Gunpla 101

Gunpla Pre-orders and New Releases for July-August 2017

Otakon is upon us! Let me give you the details:

On Sunday, August 13, John and I will be presenting our panel, “Gunpla is Freedom,” at 10:15 AM in Panel 5. If you’re a regular Gunpla 101 reader, there won’t be a lot of content you don’t know, but we’ve done our best to present it all in a very fun way. We will also be giving away select Gunpla kits!

If you don’t feel like waiting around for the giveaway, why not check out the latest releases and order (or pre-order) something new right now? Here’s what’s new this month.

New Releases for July 2017

RE/100 AMX-103 Hamma-Hamma (pictured at top)

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ is a polarizing show, but this new addition to the Re/100 line is pure awesome. Mashymre Cello’s mecha lives on, rendered in never before seen detail. I love that its red, yellow, and green color-scheme is enhanced by plastic parts instead of cheap stickers.

HGBF Chinagguy (pictured above)

Straight from the Gundam Build Fighters first ending sequence comes China Kousaka’s Beargguy suit. More cute than sexy, it (probably) won’t get any weird looks when I put it on display. Ilike how the apron parts are made of super-flexible plastic for a more figure-like feel.

HG Gundam Astaroth Rinascimento (pictured above)

From Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans: Steel Moon, a manga that is not released in my country, comes this bulky suit with Medieval sensibilities. Its signature weapon is the “bastard chopper,” which isn’t a bad word—in Medieval times, a “bastard” sword meant a one-handed sword.

HGUC MS-08TX/S Efreet Schneid

A less celebrated build from Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, the Efreet Schneid is getting its day in the sun with this model. It’s all right (and pleasantly purple) but in my opinion, why go for this when you can splurge and get the way more detailed Re/100 version? (UPDATE: Check out @Manpig’s comment about why he believes the HG is an upgrade over the Re/100.)

Pre-orders for August 2017