We spoke to Nigel Prescott of Gundam Mad about the retailer as well as his love of Gundam:

Q. With your huge range of accessories and models you are no doubt one of the biggest stockists of Gundam there is. Will you be stocking more models in future for other series such as G Gundam for example?

A. One of our intentions from the outset was to stock as wide a range as possible of Gundam plamo kits, we think we've been pretty successful at this so far. However, we really only stock a small percentage of all the kits that are actually available from Bandai! We regularly add news kits to our portfolio - usually the latest releases, kits we like ourselves or kits that we know are rare or hard to get hold of.  We also add new kits based on the feedback of our customers. So it only takes a few customers to suggest a particular kit and we'll get some in.

Q. The competition which you ran at the Expo is just one of the examples that you are in touch with your customers and the fan community. Have you ever considered the possibility of staging a cinema screening of a Gundam film which, in turn, could also promote Gundam Mad?

A. Well thanks for noticing! ;) The recent Expo competition was only a small taster to get us started - we have always done things with competitions and giveaways via related websites and we plan to expand this over time.  We are Gundam fans so we like to feel that our business is about more than just selling kits. It's about promoting Gundam, talking to and meeting fans - which is why we love doing the shows so much! We're active on a number of Gundam, anime and modelling forums and to be honest being part of the Gundam 'community' is something we would like to devote more time to, but running a business sadly does tend to get in the way!  As many who regularly come to see us at the shows will testify (you know who you are!) our presence grows each time.  We now have a good relationship with Beez (the European arm of Bandai) and they allow us to show the latest Gundam stuff on our stand. Likewise we work with them on cross advertising.  We haven't thought of showing a Gundam film in a cinema and giving ourselves a good old plug, but it's certainly a good idea that I'm sure we'd like to try!
 

Q. Do you have any plans to stock any more Gundam products in future such as clothing, prints, soundtracks, gashapon, etc.?

A. We've tried other Gundam related items over the last few years, such as T-shirts, DVD's and gashapon.  In the whole these have proved to not be as popular as the models.  At the end of the day there are other sites that are dedicated to selling manga, T-shirts, DVD's and figures - we specialise in model kits.  We're always looking at diversifying and we certainly will keep adding other Gundam related items in the future. Again, we're very much guided by what our customers ask us for.  We do tend to get in other stuff for the shows such as gashapon and figures.

Q. What are your favourite series of Gundam?

A. Generally we're more 'old school' Gundam - in particular we tend to think of 0080 'War In The Pocket' as our overall favourite.  However, we also like 0083, Char's Counterattack, Zeta and Seed.

 Q. What are your favourite Mobile Suit designs?

A. We tend to like the Zeon mecha designs as opposed to the Feddie stuff...stuff like the Rick Dom, Zaku II and Gelgoog spring to mind.  But we do have a soft spot for lots of the newer Seed designs.
 

Q. Although they do not stock accessories companies such as TokyoToys do stock many Gundam models. Do you worry about rival companies?

A. We'd wouldn't be running our business correctly if we didn't keep an eye on what others are doing. At the end of the day, there are other companies that sell some Gundam - but they all sell lots of others items too. We
specialise in only Gundam and thus we feel we know our products and the fan base well.  We're not just in this for the money - we are Gundam fans who run our business to serve fellow Gundam fans.  At the end of the day competition is part of running a business and it helps to keep you on your toes. 
 

Q. What do you see in the future for the Gundam franchise?

A. Well obviously we'd like to see it become more universally known. As it currently stands, Anime is still a 'niche' market, albeit a growing market.  Gundam is an even smaller part of that market. We are working hard to promote Gundam and so far we think our efforts are working.  However, we believe that Gundam will never become really popular until Bandai (or Beez - the DVD distributor of Gundam in the UK) find a way for it to be broadcast in the UK or Europe.  Due to the series storyline it’s not really stuff that is suitable for kids like the majority of Bandai's current offerings such as Power Rangers.  So we're working to make Gundam more popular within the current sphere of anime.

Q. Do you have any final comments?

A. Well firstly thanks for taking the time to interview us for your website! And lastly we'd just like to say a big 'thanks' to all our existing customers who make our efforts worthwhile.  We love to speak with them at shows and receive their enthusiastic emails. Please keep the feedback coming!



Check out our competition of Gundam prizes donated by Gundam Mad!

For further information on Gundam Mad visit their website www.gundammad.co.uk

You can buy online from Gundam Mad at anytime, but if you want to see them in person they will be attending several shows this year:

London MCM Expo (May 26th - May 27th 2007)

Amecon 2007 (August 10th - August 12th 2007)

London MCM Expo (October 2007 - date TBA)

At both MCM Expo shows Gundam Mad will once again be holding competitions with model kits, DVDs, Terratag t-shirts and how to draw books up for grabs!

Also check out other Gundam features on our website!

Top Five Best Gundam Designs

Top Five Worst Gundam Designs

Mobile Suit Gundam Ecole du Ciel vol 1 manga review

G Gundam vol 3 manga review

Gundam SEED t-shirt review

25th anniversary Gundam Bottle Cap collection review

G Gundam sweet tin review

Terratag Big G T-shirt review

TokyoToys MechaCoco T-shirt review

Gundam Wing anime review
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