I bought my first RC car here 40 years ago and they sold me the last RC car I bought. They're a group of great guys, a wealth of knowledge, and walking in there is half hang out and half store. read more

This shop is an easy five star based on their inventory, staff knowledge and overall great atmosphere to shop in. Willis Hobbies has been around MIneola since 1949. Not only have they been a fabric of the community but they always show their commitment to Mineola through their participation in Village events. If you can think of it.... You'll find it here. Plenty of electric cars, models (that go up to 2,000 pieces), lots of model trains and trains-accessories. The beauty of the shop is that the team here are experts. Depending what you're looking for will determine who you speak with. There is value shopping in a store that understands your needs and advices you accordingly. They always set up race cars at the MIneola Street to become more involved and engaged with the residents. In summation... there are good people here. KUDOs top the team at Willis Hobbies. read more

Had a large collection of paint and had a lot of price ranges for everyone. I would say the interest is mainly on gundums, miniature models, models overall, and Pokemon items. I say give it a shot but it's for sure less train oriented as many have experienced before read more

Had great customer service inventory was cool and I love this shop visit this shop if you visiting Long Island read more

Willis Hobbies - Good stuff - Toy Stores Near Me - Mineola, New York

Willis Hobbies is by far the best Hobby Store on Longs Island. They have everything from Trains to Air Plains. My son and i went in looking to get into the Remote Control Car Scene and they did not disappoint. They didn't try to sell me on any specific model or brand but listened to my 6 year old and what he wanted to get out of the hobby and his vehicle. Their staffs knowledge of all the products and accessories they had to offer made our discission that much easier and now we are hooked. Whatever level of hobby you are at they have the experience and patients to make any experience the best it can be. Their prices are competitive and reasonable and would rather guide you in the direction you are looking to go then to upsell and pressure you into a decision that isn't the best for you and your hobby experience. We have also attended the Mineola Street Fair where they had different Trucks for all attendees to try on there custom RC Crawler course including a raffle for a custom or stock vehicle. This has become our one stop location for everything my son and i need to service and experience everything we love about the hobby and the community. read more

Coming in on the recommendation of a friend, I was coming in to see what trains were available for my daughter and the Christmas season. I am so delighted that my little girl is becoming a train lover. The store itself is laid out in a very easy-to-understand way. RC cars and planes are in front while the trains in every scale and age group are in the back. I was very impressed with the helpfulness of the staff and the cleanliness of the store. The aisles were clear and the lighting was adequate. I'm a huge train nut so for sure I'll be b read more

Went in To spend about $100-$200 worth of cars. Guy was shooting the breeze chit chatting with a couple who wasn't going to spend any money. I politely put every thing back and walked out. Lost money and business from me. Won't ever see me there again. I ll gladly buy online for less. This place won't last much longer as I can see others have the same issue. I'd give 0 stars if I could. read more

Great hobby shop! Wide selection of models. Their prices are always great and they are extremely helpful.

At one time there were a lot of hobby shops in the NYC area. The neighborhood shop I used for almost 50 years just closed. I use Willis Hobbies now as it's the closest shop to my location. There is still a very good shop on Staten Island but it's a hassle to get there. From my experience at Willis they are geared more towards the model railroad enthusiast. They also have a bunch of radio controlled cars, airplanes and quad-copters. As a model airplane scratch builder I can usually find what I am looking for as far as glue and balsa wood. I like the fact that there is parking (metered) behind the building. read more

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any hobby needs... these folks are extremely knowledgeable, very friendly, and no pressure on what to purchase. fair competitive prices and they have stuff on the shelves! thanks for helping us today! #supportlocalbusiness #suportsmallbusiness read more

Willis Hobbies - RC cars - Toy Stores Near Me - Mineola, New York

These guys are great. Worked with 2 different guys there about a "build it yourself" RC car for my nephew. They spent tons of time answering my questions and tons of his questions from everything regarding the car and the charging best practices. These guys know their stuff and were good about working with us to find a build it yourself when most of these cars come ready to run (assembled). They understood that half the fun is building the car yourself like I did when I was a kid. read more

