Life-Size Gundam Rising in July
Until now, even the largest Gundam models have been smaller than life-size. Sunrise created a 2/3-scale ten-meter Victory Gundam replica in the ’90’s, while a fanmade 1/3-scale Z Gundam replica stands at seven meters.
That all changes in July, when a full-scale eighteen-meter replica of the original RX-78 Gundam rises in Odaiba’s Shiokaze Park. The statue, patterned after the titular anthropomorphic military vehicle of the first Gundam anime series, will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Gundam franchise.
The statue will be free for viewing, but it will only stay up for two months. It will be built with fiberglass-reinforced plastic over a steel frame so it can be disassembled later. The head unit will move and the body will have 50 points that will emit light. Mist can shoot forth from 14 locations on the body. The park is just four trains stops from Tokyo Big Sight, the home of the Comic Market dojinshi convention and the Gundam Big Expo convention that will be held from August 21 to August 23.
The RX-78 Gundam is an iconic figure in Japanese science fiction, a futuristic weapons platform that has inspired actual research within Japan’s Ministry of Defense. Some experimental weapons in existence today, such as the Lockheed Martin MKV-L Multiple Kill Vehicle, use concepts first introduced in the Gundam metaseries.
Seeing their childhood fantasy life-size in the round should further inspire Japanese engineers to make that fantasy reality. Just hope nobody tries a Gundamjack.
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I just pray it’s either the old GUNDAM or it’s the Gundam Ez-8…
It’s the RX-78-2, the original old-school Gundam.
OH MY GOODNESS! Fan dream come true!
ok.So Gundam is soooooooooooooo Famous in Japan.But aren’t most of Japanese people today r now forgotten the old super robot animes like Voltes V,Combattler V,Daimos,Beast King Golion,Dairugger XV,Goshogun,Sei Juushi Bismark etc.?
Unlike those shows, Gundam treats mecha as practical military weapons instead of fantastic super robots. That’s why it’s still so popular after thirty years.
wow really?Thanks.