Fandom II — Attraction in Ottawa

I've been going to this shop for 30+ years. While there are other shops of the like in Ottawa, these are the only consistent ones who offer proper hobby games at decent prices. I've found that most either love of hate this shop.

Some say their customer services is the best, some say it's the worse. The problem is that they are gamers, hobbyist who run a shop and not hobby shop owners. So, if you're into the hobby, they will treat you right but if you're just browsing, they will hesitate to bother. This does not necessarily make it right, it just is what it is.

I am a hobbyist so I love going there and talking about games with the owners for hours. I would rate this shop a 5 but, there are problems. The shop is very small (tiny, in fact). While this keeps the costs down, it also means that finding anything specific will be difficult. Fortunately, if you're looking for something specific, they usually will know if they have it without even having to look. Again, to keep the costs down they do not accept credit cards (and only started accepting interac a few years ago) (Note: this may have changed since I've last been there). Depending on the time of day or year or the cycles of the moon or the specific owner you happen to be dealing with or whatever, they can be rude and difficult. You therefore have to go with the flow which can be frustrating for new customers or laymen to the hobby. Again, to keep costs down, they also barely have a static web site that lists the bare minimum of information, such as the address and they store hours.

Finally, and this is not their fault but is a result of trying to stay central to Ottawa by having a store in downtown Ottawa, the parking is atrocious. The city of Ottawa does not want anyone to come downtown by car and makes it pretty much impossible to do so properly. There is a pay parking which is always full about 4 blocks away. They've blocked all parking on the street to make way for a bike lane so I can't park close enough to get there properly due to my need to use a cane (even if I had a handicap parking it would be useless since the city pretty much does not care about the handicapped and there are no spots for me to use). The owners have told me that I can use one of three spots available at the back. The one time I did so, someone parked in the fire lane (illegally) blocking the parking spots preventing me from getting out and it took 45 minutes to get them towed. The reality of it is that I have not gone there in two years due to the atrocious parking issue. They need to move.

So because of all that, I have rated it a 4 but be warned, if you're not a hobbyist, stay away, you will almost certainly...

This place has a lot of heart and is in a great location in Ottawa. The people who've served served me the few times I've been in there clearly have a lot of love for games/ hobbies, but the older gentleman (possibly the owner?) with the white hair is a rude, miserable man. I'd never interacted with this man in previous visits and the other man who works there was very welcoming and kind. When last I visited (March 2021) I happened to be in the area and stopped in just casually hoping to find a particular X-Wing mini, and they had a notice on their door regarding COVID-19 restrictions and a table blocking the entrance. All I was able to say was "Hello" before the older gentleman at the counter berated me saying something about "assuming I hadn't read the notice on the door before walking past it" and that "they had questions for me" before serving me when I in fact I had stopped to read the list of symptoms that I was to divulge if I had been sick. Having none of the symptoms nor having had even a cold in over a year I said I was feeling fine and could answer "no" to everything. He then asked "Can you tell us specifically what you're looking for?" to which I replied that I was just looking to see what their X-Wing stock looked like and said I was hoping to find a particular mini. He asked me if it was a new one and I replied that it was fairly new and he nearly cut off me sentence saying "Then it's not new" and shaking his head condescendingly. The other gentleman there was kind enough to check their stock after I gave him the name of the mini as well as check if they were supposed to receive any soon, informing me that they weren't.

This shop is filled with useful books and materials for hobbyists and gamers of all stripes, and one of their salesmen (possibly an owner as well?) is a kind and helpful man, but the store itself is messy and the other gentlemen I dealt with is a miserable, rude man. Given that the store is somewhat out of the for me, living outside Ottawa to the west, I'll likely never go out of my way to return here. If you want to go somewhere west of Ottawa with a similar "local shop" kind of big-hearted feel, then try Kobold's Dungeon or Wizard's Tower, or even Out of The Box if you're just looking for a good selection. Hopefully the older salesman I mentioned in my review will see this and adjust his attitude before he scares off more potential customers who aren't socially resilient enough to deal with...

Quaint little store. I walked in knowing nothing about miniature painting and walked out with confidence I needed to start my new project. The staff member and a patron were both very helpful. The staff member seemed very honest about the differences or lack of differences between paint and brush options and did not push towards higher priced products. His stance on paint seemed to be its all of similar quality and select more based on color. Brushes brand he indicated didn't seem to matter much more based on brush size and shape, being comfortable to hold. It was nice to not be pressured into higher price points. I did get the obligatory buying from Amazon is bad for small businesses which he isn't wrong. While there I bought my miniature, 5 paints and 3 brushes at a good price ($55) as my test of the craft before I start my larger project. Ultimately I did buy the paint kit on Amazon but this place is perfect for purchasing individual bottles of paint (which I will 100% do as my new kit gets used, some colors will most definitely get used more than others. Being new to the craft I wanted to start with a very wide paint selection). It is also a perfect place for primers, sealants, minis and etc. I learned there are weekly workshops on how to start miniature painting on thursdays. I happened to go when one was just ending. A woman stopped to show me her miniature she had done in the workshop. It was very well done and most importantly she seemed happy with it and proud which is great. I sense this is a good place to meet people if you are interested in miniatures, dnd etc and looking to make friends. Every one was very friendly I left with the impression this is a place that has developed quite a niche community. The store itself would benefit with better lighting and a good cleaning. But all in all it will be my new go to for my new hobby. If you are interested in miniature painting and in the down town area I recommend...