As Old Ben Kenobi once said “ You just took your first step into a larger world “.

As someone who suffers from ADHD and loves Gunpla, I’ll say they are very compatible. It’s one of the few hobbies that reigns in my attention and really helps me focus. I suffer from anxiety issues as well and nothing helps me find my center better then just sitting down and working on a model for a few hours. Also this is a high grade kit. You wanna see some crazy detail and articulation, Looking at master, real or the huge perfect grade kits. Those can take months or even a year to put together if you work slow but are so very rewarding

As a Gunpla modeler for years, you have no idea on how long I have waited for this moment

I found Gunpla during Covid, and the combination of model kits and action figures has been addicting for me. It helps that I love the designs and the show, but for the price of a kit and the amount of articulation and variety of designs, you cannot beat Gunpla. I fully admit that I play with my gundam kits like action figures, and being able to pose and display them exactly how I want is what keeps me coming back.

I'm really glad you liked it. The snap fit technology Is what makes them so addictive. There are more than 2000 kits making it a super deep rabbit hole.

Oh no, he’s going down a dark and more importantly, expensive path

As a general mecha fan - the RX-78-2 is indeed the original Gundam, the one the first show was named after. Thus, it gets a ton of rereleases and tends to get really good tooling. (the funniest part is that a lot of them end up having better pose-ability than the original Gundam - in its canon, it came in 3 parts, which could be theoretically interchanged with two other Mobile Suits, though they never did that in show, and the middle part was a jet for ejection purposes. This meant that all three of those mobile suits couldn't really bend at the waist or in their central part)

Gundam is a lot of fun. That's for sure. The models are great too. Glad you enjoyed it!

Glad to see you getting into Gundam! The HG line (which the RX 78 you have) is in 1/144 scale and is in scale with Bandai's small stand Star Wars kits! It puts the Gundam in scale when you put it next to an X-Wing. These model kits are my absolute favorite because of that feeling you described at the end. It's a real genuine feeling of creation and I do love that we can pose them and change things up :) Really hope you check out more down the line!!

Between Lego and Gundam Michael is going to need another credit card...

As a Gundam fan and builder myself, this is the first time seeing you doing Gunpla, High Grades are the best start before taking on Master Grade, Real Grade and Perfect Grade. Keep up the good work, Pilot. ^^

As someone who often puts your videos on in the background while building their Gunpla kit, it's a pleasant surprise to see that you've now dipped your toes into my all-time favorite hobby.

I also really love the Panel Lining work that some experienced builders pull off on their designs. Adds a nice detail touch. I have a feeling there will eventually be a little glass cabinet, or at least a shelf, dedicated to these in the RetroBlasting room

Very exciting to see Gundam on this channel! I hope this is the first of many! Also I will have you know those are not "energy swords" or "light sabers", they are Beam Sabers and are a completely original idea that has nothing to do with any other so called laser swords 🤣

It’s good to hear you happy. I’m glad you had fun.

I don't know a thing about Gundam, but living in Asia I've had some exposure to it. They have fan made Dioramas at toy shows with battles and robots in flight, LED's and particle effects. Really intricate and cool looking stuff.

Hg is good MG is much much better but it depends how deep into the g-hole you want to go. The engineering in these kits is fantastic, cover seam lines with the model itself and multiple colours on one runner. Bandai makes a really nice grendizer and mazinger Z HG kit. The idea that if you build it you will cherish it more works here. Very similar to ikea products, you feel more connected with the item. I wish they would make a battle of the planets set.

Gunpla is a very deep rabbit hole. I started back in 1995 and I have lost count how many I have built. Welcome to Gunpla.

Michael finally getting getting into Gunpla is such a treat! The higher grade RX-78-2 has the best thing ever: the Gundam Hammer. Also, in the show and movies, Amuro would just throw away the rifles when he was done with them lol, hence why there isn't not a spot to store the rifle. Then again, on my MG, the rifle stores on the back like the hyper bazooka.

Glad your experience was positive. The light sabre swords are really long and I love the aesthetic of how they look. I've a half built astro droid hidden away. Although my eyes are nothing like they used to be I think your have inspired me to go finish it!

