Scale Model Supplies

Regular customer here. I was looking at posters by the checkout area that appeared to have price tags, and this lady who I had never seen before stormed over and immediately told me to leave because it's "employees only" even though it's not marked. Extremely disappointed and will be taking my business to online storefronts.

This is one of those great model making stores. It's a place where you make a pilgrimage to. The detail parts is my favorite section because it is really well stocked. They have every model making genre that I know about from trains to tanks to airplanes and old school car kits. There is a bargain room with lots of stuff and I always find something in there. They have a slot car racing club too.

UNFRIENDLY CUSTOMER SERVICE. I came to the store wanting to return two train cars I had purchased as a gift. They were unopened and still in the saran wrap. The guy at the counter asked why I was returning them, and I replied simply that I had changed my mind and decided to get some other gift. The entire interaction could have ended there. But he kept asking additional questions: why did I purchase them in the first place if I was going to change my mind; why did I remove the price stickers (as is common when gifting in American culture). He wouldn't stop asking probing questions until I finally told him that the real reason I was returning them was because I had purchased them for my dad and that my dad died.

Best scale mode shop I've ever been in! Fully stocked, organized by subject and scale! Amazing aircraft and armor sections. Highly recommend!

Customer service was helpful. The staff seemed to know the inventory well.Store is well organized and full of all kinds of scale models supplies. I found all kinds of inspiration for an art project.

GREAT store I've been coming here since about 1995. They have a HUGE selection of plastic models you can build, 1:18 die cast models, collectibles, horses, planes, trains, & a live race car track in the back VERY FUN COOL PLACE I LOVE IT !!!!!!!

Thirty years.Thirty. Years.I've been annoying the old farts at this place for at least that long, and by gum they've welcomed my lurking and staring and other "probably-single middle-aged man" behavior with the surliness and frowns one would expect from a fine establishment like this.I'm reminded of the words of Howard Carter upon looking into King Tut's tomb for the first time: "Can you see anything?""Yes. WONDERFUL THINGS."Let's get real. These old hobby shops are dying out faster than flying squid. This is going to be a relic of the past very soon, if it isn't already. The scowl of the "owner." The stacks of plastic kits. The know-it-all pontificating about the diesel locomotives on the such and such line......all soon will pass away. The abuse they dispense is traditional for hobby shops from an age when men were men and boys were little men. You came in, took your abuse and cradled your treasures lovingly as you stuffed your hurt feelings away where nobody would ever find them.Ah, yes. The good old days. Relive them now, at Scale Model Supplies. The carpeting on the staircase is still rotting under your feet, just as you remember, beckoning you to descend to a treasure cave. The hobby items are reasonably priced, but the memories, the amazement, the smell of Asian cookery on it's way to St. Paul's glorious wastewater treatment plant-- that's on the house.

Its a great amount of kits and hobby stuff..and you can spend a lot of time there looking at mostly old and some newer stuff..but as far as trains go..they are seriously out of date with anything going on now..could not see any Broadway limited trains to speak of....and the peg walls with items to use for building a layout were not that great..i wanted to be more enthusiastic ..but its not there..i did find some things to buy..but not because anyone was overly nice or helpful..just wanted to support a local hobby store even if it was not well run..i suppose most will just order from model train stuff on line...when i talked to staff they seemed to be in a bad mood..and not really conducive to making me want to spend more time there..and to be clear..they do have a ton of inventory..mostly old stuff..and thats the big draw I suppose..its in the basement of an old building and you gotta want to explore..when you enter its going down some really raunchy looking steps..in a part of town you might think twice about going to at night..its a little like going to a barbecue place in the south..you may assume that the more dilapidated it is..the better the barbecue is..As a person of means..i could have spent a lot there..but just spent the time i did there because there is nothing else in the hobby world to see in St. Paul..and not really excited about going back..been there done that..mostly was interested in the old plastic kits and ho trains..but nothing jumped out at me..and the train stuff was nothing you could not get online for a lot better price or selection..having said that..i would pay more to buy from a hobby store..but they didn't have anything much to offer..and certainly dont seem to be interested in being good hosts..the 3 stars are for inventory of old stuff..mostly plastic..

Had been looking forward to racing slot cars with my adult son. I'd carried eight of my cars from Chicago to visit him in Saint Paul, only to find out the track here was not usable. Apparently only one person knows how to turn it on and he was gone for the summer. If you're going to offer slot car racing, offer it year-round so kids can get interested and old men like me can enjoy ourselves. My son is dealing with a major medical issue that makes it almost impossible for him to drive a real car any longer, this would have been a few bright moments of car racing on a 1/32 scale and you deprived him of even that brief pleasure.

Very friendly from the second I walked in the door. Store is filled from the floor to the ceiling, very good selection. I found something I hadn't seen in a while and it was a good value. I will stop whenever I'm near