Hobby Bunker, Inc. — Local services in Wakefield

TL/DR: Condescending staff.

I drove up to Hobby Bunker this afternoon from Cambridge with my girlfriend as an early birthday treat. I was excited to have a look at the models and to see what else they had, especially since there are so few hobby shops in the area. When I saw that they had a very cool collection, I said aloud "I'm definitely going to pick up a few things." I told the person at the front desk how much I liked the store. Looking up from his magazine, he said "Great." Lackluster response, but he's probably used to the store, I thought. I asked him if they had a Meng German A7V World War I Tank. He asked me if I knew what that was.

...I didn't quite know how to make it more specific than the brand and model. I tried to explain further what the model is as best I could. Before he even looked it up or knew what I was talking about he said he guarantees they don't have it. He looked it up and then told me it was out of stock with the creator and, with a rude, tone told me it was $90 anyway. I nodded indicating my knowledge that its a pricier kit, but, all things considered, $90 isn't really all that much, so I thought that was a bit odd. I accepted that it wasn't in stock and thanked him for looking it up.

Then I saw they had a few sets of AK interactive paints (1 set of four bottles for the German infantry, 3 or 4 sets of four bottles for Russian aircraft) in addition to a number of individual bottles. They didn't have a set that I had in mind (four bottles for a WWII Spitfire - one of the most popular vehicles that modelers make), so I asked him if, using individual AK bottles, I could recreate the set. He responded with frustrated bewilderment as though he was confused at the very nature of what I was asking. He asked, seemingly annoyed: "Are you asking me if I can mix the paints? Because no - we can't do that." I clarified that: "No, I'm asking if I could recreate a particular set of paints using the individual bottles." He asked if I knew which paints were in the set. Of course, if I knew offhand which paints were in the set, I wouldn't be asking him that question. I was hoping for a little customer service. He sniggered and shook his head sighing something along the lines of "well I'd need to know what paints are in the set" or "well that'd be helpful" with a tone as though I were a bothersome customer asking for far more. I bluntly asked him if I was putting him out or something given his rude, dismissive demeanor. He demurred and went to help another customer (which was fine - the customer wanted to check out). But his demeanor was strange and it was an unhelpful, condescending experience. This experience left me feeling completely unenthused about doing business with Hobby Bunker, where I was made to feel unwelcome and bothersome.

I had walked in with the intention of picking up a few paints and a few kits. Dealing with their staff member left me in the mood to simply walk out. Which I did.

I'm sure the owners of this place are fine people. But I hope they reconsider who they choose as staff members.

Aside from this experience, they have a bunch of good Tamiya, Revell, Eduard, Airfix, and Dragon models at reasonable prices, full sets of Tamiya, AK Interactive, and Citadel paints, a good selection of D&D minis, and some other cool stuff. I think they may do games upstairs. I...

Support your local businesses! Long review ahead, so the TLDR is this: Friendly employees, clean, well laid out / well stocked shop, open to newcomers, answered questions, no pressure to buy, no one hovering around while you shop. Able to chat if you want to chat or let you float if you want to float. Highly recommend if you're seeking supplies / games / figures, and general other stuff.

The last few years had me get extremely into the Warhammer 40k fandom via great lore videos, books, and the like. I decided I wanted to take the next step and get into the hobby properly - get some figures, learn a bit, check out a shop. I stopped by Hobby Bunker with my buddy a few weeks ago, and I gotta say - I was extremely pleased with the entire visit.

The shop was tidy, well stocked, and had relatively affordable prices (for pretty expensive hobbies, etc) -- one of the employees, Albert, approached me and we made some small talk. They were polite, friendly, and enthusiastic to have new people joining the hobby. I had heard stories of some shops being snooty or rude to newcomers - but this was all around a great experience. Albert showed me around, answered my questions - told me about game nights, beginner tutorials and other stuff - and offered me the shop's community discord link, which I happily accepted.

10/10, everyone there seemed friendly, decent, and it was a great experience. I look forward to returning - and would recommend anyone and everyone to take a trip to visit the store rather than buying their supplies on Amazon.

Community seems supportive and friendly. Definitely made a return customer out of me. Nice job, guys. Thanks - I look forward to...

Got into Dungeons and Dragons recently, and for Christmas I got my first paint set.

I wanted to up my game so I decided to go to Hobby Bunker like a week or two ago and see what it was all about.

The store owner was very patient and took the time to explain the basics one step at a time, from brushes to primers to paints and sealers/varnish, giving me multiple choices and pros and cons of each. There was a very deep selection of paints and brushes.

Then he gave me tips on how to approach painting and some media sources to learn from on my own.

Finally he directed me to the miniatures and explained the differences between plastic and metal minis, DnD vs Warhammer.

The selections are quite deep, hundreds of models of different types, couldn’t be happier.

I bought a great set of items and went home and my painting game has taken off. The new ones look so goood!!!

And its all thanks to you, mr store owner! So thank you for awesome customer service and tips, and your awesome store. 5 stars easily, everyone should come here for hobby needs.

I paint almost every single day now, its such a nice release from work! Will definitely be stopping by...