Thursday, June 4, 2015

GUNDAM docks at SINGAPORE

I am not going to write what this event is all about because all information can be found from here. I will only write about my experience and what I think is not found in the official website. When I read about giant Gundams at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza, I was expecting that they would build a tentage over the open area and have the shops there as what usually happens with the jewellery exhibitions. So when I saw that the whole Takashimaya B2 square was the actual location of all the shops and the exhibitions, my little kid in me was jumping like a crazy fanboy. The whole area is basically now all about Gundam! There are a lot of Gundam statues all over and taking photos are challenging because of the human crowd. I guess I am lucky that I was there today while waiting for my dental appointment. I cannot imagine the crowd during the weekends.

I shall just throw all the pictures I took before talking about what I bought later on. My camera is currently with my sister. I am pretty sure the scenery at night will be different but with only my camera phone, taking photos under low light condition is just impossible.

Starting from the outside.
Scale 1/3 RX-78-2 Gundam
See the "Wisma Atria" sign on the top? Just to give a perspective how tall this thing is.
Waited for so long to get this without idiots standing in front of the barricades when they knew so many people from afar wanted to take a photo of the Gundam ONLY!
MS-06S-Zaku II on the opposite side
Apparently, this dude is not as popular as RX-78-2
The whole open area just for this?? I think there will be a surprise coming in this space.
I am not that huge fan of Gundam. I don't know the model of these.
I took pictures of these 5 only. I presume they are duplicated on the other side.
Let's move to the inside.
RX-78-2 Gundam Ver. SG50
I would say this is the highlight of the event!
Kunio Okawara gallery
There is another wall lined with paintings but I was too engrossed with the statues and did not scrutinize the paintings.
These are all the big statues displayed throughout the whole area. I also have no idea on their names and their series. I consider myself lucky to be able to get these pictures without strangers posing in front of them.
There are a lot of HG, MG, and PG models on displays too and I can't be bothered to take pictures of them. Ooops.. Haha.. My only interest is Wing Gundam Zero (Endless Waltz version). I am always interested in buying the PG but I don't think I have the time, the skill, and the money to buy it. It remains only a wishful thinking.
This is the nearest I can get to a fully assembled PG Wing Gundam Zero (EW version) and what have my camera phone done to the photo T_T
There are displays of RX-78-2 Gundam Ver. SG50 in various scales, from SD, HG, RG, MG, and PG. I can't understand why Bandai decided to mass produce only the HG version. Sigh.. The price is $38.95. Since it is SG50 version, I was expecting a $50 price too. Haha.. Oh well I prefer paying $50 for a RG or a MG than a HG.

I was not expecting to buy anything else and for years I have been telling myself not to buy any more Gundams because I already own each mecha from Gundam Wing. But when I see Wing Gundam MG being discounted to $52, I just lost all my self-restraint. Haha... I have been eye-ing this for years. I am even tempted to get the PG version because of the 20% off for all models. Luckily I managed not to buy as my friend informed me that prices of Gundam over here are very expensive. Even the $52 which I thought was a good bargain is actually the same as prices from Japanese shops + international shipping. Bleah.. I should not have kaypoh-ed and now get myself disappointed.

I also bought Builders Part System Base 001. I have always been looking for a hangar to display my Gundams. I have to say that it is quite pricey for $19,95 each (before 20% off) but it is sold out in most Japanese online shops. I wanted to buy a few but I was not sure if this would fit nicely for HG 1/100. I have more HG 1/100 than 1/144 while this product specifically mentions 1/144 on the box.

In all, I spent $106.91 today. For purchases above $100 or above $200, there are some goodies to redeem. I received a Gundam Eco Bag and landyard for spending above $100. For using DBS card, I received a commemorative badge. Yay!! I was gunning for $200 to get the EZ-Link with Gundam picture but there was nothing to buy to hit that $200. Well, the commemorative badge for $100 purchase is actually quite good so I am quite happy with that.
Loots for the day.. on the left is free catalogue
My first limited + special edition Gundam
The commemorative badge.. The paint for letter "C" seems to be missing o_0
I can make do WITHOUT the landyard
Both faces of the Eco Bag
The Eco Bag is actually quite small to contain $100 worth of purchase. For $200 purchase, the bag will be bigger but I don't think it is big enough. 

At the end of the day, I am happy ^o^ Hehe.. Usually the happiness will subsides when I am thinking about where to store all of these. But for today, the happiness seems to be quite long lasting. I am still feeling happy when typing this.

Thank you Bandai for holding this event in Singapore. I am just wondering if I am already this ecstatic with this event, how am I going to react when I go to the land of anime (and anime merchandises) some day? And Japan is not all about anime, Disneyland and Wizarding World of Harry Potter are there too!! Kyaa.....

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