I remember coming here back when I was still in HS. This place is awesome. They have two levels of neat stuff to help you create, invent, play, and more. I went back recently on June 3, 2017 to get a gift for a friend. The inside is totally revamped! The staff are great, and you can purchase items on either floor. My friend loves his new kite and plans on using it this summer. This might become my go-to place for gifts and fun stuff. They have air spinners too! :) Happy shops! read more

Willis Hobbies used to be the best model train hobby store anywhere. I was coming to Willis Hobbies exclusively for 20-25 years while building two train layouts with many purchases made from Willis Hobbies. The first floor of Willis Hobbies (now the only floor) used to be lined with many aisles of model train stuff; now there are about two aisles of train related supplies. The building and business were sold last year, and the new owners of the business (very nice folks) are concentrating on mostly remote control equipment. Model train inventories seem very low at Willis. The original owner is currently helping out behind the model train counter twice per week. Though I have purchased a few left over items from the original ownership since the new owners took over, sadly I now buy from Michael's, Trainworld/Land, Amazon and eBay. read more

Try to avoid this place as much as possible. Most people go in to shoot the breeze and ask the employees an hours worth of questions while your standing there with a item to purchase. I've stood there for 20min looking to buy something simple while the owner stood there and just talked an laughed with another person in the store. Do NOT break your RC! If you are going to bring it in for repair expect a long turn around time. There is no quoted time for repairs and they are usually around 2 weeks or more before they even start working on your car. There is absolutely no sense of urgency in this place. If you only own one RC I cannot stress this enough. I have also received back a car that was brought in for repair that experienced the same problem that originally brought it in for. If you live in Nassau, you don't have much choice, but I would def recommend using this place as a last resort. read more

Whoa! This place is like heaven for anyone who's into trains, rc cars, planes, ships.... Large selection! This is definitely one interesting place! The stuff here is definitely pricey. If you're into hobbies, you definitely need to stop by & check this place out, even if you are not planning to buy anything. read more

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My son (10 years old) wanted a truck to play with at the beach so we did some research and found Willis Hobbies. Jason (the new owner) spent the time and showed him all his options and he picked Traxxas Stampede (entry level) truck. My son loves it. As you could have imagined my son broke the truck first week he had it, so we went back and got some parts and Jason explained how to fix it. These guys are GREAT! They truly want you for a customer for life. Thx for all your help. I'm sure will see you soon. Lol read more

incredible selection of plastic model kits (as well as a bunch of aftermarket parts for the kits as well). and of course an insane amount of enthusiast RC cars! and let's not forget that they have every other hobby scale product there from slot cars to trains to airplanes and more! I've been going to this shop since I was a little kid. kind and friendly staff that knows everything about the various hobby Products are available! heck they even have an incredible paint selection! Highly recommend the business! read more

Went in for a simple repair question on an RC. Despite standing at the front counter, it took over 35 minutes for someone to acknowledge me. Even when they did, they were unhelpful, saying things like "Not sure if we have that part" and turned the other way. Another man stated, "if we fix this, there's no guarantee your car will work at all" Real professional dude! Terrible customer service, will never go back. I am very familiar with this store and have been frequenting it over decades, (even as a young child, when they were located across the street), it has gone downhill tremendously, and is evidenced by their extreme downsizing and decrease in product inventory and overall lack of concern for customer experience. Will never return. I ended up taking my business to Track Day Hobbies in Elmont and not only were they quick, there were friendly, and my needs were met within the hour. They even fixed a wire I had damaged myself. Do yourself a favor and don't bother with Willis Hobbies. read more

Great spot for all your RC needs. Knowledgeable staff and awesome inventory. Proud to have Willis as my LHS.

