There’s a major upcoming Gundam competition in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of Gundam. Anime Festival Asia (AFA) and Danny Choo will be collaborating with Bandai to introduce the Bandai World Gunpla Competition. This competition is a little different because it is an online competition that will allow participants from ANYWHERE ON EARTH to submit their entries via photos. This sounds like a truly exciting event because if it’s promoted correctly and reaches a wide enough audience, will bring together the best Gunpla modelers from every corner of the world, not just a specific region.
I’m already trying to finish up my as-yet unfinished custom 1/100 MG Gouf before the November 1st cutoff entry date. Most of us would probably never win anything but I think it’ll be really interesting to be a part of such an exciting event.
For those of you who would be interested in participating, head over to figure.fm for competition rules & regulations. Here’s hoping there’ll be lots of entries for this wonderful event.
For those of us who weren’t quite as lucky, there are lots of pictures which were taken by various individuals and sites. Do check out the following links below for coverage of the Chara Hobby 2009 event.
I posted a video tour of Model Factory Hiro by HobbyLink Japan a couple of days ago, and now I stumbled on a video tour of HobbyLink Japan’s warehouse by CollectionDX! So in this video HobbyLink Japan (HLJ) is the host rather than the visitor. It’s quite amazing to see how quiet and clean the warehouse is. I’ve always had the impression that a stocking warehouse would be a little noisier and more messy than that. Must be nice working at a place with all the toys, collectibles and model kits you’ll ever need!
G-System is currently gauging interest on a potential re-creation of an updated version of their 1/35-Scale Ex-S Gundam Resin Kit. Their original 1/35 Ex-S kit is a behemoth of a kit, standing at 115cm tall when completed and weighs 44kg with 830 resin parts! They’re taking pre-orders for an updated and improved version now, and will go ahead with production if they get enough orders. The proposed improvements include additional use of photo-etched parts, LED lighting on areas like the chest and beam gun, and the resculpting of certain areas such as the head to improve appearance of the kit.
Head on over to the product page if you’re interested in the Ex-S kit. I would love one, but the cost is too prohibitive for me and I wouldn’t be able to find the time to complete a kit of such complexity. Anyone who manages to complete the kit would no doubt have an awesome Gundam display piece.
Not to be outdone by the recently erected Gundam 1/1-Scale Robot in Odaiba, Tokyo, somebody at Kobe decided it’ll be a good idea to have their own 1/1-Scale robot monument. And they went with the Tetsujin 28-Go robot, or more popularly known as Gigantor in the USA, as Mitsuteru Yokoyamathe creator of Tetsujin 28 was born in Kobe.
The Tetsujin-28 monument will stand at a towering 18 meters (60-ft) and weigh 50 tonnes. They even fashioned the streetlights around the site of the monument to resemble Tetsujin 28’s head, how cool is that?! Work is already underway, and the public can follow its progress via its very own page here. Can’t wait for this to be finished so we’ll be able to compare it to the Gundam in Odaiba. But just based on the pictures, I’m already liking this Tetsujin 28 monument over the Gundam simply because it has a more dynamic pose.
Wonder which famous anime robot’s gonna be next to get the 1/1-Scale treatment…EVA-01 perhaps?
As most Gundam fans out there already know, this year marks the 30th anniversary of Gundam, so there’ll be lots of things prepared in honor of this much-beloved franchise, like the Full-Scale Gundam in Odaiba, Tokyo. And here’s one created by a fan from Taiwan. I’ve seen many weird, wacky and wild Gundam creations over the years but this one definitely sits right up there in the “No Way!” category. I’ve always subscribed to the fact that creativity and artistry is never a bad thing..in fact, without it we’d never be able to push ourselves to explore new possibilities. But in this case, the totally blinged out pink Gundam just isn’t cutting it for me. There are some things that just don’t go together, and jewel beads, pink and Gundams pretty much go together as well as oil and water.
I’ve previously written about a 1/1 Full-Scale Gundam that was being built in Shiokaze Park at Odaiba, Tokyo to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the the Mobile Suit Gundam animated television series.
Apparently, work on the behemoth has finally been completed and there was a Grand Opening Ceremony to commemorate the event! From the looks of the pictures and videos, it must’ve been an awesome spectacle. The 1/1 Scale Gundam will be on exhibition at the Shiokaze Park until the 31st of August, but for those of us who aren’t fortunate enough to witness it in person, I guess these pictures and videos will have to do. Enjoy!
This should be great news for the millions of Gundam fans out there. Between 11th July to 31st August a full-scale Gundam statue standing at an imposing 18 meters tall will be on display at Shiokaze Park in Tokyo’s Odaiba to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the the Mobile Suit Gundam animated television series.
Work is already underway to build the statue and the completed Gundam statue is expected to weigh nearly 35 tons, and will be able to move its head and emit light or mist from 50 points of its body.
If only I could make a trip to Tokyo for this rare sighting. For a Gundam fan, this is like spotting a glance at a living dinosaur in a museum! What a sight! There are more pictures from The Mainichi Daily News site. [via Mainichi Daily News]
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