Bluefin Announces Details for the 2016 Bandai Gunpla Builders World Cup (GBWC)
Bluefin, the leading North American distributor of toys, collectibles, and hobby merchandise from Japan, has announced details for the 2016 Bandai Gunpla Builders World Cup (GBWC).
The Bandai GunPla Builders World Cup is an annual competition sponsored by Bandai Hobby and held in several countries around the globe to determine the best GunPla model builders in their respective regions, from countries such as Japan, China, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Italy, the United States, Canada, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia and Malaysia.
Each 
of the regions’ champions then represent their countries at the final grand tournament, where they compete for the title of world’s best Gundam model builder and the title of GunPla World Cup Champion.
Bluefin is Bandai’s official U.S. GunPla product distributor and the company will hold regional qualifiers across the country throughout 2016 at a variety of major conventions including:
· Anime Central in Rosemont. IL
· FanimeCon in San Jose, CA
· A-Kon in Dallas, TX
· Anime Expo in Los Angeles, CA
· Otakon in Baltimore, MD
· New York Comic Con, held in Manhattan, NYC
The U.S. top representative will win a FREE round trip to Japan to compete in the final round at the World Championship in Tokyo, Japan. 
Competitors are encouraged to create customized models utilizing Bandai Gundam model kit(s) as the starting point. Many contestants blend different kits and add a variety of custom fabricated parts and unique accessories to make their creations truly one-of-a-kind.
The competition has produced jaw-dropping work ranging from highly detailed designs from the various Gundam TV animated series as well as completely original designs.
The 2015 World Champion winner, Win Eiam-Ong, created a breathtaking entry, titled “Another Late Night,” a diorama that depicted a carpenter admiring her latest masterpiece – a Gundam model realistically painted to look like it was constructed entirely of wood:
The Gundam anime series was created by Sunrise studios and features giant robots (or “mecha”) called “Gundam.” The original series debuted in Japan in 1979 and spawned a substantial and massively successful franchise that continues to this day and has produced multiple TV series, feature films, and OVAs as well as a wide array of manga, models, toys, apparel, video games and other consumer products. The worldwide popularity of Gundam has made it a multi-billion dollar franchise. The Gundam Plastic Model, called “GunPla,” from Bandai Hobby are available in multiple sizes and levels of build complexity and are renowned for the wide variety of kits, their innovative construction, and high level of detail.
For full contest information, including rules and an entry form, can be found on Bluefin’s website at: www.bluefincorp.com.
For more information on a wide array of Gundam model kits available from Bluefin, please visit: http://www.bluefincorp.com/catalog/gundam-models.html.
