I get excited just knowing I'm going there. This is the ultimate toy store. Helpful staff, highly…read morerecommended!

When I was planning our trip to Ottawa, I made it a point that we would come here and all my…read moreexpectations were blown out of the water. Hobby shops like this simply do not exist anymore in New York which used to have a slew of them when building plastic models was popular. There are still a couple of mom & pop places scattered around but not on the scale of the Hobby Centre. Kids these days only interact in the virtual world and hobbies like this will eventually fade away. But in the meantime, I'm going to hoard as many plastic model kits that will fit in my house. My favorite theme for building and painting plastic models are World War II planes, so I was on the hunt for a 1/72 B-17G Flying Fortress or maybe a B-29 Superfortress. Airfix (from the UK) is one of my favorite brands and they stock a lot of their line here, but neither bomber were in stock on this trip. The hunt goes on. They did have a new release of the Avro Lancaster, which I have been searching high and low. I also picked up an Italeri JAS-39 Gripen and a vintage Airfix BAC Lightning. Prices are pretty good, especially on the older vintage kits along the back wall. With the favorable US$ exchange rate, I got some good deals. If I had spent more time here, I definitely would have blown through all the cash in my wallet, never mind my spending limit on my credit card. I just might have to make a return trip to Canada with a large trailer!

Spectacular "old school" hobby shop. I read about it on Yelp, and stopped on way from airport to…read morehotel during a business trip. They are located at 540C West Hunt Club Road. From the moment I walked in, I was super excited, they have RC planes, boats, helicopters, cars and trucks. They have plastic models. But for me? they had Balsa. Old timey free flight balsa. Glider Kits (yes, I bought one), rubber planes, static display. They also stock sticks and sheets for short kits, repairs, etc. What a great shop, run by a friendly crew. I highly recommend them - and if you LIVE in the area? go buy stuff form em, keep em in business. Cause when a shop closes? thats it. nothing local! keep these great people operating and helping out.

I never heard of this place until my friend told me they sell high end R/C vehicles. I was going…read moreto pull the trigger on an E-revo 2.0 on ebay but actually found that this store had it for significantly cheaper. I ordered it and it got send across the country to my home in a reasonable amount of time...and before xmas despite the Canada Post strike. It arrived brand new, factory sealed and decently protected in an outer box. Great to do internet business with establishment even though they don't have a location in Vancouver.

The best all-around hobby store within proximity to Ottawa. Covers pretty much all the bases in the…read moremodel domain; trains (HO and N, DCC & DC), plastic kits (cars, boats, planes, motorcycles etc), diecasts, magazines, etc. Especially well stocked in model building raw materials. Friendly, knowledgeable and helpful staff. Of special note for the model train community is their train expert who does repairs, upgrades and general maintenance at reasonable rates. Glad to have this store in our city.

A nice, little, local store with lots of selection and very friendly service. They have a ton of…read morehobby-related products (with a focus on model trains and other vehicles) and a very well-organized setup. Those products aren't my particular area of expertise so I can't comment on their specifics. I do know, however, that they have a good selection of tools and scenery items available if you're into tabletop gaming. Basically every hobby tool you could need, they have, as well as an okay selection of paint as well (they are missing some of the ultra-high quality acrylic brands used for wargames, e.g. p3, vgc, citadel). I went in looking specifically for some terrain items from the Woodland Scenics brand and they have a ton of those in stock. Their prices for those items (flock, bushes, etc.) are also very good as well, beating both Amazon and Wal-Mart. There's also a bunch of other items in the store (puzzles, magazines, other collectibles) that I didn't really pay close attention to. Overall, it looks like a great place to go for a wide selection of general hobby supplies.

This is such a cool store right from the entrance that's filled with manga (in English and French),…read morefigures of all sizes, and even has two floors. You could spend so much time wandering and taking it all in.

Imaginaire opened on October 21, 2023. It's a chain from Quebec and this location is the first one…read moreoutside of Quebec. It is located in the Rideau Centre and spans 2 floors. It's huge. It has board games, comics, collectible cards, Funko Pop, LARP gear, dice and so much more. Prices are a bit on the high side, and I didn't see any sales while I was there, but their inventory is huge and it's fun to poke around. (66)

This was my second time heading to this store in hopes if finding a board game, and the second time…read moreI have been absolutely floored by the lack of customer service. When we walked in at around 6:30pm on a weeknight, the entire store was deserted but there was a tournament of some sort going on. Te same thing happened the last time we came. I'm all about having tournaments, but these instances majorly hindered the business. The first time we went in there was literally no staff at the counter. Even after waiting, no one ever came and no one asked us if we needed help. The second time we came, there was someone behind the counter, but when we asked for help he said "I can't help you, I don't work here," in an incredibly rude tone. I couldn't believe this! We then wandered around looking for the board game we were on the hunt for, and still, no one seemed to be available to help us. On our way out the door, someone told us to "have a good night." When we asked him if he actually worked there, he said yes and asked if he could help us. He told is he had the game we were looking for, but not the version we wanted because "no one carries it anymore." (Note: we found it down the street at Mastermind Toys - ha!) Unless you enjoy the tournaments they host here, I would avoid this place. That is, unless you check their schedule and make sure not to go during one of their events.

Love this place! Super friendly and helpful! They have a great selection of anime and gundam :)read more

Decided to stop by some card collector stores in Ottawa over the weekend to see what's up!…read more This was my first stop! This is the mecca for collectors ! It's pretty spacious and holds tons and tons of wide range sports memorabilia. It was very busy in here and was pretty difficult to get some service as there was only 2 guys working. The high end hockey cards have it's own room / section in the back corner. We had to ask to find it. It was really fun and exciting like a kid in the candy store! Service was great just maybe a bit long as they were taking care of other people. However, they were really nice and kind. Prices: a bit too high .. I mean yes they gotta pay for rent and staff but still .. the cards were 10-30% more than the market value a bit hefty for me. They seem willing to negotiate if you ask them but it was still super pricey for certain things. Overall, it's a very nice and clean place lot's of items to discover have a look if you're into that kind of place like I am hihi Cheers

The staff were very friendly and helpful at helping us find what we were looking for from the wide…read moreselection of otions within the Lego kits they have on display. Prices were comparable to anything we found on the Internet. We have been there before and will certainly go back again, and again.

By far the best toy store in Ottawa. Amazing selection of lego and bruder. Worth the drive.read more