Bandai's Gundam model kits area really amazing. I actually started building them last year when my local store had a huge collection of these model kits with some being $15, gave it a chance and became addicted. I mostly started out with HG but I build my first Master Grades recently and im building a Real Grade now. The new kits are especially amazing from the Witch From Mercury series as they have really put their all into making some of the best model kits at an insanely low price point. I think what I love about these model kits is that the building process is where a lot of the fun comes from. I use to collect a lot of figures but once you open and display them you aren't getting a lot out of it. Model kits you build up then as a reward you get a really nice display piece. Glad to see you covering Gundam kits, hope you try out one of the newer kits in the future possibly!

I’d like to watch this but I’m getting some heavy Minofsky particle interference. I’ll relocate and try to reestablish my connection.

I stuff the negative spaces in Bandai kits with poster putty. It gives them “heft”.

If you enjoyed building the gundam model kit, then I strongly recommend Bandai's line of (officially licensed) Star Wars model kits.

I liked the video. The upbeat music was a nice touch it's neat seeing you enjoy something new. Keep up the great work!

When the Mazinger Z Infinity movie released, since we in Mexico are old time fans, I was excited to find a Bandai Snap-On Mazinger Z that looked absolutely fantastic! The price was a little high, but all things considered, and after the experience of assembling it and seeing how detailed and beautiful it is, it was worth every penny. You reminded me how awesome it was.

my 50+ Master Grade kits are still my most priced possessions even after I started collecting 1/12 scale action figures.

Gunpla is rewarding. The time taken to build and hone the mechs is returned in full with a well-designed, durable model. The history of Gundam is fascinating, as is the brief time of Clover, a Japanese toy company that made the original Mobile Suit Gundam toys. As always, excellent content.

Glad you enjoyed it! This really is a deep rabbit hole in terms of a hobby but they definitely are fun to handle. Especially now as they expand from Gundam into other IPs like the new HG Super Robot Wars OG line and the HG Macross line that're just starting out

The gate way drug has commenced….God speed Michael 🎉

Something i love about Gunpla, is that once you learn techniques and know your tools through and through, you can breeze through the builds, i’m talking about getting a kit done in a couple of hours

Judging by the people Lio has to deal with on his channel, I can fully understand why he needs the Zen-like process of building Gundams.

Seeing you branch out into new subjects is exciting.

Shout out to Lio for getting some anime inspired products on this channel lol. Great overall video I feel the same regarding these building kits I wish I had more time to dedicate to it.

Thanks for your comments and experience. I enjoy the Gundam franchise as far as animation, and I did have a large MSIA action figure collection at one time, that I've since sold. But your comment about needing to be focused and not having ADHD was appreciated. A school counselor tried to say my young son had that condition, but I knew he was wrong, my son like many kids will just get bored if.not properly engaged. We got him into another school and he is fine. He started building Gundam models about 3 years ago. He is now 17 and has about 30 of them. All different scales and types,but man...is he laser focused when he gets started. He would do.one.of those smaller kits in one sitting taking about 3-4 hours. Bigger sets I make him stop and take breaks in between, but man I am proud of him.

I watched this during my lunch break and came away wanting to build one of these😅. Key take away: the zen like aspect of focusing on something that gets your off the daily grind as opposed to the instant gratification of getting a figure , opening it and just displaying it.! Ps the all white looks good Michael ! 👍👍👍

I just wanted to say it’s your Playmobil reviews that got me excited about the property. My son’s 3rd birthday is in July and I can’t wait for us to make some of those sets together.

Got these for my (then) 9 and 11 year olds during the pandemic at Target. And had a rush of memory come into my head that I had been introduced to these types of model kits in the 90s by a good friend of mine at the time. So ended up getting one for myself. Like you, did my best to make mine look polished and teach my kids not to rush theirs. And that you can play with these, is a great thing, not just something you look at on a shelf (like you said). Surprised this didn't take off in the US. To play with something after you put in time, effort and elbow grease is something kids (and adults) need to learn.

