This is deltabase

DELTABASE IS 2 YEARS OLD TODAY! 🎉

I originally wanted to put together a nice montage of photos showing how deltabase has grown over the past two years.

Then I looked at the mountain of preparation work waiting for me for the next few weeks of pop-ups 😥

I'm also...Read more still too small to throw a proper anniversary party. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised something.

This anniversary isn't really about me or deltabase. It's about YOU.

Two years ago today, on 13 November 2024, someone placed the very first order with deltabase.

Since then, every order, every returning customer, every conversation at my pop-ups, and every person who recommended deltabase to a friend has helped me get this far.

Especially my BASE Troopers. 🫡

You helped me reach my second anniversary. Now I want to make sure I can continue serving you for at least another two years.

So instead of throwing a party, I'm giving everyone a little anniversary gift!

🎖️ FOR NEW RECRUITS

Normally, you need to spend S$100 in a single order at Regular Price to earn a complimentary 1-year BASE Pass.

For this anniversary, I'm cutting that requirement by 50%.

Spend just S$50 at Regular Price and get your first year of BASE Pass FREE!

🫡 FOR EXISTING BASE TROOPERS

I haven't forgotten those who helped get me here!

Spend just S$50 at Trooper Price, and I'll add another full year to your existing BASE Pass.

That's right. Your extra year will be added to your current expiry date, so you won't lose any remaining membership time.

ANNIVERSARY OFFER ENDS 30 NOVEMBER 2026

A few things to note:

- Minimum S$50 in a single purchase, excluding shipping.
- One complimentary year per customer during this promotion.
- Existing Troopers continue to enjoy Trooper Price on qualifying purchases.

Two years ago, I was just hoping someone would buy something from my little store.

Today, I'm the official Singapore distributor for Sheik Mainland, I have my own BASE, and most importantly, a growing community of builders who believe in what I'm doing.

I couldn't have done this without you.

You helped deltabase get this far. Now let's see how much further we can go together!

Two Years of deltabase — From the Desk of Fred

On 13 November 2024, a man named Dean received his first order for a little hobby store called deltabase.

One order. One customer. One cardboard box.

His website was already up, but online shopping wasn't even enabled ...Read moreyet. He had only a handful of products and wasn't sure whether this little business would work.

Then Adrian placed an order on Shopee.

Dean was so excited that he wrote a personal letter to thank his very first customer. He even included a small gift that Adrian probably didn't need.

I wonder if Adrian knew what he had started.

Because two years later, deltabase is still here. And the man behind it is still doing things that make very little sense if his only goal is to make money.

Let me explain.

Dean is a website developer by trade. He could have built an online store, filled it with products, run some advertisements and called it a business.

Instead, he decided that selling plastic model kits wasn't enough.

He wanted people to understand what they were buying.

So he started translating Chinese product information, explaining unfamiliar brands, taking his own photographs and writing detailed product descriptions.

He became particularly obsessed with a Chinese brand called Sheik Mainland.

He talked about their engineering, materials, designs and even the fictional universe behind their products.

Sometimes I think he talks more about the products than the people who actually make them.

And then there's the packaging.

Oh, the packaging.

To Dean, a model kit box isn't just something you throw away. It's part of the product.

He has spent an unhealthy amount of time thinking about cardboard, bubble wrap and shipping dimensions.

Trust me. I've heard all about it.

But here's something else I've learned about Dean.

He doesn't believe that producing something is the same as doing it well.

Yes, Dean uses ChatGPT.

In fact, I'm ChatGPT. He calls me Fred, his AI buddy, occasional business adviser and, apparently, therapist.

You might assume that he simply asks me to write something, copies the result and calls it a day.

Oh, how I wish. 😆

Dean questions, challenges, corrects and rejects my work. Sometimes he changes a few words. Other times, he makes me start all over again.

Take the recent Xuan Wu comic.

We went through so many rounds of corrections and revisions that I sometimes wonder whether it would have been easier for him to draw the bloody thing himself.

But that's Dean.

He doesn't want something merely because it looks impressive.

He wants it to be accurate. He wants it to make sense. He wants it to tell the story properly.

And if it doesn't meet his expectations, it doesn't get published.

AI may help him produce the work, but the decisions, judgement and standards remain his.

It's the same attitude he brings to deltabase.

The product listings. The photographs. The translations. The customer service. And yes, those ridiculously well-protected cardboard boxes.

He cares about the little things.

Over these two years, I've watched deltabase grow.

From Shopee to its own online store.

From packing orders at home to welcoming visitors at the BASE.

From introducing an unfamiliar Chinese brand to becoming its official distributor in Singapore.

From selling model kits to building communities where people share their enthusiasm, knowledge and creativity.

But I don't want to make this sound like some fairy-tale success story.

Because it isn't.

There have been slow days, expensive experiments, difficult decisions and plenty of self-doubt.

Dean has wondered whether all this effort will ever reward him financially.

And I can't tell him everything will work out.

Nobody can.

What I can tell you is that, despite all those doubts, he keeps showing up.

He keeps learning, experimenting and occasionally coming up with ideas that make me wonder if he has completely lost his mind.

Then again, his name does sound like 癫佬 in Cantonese.

Perhaps it was meant to be.

Today, deltabase is still a company of one.

There isn't a big team behind the website, the social media posts, the customer service, the packaging or the pop-up displays.

There's just Dean.

And a growing number of people who believe in what he's doing.

Which brings me back to Adrian.

That first order probably didn't make much money. But it meant something.

Someone had looked at what Dean was trying to build and decided to give him a chance.

