Hillsboro Hobby Shop

Hillsboro Hobby Shop is a general hobby store at 345 E Main St in Old Town Hillsboro, Oregon, and it is not a trading card shop. The shelves are built around radio-controlled vehicles, model kits, trains and rockets, and the shop has been serving the area for approximately 60 years. It suits builders, RC drivers and pilots, and anyone looking for a craft project or a gift, and it is worth knowing about for what it does well rather than for cards.

What's on the shelves

The core of the stock is radio-controlled vehicles. The store carries cars, trucks and rock crawlers from many of the major brands, in all price ranges and sizes, along with airplanes, boats, helicopters and drones. A line of water-resistant cars and trucks is stocked for running in wet Oregon conditions. Replacement parts, tires and wheels, batteries, chargers, radios, bodies, decals, winches and performance upgrades are on hand, and distributors let the store find out-of-stock parts or special order models. Special orders are welcome.

Beyond RC, the store carries:

• Plastic, wooden and diecast model kits, including scale replicas of full-size objects
• Model trains, with an HO layout running in the store window
• Rocket kits, from beginner packages to advanced systems
• Dollhouse kits and miniatures
• Paints, brushes, glues, adhesives, lubricants, styrene plastics, hardware and tools
• Science project kits and flyable wooden model kits
• Books on aircraft, armor and cars
• Hats, T-shirts, mugs and gift cards

Shoppers can also try flight simulators on a big flat-screen TV in the store. Some of the range is sold online and ships within the contiguous United States only.

Repairs and service

Mechanics on staff handle RC vehicles, from tune-ups to total rebuilds, and talk through the problem and recommended fix before any repair begins. Labor is $45.00 per hour for electric vehicles and $55.00 per hour for gas or nitro. A one-hour minimum applies, along with a $20.00 technical support charge and a $10.00 solder charge. Repairs are done as time allows, and finished items must be picked up within 30 days.

Store policies

Returns are accepted within 30 days with a receipt, in the original wrapper and with no open boxes, and they are for shop credit only. Electronics and batteries cannot be returned, and defective material goes back to the manufacturer. Refunds are for store credit only, and sale items cannot be refunded. Online orders have their own terms: returns are accepted up to 14 days after delivery, and orders do not ship to PO, FPO or AFO addresses.

Hours

Getting there and the local scene

The shop sits on Main Street in Old Town Hillsboro, which has other shops and services within walking distance. Saturday and Tuesday markets in Old Town offer food, music and products grown or built in Oregon, so a visit combines easily with a market day.

Other hobby and game stores nearby include Retro Game Trader in Hillsboro, about 1 mile away, and Grove Warden Games in Hillsboro, 2.3 miles away. Hitboy Collectibles is in Hillsboro as well, 4.2 miles out. GameStar in Beaverton is 5 miles away, and Games Workshop - Hillsboro is 5.3 miles away.

Clubs and events

The shop keeps a running list of area clubs. The Portland Area N-TRAK N Scale Club is open for public viewing Sundays from 1 PM to 4 PM at Alpenrose Dairy in Portland. The Columbia County Modeling Association meets the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7 PM in the Scappoose Senior Center, with all ages welcome and no fee. The shop also points customers to flying and RC clubs, picnics and building classes.