Hi,

I just stumbled across this section of the forums, and it looks very interesting indeed. Where can I source good quality Gundam kits ? What is generally the best scale for these models ?

Dave

Not a Gundam expert (haven't built any) but this site has a lot of their stuff and I have bought other models from them so I can recommend them for service.

http://www.hlj.com/

You could also try here

Gundam scales comes from 1/100 (standard, mostly like what is 1/35 to AFV modelers), 1/144 (small scale, 1/72 to AFV modelers), to 1/60 (large scales).

I recommend 1/100 if you have a lot of HEIGHT shelf space.

* 1/100 is around 8-10 inches tall. It's a good size for the price.

* 1/144 is five to six inches tall, but IMO, has a tendency to fall apart even with the poly caps. Being so small, the stress and strain on the joints can't hold it together.

* 1/60...I've no idea...over a foot?

* High Grade = Snap together with NO internal structure (cheapest and easiest to make).

* Master Grade = Snap together WITH internal structure

* Perfect Grade = Snap together WITH internal structure and lots of extras (most expensive and most complex).

If you don't see HG, MG, or PG rating, that means that the Gundam kit was made in the 1970s or 1980s and is older and thus the engineering may not be as refined as the later HG, MG, and PG kits.

For buying, look all over online. Sometimes Toys R Us online as a 50-90% discount (you read right)/. Sometimes online COMIC book stores sell Gundam a lot cheaper than any online hobby store. Best bet is to do a YAHOO or GOGGLE under the Gundam name and see what pops up.

Even Hobby Easy or Lucky Model (see left ad bar) sells Gundams cheaper than HLJ and offers comparable customer service.

I would also say go with a 1/100 scale. I would go with a cheap one, just to see if you like it or not. Then, if you like it, work your way up.

If you like detail, go with a perfect grade. These have 500+ pieces and take a while to build. They are about 13 inches tall.

I find Gundams on eBay for cheap all the time.

There are also some newer 1/100 scales that don't have a grade. Gundam Seed and Seed Destiny models.

Thanks for your help everyone, 1/100 sounds like the scale for me.

Are all these kits snap together ones, or are there ones which you glue like trad kits ?

Dave

All the Bandai kits are snap together. Glue is helpful sometimes.

WARNING ADVICE: BE CAREFUL with Gundam snap-togethers because it's quite literally "snap-together and you're NOT going to be able to take the pieces apart again." The Bandai engineering is so precise that you cannot dryfit anything. The fit is so tight and nearly perfect. If you attempt to separate snapped Gundam pieces, you run the risk of breaking the pegs off and then that's a major problem.

As such do not dryfit the Gundam parts. Meaning, only snap together the pieces that you know you will never take apart again...ever. Therefore, most Gundam modelers cut the parts off the sprues, sand them, mount them on sticks, and airbrush the parts before assembly. So snap everything together and then paint, but that way you have to mask off areas to paint different colors.

:-)

I have never had any problem with that. Obviously, you do have to use great care when you take pieces apart. I've broken about 4 pegs over the course of 40+ gundams. I will completely build it, look to see if any areas need work, take it completely apart, paint the all the pieces and then rebuild it. All 4 of the pegs broke off after this process, paint or sealer accidently got on them before I put the piece back in place. Then I took the piece off to fix a problem, not knowing it was like that, and it broke.

Because the precision of the kits is so good you don't really need to dry fit.