Best Of

Best Hobby Shops In Pittsburgh

January 18, 2016 / 8:00 AM EST / CBS Pittsburgh

Having a favorite hobby helps to reduce stress and gives you a great sense of purpose for your free time. Whether you already have a passion for building models or racing cars, you enjoy knitting or cross-stitching in your free time or you are looking for a new hobby to enjoy, the best place to find out something that interests you is at your local hobby shop. Not only can you find the products you need for your hobby, but you will also frequently find passionate experts in your chosen hobby to give you advice for advancing your skills to the next level. Here are some great hobby shops located in and around Pittsburgh where are you are sure to find what you need for the hobby that excites you the most.

Esther's Hobby Shop
219 N. Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412) 821-2415
www.esthershobby.com/

Located in Millvale, Esther's Hobby Shop carries a wide variety of plastic model kits and accessories from airplanes and cars to monsters and sci-fi. You can also find kits and accessories for wooden boats and aircraft. If you have a passion for trains, Esther's carries N and HO scale trains and scenery. If you want to find out what else is available at Esther's, take a virtual tour on the website.

Mark's Hobby Warehouse
4704 Lorigan St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
(412) 687-2386
www.markshobbywarehouse.com

If you enjoy a radio control hobby, look no further than Mark's Hobby Warehouse for your needs. This warehouse is full of what you need for your radio control hobby, including a large selection of aircraft. Mark's also carries modeling hardware and accessories. If you need to make some repairs, radio control repair parts are also available.

J & C Hobbies
12250 Frankstown Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15235
(412) 795-9344
www.jchobbies.com

J & C Hobbies has parts and accessories for a wide range of hobbies. From airplanes, helicopters and radio control cars to model rockets, toys and puzzles, you can find a new passion easily at J & C Hobbies. It is a great place to find model trains as well as newly popular quadcopters, or drones, available with and without cameras. The popular Estes Proto X and DJI Phantom 2 quadcopters are both available at J&C Hobbies.

Hobby Express
1713 Route 228
Cranberry Twp., PA 16066
(724) 779-2000
www.hobbyexpress.com

Hobby Express in Cranberry Township has fun hobbies for all ages, but especially for the kids. There are crafts and model rockets as well as plastic and die cast cars. Lego enthusiasts will enjoy Cobi blocks, which add a new dimension to Legos and are fully compatible with this kid favorite. Hobby Express also has Pinewood Derby accessories to make your child's pinewood car stand out from the crowd.

Bill & Walt's Hobby Shop
1509 Lincoln Way
White Oak, PA 15131
(412) 678-7230
www.billandwalt.com

If you like models, Bill & Walt's Hobby Shop is a great place to stop. The shop carries accessories for model cars and miniature die cast models. There are coins for collectors, Radio Control cars and aircraft, slot car racing products and wooden model kits. When it comes to trains, Bill & Walt's has N, HO, O and G gauge trains, tools and accessories.

Jennifer Stockdale is a native of the greater Pittsburgh, PA area. She is a restaurant marketer and wine enthusiast and one of the hosts of the East Coast Wine Geeks Podcast. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.

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