The city of Boston is good for restaurants, hotels, hospitals, jazz joints, fashion boutiques, but hopeless for hobby shops. I've never been to The Hobby Place in North Providence, but before I'd drive 40 miles south I'd drive 50 miles north to RC Buyers Warehouse in Nashua, just a couple minutes off the Route 3 highway, New England's largest hobby shop. This place is loaded with gas, glow, electric, gliders, helicopters, mostly planes but also cars & boats. The staff are all great modelers, know their stuff. If you don't want to leave Boston, just have lunch in Chinatown, dinner at Anthony's for seafood, the North End for Italian or the Boston Harbor Hotel if you're on the expense account.