Surprised to see rockets at Wally-World....
 

I was surprised last night when my daughter & I went to the local mega Wal-Mart last night (we rarely shop there) and dropped by the toy dept we saw there was suddenly now an actual small hobby department with plastic models, Testors paints & tools, and an array of Estes RTFs & engines. Wow! That was a shock!

The Estes offerings were just about the same as the Toys R Us assortment. The RTFs were all 9.97, except for the 3 or 4 that came with launchers. The launcher sets included the twins, a helcio recovery bird and an egg-lofter. Engine packs were all 9.97 or so as well - the same 3-packs offered at Toys R Us.

Not a whole lot of stuff I'm interested in, but it should make gift shopping easier.

This is great news! I'm not a big fan of RTF rockets either (but I don't hate them--they are good for introducing kids to the hobby), but the more big vendors that offer them to the public, the better.

My first introduction to rocketry was a RTF rocket.....back in 1973!

but they won't sell me any motors at $10 a pack.

Was it an Estes Firing Line RTF or one of the Cox RTFs? I did like those all-plastic RTFs pretty well; it's the current Estes ones that don't do much for me. I think it's the aesthetics--the Firing Line and Cox RTFs were all scale (or scale-looking), while the gaudily-decorated Estes RTFs of today strike me as looking more toy-like.

Just keep an eye opened for close outs!

Wally World is famous for dirt cheep closeout pricing to make room for the winter stuff!

And don't worry if you buy too many...rockets will store nicely until spring without going bad. ;)

Wait...what am I saying there is no such thing as "too many" when it comes to rockets.

Although I did come real close when I bought out Commonwealth. :rolleyes:

The neighbor kid got the Estes Firing Line Vampire Set for Christmas that year (I was 11). Never saw a model rocket before that. Trumped any gift anyone else in our small neighborhood out in the country ever got.

We sent in a quarter and the enclosed coupon and obtained our first model rocketry catalog. That led to many years of waiting for the mailman to arrive. :)

I thought WM had already closed the books on Estes items (and plastic kits, for that matter) a few years ago. It's been at least four years, if not longer, since I've seen "hobby items" in any local store in Mobile (AL).

Could this be an indication of WM changing course (again) and re-introducing a "hobby shop" line of products?

Your time frame is off as far as mass merchandiser retailers are concerned.

Summer items were closed out starting a month ago to make way for the back-to-school (started to show up after July 4) and the fall and winter clothes as well as Halloween/T-Giving.

Christmas items will appear anywhere from now to just after Labor Day and will remain until Christmas is over and the January "reset" of the modular shelving units occurs.

Wal-Mart has had many toy changes over the years with different head buyers imposing different philosophies. Usually it is based upon current market conditions and projections of consumer spending patterns as well as performance of current product on the shelf.

In the past, rocketry was carried year round and only items that the manufacturer was dropping got "clearanced" right up until the new buyer decided to drop rocketry and other hobby items.

A friend of mine who works in lower management at a smaller WalMart - and who has recently been flying some small rockets with his son - says that the hobby section is a setup for Christmas shopping. He's uncertain if it will last much longer than that.

That is what I said. Christmas season has started now. It will remain through Christmas. During january, they do a "modular shelving unit reset" and the mix of products can drastically change - and any itmes left that are not going to be carried into the future will go on clearance. Often there is nothing left in the toy dept by 12/26. There are some returns though...