We’re almost at the end of 2022 and everyone’s gearing up for the annual holiday spending spree. And while there’s not much of note came out from the Gunpla side of things, there are still a couple of kits I wanted to highlight that got released or will be released this month.
While I do understand and appreciate what Bandai Spirits is trying to do with the 30 Minute Missions line, I just can’t get into them apart from a couple of kits. Maybe they just look too grunt-y for me, especially compared to Kotobukiya’s Frame Arms line. But if there’s one 30MM kit that caught my attention recently, that would be the 30MM Spinatio [Knight Type].
Spinatio units have a small robot at its core and usually come with armor inspired by different warrior motifs, including this one that’s based on a medieval knight. This immediately gave me Knight Gundam vibes, also not to mention the design just looks good in my opinion. That doesn’t guarantee a purchase though, but we’ll see.
30MM 1/144 Spinario [Knight Type]
November 2022 / ¥1,480
Order via HobbyLink Japan
I actually intend on pre-ordering these two kits but didn’t for some reason, especially after I chose them over Tamashii Nations’ Robot Spirits figures which were solicited at the same time. Adding a couple more to the wave of 90s mecha kits coming out Good Smile Company are MODEROID Yuu Brain (it’s been spelled “Yuu” for the longest time) and Hime Brain from Yoshiyuki Tomino’s Brain Powerd.
For all intents and purposes, these are the same mold just with color swaps, though I’m curious on how the orange bits would come to be. Will the kits include decals or stickers for these, or they’ll be pre-painted? Tamashii Nations did things differently with The Robot Spirits versions — the orange parts were made from translucent orange plastic with sculpted detail underneath, which looks really nice. But I chose the kits, so I have to contend with answering this question.
I’ll probably check out a couple of straight build reviews before adding these kits to the online cart of my choosing, assuming they’re still available by then.
MODEROID Hime Brain
November 2022 / ¥4,500
Order via HobbyLink Japan
MODEROID Yuu Brain
November 2022 / ¥4,500
Order via HobbyLink Japan
