Kusakusa Gunpla

Shizuoka Hobby Show 2010 (Part I)

Yep, it’s that time of the year again. My yearly pilgrimage to Japan’s biggest hobby show. I finally get to add some new content to this blog which has been lacking lately :p

So again I’ll split my coverage into 2 parts; the first will be the new products by the various vendors and companies, and later I’ll post builds by various modeling circles. So first off is the Bandai section and the major headline of the day: The-O will be released as an MG kit. This is based on a survey among the Japanese on the most wanted MG kits. The-O actually won 2nd place, with V2 Gundam and Double-O Riser placed 1st and 3rd respectively. Actually I’m quite surprised V2 was the most wanted MG kit, since Victory Gundam has already been released, I’m quite sure Bandai will release the V2 eventually. Same goes with the Double-O Riser.

Anyway here’s a pic of the prototype The-O; it’s quite huge actually. Expect to see more photos in the coming months.

Also on show are the samples of what’s coming along the MG production line. First up is the Full Armor Gundam. I have to say it doesn’t really appeal to me, coz Bandai went with the retro look of their recent RX-78 ver2.0. If the design was more to the Ver. Ka or the various resin kits, then I would’ve been sold.

Then there’s the Musha Gundam Mk.II. Great news is the gold parts will come as they are; all bling-bling, not like a certain St**ke Fr**dom. Surely a must have for those who already own the red Musha Gundam.

Victory Gundam fans rejoice (or despair, depending on your wallet). Next MG release will be the V Dash with new parts and loads of weapons. To be released separately will be the MG V Core Booster ver. Ka which you can combine with your existing plain ol’ Victory to become the the V Dash version. Also comes with the weapons and probably an extra display base.

Next is Bandai’s latest series of model kits, termed Real Grade. It’s the size of a 1/144 HG and comes with the internal frame akin to its MG counterpart, but without the nice details. Supposedly superior in flexibility and posing ability compared to the standard HG. First release will be the RX-78 and following that will be Char’s Zaku (surprise, surprise).

At the High Grade section there’s the already released models like Gundam X, G Gundam and ZZ Gundam. Also seen was a Gunpla Starter Set with the RX-78 and Zaku II together in one box, probably similar concept to the older HG RX-78[G] and MS-06J kit from the MS 08th series.

But what really got me salivating was the (probable) release of kits from the Unicorn series. I say probable because they’re not officially announced yet and the models on display were just ‘reference exhibition’. If they really do release the Sinanju and Delta Plus, they’ll definitely be on my shopping list. The Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper type) also looks interesting, but according to the novel it will be in a nasty pink/purple color. It seems the only confirmed release is the GM Kai.

Some mechas from Gundam 00 will also be released as HG kits, though I’m not too familiar with these. Probably some sort of MSV or something. Next to it were the kits from the Gundam Seed MSV which look rather frankenstein-ish.

The Gunpla Pro Shop section offers balls, two actually. I’m not too sure of the specific details but you can easily find out from your favorite gunpla gossip blog.

Also available were resin conversion kits:

The new release from the Figurise series will be this Kamen Rider. Also seen was a prototype of Luffy from One Piece but I didn’t took any photos of it. Some new Evangelion kits will also be released, probably  in conjunction with the release of Eva 2.22 movie.

I also took some pics of some Keroro-pla, for those who are interested:

Moving away from the Bandai section there were the usual stuff like these Airsoft guns from Tokyo Marui.

And some pics from the Yamato booth:

And finally some uncategorized random pics from random sections. I actually wound up back at the Bandai booth after walking around in circles.

And so that’s it for this year’s Hobby show. I didn’t buy anything this year, except a kebab for lunch. I was hoping to find some Hasegawa Macross kits at a nice price, but all they had were some boring ones, probably leftovers from last year. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the pics and Part II will be coming soon.