Hi from Hong Kong

[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]

[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.

[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.

[griffin]

HK is somewhere I want to go back to, as is Japan, but my trip was only intended to be a quick 2-3 day recon of the areas I visited (HK, Osaka, Tokyo) to better plan out a decent trip later... and since I got sick in HK, I lost one of my three days there, which meant I didn't get to see or eat as much as I was planning. (the plan was to spend the third day on HK island for the toy stores there, so is something for next time)
As for the franchise fast food places like KFC - yeah, there wasn't any real desire to eat it for enjoyment, but more to see how it was so "eastern-ised", and had to report back to those here who would be familiar with the Brand, who would be amazed at how different it was.
The other thing is that I wasn't too keen to try a place without someone I trust letting me know that it was safe/clean... especially after that bad reaction on the second night to something I ate.

[Bladestorm]

Let me know when you come back through and I'll take you for safe/good food and a trip around some of the HK Island stores as I live right next to Causeway Bay.

I understand the quirky curiosity about the Asian-ised food chains. I had 2 cousins come over last year and they purposely ordered Mcdonalds delivered to their hotel for the novelty value of it. They raved about it for ages. LOL
The other thing they couldn't get over were the shopping mall car parks. I drove them to a mall and they spent over an hour looking and taking photos of all the cars before we even got into the mall - Lambo's Ferrari's, Porsche, Lotus, etc (a green version of Stinger lives up the hill from us). I guess I've been here so long I just take it for granted. It's only when my son will go "check it out mum - it's Stinger, It's Soundwave" do I take notice.

I sometimes blog about some of the crazy here because it is so hard for people back home in AU and NZ to understand... I often wonder how I will adjust when I eventually return to the normality of Sydney.

HK is somewhere I want to go back to, as is Japan, but my trip was only intended to be a quick 2-3 day recon of the areas I visited (HK, Osaka, Tokyo) to better plan out a decent trip later... and since I got sick in HK, I lost one of my three days there, which meant I didn't get to see or eat as much as I was planning. (the plan was to spend the third day on HK island for the toy stores there, so is something for next time)
As for the franchise fast food places like KFC - yeah, there wasn't any real desire to eat it for enjoyment, but more to see how it was so "eastern-ised", and had to report back to those here who would be familiar with the Brand, who would be amazed at how different it was.
The other thing is that I wasn't too keen to try a place without someone I trust letting me know that it was safe/clean... especially after that bad reaction on the second night to something I ate.

[primetime]

Bladestorm, where / which is the Wanchai market that you are referring to that has the TF toy stores?

I was in HK last year and Wanchai market wasn't on my "shopping list".

Would appreciate it if you could clarify. I googled Wanchai market and it seems to be a wet-market/and a lot of the stores are gone? or is this outdated information?