ozspit

My work will take me to Shanghai next year and I was wondering if anyone knows where I can buy RC ARFs - particularly warbirds in that city. I figure most ARFs are built in China so they've gotta be cheaper in Shanghai! I'm not looking to import for resale, just pick up a model or two for myself which I can check in with my luggage. I might even spot something out of the ordinary.
Even if I can get US pricing it would be cheaper than we get in Australia.[:-]

forestroke

i only know places in hong kong though i do remember seeing one hobby shop in china selling basic electrics. hong kong is a great place to get this stuff though not as cheap as china...

ozspit

Unfortunately I wont get out of the airport in HK as it is a work trip. Nor will I get out of Shanghai. I was really hoping that Shanghai being a huge and very westernised city may have an RC Hobby shop somewhere. I did see some cheap electric toy store type foamies at the copy market last time I was there but I am really after built up 40 or 60 size ARFs like the CMPro gear.
Anyone have any suggestions?

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Do some searches on Google. I entered "Model Airplanes Shanghai" and got several hits including some directories of manufacturers and hobby shops.

Enjoy,

Jim

ozspit

I've had a look using google but nothing really comes up. There is a die cast model place and a few manufacturers come up but they are well out of Shanghai. I've sent an e-mail to CMPro to see if they have any retail outlets in Shanghai. I guess the hobby itself is not so popular in China even though they are building most of the ARFs these days!

forestroke

and that would be a product of the relative high price of the hobby in respect to their purchasing power of china, where they make a tenth of what one makes in the U.S. after paying for necessities, they have even less for hobbies. it's just a different world.

and those that can afford it are in the cities where finding a place to fly isn't that easy.

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

Disposable incomes in Shanghai are high for quite a few people. However, the issue of finding a place to fly is very real. The last time I was in Shanghai I searched for a good hobby shop, but none were to be found. I did come across one place on Nanjing road that had some CS and Thunder Tiger engines. After some lengthy discussions it was obvious that they were highly motivated to sell them, and that they would not be getting more. After some negotiation I left with several of the engines. Oh, and this is where I picked up the WM Aircombat Zero that I fly so often.

I do recall seeing a thread sometime in the last couple months that talked about another shop in Shanghai. Ozspit, when are you going to Shanghai and how long will you be there? Send me a PM, I may be able to give you some tips, it's sort of my second home.

orvel

My Feedback: (1)

You know there's got to be some serious purchasing power in Shanghai, I just spent a week there last month on a business trip and couldn't believe the thriving malls with the likes of Armani, Versace, Gucci, Louis Vittone, Movado, just to name a few--and people buying!

forestroke

i saw my first [bmw] rolls royce phantom on the road in china. imagine that.

ozspit

Chuck,
I sent a PM to you but I don't know whether it worked. I'll be in shanghai probably from Jan 16 til 28 but I'll be luckey if I get 4 hours to shop. Can you remember the address of the place you found the engines in the Nanjing road?

There certainly is plenty of money disposable income in Shanghai but not much outside. Flying would have to be between the thousands of construction cranes!

forestroke

good news! i was in hong kong this past weekend and dropped by waigo hobby and saw that they now have opened a store in shanghai!!!

i don't have a number or address for them in shanghai but you can contact them from this website:

www.waigohobby.com

good luck!

leaguemodel

we are model plane factory near Shanghai (100km), Welcome visit our factory. I'm fans too.
www.rcleague.com.cn

forestroke

oz - the link above shows two models that i've seen. the yak54 is very light weight and really made for 3D stuff even though it's not that great despite its very low wing loading. there have been a few elevator failures in taiwan. the elevator is removable with two screws on each side. the engine box is lightweight and really should be reinforced before mounting your engine. covering is nice and the cowl is pretty if a little light. i guess all in all very light building plane. i think they build for extreme flight.

the extra is a real looker and one that i continuously look at whenever possible. i love the color scheme and the twin ring motegi stickers are nice. given a car that could take that to the feild, i'd've bought one already. it flies pattern fine but i've never seen it fly 3D. in fact, i'm tempted to go now and buy it! but i have 12 NIB that i have yet to get around to.

they are both big birds so take good care in packing.

Roger Naef

RC in Shanghai is alive. Most people fly helicopters and there are some fields.

