Introduction to Gunpla

You might want to read this first before reading my model kit reviews.

Gunpla is a type of model kit that features mobile suits, mobile armors and spaceships from the Mobile Suit Gundam series. Gunplas are mostly made in Japan (Although some kits are made in China) and have been there for more than 30 years.

The first thing you should know is that there were other non-gundam mobile suits featured in gunplas. Some of them are similar to Gundam, such as the "GM" and it's descendants, because it's shown to be mass-produced from Gundam. However, some mobile suits are different, such as Zeon mobile suits.

All sorts of GM. Last picture is actually Ideon.

 Usually similar mobile suits come from similar factions. For example, the MS-06 Zaku and MS-04 Dom are similar because they come from Zeon.

From left : Zaku I, Gelgoog Char Custom,Dom,Zaku II, Gouf. None of them are Gundam.

There were also mobile armors. This were much larger than mobile suits. Kits featuring them are usually 1/550 scale. Some mobile armors can dock with mobile suits, such as the GN ARMS,METEOR, and the Orchis mobile platform.

GP-03 Gundam docked with the "Orchis"

There were also transformable mobile suits. While some of them are gundam, such as the MSZ-006 Zeta, some are mobile suits, like the ReZel and Methuss.

Zeta Gundam's Waverider form

Gundam itself is a type of mobile suit. It's usually a 15-20 meters tall mobile suit. It's mostly the main protagonist/antagonist mobile suit and most of them are prototype better than mobile suits. Gundam have a distinct v-shaped antenna that differs it from other mobile suit. All gundam have them except for the Victory Hexa and the Ez8.

Because there are all sorts of different mobile suits , you might want to check this wiki for more information.

A single type of Gundam can came in many scales

The second thing you might want to know is that gunplas came in all sorts of "scales". The scale determine the kit's price,size,and difficulty. There are many scales of gunplas such as :

• SD : This were the cheapest and smallest gundam kit. This is a non-scale kit so almost all mobile suits here are portrayed comically, with a same height and a big, non-proportional head. While this is recommended for starters, it would require painting to get a "complete"feel. There are many kinds of SD kits, many of them feature mobile suits wearing armors from the middle-ages and ancient Japan for the Knight Gundam and Musha Gundam/Sangokuden respectively.
• FG 1/144 : This were the first gunplas, dating back to the 1980s. This requires plastic cement/glue for assembly and have few to no articulation.
• HG 1/144 : This line is recommended for beginners. This kit features a wide range of models from various series. There are many kinds of High Grade models such as HGUC, HG SEED,HG 00, HG AGE. and many more. Out of all sorts of those models, HGUC is more complex than the other kits.
• RG 1/144 : This series features an MG-like inner frame and many sort of decals. This kit features the largest motion range from the other kit.
• AG 1/144 : It features mobile suits from Gundam AGE and have a limited motion in exchange for price and easier difficulty.
• NG 1/100 : The NG 1/100 kit features gunpla from 1993 to 1998. There were also NG 1/100 series from SEED and 00. This kit is basically an oversized HG.
• MG 1/100 : This kit is often preferred by intermediate to expert level builders. This kit features a better plastic quality and more articulation. This kit is larger than the HG kits, but it's more expensive. It's price depends on how many plastic materials is in it.
• PG 1/60 : This kit is only recommended for experts. This kit is one of the most expensive, and contains a complex structure, such as LED wirings, and screw-only parts.
• Mega 1/48 : The Mega 1/48 kit uses a HG-like construction, but is much larger. There are few kits in it such as the Rx-78 Gundam,Gundam AGE 1 and 2, and the MS-06 Zaku II.

After you consinder which suit to choose, you can start building it. You can then search for all sorts of straight build/lining/painting tutorial online. This link can help you to get started in building gunplas.