The world of Gundam is an amazing one, so many different eras, different factions, different designs for the Mobile Suits. Not to mention they have model kits for anyone if any skill level. I’ve built models for the last nearly 30 years, I’ve been building Gundam model kits for the last 18 of those years. You’re in for a real treat! Sorry if I prattled on like a idiot, I’m just that enthusiastic about Mobile Suit Gundam. 😅

Cool video Mike you look relax when you did this video and satisfy as well

Another Awesome video! Glad to see lio conviced you into doing some fun with gunpla! For myself, My love for gundam started in my very late teens, around the time toonami on cartoon network was running gundam wing and the movie gundam wing: endless waltz. I'd built about 8 or 10 of the kits, including one of the larger 1/100 scale kits...but after a few years gained interest in something else, along with all those various things of life that change, but I'd never really forgotten them. 3 or so years ago, during the whole mess of a pandemic, and a issue with my heart that same year(thanks fate!😝) I found myself with some months of recovery time on my hands and managed to see some of the gundam offered at hobby lobby, picked one up, and and got back into building gundam again like I'd never stopped(granted, about a year or so before that I'd gotten back into model building as well) I honestly find it less stressful than actual model kits the lack of a need to paint them or use glue being a key factor..and thier more forgiving nature to being dropped! Hope to see some more videos like this from time to time!

When I did gunpla it was also Gundam. My kit was designed such that you could lift the torso from the midsection and the midsection from the pelvis and the midsection actually turns into a spaceship.

Very happy Mike i am super fan of Gundam i have a bunch of series and movies welcome to a whole new world and went I say world’s i really mean many versions era's is a big universe my favorite is Gundam Wing, Gundam Orphans and Gundam Seed

Interesting build! Thanks Michael!

Before I gave up on the Star Wars Black Series line, I bought a Bandai C3P0/R2D2/R5D4 to put on the shelf with them, because the Hasbro figures weren't readily available. I've done a ton of model making, so I wasn't to worried. What I got honestly blew me away. Those three figures look amazing. Building them was super fun, and the finished figures were better than anything Hasbro has produced in years. I had planned on doing some paint apps to make everything perfect (like the details on 3PO's wiring) but I didn't need to paint anything.

I started out building model cars a long time ago, and moved on to occasional military planes and helicopters, and very rarely scratch building my own sci-fi stuff. A friend of mine suggest I start with Gunpla, and it totally scratches that building itch in me. Well made, interesting engineering on the fancy kits, and tons of space for me to add those scratch built elements. I still don't know much about most of the Gundam shows, but hasn't stopped me from enjoying the hobby in the slightest.

Try a Master Grade next time. You’ll fall in love with the engineering and it’s more durable! Awesome 1st step!

I've been an artist since I was three, and later got a degree in VFX. When I decided against moving to California to get my foot in the door for minimum wage, I started building Gundam. Even if you don't know the franchise they're like toys you get to customize. With Gundam I've learned to hand paint and airbrush models, build custom details, and even wire and install pico LEDs for future builds.

I agree with everything you said here. I Love Gunpla models. I love Model building, japanese anime not so much. My son loves anime, but not model building so much. Since he lives with his mother. I struggle sometimes finding something for he and I to do that we both have aspects we enjoy. Gunpla was the golden ticket. When he was little. STAR WARS was a huge help in this, but he has since then outgrown all that. Lol mean while I'm 48 and still play with toys. Anyway, yea we have now built more than a few of these together. Some of the larger kits can be extremely expensive, but there are plenty that are affordable enough to buy on the regular. Then when you throw in the larger more intricate kits for like Christmas and birthdays. It works out just fine. Either way the time my son and I have spent together with each other building these things. That part is priceless. They're only young once and then that time is gone. Very cool video, and thank you for what you do.

Yay! Big Gundam fan so I’m super excited to see this video from you!

Great work! My son built his first model four years ago when he was 8. I helped by cutting the pieces off the sprues and applying those decals (you weren't kidding about those decals, especially the ones that serve as the eyes on the head and the small green trapezoid decals that serve as cameras). He started with HG and now has moved on to Real Grades (RGs) and is even starting to panel line his gunplas after assembling them (using fine point markers to add detail, especially on the arms and legs). His mother and I credit his building for his grades at school. They helped him to concentrate and focus on attention to detail. I can't wait to show my son this video so he can see your work.

