in Manhattan, there used to be a store called 'The Train Shop' which sold a bunch of Schabak 1:600 and Herpa model planes. They became all airplanes, then moved to Albertson on the island, and became the Plane Shop. Now you all probably know them as The Airplane Shop in New Jersey. (I believe they have since moved twice in Essex County). Anyways the old Train Shop in NYC was where I got my first plane models. The area where it used to operate has since re-opened as a train shop with a few planes but was never like it once was.

I'm starting to get a new spark for collecting models, and I will definitely check this place out, if not for the planes, but for the trains.

Phil,

Good catch! I went to school 2 blocks from Rudy's when I was younger and used to grab a Schabak every now and then on my walk home. On my trips back to NY I'll usually pick up a few Gemini's....so his stock is definitely missing some hard to find gems that used to be there. :wink: But....still plenty of good stuff to pick up.

-Rich

I won't mention exactly whch, but I was able to get some great deals, half off what I would have spent elsewhere.

Oh, and if any of you touch the China Airlines 747SP that in there for $50, I'll hurt you badly. I got dibs, bitches.

That's cool about Rudy's, Astoria has alot of interesting places, thinking of moving there actually.

Does anyone here remember a plane model store in the previous JFK international building? I saw a friend off there on Egyptair in 1999 (I can be sure of the year because it was just a week or two before the same flight was crashed) and I remember passing a small shop that was displaying Herpa or Schabak sort of airplane models. If anyone knows, did they relocate or are they gone with the old building?

As to the store in JFK's T4, The Airplane Shop that I mentioned in my previous post had a small branch store in T4 in the late 1990s, but it has since closed. They never re-opened a store in JFK. They just have the NJ showroom, and I believe a store in Las Vegas, but no more JFK :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RDU-JFK

As to the store in JFK's T4, The Airplane Shop that I mentioned in my previous post had a small branch store in T4 in the late 1990s, but it has since closed. They never re-opened a store in JFK. They just have the NJ showroom, and I believe a store in Las Vegas, but no more JFK :(

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I recall making a special trip to T4 with a friend a few years ago. The store JUST closed a few minutes after we arrived and was closed for good. All one could do is look at all that inventory, and drool.

The Airplane Shop, started in and still is in Fairfield NJ.
Just over a year now the owner made a deal with ADI in Vegas (the distributors of Gemini Jets) and Atlantic Models in Miami, making that three.

Thanks guys for confirming what I saw at the old International Building, I was doubting myself as '99 seems so long ago now. Actually I met my friend who arrived at TWA T5 and we went to International, had a few cocktails in the bar by the arrivals area, and then I walked him to security so he could connect to Egyptair 990 to Cairo. So much is different now and it's 'only' 7 years...

With my experience with hobby shops, I have found two hobby shops in New Jersey that cater to aviation....

Avenel Hobbies
1111 St. Georges Ave.
Colonia, NJ 07067
Phone: (732) 382-7717

AIR Hobby Shop
1603 Route 38
Mount Holly, NJ 08060-2985
Phone: (609) 267-1177
(across from the car dealerships, westbound side of Route 38)

Pros to each hobby shop:

Avenel: HUGE selection of kits, inventory sorted by scale, back wall is all aviation kits, specialize in everything, lots of Dragon Wings, Herpa, and Gemini Jets in stock.

AIR Hobby: Nice selection of kits, inventory sorted by type and somewhat by scale, specialize in aviation modeling, owner of the store used to design special paint schemes on Air Force aircraft (esp. F-4s), sells drawings and artwork of aircraft, especially of NJ-based planes in past and present.

Does anyone want to post pics of their models? I am sure some collections would be great to get a look at =]. I definatly want to check that place out in Astoria