Great Store. My interest is scale model trains. I have been dealing here since about 1971, or 72. Have recommended Willis to other hobbyists. If you are into other hobbys, this is the place to go. John H. O. read more

I miss the trains- this used to be the premier spot for model trains. I have been coming there for almost 30 years. Maybe and hopefully, they will remember that model trains are also a hobby. read more

Been coming to this Mineola hobby store for years. They have a great selection of HO and Lionel trains and what ever else you need to build the perfect layout. They also have a wide variety of model airplanes, cars etc. Prices are on the higher side but you can't beat the variety of stock. If you're into planes and race cars, check out their upstairs. Definitely recommend this hobby store. read more

Willis Hobbies - Toy Stores Near Me - Mineola, New York

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An interesting place.Trying to have all hobbies in one store is hard.So sometimes its hard to find what you want in stock.they have a little bit of this a little bit of that. Otherwise I like the RC section on the 2nd floor where you get great Help and friendliness.Bought a great RC helicopter there.This seems to be their speciality. read more

new owner Jay is great. I come here very often for RC cars, and I get low prices with great customer service.

Yelp has more than just restaurants? Huh. Anyway I used to come here sooo much as a kid, and now as a teenager. When I was a kid I used to get the Thomas Wooden Railway engines and sets, than now as a teenager I go to get HO scale model trains. I recently went on Christmas Eve and my mom bought me a PRR N-Scale loco and an HO SP caboose. Well I always did think the prices were a bit expensive I did know that was from the manufacturers and not them. If you're new to the hobby and think the Willis is doing it on purpose, just know model railroading is an expensive hobby. It's a shame to hear the old owners left, but after speaking with the new ones when buying my Christmas gifts, I was happy to see that they really were enthusiastic about keeping one of Mineola's Great Stores around for longer. One thing I want back is that sometimes on holidays they would sell second-hand or used model trains at a discount on certain holidays. I had a great haul a couple years ago around the MLK weekend I think, and was able to get 3 HO coaches for around 50-60$. I would love to see that happen again occasionally. Until than I'm happy to see Willis around and can't wait to shop there again. read more

As an old-timer who has rediscovered plastic model building, Willis Hobbies is a Godsend! Their selection is vast, and Steve Ford and his staff are always willing to place an order should there be a kit they actually don't have in stock. Everyone knows their area cold and will spend as long as it takes to explain the finer points of scale model building, or trains, or RC cars, aircraft and boats. The only thing I would love to see is a stock of the incredibly large and varied after-market add-on kits for the models they sell. Also I would very much like to see offerings of some of the tools now available to the advanced, semi and professional builders. I recently told Steve of my predilection of purchasing paint supplies from him rather than from eBay or Amazon. While this is certainly true, I do hunt the web for the latest tools available to hobbyists, especially those of us who use a few tools to account for a handicap. I will always see Steve first! The finest hobby store on Long Island! read more

Great hobby shop. Huge selection of plastic model kits and plenty of starter as well as expert supplies. Kits are well priced, only some what more expensive than what you would pay online. The staff are helpful and never pushy. I noticed that there are always locals inside, talking to the staff about what's going to be in the market soon, or getting advice on their builds. There is a huge train and RC section. Upstairs. The staff were happy to demo anything I was interested in. This store a great example of the grand hoppy stores of yester-year. I'm glad to ha e such a great resource in my neighborhood! read more

Haven't been here in a long time. We went to the second floor with my son and his Traxxas rc car. We received very good customer service. We bought a few small items and the employee installed it for no additional cost. They're not pushy and they have a large selection of rc cars and parts. You could spend hours here. A+ read more

First time at Willis hobbies was two days ago. I purchased my first RC car. The salesman who I believe is the owner took the time out to explain everything to me. I had a lot of questions that he answered in detail. The RC car I purchased had slight damage too it. The damage looked to be caused during shipping or at the manufacturer. I brought the car back right away. It would of been a minor fix but I didn't want it to be fixed. I wanted to switch it out for a brand new one. Without hesitation the salesman switched it right out. He was apologetic this happened to me. Willis hobbies just gained a customer for life. Besides being a great hobby store with a huge inventory, there customer service is above and beyond. I highly recommend this business to everyone I know. read more

Happiest place in the world. Love this place. All the trains and r/c and modeling you can possibly ask for in one place. Best store ever!

