Gunpla Resource Spotlight: 2013 Gunpla Catalogue

Have you ever been searching for a very specific Gundam that you didn’t know how to find?

We know that feeling. Since 1980, new Gundams have come out all the time. Now that there are hundreds of thousands in existence, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

At anime fan convention Otakon, however, we found two resources we’d never heard of before that should make Gundam plastic model identification a cinch.

The first was the 2013 Gundam Plastic Model Catalogue. It includes nearly every gunpla model ever sold anywhere in the world, but we don’t think it includes SD models.

The encyclopedia’s main language is Japanese, but almost every Gundam’s name is written in English, too. The book also reads from left to right, just like any English book. Bandai releases a new one every three years, which is why this is the 2013 version. In 2016, we’ll have to pony up for another one if we want it to include Gundams built up until then.

The Gunpla Catalogue set us back about $30, but it’s been invaluable as a reference. We’ll never be stumped on a Gundam’s name, origin, make or model ever again!

We also bought Mobile Suit Illustrated 2013, which is entirely another kind of reference, cataloguing every Gundam ever conceived, whether there’s a model of it or not! Whether it’s from a Gundam universe anime, game, or manga, there’s a picture. It’s a lot more complicated and more is written in Japanese, so we’ll save that for another blog post.