Walt's Hobby & Model Shop — Local services in Crest Hill

Been looking for a well shocked shop, and I struck gold! Not only did I find the Model Master paint I was looking for, but they also carry Vallejo paints(didn't find Model Air, but maybe I didn't look hard enough?), which I want to transition to. Might I suggest stocking some of Vallejo Model Air paint sets?

The store is laid out very nice, paints were all located in a central location, and airbrushes and compressors just to the left of the paint aisle (intentional? 👍)

Moved back to the plastic kits and was pleased to see so many vehicle kits. Good range of motorcycle kits and just about every brand. A lot of vintage kits too, which I guess they're making a comeback. Some I remember seeing back in the '70s when I was a kid.

Aircraft selection is well stocked. I have been looking for an A-6 Intruder model that wasn't +$70 and found 2! Never built Italeri models before, but after my last Revell nightmare, it will be interesting to see how this one goes together. I judge a kit on how well the parts match up and the little use of gap filler. I'm not a professional builder, but I have built at least 30 kits.

I've learned to fall in love again with model building, and now that I'm older, I want to learn how to build them better. Have purchased an airbrush to start building my skills and am excited that I have finally found a store that has what I need!

The two gentlemen that helped me today we awesome and were available for questions at any moment. Customer service, to me, is very important. The last shop I went to before Walt's, well, it was a big difference from Walt's, and not a positive one either!

Walt's has a new customer, even if I have to drive 45 minutes, it's...

Updated Review: Still 5-Stars

Even with the Pandemic Shut-Down, Walt's is still the best Hobby store in the entire Chicago Area for selection and customer service, And with the new curb side order pick-up service Walt's have even gotten better

For the Pandemic time being, Walt's does not let costumers into the store at this time.

But you can call in, place an order and Bob/Staff will have it ready for pick-up at the door.

Like today for my paint order Bob had it ready to go My problem is sometimes I see something Walt's on shelves I did not know I needed until I see it. Like today I saw a Revell Oil Platform whilst looking into the window. Not a Problem, Bob placed it on the front window bench for my inspection. Well, I now have another model I did not know I needed.

Cheers to Walt Hobbies.

My Previous review:

I've been in a lot of local hobby stores (LHS) across the county in general and specifically all of them in the Chicago Metro Area. With Walt's gigantic inventory of G-N scale trains, plastic model kits from trains, planes and automobiles, sci-fi, pace and other oddities, tools, paints, supplies, accessories, Este Rockets, books and magazines, all neatly organized in a clean store, coupled with a helpful informative staff, this store is for beginners to serious hobby enthusiast.

Yes you can get stuff cheaper on-line, but if you don't support your LHS, they will disappear. Then your screwed for when you have a hobby emergency for that item you need to complete your project ASAP.

Support your...

My son has started to get into trains and we wanted something to put out for the holiday season that he could play with or maybe put around the Christmas tree. We found a few Christmas-themed trains at big box stores, but they were all cheap and kept falling off the tracks. It was driving me nuts and making him very upset, so I decided to look at a real train set. I went into Walt's to see what was available and I was overwhelmed by their immense selection. Thankfully, the employee who was there was incredibly knowledgeable and I was given so much information about the different scales, brands, and all the possibilities of adding on to a set later. My son picked out a set and he couldn't be happier with it. What started as something seasonal might have become a new hobby, and we have the perfect place to go to add...