I think most of the poeple on this board are not in the US Midwest, so I wasn't going to post this here. I've posted it elsewhere though. It's the news that Venture Hobbies in Wheeling, IL. is going to continue under a new owner. It was one of the best hobby shops in the US (I'm biased, but it was always one of the better model stores) Five years ago or so, it was sold by the original owner to a new guy. The new owner ran the place into the ground. I understand there some serious debt issues and the stock, especially the plastic kits, had been sadly neglected. The original owner took the store over again and sold it to someone else. The new owner seems to appreciate the plastics side of the business. He has been restocking the plastics, but it will take time to back to what th estore was.
The plastics manager had asked me a few weeks ago to spread the word around that the store was back in the hopes that some of the disenfranchised customers would come back and give the store another go. The store is now called Adventure Hobbies.
Anyway, sorry for the rather rather long-winded tale. If any of you are in the Chicago area or plan to visit, give Adventure Hobbies a try.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am not an employee, but I was until about 5 years ago (around the time of the sale). It's just that (Ad)Venture Hobbies has been my LHS for nearly 25 years(!) and I'd like to see it coninue.