Today marked the opening of the UK's first permanent Gundam Base in London's vibrant Camden Market, handily located next to the Bandai Namco Cross Store.
The store aims to provide UK fans easy access to the latest Gundam kits, Cards, Tamashii Nations, Gundam Base exclusives and Metal Build items. The store will also act as a community hub with events planned for the future.
Adding to the pull factor was Gundam legend Mr Takanori Nishikawa, who has added his incredible musical talent as T.M.Revolution for Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny and Gundam SEED Freedom. Fans queued overnight to be one of the 30 fans to get their purchases signed by Mr Nishikawa. Hundreds of fans lined the streets waiting to enter the store as it opened at 1pm, showing the passion of the fans for the franchise. Many I spoke to were very excited to be there on opening day and the earliest arrivals even got goody-bags!
"The opening of our permanent Gundam Base Store in the UK represents the strength and heritage of the Gundam brand, as wells as the wider growth of anime as a whole," commented Kazu Kojima, Commercial Director at Bandai Toy & Hobby UK. "This once niche category is now a solid part of mainstream culture, and the appetite shown by fans at the store opening today really demonstrates how popular Gundam has become over its 47 year history. Anime is here to stay and Gundam is leading the way".
John Mackenzie, Managing Director at Bandai Namco Europe Ltd adds: "Following the great success of the Gundam Base Pop Up in London, we are incredibly excited to launch the first ever permanent UK Gundam Base. The store will give fans the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of Gundam and we are very much looking forward to welcoming the community along to experience it."
The day consisted of a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Mr Kojima, Mr Mackenzie, Japanese ambassador to the UK Mr Hiroshi Suzuki and of course, Mr Nishikawa. There were some stunning UK-themed Gundam dioramas by local Gunpla enthusiasts and plenty of hard to find items available on the first day.
We'll have a full write-up of the event in the coming days - I was very fortunate to sit down and present a few questions to Mr Nishikawa, as well as the Bandai team, and we'll have that up as soon as it's approved for publication!
Meanwhile you can now visit the store at Camden Market, Provender Building, Unit 19/20, Stables Market, Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8AH.
