When I wrote the first article, I was full of hopes for new gunpla – especially Master Grade gunpla – to be announced in the 54th Shizuoka Hobby Show. This year is starved of Master Grades: the few we got were good, but they were really fewer than what we got the past four years.
Needless to say, I was disappointed, but it doesn’t mean that the show was all that bad.
For all of you Real Grade collectors, the next RG will be the Astray Red Frame. Bandai simply loves making Astrays in whatever form and scale. Bandai seems to upping their RG releases, the only thing keeping me from jumping into this scale is the plastic: inner frames in the 1/144 scale are very brittle. But the scale is perfect for making dioramas, and the detail can’t be beat.
There’s not much by way of Master Grades. I guess the biggest “surprise” is the MG 1/100 Gundam Amazing Red Warrior. Some fans had geek-gasms when it was first shown in Build Fighters Try, but I was never really that impressed with what I see only as a red-colored RX-78-2. Bandai already had a kit set up during the event, and I was amazed at the utter lack of detail for a regular release. But Build Fighters kits were never meant to be as detailed as, say, ver Ka kits, so that would just be nitpicking on my part.
The show also had displays and dioramas featuring the upcoming MG Hyaku Shiki ver 2.0 and RE/100 Dijeh. The Dijeh looks really good, and the RE line as a whole is starting to come on its own, but there wasn’t any new RE/100 announcement in the show. The Hyaku Shiki ver 2.0 is looking to be the MG of the year for 2015 (unless Bandai announces something bigger for November/December), with its excellent detail and full use of current gunpla technologies. Early screens show a lot of technical detail, and while I didn’t pre-order one, this is now added to my ever-growing list of kits I need to have.
Then, there’s also MG 1/100 Gundam Fenice Rinascita. I grew up wanting to have Gundam Wing kits, but when I was old enough to earn money, I found that I preferred kits from Universal Century, Cosmic Era (SEED), and Anno Domini (00). I used to have a Wing Zero Custom MG, now I only have the Proto-Zero (and I broke it’s V-fin too). This kit wasn’t even in my radar until I saw the model itself. So yeah, maybe I’m not a fan of those plavsky particles, but I think I might get this one if I have the chance.
Bandai did announce new stuff for P-Bandai. The first is the MG 1/100 RGC-80 GM Cannon. It’s a GM with a (duh) cannon, but the most striking thing here is that it looks like they used a very early GM kit. Hopefully it’s at least a ver 2.0. Bandai also showed the Mega Bazooka Launcher which is an add-on for the Hyaku Shiki ver 2.0 MG. It also comes with a stand. Full Frontal is given another mobile suit, his custom MG 1/100 Geara Doga was also on display in the show.It looks like your standard Geara Doga but with a new rifle and the suit has ‘The Sleeves’ markings.
Bandai also unveiled another online exclusive: MG 1/100 Heavy Gundam. Yes, this is the second RX-78-2 based kit unveiled in the show. But this one is an official Gundam MSV, while Amazing Red Warrior is a suit from an anime about gunpla. For those scratching their heads, the FA-78-2 Heavy Gundam is another of those Gundam variations, this time with heavier armor and equipment. This design was never animated and those folks who wished to have one can rest easy with the fact that this was given to them in MG (being obscure, it is a candidate for RE, but it’s a Gundam, so….).
Official promo images of the Sazabi ver Ka and RE/100 Nightingale funnels were also shown as well as the Ballute System for MG 1/100 kits.
So yeah, I’m disappointed, but it’s still the middle of the year and someone, somewhere might be really happy about those upcoming kits. I’m still hoping for good end-year releases. I don’t care where it’s from (MG G-Self, RE/100 Psyco Gundam, Justice Gundam, Reborns Gundam, the whole lot), as long it is something big.
Photos courtesy of Gundam Guy who also got some from other sources as per watermarks. Images are property of their respective owners. B2G do not claim ownership of this images.
