Gundam RX-78 in Bangkok this October

Gundam RX-78 is coming to Bangkok from 21 to 25 October, 2009, in an exhibition at Paragon Cineplex. As part of the Mobile Suit's 30th anniversary celebrations, Dream Express (DEX), which owns the Gundam copyright in Thailand, brings the Gundam showcase to town along with a host of activities.



Fans can enjoy the 10 million Baht event, which will feature the fibreglass model albeit reduced to half its size budget and without arms.

Like in Japan, there'll be a Gundam history showcase and a special room filled with posters, t-shirts and models.

Okawara Kunio, one of three creators of Gundam franchise, will give interviews and talk about his work during the expo while leading model maker Mark Bakuc will hold workshops and tutorials for all model geeks.

Admission to the expo is free.



Created by Sunrise Animation, "Gundam" first hit Japanese TV screens back in 1979. The series arrived in Thailand two years later, airing on weekdays at 5pm under the title "Apiniharn Gundam" (literally "The Magic of Gundam") and luring kids away from the playgrounds and into their homes to watch the robots fight.

The 30th anniversary celebrations aside, the Gundam scale model is also part of the Green Tokyo project, which is campaigning for a green city and is part of the proposal for the city to host the 2016 Olympics.

Gundam is still very popular in the East Asian region, with fans in Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore snapping up some 20,000 million yen worth of plastic models every year.

"Generally, Gundam has two groups of fans: anime fans and plastic model fans" says Vichien Vangveravongsa, general manager of the Dream Express (DEX), which owns the Gundam copyright in Thailand.