Big Mike's Hobbies & Toys

Big Mike's Hobbies & Toys on Pine Tree Road is one of East Texas' longtime model and hobby shops, stocking hobby-grade remote control vehicles, plastic model kits, puzzles, games and the building supplies that go with them. The RC side covers cars, airplanes and helicopters, with a smaller selection of boats, and the shelves carry the paints, glues and small parts that make a project finishable instead of abandoned. A shop like this is a different animal from a big-box toy aisle. The value is in the counter conversation — which kit is realistic for a beginner, what motor will actually fit, why the thing you built last month keeps stalling. Hours run Monday through Saturday with Sundays closed, and the Pine Tree Road location puts it right in the middle of the west-side neighborhoods and schools. If you have a kid getting into models, or you are picking a hobby back up after thirty years, start here.