If this has been addressed I apologize, but with all the unrest I've been reading about in Hong Kong, I wonder if the hobby industry has been at all affected, as so many of the great manufacturers are either headquartered or have offices there. I do hope that everyone connected with our hobby there is safe and okay.

I am pretty sure, Bill, that actually you really hope that EVERYONE - in all "life" sectors over there in Hong Kong are safe - not just or specially so those folks involved in our hobby and its related businesses!

That said, I know nada about any apparent impacts on any kit or related makers... But I also assume that there are many kits in one or another pipeline and disruption could actually be happening at the companies in HK and just not yet showing up in disrupted kit supply. Lag time happens everywhere!

What we have been seeing - in the guise of police actions and such - is of course another of those manifestations of active government intolerance for popular expression that seem to occur more frequently in some lands then in others. It is hard to imagine that the strife and violence we have been seeing are somehow exclusive of some selected walks-of-life or business-affiliations. In other words; I fear that it is likely - even almost guaranteed - that some of the folks in various hobby kit-and materials-maker companies in HK would find themselves involved in or at least affected by the ongoing strife. So, it seems likely that there could be some impacts to HK-based operations.

I sincerely hope that EVERYONE over there stays out of harm and that this tempest settles down soonest in a peaceful way!

Cheers! Bob

Bob, I stand corrected! I certainly didn't mean to exclude anyone from well wishes.

Dear Bill,

Thanks for your consideration to us in HK.

The issue in HK is actually affect the retail shop in HK. The mail order operation has not been affected. The only minor impact is the importation from China to HK take maybe one to two days longer for inspection of goods content.

But the real impact is not the issued related to HK, mostly due to the China/US trade war, the economic in China is getting difficult, therefore, the restocking of back catalog is getting harder.

In view of this, we will release a new ordering system to avoid the long back ordering item due to harder and harder back catalog restock.

Regards
Raymond

I’d hazard a guess at saying that manufacturers may be headquartered in HK, and that the production of kits takes place within mainland China, therefore safe from any disruption.

Looking at planetfigure news, Jeff Shiu, who is based in HK, has produced a phenomenal number of figures*, a couple of dozen, in the last six months that the unrest has been going on.

Hong Kong is a large island, relatively, and not everyone is impacted by the protests. Which are largely disaffected students agitating for independence. But then, this risks becoming a thread on politics, not modelling.

*of superb quality, too, I might add

I know; this thing has been spilling over into other industries as well, such as film/TV and PC/console gaming.

ahhhhh nooooo what are all the COD airsoft fan boys going to do now?! Wait a minute, they’re the ones at the barricades!

Did that make you feel better, whatever it was?

The news certainly is not improving for Hong Kong: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12286131. It would appear that the protests have shifted from commercial areas to universities; and while reducing in number, increasing in intensity, which helps no one.

Dead link.....and it would seem from your last statement that you believe freedom is over-rated.

Gents, there is no easy answer to all this. The HK government has refused to show any flexibility on the demands of the protesters, who have also resorted to increasing violence. Carrie Lam needs to show some statesmanship, but I suspect her hands are tied by her bosses in Beijing. They seem to think that any moderation will encourage unrest in other areas like Muslim Xinjiang (where the NY Times reports huge gulags being established for "reeducation through labor").

I can certainly understand those who are against more violence, but I also respect the desire of Hong Kongers to retain what little political freedom they currently enjoy.

Just last night I was watching live streams on youtube of the riot on Nathan road (Not far from Continental Models). Tear gas, rubber bullets, molotov cocktails and finally minibuses. It hits me when I see these places I visit regularly in HK getting trashed.

I'm all for freedom not so much the violence.
Violence never ends well.

HKers stay safe!

Hello BunkerBuster,

I trust you’re well, not wanting to be presumptuous at all.

I did not reply to brekinapez’s post as I did not want this thread to become political in nature, or a flame war attacking fellow modellers… that said, I do feel the need to correct your assumption about me based off of a single post.

Having been to Hong Kong, and knowing several persons from there, there is a well-established community of air soft players (OK, maybe not so much Call of Duty players) who, in a demonstration of real resolve and fortitude, are at this moment fighting for rights I take for granted in my worker’s utopia; I applaud them for that. To say I “believe freedom is over-rated” is ill-informed and verges on the ignorant. I try to refrain from rash statements about fellow modellers here based on their posts as it is not helpful to the hobby, and there really isn’t sufficient information for an informed opinion.

To keep this modelling related, there is a figure out there, 1/16 scale, of a protester waving a flag, but I’ve not seen it for a long time. I don’t believe it could be used to depict the unrest in Hong Kong as the figure wears a puffer jacket. I’d buy a figure of a protester (there is a stone throwing figure in 1/35, representing a “Middle East person”), or a police officer in riot gear, complete with gas mask, shield, baton. Given the reduced likelihood of a “hot war” between major nation states, as opposed to regional actors, and the use of proxies, it could be argued that protesting on this scale, of this nature, may represent future conflicts. But that is academic here.

Bill, Bryan

Absolutely agree, there is no happy ending here. Whilst I respect the rule of law, it favours me. In Hong Kong, it is a wholly different scenario.

Best regards all,

Kylie

Hong Kong is a superbly organized society and state with a nation of very clever people, it shall not collapse easily.