Peter Chiang, an aeronautical engineer, maintains a 50-year-old hobby shop, Hobby Bounties & Morgan Hobbycraft Centre, not for profit, but for community building. Despite the growing dominance of digital entertainment, Chiang dedicates himself to promoting scale model building, a passion ignited in his youth.
Chiang's father, a former Member of Parliament, fostered his interest in history, but a scale model of a Hawker Harrier inspired his path into aeronautical engineering. He now runs both an aerospace consultancy and the hobby shop, dedicating at least an hour daily to building models himself.
The shop has served as a hub for enthusiasts for decades, fostering a community through monthly gatherings and annual competitions. Dr. Suresh Nathan, an orthopaedic surgeon, credits the hobby with developing a mechanical mindset that influenced his career choice. For Jake Moon, who relocated from the US, the shop provided a way to connect with Singaporean culture.
Chiang acknowledges the financial struggles, with the business operating at a loss, largely due to competition from digital screens. He views his efforts as a mission to inspire the next generation, cultivating ambition, practical motor skills, spatial reasoning, and the crucial virtue of patience, which he believes is missing in today's fast-paced world.