That is really cool! I'll be looking forward to your updates!

hogfanfs

That is really cool! I'll be looking forward to your updates!

 

Sounds great.

Jim  

lonemoose

Fellow SMs (that's Scale Modelers...NOT Sado Masochists - although they seem very similar at times...)

I think we have all wondered, at one time or another, if Chinese scale model shops are filled with weird, plastic nerds like us. I intend to find out!

Today i drive south to one of my nephews' home in Massachusetts. I'll leave the wheels there and get dropped off at Logan International tomorrow...

Sib

 

so, until tomorrow... Keep your hatchet scoured!

Meanwhile, here's pics of my modeling space...

sibs

I'm sure you'll find something over there. After all, new model companies are sprouting up in China like weeds it seems lately. Somebody there has to be buying the stuff to allow that to happen. We are lucky to get a new model company in this part of the world once in a decade or so.

On a side note, we have a fellow here who is in the local AMPS & IPMS chapters who is of Chinese heritage, and a businessman who runs back and forth between here and there. He comes back from his trips like Santa Claus with bags full of goodies of the latest releases that he finds there to sell to us less fortunate souls. I suspect that you will have a similar good time there.

Enjoy!

stikpusher

I'm sure you'll find something over there. After all, new model companies are sprouting up in China like weeds it seems lately. Somebody there has to be buying the stuff to allow that to happen. We are lucky to get a new model company in this part of the world once in a decade or so.

On a side note, we have a fellow here who is in the local AMPS & IPMS chapters who is of Chinese heritage, and a businessman who runs back and forth between here and there. He comes back from his trips like Santa Claus with bags full of goodies of the latest releases that he finds there to sell to us less fortunate souls. I suspect that you will have a similar good time there.

Enjoy!

 

and i am also hoping to be coming back like Santa Claus - loaded with the goodies!

sibbles

I can't remember if he does work out of Shanghai or Hong Kong. I'll see if I can get in touch with him by email. My schedule has rotated and I won't see him at meetings again for three months when my days off rotate again. When do you leave? 

stikpusher

I can't remember if he does work out of Shanghai or Hong Kong. I'll see if I can get in touch with him by email. My schedule has rotated and I won't see him at meetings again for three months when my days off rotate again. When do you leave? 

 

sib

Hey FSM Forum! Sibz here – or rather – not here, but there. In Shenzhen City - China, People’s Republic of… had a good trip from Maine to Boston to Shanghai to Guangzhou. No doubt due in part to my lucky travel socks. My wife met me in Guangzhou and then we took the train back to Shenzhen where her sister lives. It is early Sunday morning here in Guangdong Province (what we know more familiarly as Canton). We are in southwestern China and the South China Sea is very close. Shenzhen is separated from Honk Hong by a small strait and the bridge between is very busy.  

So the journey started on Tuesday morning on a bus bound for Boston. I met the wife at noon on Thursday. Seems like it was pretty short right? But you actually lose a day when you head West across the International Dateline. It is more descriptive of reality to say I started Tuesday morning and got here noon on Friday. But technically, I never existed on Wednesday, January 27^th, 2016. During the entire trip, I was never anywhere on Wednesday. I disappeared for a day. J Anywho, it’s a long trip! The jet lag is pretty much gone though. When heading east, it is much worse. At least for me it is…

The bus ride to Logan was great. Glad I didn’t drive. Nice new coach, great seats, not too many people. The bus had WiFi so I was able to stay connected. Read some FSM forum, left some replies. Also, I had downloaded a bunch of modeling magazine apps from the Google Play Store for my Samsung Galaxy a few days before, and was checking them out. PocketMags is the sw system that some cool scale modeling magazine apps ride on. Maybe FSM uses pocket mags too? Don’t know since I get the paper version and not the digital. But the less expensive e-versions of some other magazines are very cool. If you search Google PlayStore or iTunes for these titles you can try them out. They include a free trial period - but watch-out! If you don’t cancel them after you read the trial issues they will start charging you. I think Tamiya ‘Model Magazine International’ and AirFix ‘Model World’ were the best overall eMagazines. But there is also; ‘The Weathering Magazine’, AFV Modeller’, ‘Scale Military Modeller International’, ‘Scale Aviation Modeller International’, ‘Military Modelling Magazine’, ‘Model Military International’, ‘Scale Model Addict Magazine’, ‘Model Airplane International’, and finally ‘Model Aircraft’. (One of these emags is from Spain! Cool!)

When you get the free trial issue (or partial issue) of one of these, it downloads to your phone, so it is with you all the time, even without an internet connection. Just like that, you can have a bunch of great model reading on a long trip to China and not have to bring a stack of magazines. I recommend that you try it out. Oh, and don’t wait until you get to China to download them – Google Play Store is inaccessible here.  ‘Cause China no likey Google and no Google website or Google app on your phone is going to be able to access China’s Internetz. J After trying out the various model mags, I recommend downloading and keeping the PocketMags app on your phone. It will maintain a library of all the free trial issues you got from your model mag scouting, and you can search the universe of PocketMags titles about anything and everything. It’s like the magazine section of a bookstore. But more selection.  Pretty cool. I had never seen PocketMags before since my current phone is the only one I have ever had that is ‘smart’ enough to easily handle apps.

