Koba-Kondoh Document References & Links

The second of our Patreon-funded ‘zines, the Koba-Kondoh Document looks at two prominent mecha designers who came up during the earliest era of Gundam world building and development; Kazuhisa Kondoh and Makoto Kobayashi.

Articles included cover the early careers of both, the mechanical design process for Zeta Gundam, annotated book lists for both designers, and a guide for customizing gunpla models in a Koba-Kondoh style. Unlike our previous ‘zine, almost all of the writing in this volume is new.

Cover and interior artwork by Heng Wang.
Customized Koba-Kondoh style model kits by Klav, Hayden, and Heng Wang.

Availability

Initially, digital and print copies of the Koba-Kondoh Document will be available only via our Patreon. PDF copies will be available to all $5 Tier supporters, while print copies will be sent to $8 Tier supporters.

Print versions will be offered occasionally in our shop. The first run offered for general sale will happen sometime in February, 2024.

Sources

  • A brief history of Kaname Pro, Animetudes.
    Animetudes has spent a lot of time covering the history of Kaname Pro, a studio that doesn’t get much attention in English. Well worth diving into their research!
  • It’s Talk Show Time!, Two Factory.
    Two Factory is a great book if you want to jump into the careers (circa sometime in the late ’80s) of Makoto Kobayashi and Kow Yokoyama.
  • Kazuhisa Kondoh Interview, Mobile Suit Gundam Advanced Operation Data Book.
    This particular interview came from one of the books included with one of the PC-98 games that leaned heavily on Kondoh’s style (Tom Winnicki covered them years ago on Zimmerit), but it’s one of the more interesting interviews with Kondoh because it delves a bit more into his design process and even mentions the Third Reich aesthetic that was seemingly everywhere in the ’80s in Japanese nerd culture.
  • Simmons, Mark. Production History: Mobile Suit Z Gundam, Ultimate Mark.
  • Simmons, Mark. Production Reference: Gundam ZZ in B-Club, Ultimate Mark.
  • Simmons, Mark. Production Reference: Gundam ZZ Memorial Box, Ultimate Mark.
    I’m not sure how much there is to say about Mark Simmon’s ongoing coverage of Gundam production details that isn’t already known, but his work on Gundam Unofficial continues to be a must-read for anyone interested in the production history of Gundam.
  • Super Session Talk, Side Story of Gundam Z.
    There are at least two different collected versions of Kazuhisa Kondoh’s Side Story of Gundam Z manga. If you’re looking to pick one up, make sure an get the older B-Club version because not only is it a bit bigger and includes a scratchbuilt 1/60 Z-Gustav on the cover by Makoto Kobayashi, it also includes an interview with the two designers in the back.

Relevant Zimmerit Links