Mechapinoy is one of the premiere Mecha Anime fan organizations in the Philippines. Its members have joined contests for mecha anime model kits, up to the National and Global Regional (Asia) level. Many of them have won, or have garnered praise for the originality of their entries. Most of Mechapinoy’s efforts are in the Gundam fandom, but Macross, Evangelion, Brave Robots, Mecha Sentai, Transformers and Super Robots (among many, many others) are also within Mechapinoy’s interests.

ORIGINS
Mechapinoy was first conceived in November 1999, when many of the more active Filipino members of the Gundam Mailing List started to get together. Since the GML was an international list, Mechapinoy’s founding members were advised to form a local Mecha Anime ML: Mechapinoy. It was at first a mailing list, but in later years, with more resources at hand, the group eventually put up their own website: www.mechapinoy.com. However, circumstances happened that made it necessary to move to the www.mechapinoy.net domain name, which is currently our address.

MECHAPINOY.NET
Mechapinoy.net is a streamlined website, whose forums are among the most informative and unique in local anime fandom. The websites forum galleries are a repository for photographs of some of the best model kit works within Mechapinoy. There are also sections which deal with coming product releases, information on the science and fiction behind mecha anime, as well as a boisterous trade forum. While the forum’s culture may take some getting used to, it’s well known that MP boys are a hilarious bunch, with many participating in all-day-long MP chats over the Internet.

THE CARAVAN AND THE CONNECTIONS
Mechapinoy is currently in partnership with the official local distributor of Bandai merchandise for the Gundam franchise, Bankee Trading, Inc. In this capacity, Mechapinoy assists Bankee in the local Gundam Caravans, with the members displaying some of their extensive collections of Gundam model kits, among other services. Mechapinoy is also allied with other organizations, such as the New Worlds Alliance, and IPMS-Philippines B.A. Many of MP’s members are also members of other organizations, as well.

IN REAL LIFE
Mechapinoy members aren’t just ‘Netheads, either. Every so often, MP holds an official Mechameet, where members old and new can get together and “talk shop”, trade kits and generally have a lot of fun while watching episodes of their favorite cartoons. For the more mature members, there are occasional nights out, when the veteran members can unwind and just enjoy each other’s company with a few beers and plates of well-cooked sisig. Mechapinoy isn’t just about the organization; Mechapinoy is about being a barkada.

Finally, Mechapinoy members come from diverse backgrounds, from students to professionals, from those in more artistic endeavors to more technical specialties.

Acknowledgement:
• Dr. Core, Nightingale, and the crew of Newtype Asylum
• -Z- of Mobile Suit Gundam: High Frontier
• Mark Simmons of The Gundam Project
• Jun Ubay and the Borja Brothers, our "pizza & beer" modelling crew.
• Neutral Grounds / Hobby Cafe, and Club Arena for providing Mechapinoy's first staging grounds.