Oh sure any fanboy can buy a mere Mobile Suit Gundam model kit and put it together — but only a hardcore fanboy like Taras Lesko can hand craft a seven foot tall Gundam out of paper! Shown below is the step-by-step assembly and a video that he made:

Found via labaq.com and technabob.com.

For those who like their old school anime mecha but need their magical girl fix I present the The Puella Magi MS-005 Kyouko Gundam. And for you model making fanboys and fangurls who like a challenge you might want to check out the Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Kyubey Papercraft kit (which is in a Pepakura Designer format).

Found via Kuro Shinko

I never had a chance to see it person, but Odaiba’s full-scale Gundam statue had served as a magnet for giant robot enthusiasts and tourism from around the globe. I had hoped to catch a glimpse of the statue after it had moved to Shizuoka, but the statue was dismantled at end of March. Given the recent drop in tourism, I’ve wondered if we’d ever have another chance to see the statue again. It doesn’t look likely, but Sunrise Studios recently announced plans to display at least a portion of the statue in Odaiba later this month. Starting Sunday, August 21st, visitors to Odaiba island’s Shiokaze Park can pay 500 yen to gain admission to the event between the hours of 6 AM to 10 PM. No word on which parts of the statue will be on display but guessing by the image on the official site, I assume it’ll be the head. Sure, it’s not the full statue, but it’s still a piece of history and definitely worth checking out.

photo via Aaron in Japan

Tim is a pro-blogger and freelance writer out of San Diego, California. In addition to Fanboy.com, several outlets he’s written for include the Japanese culture and entertainment blog, Japanator, and the collectible toy culture site Tomopop. For more information, follow him on twitter, or check out TimSheehy.com.

It looks as though Japan’s getting another awesome anime-related memory stick. Similar to the Evangelion usb stick I talked about last month, these upcoming Gundam memory sticks will likely hit Japanese shelves some time next month. I’ve got more memory sticks laying around than I can count on two hands, but I think  anyone would want to make an for these — I just wish wouldn’t have to import it, and that it’d come in a decent size. GeekStuff4U currently has them available for pre-order, but the only size they seem to have is 4 GB. That’s not very big by today’s standards, but then again, I’m sure most of you probably don’t store many documents — save for full-length feature films — over that limit, right? 

Tim is a pro-blogger and freelance writer out of San Diego, California. In addition to Fanboy.com, he contributes to the ModernMethod Network of sites as the Features and Reviews Editor for the Japanese culture and entertainment blog, Japanator. He’s also an Assocaite Editor for their popular gaming blog, Destructoid, and the collectible toy culture blog, Tomopop. For more information, follow him on twitter, or check out TimSheehy.com.

One of my favorite things about the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime series was that it really brought to life the idea of L5 space colonies which were envisioned by Gerard K. O’Neill in the 70s. Shown above is a fan made video of what modern Tokyo would look like inside one of these space colonies:

Amazing, isn’t it? While I’m sure this little Haro can’t possibly beat the limited edition Fist of the North Star alarm clock I bought when I visited Tokyo last month, it’s really cute and probably annoying enough to wake you from the deepest of sleeps. Modeled after Amuro Ray’s personal Haro bot, the Gundam mascot comes available in two distinct colors – pink and the original green. In addition to reciting a few lines from the show, it’ll flap its ears while it displays the time and date in Earth years. I was hoping it’d give us some kind of Universal Century equivalent but that’d be pretty useless. You can pick one up via Hobby Fan, but if you’re an Amazon prime member, you’ll want to order through them to save on shipping. The $69 price tag might seem a bit expensive, but can you really put a price on cuteness?

Tim is a pro-blogger and freelance writer out of San Diego, California. In addition to Fanboy.com, he contributes to the ModernMethod Network of sites as the Features and Reviews Editor for the Japanese culture and entertainment blog, Japanator. He’s also an Assocaite Editor for their popular gaming blog, Destructoid, and the collectible toy culture blog, Tomopop. For more information, follow him on twitter, or check out TimSheehy.com.

I can’t even count the ways I love this game. For those of you who may not have played the series, Dynasty Warriors Gundam combines the legendary anime with Koei’s Dynasty Warriors game mechanics. The end result? You control one of the enormous mechs as you fight through hordes of giant robots until you face off against other new-types in a bid to control the battlefield. Sure, the gameplay can seem a bit repetitive at times, but unlike the original Dynasty Warrior games,  the Gundam series has always presented me with more of a challenge.

Between having to accomplish missions within the scope of the battle itself, and constantly being thrown the proverbial curve-ball while attempting to complete those assignments, the game never seems to ease off the pressure. You can also make constant modifications to your Gundams which helps improve your gaming experience over time. Needless to say, it’s not just smashing buttons and hoping for the best.

As you can imagine, I’m pretty excited to hear that an official release date has been announced… for Japan. Don’t worry, this is one of those titles you can probably import without freaking out too much about the text and voice acting being entirely in Japanese. There’s a bit of reading, but when it comes to actually playing the game, you’ll probably have an easy time. If you want to mark your calenders, as I fully intend to do so myself, the game gets released December 16th. Oh, and if you’re wondering, yes that’s a screenshot of the actual gameplay above — it’s beautifully cell-shaded now.

found via andriasang

Tim is a pro-blogger and freelance writer out of San Diego, California. In addition to Fanboy.com, he contributes to the ModernMethod Network of sites as the Features and Reviews Editor for the Japanese culture and entertainment blog, Japanator. He’s also an Assocaite Editor for their popular gaming blog, Destructoid, and the collectible toy culture blog, Tomopop. For more information, follow him on twitter, or check out TimSheehy.com.

