Shipped overseas and repackaged in the ’70s and ’80s, the Japanese concept of “giant robots” has become a global phenomenon, the stuff of Hollywood films, video games, TV shows, and more. But back then, as much now, the art of big robots has bore witness to a range of global contributions, influences, and shared inspiration.
While Gundam is everywhere today, for most of the ’80s and ’90s it was up to Western anime fans to carry the torch of Gundam through fanzines, magazine articles, and newsgroups.
In the midst of the rushed pre-production process on the third Gundam TV series a last-minute design change created one of the more interesting production footnotes in Gundam history.
With the gunpla boom riding high and Bandai rolling out its new Mobile Suit Variations series, original Gundam mechanical designer Kunio Okawara tried his hand at sculpting an original garage kit.
The gunpla boom of the early ’80s saw an explosion of interest in mecha modeling and provided unprecedented opportunities for a group of model enthusiasts that dubbed themselves “Stream•Base.”
During the gunpla boom of the early ’80s, giant robots were everywhere… even safety campaigns for kids. Meet Japan National Railways’ Gundam doppelganger, Railway Crossing Warrior Shadan.
Gundam fans dancing in the streets in Tokyo circa 1980. Who were the Tominoko Tribe?
With the gunpla boom in decline and TV robot anime losing its luster, in 1985 Bandai began to look for new ways to embrace older fans and early otaku.
A quick look through a 30-year-old catalog from garage kit manufacturer Kotobukiya.
At the tail end of the gunpla boom, Bandai’s enthusiast publishing and garage kit division, B-Club, unleashed a monthly magazine and dozens of garage kits on a modeling community that was growing out of normal plastic model kits.
