Today we’re going to take a quick look behind the scenes at LionHeart Hobby and give you a peek into how our little operation got started.

In March of 2020 my 18-year-old son Marc and I found ourselves unemployed. For me it wasn’t the first time I’d been “between jobs,” but I was approaching 50 with almost-grown kids and no immediate backup plan this time. For Marc it felt catastrophic. He was determined to move out on his own, and earning an income is a huge part of that. So what were we going to do?

As it turns out, I happened to be recently cozied up with one of the world’s leading experts on scale plastic models. Rudy is very modest, but he has what looks like a preternatural knowledge of just about everything related to military scale plastic modeling, which makes more sense when you know where he comes from. Rudy grew up around airplanes because his dad, Phil, likes to build them. I am not sure what year Phil got started, but by the time they moved from California to Texas (Cal-Tex), Rudy was 14 and already knew his way around a hangar. He also has a deep love of history born from hours in a hobby shop reading the books stacked around him. The point is, Rudy has this in his blood and loves doing it, and I could feel that, even if I didn't know the extent of this back in 2020.

I knew enough to confidently (and naively) start a little operation with my son. We began buying collections of model kits. Our first family venture was an eBay store Marc named “Opus Hobby.”

(An early ad featuring Marc looking to buy unbuilt model kits)

My house quickly filled with shipping boxes and pre-owned, unbuilt kits of every genre. Stacks and stacks of kits. Some were dusty and needed cleaning. Plenty of great kits never sold on eBay for whatever reason. Those stacks became a problem for another day as we kept collecting more “garage sale” boxes.

Just six months later I got the keys to the first tiny LionHeart Hobby storefront. Our very first event was at our neighborhood fall festival, where we sold those garage-sale kits for a few dollars each and handed out postcards announcing the grand opening on November 27, 2020… Black Friday itself.

(This was our first postcard before we even had our beloved lion logo!)

The booth was wildly popular. We were thrilled by how excited everyone got over those old kits.

LionHeart started as a way to get the boxes off my kitchen table and out of my living room. Now we occupy four front retail spaces, a front-facing warehouse, and eleven more storage/retail units in the back. The eBay operation runs full-time with four listers and a full-time warehouse team. And we still collect great unbuilt kits that either didn’t sell online or aren’t worth listing.

That’s why you’re invited to come out tomorrow for our MEGA GARAGE SALE EVENT! It’s by far the most popular thing we do, and for good reason. It’s fun, the whole LionHeart community shows up, and everything is honest-to-goodness garage-sale priced.

I came into this industry accidentally, but I continue to work in this space out of respect and admiration for everyone who builds. And there’s something special about giving a kit a second chance with the right person. The Mega Garage Sale is my personal favorite, and I hope you’ll join us.

Next week look for an early newsletter with all sorts of surprises you won’t want to miss!

Love, 

Danielle