Model Train Store in China

Many hobby shops in Asia outside of Japan would be viewed as expensive.  Usually its full list.  From that Bachmannchina web site this link popped up.  Translating it with Google I find it sells only damaged goods. Scary stuff. 

Most of the stuff in China is probably HO or N.

Chip,

I've often thought about the same thing. While Bill Robb's point is well understood. My question is about the tastes of the Chinese toy train consumer remains somewhat unanswered. I know that we have a forum member on mainland China. Hopefully he will chime in when the time difference catches him awake.

God Bless,

"Pappy"

My Brother used to travel to China for business 2-3 times a year. He always spoke of finding cheep factory knock-offs of goods made in factories there. Usually a secret run, off the books, that you could buy on the street for pennies on the dollars.

Tired of Rolex watches and handbags I asked him to look for model trains. He tried but any time he mentioned that he would get puzzled looks like they had no clue. So I never got my Knock off MTH premier locomotive. Darn it. Just another Rolex.

When you open the front door to the store, the handle comes off in your hand and the door hinges crumble.  

Well, if I were Chinese, and read some of the comments made here, I would never join

in (see post above per a Chinese member). Also, without them (and the Koreans), we would be swooning over the latest - and five-hundredth - re-issue of the PW lionel Berkshire...ZZZZZZ...

OK, I wouldn't. I wouldn't be on here. 

Does that mean all the stock in a hobby shop there has stickers underneath saying: MADE HERE?

Interesting.  I've never see one when there.  Probably won't be back, but it would be fun to look at one if i ever am. 

Reminds me of a story I saw in print a long time ago (don't know if it was true) about how the Chinese address quality control. Seems that one of the most precious possessions (back then) that you could have in rural China was a refrigerator. Some families worked and saved most of their lives to get one. In response to a rash of complaints about refrigerators that broke and stopped working right after purchase the government found that the regional plant manager and foreman were taking kickbacks and building the units with sub standard parts. The two were tried and convicted and subsequently marched out and shot in public. Refrigerator quality improved.

This web store, makes for some interesting reading and photos.

  Click screen shot to enlarge.

I couldn't find the hobby shop I was looking for this morning.  It's Lee Kwon in Hong Kong. There stuff is mostly HO, with Bachmann (Chinese prototypes), China Model Railway and other stuff, mostly European but with a single Atlas engine and an empty MTH tab. Not even any Kato, Tomix, Micro Ace or other Japanese brands. Prices in Hong Kong are sky high and people who have lived there say it is cheaper to buy on eBay and pay shipping.

I found this hobby shop on JNS, a Japanese model train forum. In some cases these dealers go on shopping trips to places like Japan (N gauge) or Europe and bring their stock back with them much like Americans used to do with Japanese model trains before the internet.

I've heard of Lee Kwon, but never had the chance to shop there. I think they do sell via eBay too.

There was one vendor at a train show I attended who had the Bachmann China CNR high speed train for sale in HO, and from what I saw I was very impressed. I'd love the opportunity to see more of the line up close.

-John

My hometown in Florida had a fighter training field at the municipal airport (now abandoned since the 60s) which trained Chinese pilots. At one point I was doing research on a book on that field and I'd found that when a pilot had problems with a plane, they'd never bail out. Most of them were - for lack of a better term- peasants who'd never had anything in life other than the clothes on their back and maybe one plow or machine to work on for their entire life. The idea of jumping out of an airplane and leaving it to crash to folks like that was downright insane. They'd always try to get the plane on the ground no matter what was going on. So, accordingly, their death rate as student fighter pilots was quite higher than any other groups who came through there to fly the P-39s, P-40s and later on, P-51s...

Thanks for the link. I've wanted to buy a Chinese QJ (2-10-2) and/or a Chinese SY (2-8-2) class locomotives for display. I've always liked the looks of them. 

The Bachmann Chinese locomotives are beautiful. I purchased the model of the NYS&W 142. It's one of the most detailed steam models I've ever seen in any scale.

Bob