Tamiya Singapore: Interview with Ngo Wei Xiang, a hobby shop entrepreneur from Singapore (Part 1)

2. At lukirmart, we recently observed a surge in the sales of tamiya and related products in singapore as per the data and information we received from various Singapore hobby shops. Wondering about the current trend and future of tamiya in Singapore, we thought what better there could be than to get the details right from the horse’s mouth. We therefore have interviewed one of the famous hobby sellers in Singapore, Ngo Wei Xiang, who owns a famous Singapore hobby shop that sells various hobby products such as gundam and gunpla kits, playstation and xbox accessories, various games as well as tamiya products.

3. LM introduce yourself to our amazing audience. N Ng go o: : Thank you for having me. I am Ngo Wei Xiang, a hobby shop seller. My company is called h ho obb which is aimed to bring hobby products to all the hobby fans in Singapore. Personally, I am one of the gunpla world cup builder finalists who were selected for custom kit builder in 2016. One of the areas I’ve got expertise is in advising customers how to customize kits and how to go about building them. We started by selling Bandai Gundam products in Singapore but have since expanded into Tamiya and other brand kits and accessories. LM: : Hey Ngo Wei Xiang! Warm welcome to Lukirmart! Please bbyw yworlds orldsg g

4. LM that you’ve been a hobby enthusiast yourself, what do you think about trend of tamiya and other hobby products in singapore? Ng that so many young adults are taking interest in building as well as customizing model kits and the trend has risen more than it might ever been. One reason of this increased interest is the evolution that is being continuously made by Bandai and other brands. Currently available model kits have unique and extremely captivating designs that attracts builder’s eyes and minds. LM: : Thanks. That was a great introduction. Considering Ngo o: : Being in the industry from a few years now, I found

5. LM and is continuing to evolve. As you mentioned building a kit and customizing as two separate verticals, can you tell a quick difference between both and tell which one do you think people are taking more interest? Ng it has it’s own difficulty. Professionals take up to 4 hours to build a normal kit and this can take several hours for others. There are definitely efforts and skilled required which must be learnt or practiced. Customizing kits is entirely different. This is relatively easier than building kits but still requires skills and practice. using accessories products such as nippers, cutters, sanding sticks, airbrush, Paint, sprays and much more. LM: : Indeed the model kits have really come a long way Ngo o: : Building model kits is an interest of so many, but One can customize the kits by

6. LM name has different product lines, Which are some of the top selling categories/segments for tamiya in singapore? Ng kits to their accompanied accessories. Currently we do not bring in kits but we are working on expanding on those products and shall be providing those as well soon. Before explaining the products that Tamiya has, I will elaborate various products with pictures. One paint brand we have is called the Gaia notes. The brand sells Lacquer paint which is a high quality paint – why is it high quality? The paint can be used for airbrush (spray to color model kits in a faster drying and color is well done on the kits) Gaia notes colors look better than normal paint LM: : Very well explained. Since tamiya, under it’s Ngo o: : Tamiya has many products ranged from model

8. However, Tamiya paints are second to none: It sells the 2nd type of paint called acrylic paint – the smell of the paint is not that strong on the kits. The paint is also easier to use. Although it is a better type of painting paint, the paint can only be used to paint on plastic kits (E.g Mr Hobby acrylic paints). However, some tamiya paint can’t be used on gundam kits. See pictures below for more examples:

10. Tamiya also sells a 3rd type of paint called enamel paint Brand: Tamiya and Mr Hobby Mostly Mr hobby marker (aka Gundam Marker) and tamiya bottle for drawing lines (also known as Tamiya panel accent) See below for more photos:

11. Enamel paint can be used to draw lines and it is mainly used to outline the model kits. LM: Wow. You’re giving really valuable information and we’re sure that the audience of lukirmart is loving to know some of the popular products right from the shop owner. We would definitely love to know more about the products as well as what tamiya products are demanded more in Singapore as per your experience.

12. More information visit this link: http://lukirmart.com/tamiya-singapore- interview-ngo-wei-xiang-hobby-shop- entrepreneur-singapore-part-1/