Ah, Gunpla. 'Tis great fun. I only have a handful of sets, but they're a joy to put together. I actually have the _Toy Story_ *Woody and Buzz* models, and they're basically the figures I've always wanted of those characters. Buzz is my particular favourite, because aside from being my childhood hero, he also has _spring-loaded pop-out wings._ Insane gimmick engineering for that scale. 🤯 Also, if you're having any issues with sticker decals, I can suggest some paint applications. BUT FEAR NOT! There's an easy painting solution to this: *Posca Pens.* I don't know if they're sold in the US (hello from Ireland), but these are acrylic paint pens whose pigment can adhere to plastic with no priming and have maximum opacity. It helps to touch up to details on certain areas e.g. when I was colouring the belt loops blue on Woody's brown belt. The basic pack comes in a nice variety, plus you can also get individual pens in various sizes of nib. I know you've got a schedule to keep, but it's just in case you wanted to take things up another level. Certainly did with the Lego Well of Souls. Hope you find some more models that you like! 😁

Nice to hear that feedback from the first one you built! It's magical to see it come together and super relaxing. Now... grab a 0.1 pigmented ink pen (you know, those for technical drawings) and go over it's panel lines for a much, much more detailed look! Believe me, they look amazing when fully detailed. Regarding sticker decals, you get used to it. There are grades like RG which have a million of those, and way smaller as well, but usually if you take your time and then learn how to place/apply them it gets easier. Also, different grades also have different decal options (water slides, dry transfers or just regular stickers).

Hearing you say you enjoy my favorite hobby makes me so incredibly happy! Glad you enjoyed it and hope you build another!

I've seen some of these figures for actually quite a good price, I'm not really into anime or mecha but they do look really cool. Michael, I think you would like Mythic Legions figures. They are made with a lot of care, with great sculpting and paints, simple but well made articulation and great accessories. The Four Horsemen, the company that makes them, have even been getting around to including cloth capes and pieces with them, and the results are honestly incredible. And if you live in the US, they're pretty simple and easy to get, and not to expensive. Great quality, honestly one of the last remaining companies who make figures that good in my opinion. They feel more like art pieces than toys.

I have a Macross Armored Lady kit from the 80s but I've never had anything like this. I didn't realise how cool they looked.

I glad you are going to build more kits I went to a hobby shop recently and found kit based on old arcade shooters like gradius and r type so that might be interesting

I find it funny that you talk about energy investment. I am still fairly new to gunpla but I have a lifelong background of Lego and other modelkits. Honestly I build Gunpla to gain energy. It halps me focus and clear my mind for a few hours. It really helps destressing. That said the entry grade RX-78-2 probably would have been a better start for you as that one does not have any stickers since it does not need them. But if you are continuing with Gunpla I would highly recommend you give the new HG Witch from Mercury or modern Real Grade sets a try. They give extreamly great results with a super low skill floor to enter.

I was thinking to request you talk about gundam last night, but tought it will be too much to ask, but omg Michael, you did it!

You'll be thrilled to know that Gundam has a sort of sister line called Minipla/Shokugan Modeling Project that focuses on the various mecha from anime and Super Sentai. Among them is the one and only Voltron.

I totally adore the original 1979 Gundam series if you have the time for about 40 20 minute long episode I recommend it with my whole heart

Gunpla is freedom dude.

I’m so glad you tried it out! It’s my main obsession and I love your perspective

Congrats on the gunpla. As a fan of the original 1979 anime, and its sequels, including Zeta Gundam, ZZ Gundam, Char's Counterattack, Gundam F91, and Victory Gundam, I have to give you a heads up, it's VERY brutal. Gundam is the antithesis of Star Wars, much in the same way Terry Nation's Blake's 7 is. I would go as far as it's creator Yoshiyuki Tomino's critique of Star Wars, since it makes the accusation that the Original Trilogy tends to glory armed conflict. In other words, Gundam isn't a battle of good vs evil, it's not a feel good utopia, nor is it episodic, it's a long serialized saga about teens who get thrown into an armed conflict against their will, and endure PTSD, loss, and sorrow.

If you cannot tell by your comment section, you have many enthusiasts in your audience! Gunpla is a huge rabbit hole If you try to dig too deep into it, but you can also have a great time as a casual builder as well. The kit you built is the most basic version of the RX -78-2 you can build that requires tools for the full hobby experience. so as an introduction to the format it was a great choice! As The flagship design, and the most common grade and scale. there are simpler versions that don't require tools that look almost as nice, and versions that have two or three times the parts count for maximum detail in the same scale and form factor. There's so much to explore, and I have honestly sold my soul to this demon, but if you have any questions about anything just field them at the community (or you could DM me if you wish) I'm sure we could answer all your questions when you decide to sortie once again into Gunpla.

Great video! You can really tell you enjoyed building the kit!

Great overview Michael. Your content is always top notch and authentic.

