Heroes Club / Art Of Toys

Nice toy collection, consider the real estate and overhead the price markup is acceptable on some of their items. I see many people compare price on a local boutique store to eBay or Internet shop seems a little unfair. In conclusion nice show room of boutique toys. ok place to shop if you willing to pay some premium for the retail overhead.

This is like a small Japanese toy and model museum which is fun to visit. But I also agree with some other reviewers concerning their overpriced items. About 7 years ago I went to this store and saw their giant Batman Return Bat mobile model which is about 18 inch long. I asked the store owner how much is this. He said «Hundreds». Then we spoke and he said its $ 850. He told me he goes to Japan every year to buy these toys himself so his price is good. I did not buy it because I wanted to go home and check the internet and see how much they sell it on Ebay. And I found out that few merchants sell this same item on Ebay for only $ 350 shipping included. This owner said he goes to Japan every year to buy toys? Bullcrap! I bet he just bought them on Ebay and resell it to suckers.
And another thing which I don’t understand is how come he does not allow people to take pictures of his toys inside his store. I am sure nowadays people only want to take pictures so they can upload it to their Facebook or Twitter or even to Unilocal just to show people the interesting things they saw. People uploading pictures of his store could actually help him increase his business. But the owner has a very strict policy against photo taking inside his store. He was telling a man to put his camera away while I was in the store.

This store has lots of cool stuff. I won’t take that away from them, but their $ 5 grab bags reflect their horrible attitude toward customers. I went here with my family, and since there are 5 kids to entertain, buying them all $ 100 action figures simply wasn’t practical. But we spotted the $ 5 grab bags and rejoiced. $ 25 dollars later, we all got in the car and opened them. Each bag contained either 1 homie figure (the kind you get from machines for 25 cents) or a pin (the lucky ones got both!). Not only that, the pins were pins they got for free as promotional samples. For example, verbatim, this is what one pin says on the back «More Star Wars election products at
(button 3 of 12)» — Yeah, they threw some promo stuff they got for free (or next to nothing), put it in a bag and sold it for $ 5. Now I understand that the concept of a grab bag is sometimes you get awesome stuff and sometimes you lose, but since we got five of them, you would expect that at least one of them might have something half decent. Yeah, they can now rejoice that they got the best of me. And they probably are, because they are horrible people.
So just treat this store as a museum experience and stay away from the gift shop!

as somebody who’s been making toys, i wanted to check this store for quit some time and suddenly, i ran into the store by chance, i like the exterior of their store, also i’ve noticed the have more asian toys rather than other stuff, i was looking for sideshow, gentle giant or Mc farlane but did not find anything.
the thing is i don’t like the shop owner attitude when i asked about some
i will not come back again for this store for sure.

It’s a fab shop that dares to compete with online shops & stores in areas filled with techies, yuppies & hipsters. This shop permits no pictures & lacks comics & graphic novels. It’s clean & cared for & is a shop worth walking into if one wants to feed their inner comic book/​cartoon geek! It is a reminder of Wondercon in SF!

i ben here for time to time all my robotech are paint by robin the price is right alway do good job thank

Wonderful museum of fine Asian toys, most not for sale. Make sure you research your toy because this place will rip you off well above retail. Will not purchase from here again.

BUYER BEWARE
Wow. We just got totally ripped off.
First off, I’ve always known this place was overpriced. That’s okay for most of the stuff they carry. However, I’ve never actually had cause to complain.
We bought the big Creature from the Black Lagoon bust that was hanging from the wall. We thought it was really cool. We asked how much it was and the guy said «hundreds»… Okay, so how much? He had to make a call. He quoted us the price and we said we would think about it.
So we thought about it and came back to buy it. He said he needed a few minutes to take it down and wrap it up.
It was expensive for us but we thought it was really cool. So we paid and agreed to come back with the car.
When we got back he told us about how rare it was and that it was number 19 of 50 made… He went on to say that the mold was too hard to be able to mass produce them. Making us feel a little better about what we paid. So, he finished carefully wrapping it up and we took it home.
When we unwrapped the piece, we noticed there was a pretty big ding on his lip –but since «ALL SALES ARE FINAL» we figured it was our bad for not noticing it while it was hanging up in the store. Still, I would think that the guy would have mentioned, right? He had to have seen it when he was wrapping it up.
So today I wanted to find out more about the piece and this is what I found:
It’s the exact same thing for $ 400 cheaper. Wow. What a rip off. I can’t even believe how incredibly disappointed I am in that place. They not only sold us something that was defective but for 4X the price.
BUYER BEWARE