The store is nice both up and down stairs. They're a bit on the pricey side so always do some homework before you buy from them. The main bad experience I've had is that Everytime I go to look for something specific they don't have it and they try to steer me in the direction of buying something different and much more expensive. I get that it's a business but I rather buy online from other cheaper stores. read more

Avoid this place as much of their merchandise is old. I bought a small solar powered car and after putting it together, it did not work at all. Very disappointing. You can get a lot of the big items online and for much cheaper. read more

In a time where most hobby shops have already closed their doors, one of the last remaining shops is shockingly still open. As an avid RC car enthusiast and collector, I've tried on many occasions to give this store business. However, each time I think "maybe this time they'll have it", I make the trip there only to leave the same way I left the time before; without what I needed. This happened once again when I went in looking for what I thought was a very common item. But yet again, I left without the part that I needed. I said to my 9 year old son, who I am introducing to the hobby, "I will never go back there again". I explained to him why, and he understood my frustration. Yet, this is not the real reason I am writing this sub par review. The real reason is, I am 44 years old and I remember a time when I was able to go to a hobby shop and asktheir opinion. As a youngster, you looked up to the men who worked in the hobby shop. They were older, had more experience, and were willing to share their knowledge with you about the hobby. Heck, I thought they knew about everything. Most important, I valued their opinion. I was hoping to have the same experience at my age when I called this shop and asked for one of the owners, Steve. He picked up my call and I started to explain why I had called and that he had helped me before and I valued his opinion. He politely responded that he was not the knowledgeable one on RC cars, it was his brother Ken that I needed to talk to. In a moment, Ken picked up and I proceeded to explain like I did to his brother Steve that he had helped me before and I valued his opinion. I then began to explain that a Tamiya Super Sabre had become available for me to buy and I was hoping he could tell me what he thought would be a fair price to pay for the car in today's market. I have no idea what the car is worth but I know it was a limited release then and it's a rare car to find today in the condition it is in; still in the original box, not assembled. At first, I hesitated making the call since I was getting the same feeling I get when I take the trip to this shop for a part; that they weren't going to be able to help me. My gut was right, again. After I finished explaining my story to Ken, he asked what I had planned to do with the car, run it or just keep it. I said I'd prefer to keep it as is. He said, I have no idea how much you should pay for the car. That's entirely up to you. This is not something I have the time to look in to either. I'm not going to give you a price on something I don't have any information on. I said "so you can't help me"? he said "No" and I hung up the phone. Ken, as someone who's been in this business for a very long time, and with brick-and-mortar stores falling victim to Internet juggernauts like eBay, Tower Hobbies, and Amazon each day, why wouldn't you take the time to try and keep a customer? I truly thought you had the knowledge on this subject. You've only be selling RC cars for over 40 years and that's why I called. To make a customer feel like because you weren't getting a sale out of it and couldn't be bothered is selfish. I tried for the last time to have faith in Willis Hobbies. It's a shame because It was a part of my childhood as I'm sure it has been part of many other people's childhood who grew up on Long Island. But I'm turning the page on your shop. I hope your shop can outlive the Internet. Moving forward, I'll support Track Day Hobbies in Elmont. read more

