The morning was full of rain but I tried not to let that dampen my spirits. First up: the big corporate booths. The North Hall was chiefly for the corporate booths to display some of their upcoming releases and just about every single one was present in full force. A few also had some discounted model kits from their warehouse inventory, scrap part trees and all sorts of dead stock goodies(sadly, all the vendors except Bandai). I mainly went around to look at the new kits from Bandai and a bit of Hasegawa but giants like Fine Molds, Aoshima, and Tamiya were also present. Startups selling new lines of paints, airbrushes, cutters, and various other supplies were scattered throughout as well as plenty selling reference books. A firing range was also available for those wanting to test some airsoft.
BANDAI
Bandai had some much talked about kits lined up this year and I will post them in the order that they appeared at the company's display booth.
The new Origin Zaku II kit looks great! Possibly more posability, and definitely a more refined green color right out of the box.
The already released Atlas Gundam and the upcoming Ground Gundam type-s from the new episodes of Gundam Thunderbolt.
Build Fighters had some interesting new kits. The GM looks like it's gotten a nice face lift, quite literally.
With the popularity of the Super Fumina kits, it looks like Bandai has decided to release the Hyper Gyanko and Chinaggai in the same fashion, and are also teasing another mystery mecha-girl kit. Garage-kit like character figures are making a comeback!
The new Blue Destiny kit is also looking wonderful. If only it was a master grade..!
The MG Providence and many variations of the HGUC Barzam.
Ace Pilot series of customized Zakus.
The eagerly awaited K.A. ZZ Gundam! It's quite small but was the center of the entire booth.
The new entry into the RE line of kits is the 1/100 Hamma Hamma and it dwarfed the MG ZZ in height and detail. This was the most exciting kit of the booth for me personally.
Great weathering on these grunt kits.
Im quite excited for this line of mini kits from the mecha and vehicles in the Dragon Ball series! I love Akira Toriyama's mechanical designs. Each kit comes with a small part of Bulma's plane which you can assemble if you collect them all.
A small booth in front had a closer look at some of the upcoming kits. The Real Grade Unicorn was also a big announcement and it looks highly detailed. A closer look, too, at the new build fighter character kits.
Love Live! Sunshine was also present in a few forms: the complete line of Figure-Rise Busts as well as the Petiture rise of model kits. Why is Mari hiding in the back?
The latest Figure Rise bust was a surprise and no doubt going to be a hit - Hatsune Miku!
A huge ship from Yamato on display.
I skipped the Yamato and Macross displays and headed straight to the Votoms kits in the corner. A few new ones will be released soon, with not just a red shoulder but a red wing. The Votoms kits are a bit pricey but they are some of the best robot kits I have built. Thanks for keeping them alive, Bandai.
Impressive diorama with the tiny, Vehicle Model Star Destroyer in a scene from Rogue One. Let me emphasize that this line of kits is pocket sized, and this Star Destroyer is only a few inches long.
HASEGAWA
On the other corner was Hasegawa, best known for the aircraft kits. Here is their lineup of Macross kits.
They had plenty of Ma.K stuff as well, but I didn't get many pictures.
We-Go kits were also present.
These tiny paper craft dioramas are rather pricey but were a huge hit once they collaborated with Studio Ghibli and recreated famous scenes from their films. One small box costs about $20, and this immense model of the bathhouse from Spirited Away was a few hundred dollars. Notice the little characters standing on the bridge!
After the corporate was the real party: The Modelers Clubs in the South Hall and the smaller West Hall. Onwards!
-
Chris
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