My first Gundam models (no one I knew was calling it “Gunpla” yet) were Wing Zero and Deathscythe Hell 1/144 scale in 2000. I have 20 couple at this point. I love the overall Gundam universe. Though some of the shows/movies are better than others. I didn’t expect to see the subject come up on this channel. Nice.

You sir may have just awakened as a newtype

There used to be comic shop near me in the late 80's that had a bunch of kits, I used to buy them for like $12 bucks. Nowadays i see them and get sticker shock 😅

There is an incredible world in gundam. You really should explore it more. They also have prebuilt action figures that have all the same articulation. I love building them and also have a few prebuilt gundam.

Glad you enjoyed your first gunpla.

Was actually searching for a good review of HGUC RX-78-2 revive. I know the kit and also not new to gunpla, but I had some questions about the face of this kit. In most reviews I couldn't see what was up with the head of a kit, either sticker was put a little wrong or head wasn't shown enough. And then this video review, this is actually what I was searching for, a great close-up shots of a revive kit, and also perfectly put on eye sticker (Now iam sure that the head is perfect for what I need). And all of this with a perfect review and narration. Thank you for your work.

Michael showcasing the details of what Gunpla is is excellent. Not to worry, there is a Gundam channel on KZfaq that you can check out the first series including its recent movie - Cucuruz Doan Island which was a remake of ep 15 from the original series but better.

Nice. I love these models, some are crazy looking detail, and they make very nice display poeces

Gunpla is one of the tropes of Sgt. Frog AKA Keroro Gunso, and a favorite topic of Yellow Flash.

So cool! Makes me want to try these!

I've been tempted to get one of those despite my lack of interest in the vast worlds of Gundam. This makes me more interested in trying to assemble one. Thanks. 🙂

subscribed because of this video! You should continue doing this sir. This is great

Oh that's great you actually got your fist gunpla there really fun and time consuming, in a good way I only have one

I'm building Gunpla since 2013 and I have to say this hobby actually cure my ADHD (it's helping me on concentration) the only drawback of this was now I'm running out of space...

Great video as always! I also started out with the standard model kits (first model I finished with paint and all was a Revell Ju-88) before I dabbled with gunpla a couple of years back which started me into collecting

Hey there Michel! I'm glad to see yo gave Bandai's Glunpla line of model kits a try. I'd recommed you look up 30 minute missions, they are another model kits made by bandai in the style on GunPla that take far less time and effort to put together. They're designed to be assembled in just 30 minutes. You can mix and match parts from different kits to create your own custom creations. Take care!

Love Gundam! Good stuff!

My favorite KZfaqr trying my favorite hobby. This was great Michael, thank you. Gunpla always needs more exposure

Its a good property to pick up, SO MANY flavors to dip into. If you take it properly it will leave you VERY happy! I built many when I was stationed in Japan, perfect distraction when out at sea and on holiday routine Saturday night and all day Sunday! Hope you get to do more! 👍🏾👍🏾💯 It helped me figure out other techniques to work on custom figs.

It's crazy, this was my first Gunpla kit I ever built

So beautiful!👍

The intro was funny. I get that you want to colour coordinate with whichever figure or line you are speaking about, and I'm a t-shirt + shirt guy too so I like your style anyway!

Skip the snap ones go towards the Master Grades!!! They are engineered so well!! And weathering them is the icing on top!!

You did a great job on that model, looks fantastic, the hurt in those shoulders and back was well worth it!

I have collected a lot of Bandai product over the years (mainly the original Saint seiya Cloth series and the Myth Cloth series, as well as some Chogokin stuff) and i'm willing to admit that, although they have made bad decisions and engaged in bad practises on occasion, in general I still trust their quality the most among the major toy labels when it comes to figures and vehicles.

Glad you enjoyed it, wait until you try a master grade kit. The detail is over the top. Another line to check out would be the Kotobukiya Zoids HMM series. You could do lead video off their vintage sub sets; the 80’s Robostrux models.

Thank you for making this video. I never really understood what gundom is. Now that I do I want one

The Bandai Star Wars figure kits, like the Stormtrooper..... chiefs kiss.

Oh man he is ecstatic with a HighGrade and its detail. Wait until he gets the PerfectGrade Unleashed kit.

Thanks for sharing.

'Once you pop, you can't stop.' -- pringles, also, gunpla

Nice! I’ve always wanted a Gundam too.

The model kits are very fun and satisfying, i wish they stayed together a little better however