Model seller preserves a tradition of building.

CHUCK Wilkinson built his first model plane out of tissue and balsa wood at his grandfather's knee in 1949. Fifty years later--after his career as a graphic artist fizzled out--Wilkinson opened Mod-L-Mania, a Long Beach hobby shop. These days, customers come in to browse at his shop, but then they buy the models off the Internet.

"I was having trouble finding work and thought I'd take the little bit of money I had left and open something with what I'd always loved to do. I did a little bit of research with the Hobby Industry Association. I did about a year-and-a-half of planning.

"The hobby industry tells you never to open in an affluent area. People with money go to the shelf and buy something's that's already built.

"Most youngsters try a model at some point in time. Sometimes it grows with the youngster and sometimes it doesn't.

"Today, especially, we fight the Game Boy phenomenon. Most youngsters don't build things with their hands anymore. They just push buttons. We don't sell electronic games, but we do a lot of items that require them to think in the same manner. We do a lot of robots that you can program and go back to the computer and make them operate in the fashion you desire.

"We do a lot of rocketry. There are a lot of disciplines that come in to rocketry: electronics, airframe design and engineering the rocket so that it'll go where we point it.

"We can get someone started real simply at under $10 for a whip-control airplane. Then the hobby can take you up to the many hundreds of dollars, and into the thousands of dollars. A radio-controlled helicopter, that's about $1,200.

"The hobby industry is in fact a dying industry. I was totally aghast after being in the business for about a year when I found out I was in direct competition not only with my manufacturers, but my distributors. They sell off their Web site. We become an information kiosk. I've told the manufacturers: I'd be happy to be a showroom for you if you'd just pay me. We are the front-line guys. We help the customer. The Internet's a great thing, but it's going to be the death of the retail hobby industry--and other industries--and the ability of the consumer to get first-hand information.

"I can't imagine closing this place. This is a fun place to come to work to. I can't imagine leaving my customers in a lurch. Cutting out the middleman by going direct is not such a smart thing to do."