The REVISED Total Beginner's Guide to Gundam Models (Gunpla) Part 1: Introduction

Описание: Yes that's right, the big 5-year anniversary project I had planned was an overhaul of The Total Beginner's Guide to Gundam Model Kits. Now with 47% more information, 71% less rambling, and (once it's complete) 150% the runtime. This edition of the guide will be broken into three parts, the second part coming in a couple weeks (hopefully), and the third part coming at some point farther down the line.


USEFUL RESOURCES:

www.dalong.net - detailed galleries of every gunpla ever made. A great resource to keep handy.

   / gundaminfo   - An official channel run by Sunrise where you can watch select Gundam anime for free. Not directly gunpla-related, but it's sometimes fun to see what your favorite gunpla is modeled after.

http://gundam.wikia.com/wiki/The_Gund... - The Gundam and Gunpla wiki.

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WHERE TO BUY GUNPLA:

JAPANESE SHOPS (all of these stores ship to most parts of the world, and have fully or near-fully English websites. Unless the exchange rate is unusually unfavorable, they have the cheapest prices you'll find. Shipping can get expensive, however, especially for larger orders.):

www.hlj.com - HobbyLink Japan, my personal favorite. Good prices, good selection, a shipping estimator, and an order holding/combining system that is very handy.

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/gundam/ - HobbySearch has a more exhaustive selection than HLJ, but their prices and shipping are slightly higher.

http://www.amiami.com/top/page/c/gund... - AmiAmi has the cheapest prices of the three, and on occasion they even get “used” (not really used, just unsealed with some box damage usually) kits for even less, but they sell out FAST. Their shipping I've found to be the most expensive of the bunch, but they do pack things very securely.



US-BASED SHOPS (obviously this is only relevant if you live in America. You'll always be paying more if you order from a US store, but shipping is much faster. Also it shows Bandai that there's a market outside of Japan for Gunpla. Ordering from a US based store is not recommended for international builders. If you're outside of the US, just get your kits either from whatever stores may be present in your country, or directly from Japan. Otherwise you're basically paying to import a kit twice.)

www.newtypehq.com - Channel 2S's official partnered gunpla source! They're an all around great place to get gunpla from (flat rate shipping, free shipping on larger orders), and if you use coupon code CHANNEL2S at checkout, you get 10% off your order AND help support this channel!

www.usagundamstore.com - A popular choice in the US. I used them a LOT before I discovered Newtype, and while their prices are decent I did find their customer service to be a bit hit or miss.

www.amazon.com - Amazon only carries a small selection of gunpla themselves (everything else is from third party sellers, and 99% of them are based in Japan), but they’re often the cheapest option you’ll find. Also, Prime shipping means you get them super fast.

www.gundamplanet.com - Gundam Planet, a very popular choice. They're expensive, even for a US-based store, so I generally don't use them. They also have a physical storefront in NJ, which is worth checking out if you're nearby. It's always fun to pick out gunpla in person!

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ - most Barnes & Noble stores have at least a small handful gunpla to choose from. Usually just Wing and Build Fighters stuff, but sometimes you can find something interesting. They're pretty expensive, though.


Generally if I’m looking for a particular kit I check Newtype, the USA Gundam Store, then HLJ.
You should always check out your local hobby shops first to see if they stock Gunpla. Many of them don’t, but you might get lucky.