Last year, Bandai did the (first?) Gundam Base Mobile Tour. Basically, they made a popup shop that traveled around to a handful of locations to host events. You could buy Gundam Base-exclusive (and other rare/limited edition) models, build a free kit, and do a few other things.
The only problem is that the tour only had eight stops, which means a lot of people - myself included - couldn’t make it. Thankfully, they did it again this year, with almost twice as many stops. One of them was in driving distance, and I just had to see it for myself. Here is my report.
The Setup
This mockup is pretty much exactly what the popop shop looked like in real life (give or take a few things being repositioned):
And here is the list of activities:
A few notes:
- “Playtest Video Games/VR Experience” - They had PS5s running Gundam Breaker 4, and a VR setup where you could play the demo of Silver Phantom
- “Free Workshop Kit” - Bandai made a special, super-simple model kit of the Grandaddy Gundam that they give people to build for free at anime conventions and other special events. They had a covered area where you could sit and build, and if you really wanted to test your skill, you could time yourself to try and get on their leaderboard
- “Photo Op with Gundam” - they take your picture and superimpose it onto one of three Gundam-themed backgrounds. You get a free photo and a digital copy
- You could also ask the staff to take your photo next to the Gundam Statue that was standing right next to the photo booth
It was a nice little setup. None of the activities took very long, but it was nice that there was more to do than just come and buy stuff (though of course that was the main attraction). It felt enough like a capital-E Event, the kind of thing you could make a memory with if you came with friends or family.
The Staff
Some of the staff were definitely Gundam fans. Some may not have been. But all of them were really cool and professional. They also had free water for everyone standing in line, which was greatly appreciated. I have no doubt that Bandai makes money on this event, and that the cost of some free kits and water are a drop in the bucket. But in this modern world, it’s still nice to see a company that tries to Plus Up the experience.
The Line
I got there fairly early, before the shop opened. While I was not the first in line, I was probably within the first 30 or so. By the time it finally opened up, the line had grown long enough that it started to wrap around. And when I was getting in my car to leave, it had grown even longer.
It warmed my heart to see such a crowd. Being a Gundam fan can be a lonely experience. Sure, there are plenty of other fans online, but my experiences with online fans have been … uneven to say the least. It was quite nice to be reminded that other fans do exist in real life, and judging by the ones I talked to, they were all pretty cool.
The Merch
If you go to the Tour website, you’ll see a list of some of the merch they sold, but that only tells part of the story. I talked to some of the staff and discovered that in practice, each tour stop gets its own drop shipment of merch - and each shipment contains a semi-random assortment of kits.
I say “semi-random” because there are certain kits that seem to be sold at every tour stop, such as some Master Grade Ecopla kits, as well as certain Gundam SEED Freedom kits. But others - like the High Grade Clear Color model of the Second V that I really wanted - were nowhere to be found.
In fact, I wasn’t able to find quite a few of the kits I had on my list. The silver lining is that I found a few surprise kits that weren’t listed on the tour website: In the end, I was happy with my haul. If you ever get to an event like this, my advice is to be flexible, go in with an open mind, and don’t get your heart set on any particular kit. It’s the best way to keep the experience from turning sour.
The Prices
Most of the prices were extremely reasonable. Bandai could probably easily markup all of these special/exclusive kits and get away with it, but instead the prices were as good (or even better) than standard retail.
For example, Entry Grade kits were $10, Haros were $8, High Grades started at $15, and Master Grades started at $45 (with most in the $50 range).
Really, the only kit that I thought was wildly overpriced was the special metallic coating version of the Master Grade Sazabi, which was $200 (double the price of the standard version). But that didn’t seem to stop it from seemingly being a hot seller.
The fact that the prices were so reasonable means that pretty much any builder with any budget could find something to buy and enjoy, and I appreciate that.
The Hobby Shop
Each of the tour stops is hosted by a local hobby shop. The one my event was held at was extremely impressive; it quite possibly had the most (and best variety of) Gunpla I’ve encountered in a single location. So much so, in fact, that I spent more money in the hobby store than at the Gundam Base Tour (and I certainly wasn’t the only business the event was bringing in to the shop. It was flooded with builders).
Conclusion
I had a great time at this event. It was short and sweet, and it will be a nice memory going forward.
On another note, I hope the (seeming) success of this tour convinces Bandai to keep doing them - and possibly even expand them. I’m not expecting them to ever treat non Asian territories as first class Gunpla citizens, but I’ll take any love we can get.