Talk about… AMAZING…A…MA…ZING…collection. Everything from Zombie Storm Troopers to ThreeA… I ill be back. Fantastic conversation w/​the owner, will be very proud to save up and shop here.

I have found my fix! Great inventory and friendly, knowledgeable staff. A little pricey, but a lot of specialty stores like this are, anyway. I love it.

My b/​f took me here one day before work. All of the toys are so expensive, but it was nice looking at them. But it was nice seeing all the figures on display. But if you can afford/​want this stuff, then do it. It reminds me of that store in the Haight… But much cooler.
I don’t think I’d ever come back even though Robin seems like a nice guy. I did enjoy reading the reviews on this page.

Great to see all the fun stuff in the cases but there are better spots to buy figures in the city.

Robin is the reason why I am an expert in model painting today. He used to give me tips here and there.
The store now displays mostly pre-​painted production toys, but what a lot of customers might not know is Robin is a master in model/​figure painting.
Prices aren’t cheap, but they are first hand up-​to-​date items you won’t find anywhere else locally.
I would call this a toy museum. This is just the coolest place.

I went into this store looking to buy a Astroboy action figure for my daughter who is very into Astro. The prices vary from OMFG to something you would spend on a child. There are many different types of action figures and models throughout the store.
When I walked in the owner was suddenly busy on the phone and couldn’t assist me. I asked the woman behind the counter for assistance and she basically told me she knew nothing about anything being sold in there and wouldn’t really help me find anything. I waited about 15 minutes hoping to ask the owner but he went into the back of the store never to return.
When I lived in Boston there were a few stores like this, and they were way friendlier. If somebody was behind the counter they would help you find what you were looking for.

You can find a store like Heroes Club /​Art of Toys pretty easily in Hong Kong (tons of them), that cater towards mostly single grown A$N men of 18 years and above, living in their own fantasy world (see my review on HK men as «Tram Guys» and reviews of what HK women think of HK guys), perhaps lacking somewhat in socio-​economic skills, and so instead of spending $ on themselves to be metro or gastro sexuals in their predatory conquests, they choose to spend the moolah on themselves, indulging in themes of pop culture, Japanese animation and the ilk though mostly in the form of models, action figures, statues… i.e. space hoggers that hopefully won’t become clutter one day, all in hopes of having something 2D in 3D tangible form on display in the privacy of their own home or work and playspace. F**k that was a long sentence, I apologize.
Far be it for me to criticize what people spend their money on.
Some girls and grown women go as far as collecting Barbie Dolls, or in the case of A$N women, anything related to Hello Kitty and friends (that would be categorized under «Kawaii» BS). But yet these same women think stores like Heroes Club (in Hong Kong) are considered poison for guys.
Why? One can only guess. Maybe it’s $ a potential boyfriend could have squandered on them like western food, clothing, groceries, makeup, designer handbags, designer shoes etc. And that money ends up going towards either a scary lifelike Bruce Lee scale model action figure, a limited edition resin painted lifelike detailed statue of a naked female Japanimation «hentai» character in a compromised position that gives the male collector buyer a mondo stiffy that the triple D silicone hootchie gangsta b**tch cam whore girlfriend in a low rider couldn’t. It boggles the mind sometimes.
But yeah it’s really cool a store like Heroes Club exists. I’ve been inside here a few times even during the early 90s when I stomped the grounds of Clement street. The eye candy and variety in here are amazing and fun, although I never bought anything from here.
The fact that pretty much all import video game type stores (ie another hobby of most geek types) are no longer in business, and Heroes Club is still around, attests the longevity of this niche of hobby (ie video games and technology go out of fashion but that naked 3D female statue is forever)
The owner I can tell is one of those Hong Konger types, except he’s a first and foremost a businessman. No doubt that this kind of store is rare and unique in the Bay Area (actually Kimono My House in Emeryville serves a different kind of animal or nostalgia). This place is more hardcore geek.
I read somewhere that Kirk Hammett of Metallica is a loyal/​regular customer (or was) given Kirk’s fascination with Godzilla and reptile/​Ultraman type themed things (especially Monsters). At least he also aces the guitar so he can get more women than the average Hong Konger geek dude.
I’ll bet there are some rich A$N metrosexual types with geek inclinations and live the life of James Bond (women, cars, and have extra money to geek it all ²⁴⁄₇) and can balance it all while ensuring their b***ches get real ass Prada or Loui$ Vuitton handbag$. Perhaps these are the VIP Heroes Club members we don’t know about that keep the store afloat.

