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This happened recently in one of the hobby shops here (Singapore). A guy loitered around some kits before taking one of them and sneaked out of the entrance.

The owner of this shop is a really great guy and it's sad to see someone abuse his trust like that.

Edited by White Wolf
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May he develop a huge sensitivity to all plastics and solvents. Rashes, hives, and extreme swelling of his hands and face (but his manhood suffers the opposite effect)

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Sorry to hear this. The thief knew what he was looking for and targeted a specific kit. This wasn't some random walk in looking to steal something for kicks. He's a modeler or at least knows a modeler who wanted that kit. The store owner should send the video link to any local clubs along with information regarding the kit. Something tells me someone will recognize the criminal.

I'd like to think modelers the World over are an honest and fair community (for the most part t least). I really hope if someone out there knows this thief that they out him. Can't have people like that fouling up our hobby.

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Well, you can't see much of the shop, but one thing is very clear. The layout is terrible. The stacks are so high that there is no way to see what is happening in that aisle.And that door just begs to be a quick exit. Yeah, they have video cameras, but you can see what help that was. All it provided was proof they got hit.

Any retail store that does not consider security in its layout will quickly discover that the theft level is high and getting higher.

This in no way excuses the thieves. But why make it easy for them?

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Well, you can't see much of the shop, but one thing is very clear. The layout is terrible. The stacks are so high that there is no way to see what is happening in that aisle.And that door just begs to be a quick exit. Yeah, they have video cameras, but you can see what help that was. All it provided was proof they got hit.

Any retail store that does not consider security in its layout will quickly discover that the theft level is high and getting higher.

This in no way excuses the thieves. But why make it easy for them?

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The store owner should send the video link to any local clubs along with information regarding the kit. Something tells me someone will recognize the criminal.

He should send it to other stores as well, since some modellers will go to more than one.

That said, this can also be a very solitary hobby, so he may have zero contact with any club whatsoever.

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Well, you can't see much of the shop, but one thing is very clear. The layout is terrible. The stacks are so high that there is no way to see what is happening in that aisle.And that door just begs to be a quick exit. Yeah, they have video cameras, but you can see what help that was. All it provided was proof they got hit.

Any retail store that does not consider security in its layout will quickly discover that the theft level is high and getting higher.

This in no way excuses the thieves. But why make it easy for them?

Ah yes good ole victim blaming. Alive and well I see.

I have a friend who shops here and he says the counter is across from the doors on the opposite wall. The retail space is a little small so the high stacks are a necessity for the shop to stock all that they want to. Sure, I agree that ideally you'd want the register at the door area to help prevent this, but the reality is retail space is limited, and sometimes your options are just to work with what you have, or not have anything. But whatever, keep your pitchfork sharpened.

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Utterly sickening. That guy is a low life who can't figure out that when he steals he is not only stealing from the shopowner and his family who depends on his income to put food on the table but he's stealing from the rest of us. I'm quite friendly with the few local hobbyshop owners in my area and am alway appauled to hear about thieft at their stores. When this happens you'll see prices increase to cover cost of either or both more staff or more security.

The worst case scenario is the closure of the shop which is what happened to one shop owner, a good friend of mine, who was kind enough to sell loyal customers items on consignment. He allowed me to do this so I could build up funds to get some of the latest tooled stuff that he 'd order in for me. It was more digusting when these five finger discount shoppers even stole consigment items, even my stuff, which started happening too many times. He finally stopped selling kits after some of his resin stuff where going missing. I sympathized with him but could understand why he eventually turned the store space over to his wife who turned it into a women's clothing store.

I hope that the kit that thief stole is missing an important sprue or a brick the size of that kit fall on his head. Boy, I hope some bad karma is going to kick him in the arse for it.

BTW, is that the shop owner or just other customers who were in the isle with him moments before he moved the kit to the stack just before the enterance / exit?

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jinmmydel,

It is not victim blaming at all. I owned two hobby shops and worked in a third over the years. It is called taking care of business. Theft is a foregone conclusion in almost any business. Store floor plan and traffic control is a basic part of your business. If you start looking at most successful retail stores you will find that there are few places in the store that are not in direct sight from where the staff usually works. And you also usually have to pass by the front counter to get out of the store. And if you notice most retail items of even marginal value now come with a electronic tag that will beep if it is taken past the exit without being deactivated by the cashier.

I have no experience with far eastern shops, but if you have a theft friendly shop, I am pretty sure you are will attract a lot of friendly thieves.Shoplifting is apparently a very popular international sport. And there are some darn good ones out there. If you don't think about it every day and take all the precautions to try to control it you/we going to have to pay the cost of the lost goods.

I cannot see any more than what is in that video of course, but those "blind" shelf heights, and an unmanned open side door are about the same as posting a big "Thieves welcome" sign. Yeah, I guess the shop owner is indeed the victim, but as far as I am concerned, it is a self inflicted wound.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looks like the same guy to me. Sad the owner didn't have the authorities handy as I doubt that guy will be dumb enough to go back to the hobby store after being confronted. Then again he is a thief so who knows?

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Let me tell you of my local shop here in the UK, AJ Aviation (formerly The Aviation Hobby Shop). Last year I went in and there was a pile of about 10 kits behind the till. Speaking to the owners, I found out all these had been opened by 'customers' and items such as photoetch, decals or canopies removed. The shop only found out when kits were bought back to them as being incomplete. So now all boxes are taped shut before going on the shelves. Want to look in a kit? TYake it to the till and ask.

Also price labels are taped down after some 'customers' tried swapping the labels around to get themselves a bargain.

So now we have sealed boxes with taped down price labels and a polite request for all bags to be left at the till, along with certain former 'customers' now banned from entry. This is not a big chain operation who accept some theft as something that happens and budget for it but a family owned business for whom every penny counts.

It occured to me that the only people who would take decals, photoetch or canopies from kits are modellers so regrettably we as a community have thieves in our midst.As always, a minority spoil things for the majority.

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...As always, a minority spoil things for the majority.

Isn't that the truth! As I posted in an earlier comment its been my experience that most modelers are honest folks, wiling to help out a fellow modeler if needs be, and know how hard it can be for smaller hobby shops to make a go of it in this day and age (we also know how frustrating it can be to have bits and bobs missing from a kit and would never remove them from a kit for another modeler to have to deal with). But sadly every crowd it seems has its dishonest and flat out bad members. As small as that element may be it can still have a large affect on the hobby as a whole.

I hope they catch that thief! Somebody in that area must recognize him.

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My local Hobbytown USA had a smash and grab just this week too. Knocked out the front window and made off with $5000 of RC trucks, cars and helicopters.

That SUCKS :explode:! Probably all EBay bound... <_<

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I saw this happen when I was living in Taipei.A bit different with a funny side.

One of my favourite LHS did host once a month a meeting for a small group of modellers that I've joined, in a little side room with shelves, where we exposed finished model (I left there my whole Taiwanese production).One day I saw that one of my models was missing, so I asked Andy (shop manager), thinking he just put it elsewhere. He didn't, and started to check the video at once.I came back latter, and a still of the guy from the video was already on every walls, and word passed to other shops via the modellers community.

Andy was really upset, and embarrassed concerning me.I had to tell him that it was no big deal to me (really), as a finished model loose quickly my interest. I just saw the funny side, telling him that by now, my modelling talents where recognized worldwide!

I just didn't understand the guy's thinking:Was this really average model worth all the risks he took, together with loosing access to 99% of Taiwan's LHS?

By the way, here it is:

seiran87.jpg

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