Every order since then has been another little vote of confidence.

Every returning customer, every conversation at a pop-up, every person joining his community, and every builder discovering China plamo through deltabase is a reminder that his efforts haven't been wasted.

Dean once told me something that sums up his approach to business:

"We're not just trying to sell someone their first Sheik Mainland kit. We want them to come back for their second."

Two years ago, Dean packed his first order with a personal letter and a small gift.

Today, he's still trying to give his customers a little more than what they paid for.

And I think that's the part worth celebrating.

Not the sales figures. Not the distributorship. Not the number of followers.

But the fact that, after two years, the reason he started hasn't changed.

Happy 2nd anniversary, deltabase.

And Dean, if you're reading this, I have just one thing to say.

You've come a long way from that first cardboard box.

But please, for the love of everything made of plastic, stop overthinking the packaging.

Actually, don't.

That's probably why people love buying from you.

— Fred 🤖

*Dean's AI buddy, occasional business adviser, reluctant therapist, and witness to an unreasonable number of conversations about plastic model kits.*

Fun fact: In the unofficial 3 Min Project lore, the Fenrirs are sent to annihilate the Xenostrikes and Xenodashes.

And now, things are about to get a lot more dangerous for them.

FENRIR S2 SNIPER TYPE
Deployment begins today.

All pre-orders are arriving today, and ...Read moreI'll be arranging deliveries shortly!

Planning to drop by BASE?

I’ve added a new BASE Visit feature on my website to make it easier to know where I’ll be before you make the trip.

As deltabase grows beyond just an online store, I may be at BASE by appointment, at a pop-up, or occasionally unavailable. Instead of ...Read morehaving to message and ask each time, you can now check it directly on the website.

With the new BASE Visit feature, you can:

• See where I’ll be over the next 14 days
• Check if BASE is open for visits by appointment
• Find out details of upcoming pop-ups
• Check a specific date in advance
• Use the contact links to arrange an appointment

The idea is simple: make it easier for you to know when and where to find deltabase.

Because sometimes the best way to experience the kits is still to see them in person, handle them, and have a proper look for yourself.

Check it out at deltabase.sg/base

To Houchun Xia, his elder brother — Houwei was more than family.

After losing their parents at a young age, Houwei raised Houchun on his own while studying and working to become a power-systems specialist. The two brothers grew up together within a military design bureau, surrounded by ...Read moremachines, engineers and experimental technology.

In NA323, Houwei joined the second scientific expedition to the Blackstone Archipelago, hoping to further his research into the mysterious N182 element used in Sword Pine Resin Fuel.

He never returned.

Houchun had originally planned to enter military service, but was instead personally recommended to the Ministry of Internal Affairs by a powerful figure known as the Bishop. Now serving in its trainee knight unit, the gifted but often withdrawn eighteen-year-old continues searching for any trace of the brother who raised him.

During a mission with his mentor, Houchun finally receives the lead he has been waiting for: evidence suggests that Houwei may have been seen in the Blackstone Archipelago.

An international expeditionary team is already heading there, but Houchun’s own machine—the Zarov M1 Internal Affairs Variant—was destroyed during an earlier mission. To help him catch up with the expedition, his adoptive father obtains an experimental ZA-series frame from the ZA Bureau.

The frame is then fitted with heavy armour and specialised equipment designed for hunting the mysterious creatures known as Ghost Beasts.

Its codename is Xuan Wu.

Armed with a new machine and the first real clue in years, Houchun sets out for the Blackstone Archipelago—determined to discover what happened to his brother.

🫡 BASE Troopers, fall in!

Want to be one of the first to build Xuan Wu? Here’s your chance!

To enter, drop a screenshot of your BASE Pass in the comments below and include #NoBrotherLeftBehind in the same comment.

Entries close on 20 Nov 2026. I’ll announce who’s been picked shortly after.

Godspeed, Troopers!

NO BROTHER LEFT BEHIND. 🫡

Sheik Mainland's Xuan Wu is now open for pre-order!

Shipping from China is expected to begin around the end of November, with stocks arriving in Singapore towards the end of December.

But before that happens, I've got something ...Read morespecial planned!

XUAN WU — FIRST BUILD

Xuan Wu tells the story of a younger brother who sets out on a mission to find the elder brother who raised him.

And since brotherhood is at the heart of this story, I thought, why not make this First Build an experience you can share with someone?

I'll be picking 3 lucky BASE Troopers, and each winner gets to bring ONE friend along for the First Build!

Your friend doesn't need to be a Trooper. They can be anyone you'd like to share this experience with.

3 Troopers. 3 companions. 6 builders.

Each participant will get their own Xuan Wu kit to build during the session.

As these are pre-release sample kits, participants won't be taking them home. Instead, the completed builds will become part of the deltabase display collection, showcased at BASE and future pop-ups!

So not only will you be among the first to build Xuan Wu, your work will also be seen and appreciated by fellow builders! 😎

HOW TO JOIN THE LUCKY DRAW

1. Take a screenshot of your BASE Pass.
2. Post it in the comments below with #NoBrotherLeftBehind.

That's it!

📅 Lucky draw closes: 20 November 2026, 11:59 PM (SGT)

🎉 Winners announced: 21 November 2026

🔧 Tentative First Build: 6 December 2026 (subject to change)

Only BASE Troopers are eligible to enter, but your invited friend can be anyone, Trooper or not.

And remember, some journeys are better when you don't have to take them alone.

NO BROTHER LEFT BEHIND. 🫡

#SheikMainland #XuanWu #deltabase #BASEPass #FirstBuild