Robin Kwok is a asshole! I asked who made a certain figure displayed near the cash register and he questioned my manhood.
Nice collection, nice to browse, but look elsewhere for better prices and customer service!
And be sure to spit your gum in front of his store.

I wanted to dress up as Bruce Lee for halloween last year…
And I found out that they sold the yellow jumpsuit here… I was so happy.
then I thought about it.
my butt is not going to look very nice in that jumpsuit. and my stomach is no where near Bruce Lees washboard abs. and of course the looks. comparing bruce lee and me is like comparing a princess and an old maid.
So I had to toss that idea out the window…
Anyhow though, they also carry a bunch of different collectibles. figurines, gundam, animé, etc. This place is not really a place for kids unless you dont mind having some kid toss around the $ 200 gundam figure you just bought heh heh

This store is a little bit better than fantastic, but I almost hesitate to call it a retail operation since almost every action figure has a «no photo» or «ask for assistance» note attached to it. It’s not the sort of toy store you bring your kids to, unless they are already collectors, appreciators of limited edition collectibles and/​or have a small trust fund to pay for said items.
You’re typically not going to find your Western influences like Star Wars or Marvel Comics here, but instead impeccable displays paying homage to Godzilla, Animé and the like.
And seriously, their collection of Bruce Lee posables is beyond glorious and almost museum worthy. Go for that alone. Probably the best part about it is that none of the Bruce figures are even available to purchase — there is something wonderfully awful and thrilling about a store that doesn’t want to sell you stuff.

The Heroes Club is so clean and well lit– unlike many other «collectable» shops I have visited– and believe me I have been to oodles! It is very easy to see what they have, and make out every last detail on the statues and action figures. (They are «action figures» NOT dolls!)
I especially enjoyed the japanese diaoramas and replicas of fine modern furniture. It made me long for the Barbie townhouse I never had, so I could decorate it in miniature perfection and pretend I live there drinking cosmos on my marshmallow couch waiting for Ken to call. *sigh*
So if you have a high falutin’ geeky brother, father, or a Ken to call your own this could be the perfect place to find them a treasure relating to their favorite movie or cartoon. Be sure to ask if you dont see what you are looking for. All the cabinets behind the counters are stuffed!

This is not your average collectibles store — this is something special, one of Clement Street’s many quiet gems.
It specializes in figures from Japanese and Western Sci-​Fi and Animé on one side of the store, and large poseable figures like GI Joe but with a specificity and accuracy most people familiar with action figures for men would be shocked by on the other.
As an example: instead of a generic US soldier with an ill-​fitting uniform and inaccurate weapons, this is the place you’d come to pick up a figure of a CIA operator, Afghanistan circa 2002, complete with kaffiyeh, Oakley Razors, ball cap, and a M4 carbine and enough spare magazines to kick off the Apocalypse.
You can even buy a three foot long Bradley Armored Fighting Vehicle so your action figures can ride into your special little fantasy world in style.
They have moved away from the military theme for obvious reasons these days, but their offerings in all categories are still impressive.
The guy who runs this is cool, too — my buddy and I started talking to him and he proceeded to show us a bunch of fan movies based on the Alien /​Predator (my personal dirty little obsession) franchises, among other things.
A bad place to come on a payday. the only thing that keeps me in check is a small apartment and adult friends.