Now 32 years old, Sho Ueda remembers the thrill he felt as a nine-year-old when his father bought him his first model from the Mobile Suit Gundam anime series. With massive red-and-white shoulder protectors, powerful robotic legs and headgear reminiscent of a samurai warrior’s helmet, Ueda says he was hooked after building his first “Burning Gundam” model.
A confessed otaku, or geek, with an abiding passion for animated science-fiction series, Ueda estimates he has now built about 50 models from the series and keeps many of them on a shelf in his bedroom.
