Harry's Hobby Shop in Norton: Success by Specialization

Harry Martin has had a love for models and building since he was a kid, but these days he’s built a business around it at Harry's Hobby Shop.

“I’ve built a couple hundred models when I was building,” he said.

Martin said he’s been in the collectables business since around 1990.

“We set up at yard sales and flea markets,” he said. “Opening our own store was the next thing to do. We’ve accumulated a lot of inventory over the years.”

Martin bought the shop in Norton after the old owner of the previous hobby shop was retiring.

“We got some of his inventory and fixtures and added on from there,” he said.

He said he needed to specialize in something to make his shop unique to the hobby shops in his area.

“A lot of people do RC vehicles or other things like road racing, slot cars etc.,” he said.

Martin has over 5,000 models on display in the shop and 500 more in the back.

“All different kinds of kits, airplanes, cars truck, armor kits, trucks motorcycles things of that nature,” he said.

In a time where models and hobbies can be bought cheaper over the Internet, Martin said he’s built a niche in custom work and advice.

“A lot of time people still want that touchy feely thing of what they want to buy,” he said. “They want to see what it looks like, open it up and see the quality of the kit. “

He added customer support is a big reason as to why he’s stayed in business.

“There’s no way to really get one on one advice online as it is to just come in here,” he said. “We recommend a model kit because we looked at it, built it ourselves or read about it in the trade magazines. We can tell the potential modeler a bit of advice and what goes into it as far as accessory items.”

He said the glue can be very important, as many models are made with different types of plastic that don’t react well to all types of glue.

“Not all plastic is the same,” he said. “That’s why we have a good loyalty in our customers, it keeps them coming back.”

Martin said he’s now preparing for his 5th annual summer sale, where everything is 35 percent off.

“That works out well and gets through the summer time,” he said. “A lot of times modelers are doing outside things rather than inside things.”

Martin said he has other collectables in stock besides models, including Hot Wheels, die cast collectibles, Johnny Lighting, First Gear, Danybury-Franklin mint collectables, comics and trading cards.

He said he feels his specialty has allowed him to survive during the advent of the Internet as a buying tool. Internet sellers are at a distinct advantage, he said, because there’s little to no overhead.

“Since we’ve open up, we’ve notice there’s probably 30 similar stores that have closed up in a 50-mile radius of our store here,” he said.

Harry’s Hobbies and Collectables is located on 250 East Main St. and is open during the summer on Thursday and Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.