Hi from Hong Kong

[leej84]

Hi bladestorm and welcome to the forums.

I'm actually heading to hong kong end of this month, just wondering where to head to for some third party and masterpiece stuff?

[Bladestorm]

Hey Lee,

Thanks for the welcome! For both 3rd party and Masterpiece it depends what you are after and how much time you have to hunt.
Masterpiece is very popular here so some of the figures sell out fast and become impossible (eg MP-10) or expensive to find. Some of the smaller car MP's are easier to get (with the exception of Wheeljack and Bumblebee).
3rd party depends what you are after as different stores specialise in different things. However one thing to remember with 3rd party stuff is some places here require pre-orders and won't sell direct over the counter (Kidslogic, Hot Toys, Prime 1). Got any specific 3rd parties/MP's in mind? Would help me direct you to more specific locations/stores.
As a general rule Wan Chai markets have your current/recent Hasbro/Takara Tomy stuff and some of the vintage stuff (but always look through ALL the toy shops with TF's first before buying to find the best price.). Mong Kok tends to have more of the 3P stuff (although thin pickings right now). And a word of warning, no matter what anyone tells you virtually everything in Sham Shui Po is fake, so be wary of Transformers if looking there (unless you are after KO's). As a general rule whilst most places in HK tend to sell the real stuff ALWAYS check for authenticity on an item in any street store toy mall store you go to as some do mix real with fake and it is better to be safe than sorry.

If you can be more specific as to what you're after I might be able to narrow your search or offer up some of the shops off the beaten track that may have what you're after...

Hi bladestorm and welcome to the forums.

I'm actually heading to hong kong end of this month, just wondering where to head to for some third party and masterpiece stuff?

[leej84]

Thanks for your reply bladestorm.
Nothing really specific with the masterpiece and but third party would be like the more popular dx9, mastermind creations, fans toys etc etc figures, just want to check out the shops to see what they have and their prices compared to taobao before I pull the trigger on anything. I'll be heading to China after hongkong so I have an option to look for stuff on taobao.
Any particular shops in wanchai and mongkok I should look out for? Or should I stick to inns point and sino?
Thank you.

Hey Lee,

Thanks for the welcome! For both 3rd party and Masterpiece it depends what you are after and how much time you have to hunt.
Masterpiece is very popular here so some of the figures sell out fast and become impossible (eg MP-10) or expensive to find. Some of the smaller car MP's are easier to get (with the exception of Wheeljack and Bumblebee).
3rd party depends what you are after as different stores specialise in different things. However one thing to remember with 3rd party stuff is some places here require pre-orders and won't sell direct over the counter (Kidslogic, Hot Toys, Prime 1). Got any specific 3rd parties/MP's in mind? Would help me direct you to more specific locations/stores.
As a general rule Wan Chai markets have your current/recent Hasbro/Takara Tomy stuff and some of the vintage stuff (but always look through ALL the toy shops with TF's first before buying to find the best price.). Mong Kok tends to have more of the 3P stuff (although thin pickings right now). And a word of warning, no matter what anyone tells you virtually everything in Sham Shui Po is fake, so be wary of Transformers if looking there (unless you are after KO's). As a general rule whilst most places in HK tend to sell the real stuff ALWAYS check for authenticity on an item in any street store toy mall store you go to as some do mix real with fake and it is better to be safe than sorry.

If you can be more specific as to what you're after I might be able to narrow your search or offer up some of the shops off the beaten track that may have what you're after...

[PROVOST]

[Sam]

Thanks for the tips Lisa!

I did end up making a short trip to Wan Chai this arvo and bought some figures. Held off on MP Magnus due to space issues (already posting a 20kg box back separately).

Wab Chai has some really nice stock and it was worth checking out all the prices before buying (one shop had Arcee for 298hkd while another had it for 228).

Hey Sam,

Welcome back to Honkers!