Also, Italeri has a really cool live-interactive magic box reader for some of their products. It works like this; you’re at the model shop, you see an Italeri kit that is on Italeri’s list of supported kits (the list is in the app on your phone) and you use your Italeri app to scan the box-code (not the bar code, but the funky digital 1in x 1in black and white square). Then your screen goes live active with additional data about the kit in a way that is like an interactive video/audio ad! I thought it was pretty cool. (To try it out, download it and show it a supported Italeri kit box-code on your computer screen. Works just as if you were in a shop zapping the box on a real kit in front of you.)

OK – here’s some pics from Boston/Logan. Especially Terminal E, the international terminal…

For some reason, this sign made me think of my ex-mother-in-law…

The Mrs. And I are staying at an apartment that her former employer let us use. She used to be a BD and Sales Manager for a company that makes and cuts sapphire products for all kinds of different devices… After Mrs. Sibley put on the new pajamas i brought for her, we called it a night…That’s it for right now. Next installment is; Hainan Airlines, in-flight meals, rules for in-flight farting, people from Rhode Island, vegetarian meals, phones must remain off, 2 screaming babies, Shanghai…

Sibs

Hey Sibs,

Great photos and narrative of your trip so far. You were kinda like Jason Bourne Wednesday 1/27/2016 totally off the grid. Hopefully you'll get to hit all the "plastic shops" you want went you get into Shanghai. Look forward to your next installment, and have a safe and fun trip.

Hunter

P.S. - What are those white things next to your wife while she is drying her hair??

Hey Hunter - the display cases next to the Mrs hold some manufactured sapphire in various configurations. the company (where she used to work) apartment we stayed at in Shenzhen doubles as a satellite office. her former employer makes and custom cuts sapphires for a variety of devices and applications. there's 2 bedrooms upstairs, 3/4 bath etc. for free! :-) and the office was unused while we were there due to lunar new year holiday. most companies and self employed peeps take many days off...

sibs

at the end of this post is an excerpted message i sent to lostagain - it summarizes a bit about how the plastic side of this China trip is going. overall i am happy with how it's been so far. but, until today i did not have access to a computer besides my super-duper smartphone. trying to create updated narrative on the mobile phone has left me with a severe case of texterus thumbitis - this, and a tendency to hit the wrong buttons causing deletion of an hour of writing, has brought on a very severe case of eff-it. and, i am ready to kill Photobucket. i am going to switch to hosting my own pics.

i look forward to being able to daily use this laptop and the wi-fi here at the family house to catch up with the story updates from behind the Bamboo Curtain.

Message from me to lostagain after he replied to me about not having luck finding plastic shops in Shanghai...

thanks for getting back to me! i had a long layover in Shanghai on this trip (usually go through Peking) and like you - found nada. even though some very nice folks at Pudang airort tried hard to help me find one. After i arrived in Guangzhou i met the wife and we went straight away to Shenzhen for just a few days - so no searching there... we then went to Enping - wife's home city - for New Year holidays. while i have been here in the small city of Enping i have had some fun and success in 'treasure hunting' among the small shops and stalls of the various neighborhoods. got some interesting plastic and i was actually very surprised - and pleased! - to find any plastic here.

now, i have a line on a plastic shop in Guangzhou - where i will fly out of on the 16th... we are going a day early to go shopping and just have a walk around Guangzhou. i hope to find 1 or 2 shps there. full details and tales re the China trip will be found at http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/general_discussion/f/50/t/169625.aspx

from Guangdong Province,

'Sibbers Old Horse!'

Sibz - 

So far it sounds like your having a great time and you are better than me to attempt to do any typing on your smart phone . I hope you get to see some serious plastic. That would be horrible if you didn't get to pick up a trunk load of models before coming home. Be safe and enjoy.

Hunter

Hey Sibz, glad to hear your vacation is going so well! Very cool photos though if you get Photobucket to cooperate again I'd love to see some more of China. 

And btw I'd be afraid to take any modeling tools on a plane anymore. With terrorists using box cutters a hobby knife isn't much smaller and with the ban of liquid substances I'm not sure plastic cement would fly. There's a talk show host a few years ago who talked about trying to bring a snow globe back from New Zealand to the States and was told he's have to drain it because they were afraid someone could dump the water and fill it with liquid explosive. Which started the host on a hilarious rant about 'stepping into the water-closet/restroom to 'weaponize' my snow globe'... 

This a a fun thread!

Thanks for sharing your adventures and please keep it coming. Happy New Year! (and a belated welcome to the forum)

Have a fun, safe trip!

Mike

gamera - i have a LOT of cool everyday scene pics of my visit. and i will definitely finish a charming, snarky, and complete travelog for my plastic peeps. it may not be finished until after i am back in Maine - GRRRR!!! - but i enjoy doing it, so, it will get done...

