Amin Abbas Dubai

Fans at the Middle East Film and Comic Con 2020 had the opportunity to build their own Gundam models, a Japanese science fiction media franchise/media mix created by Yoshiyuki Tomino, with Gunpla model kits in a workshop hosted by Otaku ME store, the official distributor of Gundam plastic model kits in the Middle East.

Otaku ME was started up by Qais Sedki, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award winning author of the Gold Ring Arabic manga series.

Building Gundam plastic model kits has been a personal interest of Qais' since 2006 when he picked up a model kit on a trip to Japan. Since then, he started picking up a few kits with every new trip to Japan.

As Qais got more interested in plastic modelling, especially of Gundam kits, he wondered if others shared the passion and took quick steps to test the market for interest in a regional online retailer for these kits. Sure enough, there was quite an appetite for these kits and Otaku ME took off.

Presented by Qais Sedki “Founder of Otaku ME”, the workshop featured the basics of Gunpla model kits and using specific tools to build the ideal Gundam that fans want to make.

Qais Sedki said: “Our participation at MEFCC 2020 was largely a continuation of what we did in MEFCC 2019 in terms of showcasing various Model kits and tools that were very well received last year.”

“Our focus this year was to try getting many people to try plastic model building for the first time cause introducing people to the hobby is one of the main goals of Otaku ME. The feedback of people who attended the workshop was absolutely fantastic,” he said. “I went around the tables at the end of the workshop and I was very pleased to hear such amazing feedback from people who had fun experience in building their very first own Gunpla models kits.”

Otaku ME is an online retailer of plastic model kits and hobby supplies that caters to customers throughout the GCC. The model kits are mainly from the Gundam manga/anime series but they also stock products from other franchises such as ONE PIECE, Pokemon, and Valvrave the Liberator.