Hai Phong coffee shop with 'superhero universe' record

Alien Coffee in Hai Phong set a Vietnamese record when it displayed 1,679 models of superheroes, game characters, comics, movies... worth an estimated value of nearly one million USD.

Alien Coffee is located in Thuong Ly ward, Hong Bang district, opened by Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan, 43 years old, a year ago.

Mr. Tuan is not only famous with the nickname AlienDVD in the model-playing community in Vietnam , but also the owner of the most authentic, valuable and diverse collection of models.

On April 15, the Vietnam Record Organization confirmed that Alien Coffee is the coffee shop displaying the largest collection of genuine models of superheroes, games, comic book and movie characters.

The 200 square meter first floor of the shop only has 4 tables for drinking water, the rest is a row of glass cabinets full of models.

According to Mr. Tuan, customers coming to the shop usually do not sit in one place but always move around to look at and take pictures with the models, so there is no need for too many seats.

Currently, the shop displays 1,679 models, however, the actual number owned by the owner is 5,000 models.

The left area displays Authentic Statue Marvel DC products from the world's leading statue manufacturer Queen Studio, with full sizes from 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 1/1. All are made of polystone weighing an average of 20 kg to over 100 kg per model.

The main area of the first floor displays 1/2 Iron man statues from CM Studio.

Above is a display shelf of 1/6 superheroes from 1/6 model manufacturer Hottoys, a famous model company in Hong Kong.

The first floor also has an experience accessory area for young people to transform into superheroes when coming to the shop.

Mr. Tuan said that although they are experimental items, they are all genuine, the price of each model ranges from 4 to several tens of millions of VND.

The second floor displays models that Mr. Tuan ordered directly from foreign artisans to produce, so they are all rare and valuable models that not many collectors can own.

To get these models, he had to send a Hottoys 1/6 Iron man model to the artist to turn it into hybrid characters such as Iron Aquaman, Iron Joker, Iron Batman, Iron Gundam, Iron Optimus.

Transformers are the first models Mr. Tuan collected.

Having a passion for games and superhero movies, since childhood, Mr. Tuan saved money to go to toy stores near the Opera House to buy plastic models to play with. When he started working and had better financial conditions, Mr. Tuan often used his money to buy his favorite models.

Ten years ago, whenever a Transformer model was on sale at a shopping mall in Hai Phong, Mr. Tuan bought it. A huge collection began to form.

The 1:1 scale Iron Man collection and busts worth hundreds of millions at Alien Coffee. The Iron Man model group also has the largest collection with 300 models.

When buying Transformer models in Hai Phong, Mr. Tuan found it difficult to pursue because the models did not have a clear direction and switched to collecting superheroes from foreign companies such as Queen Studios, XM Studios, Prime1, Iron Studios, Infinity Studios, Imaginarium Arts, Sideshow, Hottoys through e-commerce channels.

The gold Iron Man model, of which only 300 were made in the world, was imported by Mr. Tuan for 18 million VND. However, "on the market today, it is worth more than 100 million VND," Mr. Tuan said, adding that the cafe owns many limited editions, which were produced many years ago and are sought after, with prices 10 times higher than when they were released. Based on the invoice and estimated market price, the owner said the total value of his model is nearly 1 million USD.

However, the shop owner has no intention of selling any of his models. "I am a collector, not a businessman," said Mr. Tuan.

Some small corners on the first floor display themes that are associated with the childhood of the 8X generation such as the 5 superhero brothers of Bandai SHF Japan in sizes 1/12, 1/10; the Power Rangers group 1/6 from ACE Toyz & Threezero; models based on the game Collector Editions.

Below is the Squid Game model set from ACE Toys.

Since opening, Alien Coffee has been visited by many people and has become a meeting place for model enthusiasts.

The owner has submitted a dossier to the Guinness World Records Organization to consider recognizing the restaurant as having the most models in the world.

Le Tan

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