Excellent store, I have been a customer for 15 years. The selection is beyond excellent. This store is the place to go to for trains and RC toys. The staff is very very knowledgeable, and somewhat friendly but surely not bad in any way. Related to trains, I have been to every other "Train" store within 150 miles, and I can safely say that this store is BEYOND and so much BETTER than ANY other train store I have been to, And I have been in every store related to the train hobby from New Jersey to Conn. If you are into expensive trains like Markel or other high end hobby toys then you will NOT BE DISSAPOINTED. This place is truely first class and has no competition. Unparreled. The store is always clean bright and modern, and very well stocked. It is a total delight just to go to see all the rare and expensive items that they display, and they also have three operating train layouts. One runs above your head, suspended from the ceiling. So, why only 3 STARS ??? Because of PRICE, the store items are very expensive and priced on the upper high end. If you read the comments you can see multiple mentions of high prices ---And I agree, this store will make you broke faster than a divorce. read more

This place is very over price and the customer service is terrible! I purchased a killer parts pull starter for $ 43.00 and when I tried it out it fell to pieces. I tried to return it the next day and the owner told me there was nothing he could do. (wow). He then tells me they don't do over the counter returns he then began to tell me that I should send an e-mail to the manufacturer because he don't know their return policy,but yet he sells their product. The package didn't come with a warranty but you don't know that until you get it home and open it up. I believe the store is selling used goods and passing them off as new and when someone buys them and they don't work tough luck. I told him to just forget it,I threw it in the trash & chalked it up to a lesson learned. Don't do business with WILLIS HOBBIES unless you like to gamble. Not only are they over priced but they also sell crappy cheap supplies. There is a silver lining to this story I found an on line hobby store named DAVES DISCOUNT MOTORS the prices are great and the delivery is prompt and the merchandise is quality. So if your reading this give them a try. I WILL NEVER EVER SPEND ANOTHER RED CENT WITH WILLIS SECOND HAND MERCHANDISE HOBBIES! read more

This place is beautiful when you walk in, the set up is perfect. But the people on the 2nd floor is bad, disrespectful, rude, and they act like they don't care about your Business transaction. I went there one time and I needed parts for my RS4 Car, everyone ignored me, and even when I asked for help, they looked at me and told me to ask the next guy because they are busy. When I go talk to the other guy he was busy too, I looked at the first guy that told me to ask the other guy and he is on his phone texting. I waited 20 mins and NOONE came, so I left. I will never go there again, their prices are crazy and the customer service is really bad. read more

Sore looks good. It's overpriced. The people on the second floor are assholes. We asked about the return policy and we got a flat out 7 days. We purchased an item and brought it back the next day. Some asshole old man said they had to take a 30% restocking fee. I would have given this place 0 stars but I couldn't. Now we still have the piece of shit. Then when we asked more about the return policy after we brought it back like why didn't you tell us you would take 30%? Or Why don't you state that any where in your shitty website or in your shitty store? All we got was rudeness and disrespect since the moment we Walked in the door. I suggest you do not shop here it's not worth your time unless your willing to spend hundreds of dollars for a piece of shit broken car with no top and no custom parts. DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE. read more

Last sunday I was out bashing with my Big Rock V3 and my rear strut broke. My home hobby shop was closed so I looked online to see willis hobby open and I called them up. I spoke with the owner he told me he had the suspension parts I needed and he put me on hold to check. He came back and said "yeah, they're about $60 bucks." I informed him I'd be coming all the way from the Bronx and he said "ok, I'll see you when you get here." I get there and ask for the part, I'm told its $80. I told the employee about the conversation between me and the owner and the employee says " he probably meant about $60 but $80 is the price and nothing can be done." I asked since he's the owner can't he honor his word and the employee said no. Because I was stressed out and bashing is my therapy, I bought the part and the oil needed for them. On principle, I will never buy from this shop again. It was a really nice place and I didn't mind driving an hour to get what I needed but I'll never do it again for this place. read more

Planes, trains, ships, rc cars and more! If you have any model hobbies this place is a must!

The store is great. Lots or parts and items in stock. However, way over priced, even over MSRP. this is not your local Mom and Pop hobby store. read more