The news of Hobby Shops closing down or just up and left has become more common in the last few years. News that I do not care for much since it does not affect me in where I live although I secretly wished I was there at their Sales. But news about the 50-year old Stevens International is they type of news that makes you jolt upright, even if you’re already at that position. When I was a regular at HobbyHQ (then Area88, now Lucky Models) the then ‘Proprietor’ Mr. Low would asks if there is any additional models we would like to request when he puts his orders in. And indirectly, this is how some of us got our ‘Western’ model kits such as AMT/ERTL’s Star Trek and MPC’s Star Wars.
He would look up the model in question and calculates the estimated price, which I will agree because the alternative would be not having one in your hands when everyone else does. He would search alternative places for these models but ultimately, goes back Stevens International, as it was the only place to get them. Even if they enforce the shop with weird shipping policies and insurance rates. With the Sci-Fi genre being a little more mysterious than armour or planes, he would rely on us to gauge how well these would be selling. Sometimes it is a hit and miss with the best being the reimagined Battlestar Galactica’s MkII Vipers selling out within 30 minutes!
So, with Stevens International Closing the MegaHobby.com closing, there would be a big impact to the Scale Modeling Industry. After sitting upright, I felt like having a cup of coffee which in all sense of not making any, did not help at all. I took a look at my stash and then realising not only do I need several lifetimes to complete them, I am actually glad Stevens International is no more. Living in Malaysia, I am glad we’re close to Japan and that’s how we get to know Bandai for their Gundams and high quality Star Wars models and we also have Hasegawa, Nitto, Wave, Aoshima, Max Factory, Belfine, Takara. For armour, we have the Japanese Tamiya for a start, followed by the Korean Academy, then Taiwan’s AFV Club. And that’s not all, we also have Amusing Hobby, Trumpeter, MENG, RFM and the list goes on, with new ones popping up every now and then. And there are NO TARRIFFS.
The only Brands in the West would be AMT, Moebius (oops, I mean, the awesome Pegasus Hobbies) MPC, Round2, Polar Lights and Revell Germany. I would like to give my support but with the shipping charges that usually costs more than the model itself, I can do with not having any since everyone was born with only two kidneys. The time has passed and it’s time to move on. So, Thanks for Nothing.
