While almost a staple in hobby stores around the country, Gundam plastic model kits (Gunpla) is seemingly not as big as the fandom would suggest. After all, unlike in Thailand and Singapore, we don’t have our own outlet of The Gundam Base to call our own. That changes next week, as one it scheduled for its grand opening on 14 April.
You may be expecting it to open at LaLaport BBCC, as most Japanese brands do. But The Gundam Base chose another location – Farenheit88. As is The Gundam Base anywhere else, this is the place to be for exclusive Gunpla and other limited-edition collectibles, as well as “model-building experiences”, which is as broad strokes a description as can be.
In a note sent to the press, this outlet will also feature a 1.8m RX-78-2 statue. But, instead of its own colours, it will be showcasing The Gundam Base colours instead. Nothing too special here, as it’s also the showpiece of the outlets in Thailand and Singapore.
Worth noting though, is that an Instagram account dedicated to The Gundam Base Malaysia has popped up. And it has posted an interesting schedule. Beyond its opening announcement, there’s an item listed for 7 April that reads Items Preview. This is followed by Queue SOP and Store Sneak Peek on 10 and 12 April respectively, before the 14 April Grand Opening.
It’s not clear what the distinction is for these. One would hazard a guess that these entries before the grand opening is for the public to preview the store. Which makes sense, as it’s located in just about the busiest area within Kuala Lumpur. With that in mind, these two days are probably there to manage foot traffic, so that curious passers-by can take a look while they’re in the area, and not clog up the place for potential customers when the store opens.
Also worth noting is that Litt Tak has also promoted the opening of The Gundam Base. For the unfamiliar, the company has been the distributor of a wide range of toys and hobby collectibles in-country. This likely means that the company remains involved behind the scenes of The Gundam Base’s operations.
While The Gundam Base opening this late in its history in Malaysia is a sad norm, it has a pretty interesting beginning. This is because the very first outlet would not open in Japan, but South Korea instead, back in 2003. This would be followed by Taiwan in 2005. And it would be much later, in 2017, before the first opens in Japan.
(Source: The Gundam Base Malaysia / Instagram, Litt Tak / Facebook)
