Best highlights at POP TOY SHOW 2024 with tips on how to make the most of your experience

The reason why so many people hanker for premium tickets to POP TOY SHOW is because there are a couple of exclusive items up for sale at the event. These are extremely limited in quality, so the early bird gets the worm. Some of these limited-edition treasures include the Labubu plush doll that’s dressed up like the Merlion – something unique to Singapore – and an adorable Angry Molly figurine.

TIME OUT TIP Some of the exclusive items have timed drops, so even if you don’t have a premium ticket and can only enter with the masses, you’ll still have a chance of snagging something rare if you strategise on timing. Visit your favourite character’s booth to check out the timings – they should be displayed on a large board near the cashier queue area.

Spread throughout the sprawling space are life-sized statues and standees of POP MART cuties like Dimoo, Kubo, and Hirono. Strike a pose and snap some photos with them!

TIME OUT TIP The photo spots near the merchandise booths tend to be crowded during peak periods no thanks to all the snaking queues, but head on over to the stage area for more snap-worthy opportunities with fewer photobombs. There are multiple characters in that zone including Skullpanda and Molly, among others.

While POP TOY SHOW is centred around POP MART’s character IPs, there’s also quite a large handful of independent artist booths towards the back half of the event hall. Other than postcards, figurines, and stickers bearing their original designs, some of these artists also offer gachapon and blind boxes for an added element of fun.

Most of the booths are manned by the artists themselves, so take some time to have a chat with them if you’re keen to know more about their works. Some of them might just offer you tiny freebies if you show interest in their art. Yoyo Yeung, the creative mind behind Kenneth Fox, was so kind as to give us a postcard and stickers even though we hadn’t bought anything from him.

TIME OUT TIP Make sure you have cash on hand, because a lot of these independent creators have flown in from overseas, and are thus unable to accept local payment modes like PayNow. You can always head to The Shoppes at MBS to withdraw some dollar bills if you don’t already have any on hand.

Attention, Mofusand-lovers – your favourite cats are ready to go home with you in the form of plushies, mini blind boxes ($7), and keychains. We even spotted some items from the Mofusand Sanrio collaboration range, which is pretty hard to find in Singapore.

While Mofusand isn't under POP MART, the event also features items by other brands and toy collectives, with this being one of them. Some others include Bushiroad, Bandai, tokidoki, Goldwood, and Happibox. 

Some of POP MART’s most popular artists will be gracing us with their presence for signing sessions, so this is your chance to meet them face-to-face and perhaps even take selfies with them.

TIME OUT TIP Bring along your figurines by these artists so that you can get those signed in lieu of regular paper autographs.

While POP MART’s Plaza Singapura outlet does have a dedicated section for POP BEANS, this has gotta be the biggest collection of the mini figures that we’ve ever seen in one place. Time to go ham and stuff as many as you can into your little container.

TIME OUT TIP There’s a time limit of three minutes for each round. To minimise the panic, peer in from the sidelines to see which designs you’d like to prioritise before starting your turn. This way, you’ll know where to make a beeline for once the timer starts ticking.

Commemorate the experience with some keepsake photo strips, bearing Dimoo-themed frames that go in line with the event’s ‘Dimoo in the Garden City’ theme. This goes for $10 a pop and you get to choose your preferred layout. Thankfully, the machine accepts card payment, so you won’t have to scramble about for a red note.