Something New? Sci-Fi? Gundam? Fantasy?

[Dave Ward]

I've been working on my Sd.kfz. 7, and thought - how about totally going out of my comfort zone, and trying something really new? - I had sort of rejected Sci-Fi & Fantasy in the past, but I'm thinking this is about time I actually made one or two models in these genres ( so I can say 'tried that' ).
Of course this depends on the right price! :rolling:. I see loads of Star Wars kits - Fantasy not so much ( definitely not the tiny figures!! ), and as a branch of that the models that seem to be labelled 'Gundam'.
Is Gundam a trade name? - I've seen this type of models labelled as Mechas, as well - as you can gather, I know nothing about this area of model making.
Is there a particular retailer that specialises in these?, or is ebay the best place?. I see Bandai as the makers name that is common, but are there any others that one of the members can point me to?
Many thanks for reading this ramble, it's just a thought in the back of the mind at the moment, but I might just act on it!
Dave

[Guest]

Be interesting to hear from the followers of this Dave .
Think Tim might know something , I'm another one who's heard that name as well .

[Gary MacKenzie]

Gundam ..... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundam

Hasegawa do some ''krieger'' models -- http://www.hasegawa-model.co.jp/gsite/item_g/mk_g/

Would love to make some of the models but many are very expensive, and a lot of the non-japanese origin models are garage kits.

There is a half-way series , a mixture of anime/manga and real world kits ----- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls_und_Panzer --- It was a fairly big hit amongst anime/manga fans. a kit review @ https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/...s-mini-review/

[Tim Marlow]

Be interesting to hear from the followers of this Dave .
Think Tim might know something , I'm another one who's heard that name as well .

Sorry Dave/John, apart from the fantasy figures it’s really not my scene….Revell make a fair selection of sci Fi kits though.

[rtfoe]

Not my scene either...I always poke fun at my fellow Gundam building friends by calling it Gundamn and they try at every level to make me get into it. I've got one Zaku...lovely engineered kit by Bandai but regret it's going to stay in the box and shelf. Bandai is the creme d la creme for Gundamn kits and engineered even better than the best of Tamiya kits. Partly is because of moving parts and seamless snap fit of colored parts. Their StarWars kits are one of the finest made and I have a booklet given to me by one of the local distributors on their new range of StarWars kits...



If only Bandai made military models but they already have a worldwide following with their Gundamns and retail at every toyshop and specialty fantasy shops and don't need to. I think they also have exclusive StarWars rights.

Cheers,
Richard

[Mini Me]

I don't know if this would be of interest Dave....you may recall, Simon T. was working on one of these Yufan figures at the time of his passing. Thought I'd pass this on to you. It is fairly large scale and "fantasy" as well.

[Gern]

Got to agree with Richard. I've bought a few of the Bandai Star Wars kits and have to say the quality and detail of the mouldings are absolutely the best I've ever seen. They can be found on ebay and sometimes the prices get silly, but well worth looking out for.

[GerryW]

Might be worth editing the thread title to see if it'll 'attract' the sci fi/fantasy modellers to comment?

[Dave Ward]

All,
thanks for your input - it really is uncharted territory for me - I frightened myself by looking at some of the larger Bandai models - woww, prices high or wot?
This will need a thorough internet search, although I think i will avoid the specialist forums on these subjects. They seem to take things very seriously!!
Dave

[Guest]

Fantasy not so much ( definitely not the tiny figures!! )

Typical fantasy, of course, typically doesn’t have many vehicles and things, though you should be able to find some war machines type of kits that are much larger than the figured. Or large beasts, like dragons, mammoths, etc.

Is Gundam a trade name? - I've seen this type of models labelled as Mechas, as well - as you can gather, I know nothing about this area of model making.

“Mecha” is the generic name for giant fighting robots in science fiction. Gundam is a specific media franchise of them that originated as a TV series.

Aside from Star Wars there are also models based on various other SF shows and movies, including Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica (both the 1970s and 2000s shows), Babylon 5 and more. Of course, these are mainly of interest to people who like the movies/shows, though there is nothing stopping you from making entirely your own interpretation of it without reference to those at all.

[Dave Ward]

WELL,
after a couple of hours, I've found out (or rediscovered ) the reason why I've never made any of these genre. There are some superb models BUT prices are high, the lower the price ( particularly Mechas ), the more toylike they become, this applies to Sci-Fi as well, generally ( although some of the lower end Revell Star Wars models look quite good ). Fantasy tends more to figures, resin being common & expensive ( Although the ICM 1/16 GOT figures look good ). Nothing really stands out as being attractive to my taste!
SO, it was an idea, but on closer inspection, it will stay an idea.........................
Dave