Hello dear LaLDers, old and new, I’m Xin from Singapore and have been contributing to this wonderful community on and off for almost four years. Today is Singapore’s inaugural Diecast Expo, a key event I dare not miss. Through my lens, I hope to bring you with me on this visit.
Collecting diecast cars is certainly not a new hobby on this island, without a doubt an event like this is welcomed by collectors and the proof is in the crowd. Better late than never. The expo is held at the National Design Centre, vendors carrying major brands such as Hot Wheels, Tomica, Greenlight, and Tarmac Works showcasing and selling their wares on different booths. There were third party custom parts and event limited diecast cars to mix things up.
I stopped by early afternoon and most of the event limited pieces were sold out but did not stop me from trying to drain up my wallet enjoying the atmosphere. It’s nice to be surrounded by people who share the same hobby as you. Although the venue wasn’t packed, people huddled around the booths and transactions were happening rapidly; it was quite a challenge to capture everything behind the camera. The last thing I want to do is to drive sales away.
Being in South East Asia, the common theme among the vendors are Asian and Euro vehicles. While Greenlight 1:64s are up for grabs, what I was really looking for – Auto World – was hugely absent. Quite simply, aside for the odd muscle car fan, the brand would not fare well in the market here. That’s what HWEP are for, right? It should be a relatively small challenge for me to amass the hugest Auto World collection in Singapore, huh? (laughs)
I certainly enjoyed my time there. May the next Singapore Diecast Expo be bigger and hopefully more official presence from different brands.