Hey Sam ,
I live down in homestead FL, which is basically the last town before you get on the 18 mile stretch to Key Largo,
and the only hobby shops with in a reasonable distance down by me mainly specialize in RC stuff.
There is one little privately owned hole on the wall joint but every time i go in there, it seems that the old guy in charge gets more and more unfriendly, i even try to ignore his attitude and go in with happy positive thoughts and think well maybe he was having a bad day last time but he just gets worse and worse.
The last time i went in i asked if he had any putty, all i got was a loud "NO, we don't sell putty", then i saw some packs of Squadron Green Putty behind the counter on the wall, i pointed this out to him and he said "Thats filler not putty" so i was feeling a bit pissed at this point so i said so why does it say putty on the tube, he just looked at me with a very superior look on his face and said "you want it or not", need less to say i told him what he could do with his putty/filler and have never been back.
Sorry for the rant but i can't stand people who just can't be nice, especially if they own a store, (if you don't want customers, don't open a store), and with the limited selection of stores, the next closest is in North Miami, about 1,1/2hrs thru nightmarish traffic, i just get frustrated at not being able to pop to the store when i need something in a hurry.
I think there is a Hobby town USA in Fort Lauderdale but South Florida seems to be a bit of a dry area when it comes to realy good hobby shops
Anyhoo good luck with your search
Gagster
. if u ever are in the orlando area please stop into colonial photo and hobby. their website is inferior but in store is a modeling addicts paradise
