So, where did the idea of starting a Gunpla hobby store begin I hear you asking? Buckle up.

The idea came about after a trip abroad in January, where I ended up meeting a few fellow hobbyist and shop owners of their own Gundam hobby stores. It was impressive to say the least and as cheesy as it sounds, it was truly inspiring to hear their stories. The more I spoke with these amazing people the more I was left with a lasting impression of their small corners of mecha heaven.

Being a 90s child, I grew up watching a lot of shows and anime such as Dragonball, Power Rangers and Transformers. I've always had a fascination for giant robots and mechas, but for the longest time getting a hold of model kits from the east wasn't very easy in the UK. Things are a bit different now however, you can just go online and order something that’ll arrive on your doorstep within days - how times have changed. But saying that a lot of what’s currently available is still online only and in London, there isn’t a truly dedicated hobby store for Japanese model kits. And thus - the visits during my trip abroad were the push I finally needed to start my own humble little store.

So - I’m pumped, ideas flowing, aspirations and dreams for what Rivals Corner can be - Everything. Just. Works - In my head 😂. What I don’t have however is business experience of any sort whatsoever. Nada. In fact even just before our trip if you asked me how to start a business, I’d tell you to move along. And so came lot’s and lot’s and lot’s (and LOT’S) of research on how to start a business. (Activates Kratos voice) ‘BOY’, setting up a business is hard work (who knew cardboard shipping boxes were so expensive?!). So many moving parts that it’s hard to keep track of it all but as they say, we move.

After 3-odd-months of research, registering our business, setting up the website and other business'ey things, here we are. We cannot say enough how truly grateful we are for the support from our friends and family so far on the launch.

We are a husband and wife combo who both have full time jobs so time is also precious (let’s not even start on age). Ultimately this is our way to try and break away from the rat race and truly find our own little corner to call our own instead. I will be running the online store and my wife helps me with the socials (truly grateful for it, Instagram is also another minefield). But the hope is that one day we can actually open our own humble little brick and mortar hobby store in London.

Currently we only have 1 supplier at the moment but hopefully more to follow which means more Gundam and other mecha kits will be in stock! We’re hoping to also get kits from Kotobukiya, GoodSmile, Tamiya tools and paints and more. There is a supply issue happening at the moment (surprise surprise) but it’s all about patience, which the world doesn’t have anymore these days. It’s one of the things I love about gunpla and hobby kit building - the patience it teaches you.

Hopefully we can become part of this amazing community and also bring in newcomers to be part of this amazing hobby. If you have any advice or feedback, we’re always ears and learning.

As we get more stock, we’ll hopefully do meetups, build sessions and the works but for now, we just want to get this ship floating first before setting sail.

Anyway, what we’re trying to say is, we’re excited and so should you be! We hope you enjoy Rivals Corner and support our small store 🙂

Happy building, rivals!

D&K