During the 80s till the early 90s, “Mobile Suit Gundam” and the U.C. sequels were never broadcasted on TV in Singapore or Malaysia . Yet, there had been strong local fan base. Most of the local Gundam fans here knew about the Japanese mecha-anime via print and the Bandai model kits.
Shield of the Earth Federation – signed by Amuro Ray (Tohru Furuya/古谷 徹)
Gundam made its first ‘official’ presence on local TV during the mid-90s, when ODEX brought in “Mobile Suit Gundam Wing”. That was probably the first time Gundam began winning over new fans (including girls) with the non-U.C. series. Since then, “Gundam Seed”, “Gundam Seed Destiny” and also “Gundam OO” were shown on local TV (though usually a year after it was distributed freely as fansubs over the Internet). The Internet and the processes of globalisation fed the Gundam boom in Singapore. The pent-up demand for Gundam goods had stimulated brisk sales for small time retailers from the former Clark Quay toy-mart. Enterprising fans brought in tons of merchandise via parallel imports – expanding the variety of Gundam merchandise available here, over and above what the local official Bandai distributor could carry. This year, Bandai Asia finally put together a stand-alone Gundam festival – “Gundam Fiesta Singapore 2009“.
This is a recognition of the Gundam’s popularity and the fan community here. I suppose the overwhelming response that Bandai received at STCC and AFA last year gave them confidence to do put together such an event.
Gundam Fiesta 2009 @ Sengkang’s Compass Point
The Gundam Fiesta is comparable to Hong Kong’s annual Gundam Expo (高達世紀展覧) in terms of scale, albeit a little smaller. The exhibition location was kinda out of the way – at a neighbourhood mall located in the far reaches of Singapore. Yet it made sense because Sengkang is the neighbourhood with the youngest population – an estate for newly weds and young families. That’s one of the best place to capture the hears and minds of the little ones, who’ll then infect their school mates with Bandai’s playthings.
Otaku and Casual Crowd
The fiesta had a healthy crowd – made up of both Gundam fans who wore Gundam T-shirts (like me) and also casual visitors, most armed with digital imaging devices and snapping away at the exhibits.
Master Grade Gundam Astray Blue Frame 2nd Revise prototype
High Grade Mirage Frame 1 prototype from VS Astray
HG Gundam Unicorn prototype
There were quite a number of subjects of interest – such as the prototype models of upcoming Gunpla kits. These are fan favourites.
The Bandai Hobby Centre section was another fan delight. It educated curious fans and the public on the production process of Gunpla:
Schematics for 1st Gen Gunpla
Wooden Molds
Plastic buckshot pellets
Stereolithography apparatus
Bandai Hobby Centre livery
Many of the event exclusive merchandises were already sold out by the first weekend of the Fiesta, although the event runs till 14 Sep.
Gunpla maestro, Katsumi Kawaguchi (川口克己) sensei will be gracing the event on 12 and 13 Sep to conduct Gunpla workshops. You may receive some tips on how to ace this year’s BAKUC competition.
For those who’re interested in eye candies, the Gunpla Girls will be around between 1700hrs to 1800hrs on both days too.
One of the fun facts that I learned at the Gundam Fiesta:
Singapore, an important military base in the After Colony universe
Singapore’s strategic location did not go unheeded in the Gundam universe (in fact, I’m inclined to believe that ORB in Gundam Seed is modelled after Singapore)
I’m really glad that Gundam Fiesta Singapore happened. Singapore’s fan community is maturing and had finally gotten the attention of the content-owners. I hope that this mini-festival is only a taste of things to come, and Singapore will eventually become an important place for content-owners/creators to showcase, test and launch their products.
