If you can’t tell from my recent posts on the life-sized Gundam statues linked below…
… I was finally able to go to Japan once more following the last in 2019! If you’re a Gundam fan visiting Japan, there’s one thing you must do besides visiting these life-sized statues — getting kits and more kits. Not only are they cheaper, but you’ll have a wider selection because of easier access to otherwise exclusive kits that would easily command marked up prices outside Japan. Given that our trip was basically split into a Fukuoka leg and Tokyo leg, I was able to plan which kits to get at which location.
You will notice that I took these photos with my empty luggage as backdrop, but that doesn’t mean that I was able to fit these in either my hand carried or checked in luggage. We tried and successfully shipped these purchases from Japan Post to our homes. I’ll probably document that experience in another post but in the meantime, here’s the merch! Let’s first start with the obvious, the GUNDAM SIDE-F exclusives.
Of course, on top of this list is the RG 1/144 RX-93ff Nu Gundam. Unlike the GUNDAM FACTORY YOKOHAMA exclusives, I didn’t really feel the need to outright purchase the GUNDAM SIDE-F exclusives when it opened in 2022. But given that we went there, it’s a no-brainer to put this Real Grade kit in my shopping basket. Fun fact, I’ve yet to build the RG Nu Gundam so this will still be a new experience for me, since I’m inclining to build this one first.
Still on Gundam Base exclusives, I also got these two. Prior to the trip, I was already set on getting the Entry Grade 1/144 Lah Gundam Prototype 1 since it was announced previously. What I didn’t plan and only knew while I was already in Japan, was the RG 1/144 Freedom Gundam Ver.GCP. I believe this kit was previously exclusive to The Gundam Base, Shanghai store and as mentioned, I only knew that it would be sold in GUNDAM SIDE-F after landing in Fukuoka. We were supposed to go there on Dec. 1, and the kit was scheduled to be released on Dec. 2. Following some scheduling changes (and not because I insisted because of this kit), everything aligned and our visit to GUNDAM SIDE-F was pushed to Dec. 2. And thus, you see the two kits above.
After doing a little research, this version of the RG Freedom is actually better than the original version, so I’m likely to build this one while keeping the other in the backlog.
Four out of the six kits I got were purchased in Fukuoka, which includes the HGFC Gundam Maxter as seen above. I believe that by the time of our visit, the kit was just released around a week or two before, so I’m quite confident that I’ll spot this one quite easily. To which I did at the Suruga-Ya second-hand goods store in Aru Aru City, Fukuoka. I actually recommend going there if you’re an anime fan since it’s a mall selling lots of anime and game merch. There’s also the Kitakyushu Manga Museum that we were initially planning to go to, but we just spent the time shopping instead.
The last Gunpla I got, and the only one I got in Tokyo, is the HGUC Nu Gundam [First Lot] version, which is a Gundam Fan Club exclusive. It’s basically the vanilla HGUC Nu Gundam with extra runner copies to replicate the First Lot colors. This officially puts my Nu Gundam kits in the backlog to five, along with two RGs, the original HGUC, and the Entry Grade. Little did I know that just a couple of days after purchase, they will announce a Real Grade version of this design, which will also be a GUNDAM SIDE-F exclusive. Bummer.
My last model kit purchase is this guy, the IMS 1/144 L.E.D. Mirage V3 [Light Armament] from Five Star Stories. For those unaware, Volks has been making FSS kits for a good while now, though most of them are older and can be challenging to work with. But in the last couple of years, they have launched their Injection Assembly Mortar Headd Series, or IMS, line which aims to provide a more modern build experience through better engineering and articulation. While they’re still not as easy as Bandai Spirits model kits, they should be a lot better than their older releases.
They have IMS kits in both 1/100 and 1/144 scale and I’ve been waiting for an IMS 1/144 kit of the L.E.D. Mirage. Fortunately, they finally released one last July though it was exclusive to the Volks physical and online stores via Amazon. So, when we went to Akihabara and spotted the Volks store, I immediately went in and asked the staff for this kit. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to build this one though at least it’s just waiting in the backlog.
Compared to my previous visits to Japan, my haul for this trip was larger. But then again, this was after four years so the feeling of needing to catch up is there. And as mentioned earlier, good thing we opted to ship some of these kits ahead of our domestic flight to Tokyo or it would be messier attempting to fit everything in my check in luggage. I also wish I got both the HG Gundam 00 Diver Arc and HG Plutine Gundam as we went to GUNDAM SIDE-F during their release day and saw plenty. When we went to Tokyo the day after and attempted to get both kits in the usual shops, they were gone.
In any case, this was a good and balanced haul in my opinion.
