Al's Hobby Shop has been on a "downhill slide" for a number of years and that's why I stopped going, especially since it was a good "hike" from my house as well, and I can't justify the gas just to go there and "look around." The same goes for Model Empire and Greenfield News & Hobby in Wisconsin, I used to take a spin up there and check out their stock every now and then, but not anymore at today's gas prices. Des Plaines Hobby Shop is okay, but I don't get there too often. Ron's Mundelein Hobbies has a good stock of model car kits, and of course it's big on trains also.