For the hobby shops:
There is Paradise RC Proshop at 570 Yan'an Xi Lu: They sell mainly helicopters (JR, Hirobo, TT), they are well equipped with engines (OS, YS, various car engines), they have radios and related equipment (mainly Futaba and JR). For the prices... well, slightly cheaper than in Switzerland (where I am from). Paradise is going to open their own flying field soon, close to the F1 track oustide of Shanghai.
As mentioned earlier, there is also Waigo Hobby Shop, located at the Hongkou Football Stadium. They sell Hirobo Helicopters, Futaba RC equipment and OS engines.
There are a few more small shops, but you have to be very lucky to find what you want and you have to be a tough negotiator.

"In China everything is possible, nothing is easy." This statement is certainly true for RC in China.[8D]
But we do have a lot of fun here!!! [sm=biggrin.gif]

ozspit

Thanks everyone for responding. I'm not sure how I'll go haggling but I'll let you know how it goes.

forestroke

both the yak and the extra should go for no more than 1500 rmb. i got a cmp yak 140 and a CEII for 1000-1200rmb and that was in hong kong.

FilipSt

Do you know any RC shops in Beijing? I want to buy an electric RC helicopter (my first one) and I will be in Beijing for 2 weeks. Can anyone give me some information?

PaulNaz

There is a toy market behind the Hongqiao Pearl Market. If you face the main entrance of the Pearl Market there is an alley on the right side of the building. Take this alley to go behind the Pearl Market and the toy market will be right behind the building. Many vendors in there. Some have electric R/C aircraft and helicopters. The best quality helicopter I saw there is advertised as 3D. They will ask about 1200 - 1300 yuan for it with 6 channel radio. You should be able to bargain down to less than 800. Start low and work up to around 800.

SteveR1960

I know this is an old thread, but in case someone searches for this topic I have created a page about the Shanghai Hobby Shops:

[link=http://vintagedow.com/rcforum/viewtopic.php?p=113]Shanghai Hobby Shops[/link]


Steve
[link=http://www.vintagedow.com/rcstuff/]My RC Stuff[/link]

tonye5797

Does anybody have any recent information on hobby shops in Shanghai? or close to

herrmill

Waigo & YiFeng are the best bets in SHA. You'll find some small storefronts selling a few buggies & plans but these are the largest. If you're passing through or living in Hangzhou, visit MaxHobby which is on par with Waigo. You'll find addresses for all along with some photos in our club page [link=http://groups.google.com/group/west-lake-irregulars]West Lake Irregulars[/link]

Chuck

megatel

Do you know any RC shops in shenzhen? there are many[link=http://www.chinesehobby.com] electric RC hobby shop [/link] and factory in there . Does anybody the interesting for the information on hobby shops in shenzhen?

barchiola

My Feedback: (6)

i'm heading to shanghai tomorrow morning, are there any shops that sell airplane arfs or are helicopters the only thing available still?
i might like to bring home a 50cc sized arf.
thanks,
bart

lellky

Hi!

I found this thread yesterday morning when I wanted to go window-shopping for helicopters.

Shanghai is not very cheap compared to Sweden (or Europe). But some items are. A T-rex 250 SE super combo is 2400rmb here, and in Sweden approx 3700rmb.

So on january the 9th 2011 I found theese shops (sometimes you find things on google but in reality the are not there):

-Waigo model hobbies as mentioned above. They are located at
上海巿東江灣路444號虹口足球�*�四區10 5, 107, 112
105,107,112, Hong Kou Football Stadium, 444 Dong Jiang Wan Road, Shanghai
http://www.waigohobby.com/
They mostly have Tamiya cars and some bigger helicopters. War helicopters. Models, paint and spare parts for tamiya products.

-SkyHobby
地址: 上海市虹口区新同心路262号-280号(上海雷虎模型店) 021-66302901
http://www.skyhobby.com.cn/
All ThunderTiger products. Realflight simulators you can try. Submarines, 3D helicopters, ariplanes and spareparts for thoose products. Really helpful staff. One of the staff showed me he was in a hobby magazine after building a big airplane in a conest. The plane won, it could carry 15kg of water bombs. This hobby is huge in China.

-GaoAn Model (cant find it on google)
Same adress as ShyHobby, they are wall-to-wall.
T-rex helicopters all sizes, spare parts, many other helicopters, some cars, big airplanes. Ducted fans.

Behind the skyhobby buildning is a track for model cars.

Hope this helps someone.

Edit: gliders as carbon fibre dlg's is hard to find. On the chinese "ebay" taobao.com there are millions of items and also some dlg's. For example there is a dlg with wooden wing and glass fibre canopy for 360rmb, but a deluxe model such as the Binary III is approx 2200rmb. There must be somewhere to find very cheap arf's for beginners dlg's?!?