Patrick, I think you were thinking of American Eagles on South Tacoma way—they closed in 2006 after the manager was killed when his car jack failed and his classic car crushed him. They were a branch of the huge American Eagles store in Seattle (two stories) that closed in 2010. The B&I store (also on S. Tacoma way) closed sometime before 2001, not sure exactly when. The best shop in the entire PNW though is Skyway Models, in Renton (not too far south from the VA, maybe 8-10 miles max. They are on Renton Ave. The owner, Emil Mennerich, has all the new releases, AM, huge selection of paints and supplies, and the place is floor to ceiling with kits— only plastic, none of the other stuff like trains or RC you find at Hobbytown. Next time you are in town, you should stop by. He also holds 20% off sales on special occasions and has annual up to 50% off sales the day after Thanksgiving— I’ve picked up some sweet deals there. It’s a hole in the wall shop—in business since 1995– try it, you’ll like it!
VR, Russ

Thanks for the info about Skyway, American Eagles I remember the name now, loved that place. There was a hobbyshop just south of South Center I'd hit when I was in town during the early to mid 90's that had a nice selection and gaming gear. One day was driving up from Oregon, decided to drop by but they were gone. Sadly that was happening to a lot of LHS's.

Patrick--Skyway Models in actually in King County, right on the line between Renton and Seattle, on the top of the hill overlooking the Renton Airport. They have a website (not a very active one), but its got a map and you can contact them:
http://skywaymodel.com/

If you are in Seattle in February, the Museum of Flight hosts the largest Model show in the Northwest, they usually have up to 2000 models on display-- free admission for those who bring their models for display--but tables should be arranged by contacting Northwest Scale Modelers. There's also the Seattle IPMS show-- the largest in the NW, in April-- lots of vendors.
VR, Russ