Monthly "Hobby Japan," one of Japan's most renowned model magazines, has been a cornerstone of the hobby scene for over half a century since its founding in 1969. From early car and assembly models to exquisite anime and manga character figures, the publication has chronicled countless product releases, model-making tutorials, and example builds from post-war Japan, establishing itself as a definitive voice in the industry. However, a few days ago, one of its editors ignited widespread anger after appearing to defend the controversial practice of reselling.
The incident began after BANDAI SPIRITS' release of the HG 1/144 Nightingale, which was quickly snatched up by a large number of resellers.
Originally priced at 7,700 JPY, the product was inflated by unscrupulous scalpers to over 10,000 JPY, flooding online auction platforms. The situation was so extreme that even empty boxes were being bid up to 3,000 JPY.
Amidst this, "Pe" (real name Daisuke Ito), an editor at Hobby Japan who previously served as editor for "Hobby Japan" and editor-in-chief for "Hobby Japan Extra" – known for his passion for models and even having his own custom paint jobs featured in the magazine – posted a series of personal opinions on his X (formerly Twitter) account:
・"Huh? I don't quite understand. Even if it's reselling, the manufacturers still sell their products and make a profit, don't they?"
・"Only a portion of customers are troubled by reselling. Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers actually see increased sales, which is a positive development for the entire industry. Conversely, in the past, when items were always available and even discounted for clearance, only large corporate stores could handle such low-margin, high-volume sales. Small retailers would go out of business, and that would be a much greater damage to the industry."
・"People who hate reselling are just upset they can't buy the models they want and have to pay inflated prices, right? So why don't they just try harder to get them? Because you didn't put in the effort, it's perfectly normal to pay a bit more to those who did."
These comments, which appeared to rationalize reselling, quickly went viral, not only eroding the trust of "Hobby Japan" readers and enraging victims of scalping but also causing a massive uproar across the entire toy industry. Japanese toy collector "Wotafa," who boasts millions of subscribers on his YouTube channel, also weighed in on the incident, strongly criticizing reselling and highlighting how general release Gunpla products were being flipped for more than three times their original price by scalpers.
Following the backlash, Hobby Japan's official channels immediately issued a statement emphasizing that the editor's personal remarks did not represent the company's stance and that severe disciplinary action would be taken. However, the wave of distrust continued to spread. Finally, today (the 26th), Hobby Japan announced its final disciplinary actions: the editor in question was terminated, while the managing director and head of the editorial production department, the editor-in-chief of Monthly Hobby Japan, and the deputy editor-in-chief were all demoted due to their management responsibilities.
While the commotion caused by the Hobby Japan editor may now subside, the increasing demand for toys suggests that reselling will only become more rampant in the future. Toy manufacturers must carefully consider fair sales methods to earn and maintain consumer trust.
via： ホビージャパン編集部