Hobby Express

Hobby Express is a family-owned hobby and toy store in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, serving the Pittsburgh area for more than 30 years. It is a full-line hobby shop first and a card store only incidentally: the draw is model trains, model kits, RC vehicles and toys, with Pokémon products sitting among the games and crafts. It suits families, builders and train people who want a card-and-puzzle aisle in the same trip, and it is less obviously the stop for someone hunting singles or a tournament night.

What's on the shelves

The floor covers more than 12,000 square feet of displays, and the stock runs well past cards. Pokémon products are carried alongside coloring books, sticker books, dice games, puzzles, board games and card games for all ages. The store has a large puzzle selection, from kids' wooden puzzles to panoramic and brain-teaser formats, plus paint by numbers, science kits, art supplies and craft kits.

Model trains are the store's anchor. The selection spans N, HO, S, O and G scales, with MTH, Broadway Limited and Lionel ready-to-run sets, track, power supplies and layout accessories. Hobby Express exclusives are products carried only here, including Marburger-themed O scale rolling stock, and preorders are open on Broadway Limited GP35 locomotives due in summer 2026 in Wheeling & Lake Erie, Western Maryland, Pittsburgh & West Virginia, and Akron, Canton, & Youngstown road names.

Builders have plenty to work with:

• Plastic model car kits from Tamiya, Revell, AMT, MPC and Aoshima, in a deep selection of car and truck kits
• Metal Earth kits, laser-cut wood models and Gundam kits
• Kits of tanks, figures, sci-fi planes and ships
• Slot cars in HO, 1/43, 1/32 and 1/24 scale
• Paints from Tamiya, Vallejo and AK Interactive, plus basic tools like sprue cutters
• Snap-together kits that need no paint or glue, a good fit for a first-time builder
• RC cars, boats, planes, helicopters and quadcopters, with replacement parts and accessories
• Model rockets, plus supplies for school projects and pinewood derby

For younger kids there are Thomas, Melissa+Doug, Playmobil, plush and Bruder trucks. The store carries more in person than it shows online, and staff will track down an item that is not on display.

Store policies

Preorders are open on exclusive items, which is how the GP35 locomotives and a Marburger bump-and-go trolley with LED lights are sold ahead of arrival. Customers can sign up for deals and early access to new products. The store also sells online, so most of the catalog can be ordered without a visit.

Getting there

Hobby Express is at 1713 Cranberry Commons Dr in Cranberry Township, next to Kohl's, Lowe's and Target and right off the Cranberry exit on I-79. That puts it in the middle of the township's main shopping area, easy to combine with other errands.

History

The store opened in 1993 in Mars, Pennsylvania, then moved to Cranberry Township. In 2003 it settled into its current location, where it has expanded twice more to reach its present size. It remains family owned and operated.

The local scene

Several other shops sit close by. In Cranberry Township, New Dimension Comics is about 1.5 miles away, and Baseball Card Castle and Grand Central Hobby are each about 1.6 miles away. Castle Toys And Games in Wexford is about 4 miles off, and Sports Card Junction in Pittsburgh is about 8.4 miles away. For a show, the Sports Card & Pokémon/TCG Show is about 23.3 miles away and next starts on October 30, 2026.