Phoenix's Hobby Bench: Paradise Valley Location Closed

If you are a Playmobil fan and you live in or have lived in Arizona, you no doubt have made a stop to Hobby Bench in Phoenix, AZ at least once. Their biggest selection of Playmobil was at the Paradise Valley Mall location at Tatum & Cactus, and now it is no more.

During a weekend road trip, our crew stopped by the mall only to see a walled-up storefront advertising yet another clothing store would soon be taking its place. This is most unfortunate, as Hobby Bench had been a staple in this mall since the 1980s if not earlier. We've purchased Playmobil, Zoids, action figures, and numerous other toys from this store since we were young enough to remember, and made it a required stop every time we visited Phoenix.

Through further questioning, we were told their lease expired and there may be a chance the store will reopen somewhere near the mall soon. The other two stores don't have nearly the selection of Playmobil as this one, and we realize this will be of interest to precious few of you, but it means America's sixth largest city has lost its best source of Playmobil. There are a few other stores that carry the line, but nobody had anything near the selection of product that this store sported.

It will be missed. Until it comes back, and we're all hoping that it does soon.