Gunpla Tutorial: History and Scales (UPDATED)

1st gunpla released (July, 1980)        

I just recently started the gunpal hobby and sometimes I encounter some terms I'm not familiar with. So I researched in the internet on everything there is to know about gunpla and I want to share it with everyone. Lets start with the meaning of gunpla. What does it exactly mean? Gunpla is the short term of gundam plastic model. This is not your typical out of the box action figure because you are the one whose going to build the model. Once you open the box, you will get some runners with parts attached to them. You just take the parts off and put them together. Other than building the model you can also some details to it by painting, panel lining, etc. Its really up to you on how to make your gundam look nicer and complete. There are so many stuff you can do with gunpla which makes it a fun and addictive hobby.

Now let's proceed to the history of gunpla. Your probably wondering when did the gunpla started. Well, it all began last July, 1980 and its going on for over 30 years now. Its quite obvious that the first gunpla released was the RX-78 Gundam. You can imagine how simple the gunpla models were back then. Believe it or not some of the early models needed some glue to put together. Little by little the gunpla is evolving every time a new gundam is released. The articulation is improved, more details and new features were added. So in the future, we can expect a lot of changes in the world of gunpla. We're done with history and now its time to talk about gunpla scales. Gunpla models comes in different sizes and details. I've listed below all the known scales in gunpla.

Scales
SD (Super Deformed) - the smallest scale in gunpla. This are miniature versions of gundam model. They are easy to build and has very limited articulation.

1/200 SG (Speed Grade) - the parts are already painted on the runner. So you just cut them off and put them together. As the name implies, it's really a fast build.

1/144 EG (Entry Grade) - this is the new name for No Grade. They are fast and easy to build models. They don't really have any articulation so don't expect to much. These models are good starter kit for those who just began the gunpla hobby. Also serve as good test subjects for gunpla builders in practicing their painting and customization skills.

1/144 FG (First Grade) - slightly better than the Entry Grade. They are made exclusively for the Gundam 00 series and only has 4 models available.

1/144 AG (Advanced Grade) - released 2011 together with it's anime series, Gundam AGE. This is like an FG, but with enhanced color and simpler assembly.

1/144 HG (High Grade) - all of the gundam has a HG. They are suitable for intermediate gunpla builders and the most common among the other scales. The HG is being improve every time a new gundam series is released, there are more features and better articulation.

1/144 RG (Real Grade) - just recently released last 2010. It surpasses the HG and the best 1/44 scale as of today. The RG features a lot more detail and articulation which makes it comparable to the MG.  The first RG released were the RX-78-2 Gundam and Char's Zaku II.

1/100 NG (No Grade) - Just like the 1/144 scale model kits, these kits started about the same time with the very first 1/44 model kits, again starting from RX-78-2 Gundam. "Generic" 1/100 kits may also be called "No Grade" (NG 1/100) to differentiate from other specific 1/100 kits. Later kits (from Turn-A Gundam onwards) are clearly inspired from the post-HG 1/100 kits and features a similar (or greater) level of quality and detail.

1/100 MG (Master Grade) - definitely bigger and better than the HG. Offers more articulation and features. There's also the addition of the inner frame to make it more detailed. This is suitable for advanced gunpla builders.

1/48 (Mega Size Model) - this was releaased last 2009 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam. As of the moment there are 5 models available: RX-78-2 Gundam, Zaku II, Char's Zaku II, Gundam AGE-1 Normal and Gundam AGE-2 Normal. These kits are essentially larger versions of their 1/144 counterparts, but priced much lower than the 1/60 scale. After assembling, these models stand 37.5cm tall (about 15 inches).

Bandai developed these kits with ease of build in mind as they require no tools to build. The individual pieces are attached to the runner by a very thin piece of plastic so that they can be broken off by hand. The assembly process can be sped up even more as the runners have been developed in a way so that you can attach two together and break off the individual pieces that way. Bandai also include a 'Double Separator' tool to help with the new method of building.

1/35 (Universal Century Hard Graph) - does not primarily center around the humanoids of the Gundam universe. Rather, it centers on military things on a more conventional scale such as land vehicles, aircrafts and troops. However, some kits do include detailed to-scale mecha parts which are particularly useful for the creation of dioramas.

1/60 PG (Perfect Grade) - this is the largest scale available for the gunpla. The articulation are the best and the details are perfect. Unfortunately, only the popular gundams get a PG scale. It cost a lot of money and recommended only for expert gunpla builders.

For Display Purpose Only

Robot Spirits / Damashii - these are very similar to the hg 1/144 model kits in terms of size and features. The only difference is that these models are already built. Just take them out of the box and they are ready for display.

Gundam Fix Figuration (GFF) - These figures share similar features as those found in the MSiA (MobileSuit Illustration Artwork) series, but are considerably more detailed and often include more accessories. Changeable parts and variant models are often utilized throughout the line, offering the collector a wide variety of display abilities.

1/35 JG (Jumbo Grade) - another out of the box model and 2ft. in size. It is definitely bigger than the PG. But its inferior when it comes to features and details.

1/6 and 1/12 - These gundam models are over 5ft. or human size. They are commonly seen in gundam conventions. They are well detailed, but don't expect any articulation.

1/1 (Life-size) - this is the one only real life size gundam. The life size rx-78 was built as a project for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the gundam series last 2009. It was first located on Odaiba in Japan, but was transferred last 2010 on Shizuoka. Hopefully japan will create more life size gundams and scatter them throughout the country.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundam_model

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