Gundam Base Mobile Tour to make Lubbock stop, here's what to expect

Alana Edgin, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
·2 min read
The Gundam Base Mobile USA Tour will be in Lubbock on Dec. 16 and 17, 2023.
The Gundam Base Mobile USA Tour will be in Lubbock on Dec. 16 and 17, 2023.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Local anime and robot fans are in for a treat this weekend, as one of the biggest names in the model kit industry will make a tour stop in Lubbock.

From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, fans can visit HobbyTown, 7021 82nd St., to see the Gundam Base Mobile USA Tour for free. This tour, which is part of Premium Bandai, has appeared in cities including San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas and at events such as Anime Wonder in Arizona.

"This is very exciting for Lubbock," said Emilly Foxworth, who owns the Lubbock store with her extended family. "For our relatively small town to be able to secure an event of this caliber is amazing. Santa stops at HobbyTown, and so does the Gundam Base Mobile USA Tour."

The tour stop will offer:

  • PlayStation 5 gaming station areas.

  • Screens displaying the latest promotions.

  • Premium and exclusive G-Base models.

  • G-Base Model kit workshops.

  • Free model kits for attendees, while supplies last.

  • Green screen photo ops.

There will also be a pop-up shop. People can also visit the company's site to learn more about the tour: p-bandai.com/us/cont/campaign/gbmtt2023.

What is Gundam?

Gundam is a Japanese military science fiction franchise, which started as "Mobile Suit Gundam" originally back in 1979. The animated series, created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now branded as Bandai Namco Filmworks), introduced giant robots as mobile suits, sometimes known as mechs, which people could get inside of and pilot.

The series is considered a trailblazer in the real robot sub-genre of the mecha anime world, and has since expanded into movies, video games, books and plastic models known as Gunpla.

Foxworth stated Gunpla takes up "90% of the Japanese character plastic model market."

Premium Bandai, which operates the tour, is the official retailer for Bandai. Other franchises the brand retails for include "Dragon Ball," "One Piece," "Naruto," "Star Wars" and "Cowboy Bebop."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Gundam Base Mobile USA Tour to stop in Lubbock, here's the lineup