The Gundam Truck

By Mark McPherson
24th May 04

Back in 2001, US Gundam fans recievied a special treat from Bandai: The Gundam Truck. This large transportation unit, smaller than your average truck, went around to all the major cities in the US, stopping at local Wal-Mart and Toys 'R' Us.

Now, what's so special about it? Well, first off, there was the outside game pannels. There were about three PS1 gamestations rigged up with Gundam Battle Assault and one PS2 rigged up with the Journey to Jaburo game, which was currently not out at the time. Also, taking place outside the truck were model kit demonstrations on how to polish your models and what paints you should use as well as some small MSG card game tournaments.

Still, that is only what was on the outside. What's inside is nothing short of a Gundam shrine. The tour started off by taking a look at an actual size hand of a Gundam holding a television. It was amazing how large it was. Next up on the tour was a chunk of Luna Titanium, the material that Gundams are made out of (Don't worry, it's fake. They didn't actually go to an asteroid and get it). Probably one of the biggest features for me on the tour was the male and female White Base uniforms. Call me crazy, but wearing one of those for halloween would be cool. Some other good stuff on Gundam could be found on the walls such as timelines and a Gundam size chart. Did you know Gundam are the exact same size as the Lunar shuttle?

Of course, the main feature on the tour were the Gundam models. Each booth featured mobile suits from each series, as well as a TV monitor above each displaying the show. The final bit of the tour was a glass case housing pretty much all the other Gundam merchandise. Everything from toys to DVDs not yet released at the time. The tour guides were all excellent, coaxing people to come in from the heat for a little air conditioning. The only part that bothered me was when a group went of about 13-18 year old boys and the female tour guide, Amy, asked "How many of you are old enough to stay up and watch 08th MS Team?"

Finally, the whole Gundam phenominon ends with you recieving a special edition Gundam card featuring your state and city on the card along with a mobile suit. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota and we got the Guncannon. The guy who passed them out said these have gone on e-Bay for up to $30 so I made sure to get atleast 3. To this day, I still haven't sold that card and am still hoping it's value is rising.

All in all, the Gundam truck was simply an experience no US Gundam fan should have missed. If you are truly into Gundam and wanted to simply melt into it's world, the Gundam truck would have been heaven for you. Sadly, the Gundam craze is dying and it doesn't look like the old van will be making a road trip anytime in the near future.

-- Mark McPherson 24th May 04