If you’ve been to GUNNZO, There is a 99.9% chance you’ve seen the walls of the store — Unless you‘ve zeroed in on the Sonny Angles display in that case, I wish I had your focus – and if you look at the walls, you will see boxes upon boxes of anime robots. These boxes are full of plastic runners and are not built out of the box. These are PLAMO. PLAMO is a portmanteau of PLAstic and MOdels. But the PLAMO you see at GUNNZO are most likely GUNPLA. But what is GUNPLA exactly? That, my dear reader, is what I will explain in a somewhat abstract way.
Back in 1989, The anime “Mobile Suit Gundam” debuted in Japan and with it, it nearly faded into obscurity as the studio behind it: Sunrise almost went bankrupt producing the series without a brand partner to make merchandise. This is where one of the biggest toymakers in Japan known as BANDAI had offered to make Model kits based on the many Mobile Suits seen in the show. Now, around 45 years later, GUNPLA as a brand is still going strong.
Now that we know the history, I can explain the Grading System that is used with Bandai kits. HG or HIGH GRADE kits are relatively easy. Built in the 1/144 scale( which means the size is roughly 144 times smaller than in real life), HG kits are relatively cheap and easy to build with little to no extra work needed to make them look good. However, there will need to be some extra work needed to make them look more realistic than their fictional counterparts. I recommend starting with HG kits as they have a lot of variety and almost a constant release calendar.
There are two beginner grades that were introduced lately, ENTRY GRADE (EG) and the SUPER-DEFORMED (SD) line. EG kits are buildable without the tools needed to build HG and other GUNPLA kits. They are a perfect entrypoint into the hobby. SD kits are also easy for beginners as they are designed with a head to body ratio of 2:1, giving the kit a big head and allowing them to become cute in the process. SD and EG kits are simple and easy for beginners and they don’t deserve to be looked over.
A step up from HG would be the MASTER GRADE (MG). MG kits are more complex and intermediate builds that include nearly full inner frames and are at a 1/100 scale, having a height of around 10 inches. They are the most popular kits to build due to their complex builds and extra detail compared to HGs. MG kits also have many other variations like MG MG Ver. Ka (Version Katoki) and MGEX (MASTER GRADE EXTREME) just to name a few.
If you want the complexity of a MG kit in the size and scale of an HG, the best way to satisfy that itch is by building an RG kit. RG, known as REAL GRADE, are kits that have a full inner frame and are modeled to be nearly identical to the concept of a real life Mobile Suit. They are finicky in some parts but the latest RG kits have been redefining GUNPLA for a good while now. The earlier kits however, have been slowly degrading as the gimmick of a fully assembled inner frame uses two plastics that slowly weaken over time in the joints. Other than that, RGs have been the peoples favorite for a long time now.
Finally, we have the PERFECT GRADE (PG) kits. PG kits are the biggest and priciest kits at a 1/60 scale. To make up for their size, they are loaded with gimmicks usually including a new step forward for GUNPLA. PG kits are never perfect. They all have their own faults, but they represent a complex build that can be enjoyed by the most skilled builders. There are only a limited amount of PG kits, but the variety is there.
There are GUNPLA out there for anyone. The variety is vast enough that any place in the HG line can be a perfect starting point. Experienced builders can even combine kits into a kitbash or even modify them that can change the appearance of the kit in the way they wish it to be. GUNPLA is freedom. There is no right or wrong, there is only enjoying the build.
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Yozora