Hunting for TF's here kind of depends what you are looking for. CTMA is ok but unless you want Kidslogic stuff their TF's are thin on the ground. Marvel seems to be their flavour of the last 6 months.
Same applies to Sino at the moment too. I've found HK Island side seems to have a better range of TF's (and believe it or not cheaper(!!)) at the moment, although 12 months ago it was Mong Kok that had all the juicy stuff.
Wan Chai market has 2 shops that carry a decent range of authentic TF's. Freeway Toys - first toy shop on your left as you enter the markets from the MTR end has a lot of the newer stuff and Japanese imports. Problem is they inflate their prices a little (and if they know a figure is popular they inflate it a LOT) and don't negotiate. They know me by name and STILL won't come down in price for me!
Further down on the right is a set of 2 shops both owned by the same guy (can't remember it's name) - one of the shops is mostly cars, the other is a wide range of toys. They have some nice older TF's stuff but you have to look deep into the store and the glass cabinets to find the TF stuff as only the newer stuff is on the front shelves. They did have a few Encore TF's as well as some Alternators, Pepsi Convoy, etc, before Christmas. They won't negotiate on price either but are generally reasonably priced to start with given the vintage of some of their items. In terms of their modern stuff, their combiner wars were HK$20-30 cheaper/piece than Freeway toys for example.
Another place I've seen a few nice Japanese TF's at recently is animate in Wan Chai... they do have a store in Sino but I get the impression it is more books.
The problem is there are so many stores to hunt through here... my local toy shop for example has a nice range of the Japanese Go! collection on sale at the moment and a couple of the Metroplex's as well as a fair few Masterpieces, including Ultra Magnus at a VERY nice price compared to online.
TRU are pretty pathetic at the moment with their Transformers, although if you want Breakout Battle it was on sale for HK$599 at the Taikoo branch the other day. Hasbro tend to use the Causeway Bay store for most of their TF promotions so that and the Harbour City one tend to have the best range, but as I say - at the moment the pickings are pretty pathetic.
Pity you're pressed for time or I would say let me show you around a few of the worthwhile places. Maybe next time if I'm still here!

Good luck with your hunting!

[Bladestorm]

For those kinds of 3rd parties I'd probably look in Sino. I haven't been into Ins Point recently but it didn't have much even the last I was there. Similarly aside from the Toy Hunters shop in CDMA I don't think you'll find much 3rd party TF's. I wouldn't even bother with Superman Toys as they haven't had Transformers other than the bearbricks for well over 6 months (and they're really rude - especially to this short fat non-chinese chick).

As I mentioned earlier - for the new/recent/modern Tak-Tomy and Hasbro stuff - walk the toy shops in Wan Chai market with particular focus on Freeway Toys (the first shop on the left as you enter the markets from the Tram/MTR but expensive) and the toy shop on the right further down that is right next to a toy shop loaded with cars (can't remember the name - keep thinking something Hing Toys but could be wrong). Also as I mentioned shop around BEFORE buying.
I was going to recommend a place near me for MP's but went there last night and unless you're after Soundwave his shop has sold out of everything - which is impressive given 2 days ago he had 10 MP Ultra Magnus' in stock along with Smokescreen, Prowl and a few others filling one of his glass displays.

Good luck with your hunting!

Thanks for your reply bladestorm.
Nothing really specific with the masterpiece and but third party would be like the more popular dx9, mastermind creations, fans toys etc etc figures, just want to check out the shops to see what they have and their prices compared to taobao before I pull the trigger on anything. I'll be heading to China after hongkong so I have an option to look for stuff on taobao.
Any particular shops in wanchai and mongkok I should look out for? Or should I stick to inns point and sino?
Thank you.

[Bladestorm]

Haha - sweet Sam!
Glad you got some goodies. And that you heeded the shop around first advice.
If I'd known you wanted Arcee I could have given you one straight out of the case cheaper as I got a case of that wave to get the fembots for my daughter and have spares. Never mind.

See what I mean about the temptation of not spending $$ in these stores?
Wan Chai is like crack when they get their new figure shipments.

Thanks for the tips Lisa!

I did end up making a short trip to Wan Chai this arvo and bought some figures. Held off on MP Magnus due to space issues (already posting a 20kg box back separately).

Wab Chai has some really nice stock and it was worth checking out all the prices before buying (one shop had Arcee for 298hkd while another had it for 228).

[griffin]

For anyone who needs it, I did up some maps a year ago of the main toy locations in HK I wanted to check out (at the top and then scroll down to halfway to "Sunday 10th"... warning, the page is pic-heavy) which was from fan HeroicDecepticon and my own searches.
And if you want to read through a few pages, there is this topic as well.

[leej84]

Thanks griffin. I'll have a read of those pages

[Bladestorm]

Oh gosh Griffin! You need to come visit again so I can take you to some REAL cantonese food and show you around... I've tried KFC once in the 6 years I've lived here and it is grosser than gross! Your trip doesn't sound like much fun with all the confusion of the MTR lines n all. :/

CDMA has a lot of empty shops at the moment, and quite a few of the smaller shops on the same road still have signs but have disappeared.
Sino is definitely the best place, especially if pressed for time, to go on the Kowloon side... even if just to see the Hot Toys showroom! But something to remember about these malls is to not bother going until after 1 pm as most places don't open until midday at earliest. In fact, some shops don't open until 5 pm!
Whereas Wan Chai is normally up and rocking by 10.30 am and the computer/anime malls close by to Wan Chai are normally up and going by about 11.30 am/midday.
That's one thing that bugs me about living here - most shops don't open until 11 am so you can't get an awful lot done in the mornings...

For anyone who needs it, I did up some maps a year ago of the main toy locations in HK I wanted to check out (at the top and then scroll down to halfway to "Sunday 10th"... warning, the page is pic-heavy) which was from fan HeroicDecepticon and my own searches.
And if you want to read through a few pages, there is this topic as well.