Lol, cool! Thanks! 

Forget the plastic - where do I go to get me a Chinese wife?

Seriously though - have you had any issues getting her a VISA or whatever forms the State Dept requires for her to come to the US?

hey Sooner - lol re the Mrs. :-) i didn't go anywhere to get her - at least at first. we actually met on the internet a few years ago. she and i were both members of a foreign language website, like penpals. i am learning Mandarin Chinese and so we would write and Skype. She in English, me in Chinese. After about 3 months it was pretty obvious we weren't just friends. :-) and i went to visit her and her family. later, the visa was no trouble at all. the state department wants to be sure it isn't some sort of business transaction (get her a visa, she pays me money). but with years together and many trips to China they could see it was legit. also, the two of you must not have any serious criminal record. the only other thing they make sure of is that you have a certain level of wealth - cash, income, and/or property. they do not generally support granting visas to couples that will have to be immediately access public benefits. makes sense. anyway, the 'fiancee' visa is a K1 and takes 3 to 6 months to complete processing. then it's good for 4 months. you have to be married within 90 days of your spouses arrival in the states.

SibsInChina

Thanks Sibs, that's interesting. I assumed at first you meant she was Chinese American and then was wondering how you met but was afraid to ask. 

I've flirted with a few waitresses in Chinese resturants but it never went anywhere. Sooner, try using chopsticks and asking a cute waitress if she can help you with them- it's a great conversation starter. Even better pick up a set of nice chopsticks like a pair of metal Korean ones and bring and use them, I've had several pretty waitresses ask me about my 'special chopsticks'. 

https://trendkorean.com/prestashop/en/search?tag=Chopsticks

i think the best way to charm an Asian or Asian-American woman is the same as any other. which is to say, no 2 women are ever the same - whatever their ethnicity. each one is completely different. lol! if you live in a place where there are few asians, i could see that the unique beauty of the woman at the local asian restaurant may compel you to try the 'special chopsticks'. but really, they are just like any other woman. years ago, i met my korean gf in a Psych class at San Jose state university. i dated a Vietnamese girl for a while, met her at a dance club in San Jose. i worked with a Pinay girl and we dated a few times. also in northern California. and no - i do not have 'yellow fever'. lol! most of my gf's an women i dated were not asian or asian-american.

all this said, i would be lying if i did not say that there are many asian women in china and elsewhere that are very interested in meeting an american man for a serious relationship. i can't recommend one way of meeting someone over another, but love and relationship missions all have the same risks - and rewards - no matter the operational details.

happy valentine's day!

sibbles

Hey there! Still in China and in Guangzhou now. Fly to Shanghai this afternoon and Boston tomorrow. Finally found a real model shop yesterday and looked to buy a Nate for the Japan GB but only found 2 'double sets' and all 1:72. No worries though. Going back to the shop this morning and if they don't have a solo Nate and/or 1:48 then I will take it as a sign from the plastic gods to buy my first ship kit. I look forward to relaying my China travelogue and plastic adventures in the Far east to you all. Probably as a series of installments after I am back in Maine. The thing is,  I thought I "wanted" a certain kind of plastic experience here in China, but what I got was instead better and what I "needed" - if you follow my meaning. .. Had a great Valentine's day with the mrs and I will keep you posted. 

Sibbers

(This post was,  "Made in China", under license by Lone Moose Media.)

Hello my peoples! i am back in Maine! got in yesterday morning at about 0200. i am jet lagged to no end. but after some sleep will put in my first travelog entry - going all the way back to the afternoon of Tuesday, January 26th. I have already checked in with you that morning, but in the afternoon i boarded a jet for Shanghai... looking forward to taking you through the days. BTW, in case anyone is interested, trying to keep a DAILY travelog is a horrible idea! and impossible in my case! lol! but with my notes, pics, receipts, and other ephemera - it is better to write a daily account AFTER the trip is over... (IMHO)...

I came back with a total of 13 models of various types, sizes, materials and skill levels...

TTYL! 

...entering sleep mode...

sibbles

Glad to hear you guys are back home safe. 

And now yes GET SOME SLEEP!!!  

Looking forward to the daily rundown. I've been curious about the state of our hobby in China for some time now.

Last time my partner/fiance (also Chinese) returned from China her jet lag lasted a few weeks (which is usually not the case). Hope yours doesn't.

Just beware those orcs of the TSA tribe little Hobbit... 

Looking forward to more of your travelogue. 

Gamera

Just beware those orcs of the TSA tribe little Hobbit... 

Looking forward to more of your travelogue. 

 

 

hey Gamera  - i only lost one very cool butane lighter to Chinese screeners on the way back here. On the way there, i had a Zippo (for my father in law, a used one i had in the Army, he was a PLA infantryman) in my checked back which set off the screening device. fortunately the luggage inspection officer was lenient and let me keep it. i think it helped that i was able to tell her it was my father-in-law's christmas present! the bag was full of christmas gifts so i think she got caught up in the spirit of the season!

von Sibstofen