Snapshots of H.E.C. Beijing (Hobby Expo China) (3 Viewers)

[King & Country]

Hi Guys,

Over the past week, myself and our 4 person team from K&C Hong Kong made our debut at H.E.C. Beijing (Hobby Expo China) the world’s largest scale model exhibition.

The three‑day event which ran daily from 9am to 10pm gathered more than a hundred exhibitors displaying of kinds and scales of model aircraft, military tanks and vehicles, diecast cars of every shape and style and also... some of our toy soldiers and fighting vehicles. This massive event, each day drew tens of thousands of miniature enthusiasts from all over China as well as a few from overseas.

Travelling from Hong Kong to Beijing, K&C presented a relatively limited series of some of our most popular dramatic displays featuring figures and fighting vehicles that tell our different stories of history in miniature. It was a lot of very hard work by all of us but also a great lot of fun and a wonderful opportunity to meet many of our K&C China collectors in person.

For those folks who could not attend, we are happy to share just a few of our many snapshots from the Expo. We are already eagerly looking forward and planning to attend H.E.C. in 2027!

All the very best,
Andy

 

[Horus]

Great photos Andy and good to see crowds of eager collectors.

 

[villagehorse]

A little taste of everything, sure to appeal and viewed by thousands. Robin.

 

[King & Country]

Thankyou Guys, what was also great to see at the Show were the ‘Age Demographics’ of our collectors… Guys primarily in their 20s, 30s and 40s with money to spend!
Several of our displays were sold out in their entirety including our Display Boards…Another advantage we had at the Show was that all of our K&C team ( excluding yours truly and my wife Liza) are fluent Mandarin speakers although their own native tongue is ‘Cantonese’.
I well remember the old ‘Chicago’ Shows and the ‘London’ ones too when they would attract maybe around 1500 visitors on the Saturday or Sunday…And I thought that was busy.
Well times change I suppose but I’m happy to say that at least in one part of the world our hobby is alive and well and…growing!
All the best,
Andy.

 

[NZGary]

And the fact that in one part of the world our treasured hobby is thriving can only be a good thing. I love how each diorama is only taking up a small amount of space. With a large collection of my own but with little space to display it your photos give some food for thought.

It might not only be in China where toy soldier collecting is flourishing. Look out for the next edition of Toy Soldier Collector magazine and an article on the toy soldier shop hidden away in rural Devon in Southwest England.

 

[sfarrelly]

well that has to be the best news for the hobby in a long time. great to see big crowds.
There is a 2hr+ video on youbube covering the entire show, link here;

ive put a couple of still photos from the video below to whet your appetite!

 

[Panzer ace]

Simply incredible.

 

[villagehorse]

Excellent, spotted K&C and War Park. Thanks, Robin.

 

[jazzeum]

That shows why China is a growth market. You have a large crowd who are mostly young. Contrast that with the west where the crowds are sparse and the attendees older.

That is the reason Michael Wang, for example, only sells in the China market. He can sell out his production with out having to worry about international shipping and breakage.

Another potential growth market could be India.

 

[King & Country]

Many thanks for your thoughts and comments Guys…Always good to read.

In the not-so-distant future India might possibly be potential market and I look forward to that day.

Presently however, K&C’s expanding Asian collector base, in addition to mainland China, is mainly coming from Hong Kong itself plus Singapore, Indonesia, The Philippines and , believe it or not, Vietnam (and guess which of our modern conflict series those guys buy?)
Other notable mentions are Thailand and Malaysia.

Asia as a whole has so much potential for growth and development that when you visit these countries you can see for yourself the rapid progress and incredible infrastructure projects of highways, airports, train and rail operations and so much more that would stagger many in the West.

In addition, high levels of general education, a very serious ‘work ethic’, strong ethnic cohesion all backed up by the basic family unit helps create stable societies that work for the majorities in the different countries. And that is helping to build a solid middle class with some disposable income that can travel around the world and in more than a few cases…discovers King & Country and our little toy soldiers!

All the best and, as ever, happy collecting.
Andy.

 

[OldDragon]

I am glad to hear that K&C Andy is realising the vast potential of China's market ... so perhaps we can see a revived Imperial China-3 Kingdoms line.

Bests
OD