Review by: Mick Stephen (Dec 2011)
It is a little ironic that an unwelcome trip to the dentist gave rise to the opportunity to visit one of the best model shops in South East Asia. Root canal aside, a little bit of “model retail therapy” was in order…
Hobby Bounties is located in the Katong Shopping Centre, away from the main tourist areas. Nothing is very far on the small island of Singapore though, so the journey on the MRT is well worth it.
The shop is owned and operated by Mr Peter Chiang, a 42 year veteran of the ‘model’ game. He is well known in the modeling community and an absolutely passionate lover of British aircraft.
Hobby Bounties was set up in 1986 in partnership with Morgan Hobbycraft Centre (set up in 1976). Initially, they only supplied Airfix, but subsequently grew to science fiction items like the Star Wars range.
In mid-2006, Hobby Bounties & Morgan Hobbycraft Centre came under the same management.
Since the mid-1990s, Hobby Bounties has become the main distributor for famous brands like Airfix, Humbrol and Swann-Morton products of England. This has also been expanded to include names like Eduard from Czech Republic, Caesar Miniatures and Hart Models.
Hobby Bounties eventually became the manufacturer and distributor of another famous British brand called FROG (which stands for Flies Right Off the Ground).
Most recently, they have become Hornby, Scalextric’s and Armorfast distributors for Singapore.
But to me the real jewel in the crown is the collection of old rarities and collectable kits that are long out of print.
If you don’t see what you want at first glance, just ask Felix Lam, the sales assistant who keeps his beady eye on the store daily. You will often find him ,as I did, working on some project or other behind the counter. On the day of my visit he was weathering a Bren Gun carrier.
In the shop front windows you’ll see a wide range of completed models, built by Peter and the local Singapore club members. There really is some fantastic work to behold there!
Step through the entrance and you’ll find yourself in an Aladdin’s cave of those ‘must have’ hard-to-find kits, along with all the newest releases from Airfix.
Be sure not to bring the wife here, as you’ll spend a very happy hour or two trawling the shelves and pondering what takes your fancy as your next BIG project.
Should Felix not be able to find what you’re looking for in the store, Peter will surely help; a short pause in your conversation while he dashes off to his ‘stash’ somewhere nearby should bring forth the long sought-for kit.
My recent Airfix Nimrod MR2 build began its life here, so I took the opportunity to share the completed Finished Now review with Peter.
Hobby Bounties also sponsor The Ngee Ann Challenge, which is a National Airfix Aeronautical Model Engineering Competition for Ngee Ann Polytechnic. They also run project builds and model workshops for aspiring aeronautical engineers.
If you want to learn more, visit their website, which is due for a major update in the near future.
My thanks go out to Peter and Felix for hosting my visit and taking the time to have a very enjoyable conversation on all things ‘modelling’. If you are ever in my part of the world, make time to visit Hobby Bounties and be sure to upgrade your airline weight limit..as I had to!!
Rest assured I came away with some real ‘finds’, which I am sure will see the light of day in SMN in the future…
Mick S
Hobby Bounties
865 Mountbatten Road #02-91/92
Katong Shopping Centre
Singapore 437844
Republic of Singapore
Website: www.hobbybounties.com
Tel: +65-6440 1890
Fax: +65-6344 1782
Mobile: +65-91152138
Owner: Mr Peter Chiang
Sales person: Mr Felix Lim