When I first heard the title Gundam Royale, I immediately thought of Daniel Craig doing an impression of Char Aznable. Needless to say, that’ll never happen. Instead the game is being toted as the first “social” game for the series. So what does that mean exactly? Well, that’s a really good question. First of all, the game will be released for mobile phones. As you can probably imagine, that likely means it’ll be an iPhone App here in the US. Only a few details about the actual gameplay have been revealed, so just how social is it? 

From what we’ve been told so far, the game will have you play through missions in order to obtain mobile suits. Here’s where the socializing comes into play. Instead of powering through the game to collect each suit one at a time, you’ll be able to trade with other players you meet, or train with them, though the benefits of doing so have yet to be revealed. So far, it doesn’t sound so bad. There’s been no word on when they plan on releasing the game, or some screenshots for that matter, so we’ll just have to wait and see where this goes.

Tim is a pro-blogger and freelance writer out of San Diego, California. In addition to Fanboy.com, he contributes to the ModernMethod Network of sites as the Features and Reviews Editor for the Japanese culture and entertainment blog, Japanator. He’s also an Assocaite Editor for the collectible toy culture blog, Tomopop. For more information, follow him on twitter, or check out TimSheehy.com.

Gundam Café in Akihabara opened back in April and is a living shrine of all things Gundam. Shy of traveling to Japan this amazing photo essay by kozika gives you a feeling of what it’s like to hang out there, order dessert, buy some goodies and yes even visit the loo:

Having been President of the Star Blazers Fan Club I’m still envious to this day the attention that’s lavished on Mobile Suit Gundam. This cover of Monthly Gundam Ace which goes on sale on July 26th is crammed with all sorts of goodies: Firstly you’ve got the celebration of the 15th anniversary of Mobile Fighter G Gundam but then you’ve got those cool Gundam collector’s cards and a story on Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.

Why is it that Japan gets all the cool phones? I’m serious. Sure we all have our Blackberries and our iPhones, but none of those come with model Gundams, or high resolution cameras. Well, Softbank’s upcoming Gundam Cellphone 945SH G certainly does. In addition to being a Sharp 945SH with a built in OLED display,  and 12.1 mega pixel anti-shake autofocus camera — yes, their phones have better cameras than ours — the limited edition phone will be packaged along with a model RX-78-2 Gundam and charger stand.

Made with a special inner framework that uses actual metal, the RX-78-2 kit that’s included is a special edition done to commemorate the 30th anniversary of model Gundams. As I mentioned before, the model’s stand doubles as a charge station for the phone, which displays a mock Gundam control console on the phone as its being charged. Check out Gigazine for more images.

Tim is a pro-blogger and freelance writer out of San Diego, California. In addition to Fanboy.com, he contributes to the ModernMethod Network of sites as an Associate Editor for the Japanese culture and entertainment blog, Japanator, as well as the collectible toy culture blog, Tomopop. For more information, follow him on twitter, or check out TimSheehy.com

This is the video for the Ichirou Mizuki song It Is Not This! Korejanai Robo! which tells the heartbreaking tale of a child otaku who years from a Gundam toy but whose clueless parents get him a cheap bootleg instead. Of course our little hero isn’t going to take this slight, so he takes his revenge on the wannabe Gundam. But this mecha knockoff has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Found via super fangurl Ardith Carlton.

My favorite thing about this Mobile Suit Gundam toy commercial? The fact that it shows all of those Bandai employees dressed in in uniforms from the show:

I also loved this master craftsman shot with the retro table lamp:

If you want to se the amazing range of plastic Gundam models you can go to gunpla30th.net.

Fanboys love their toys! And 2009 has been a great year for collectors of both high and low art, so we’ve put together our favorites from this year with an eye on unique twists on old themes. For example shown above O-No! Sushi by Andrew Bell is an urban toy reaction from a vegetarian to sushi.

007 fans should love the James Bond Girls Barbie Doll Assortment Case which features Honor Blackman in Goldfinger, Halle Berry in Die Another Day and Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder from Dr. No.

Godzilla MechaGodzilla Plush shows the soft lovable side of Godzilla’s nemesis.

Because diamonds are a kitty’s best friend! These faux diamonds on this ever so cute Crystallized Swarovski Hello Kitty MP3 Player caught our eyes.

It’s note quite a toy, but as collectors we loved how fashion designer Marc Ecko put together an entire line of hip looking Star Wars clothing.

This Where the Wild Things Are Max 400 Percent Kubrick Figure pays tribute to one of our favorite books from our collective childhood.

This Mobile Suit Gundam USB Memory device appeased our inner retro anime fanboy.

For Lucky Star fanboys this Lucky Star Nyamo USB Drive was too cute to pass up.

As a retrogaming fanboy my eyes lit up when I glanced at this NES Controller Business Card Case.

Batman? Check! Anime? Check! What can be cooler than this Batman Ame Comi Statue?

This Star Trek USB Communicator is more than a toy that plugs into your computer, in fact it’s a fully functional microphone and earphone that will work with Skype, MSN, AIM and iChat.

For fangurls who love cosplay this authentic Suzumiya Haruhi Cosplay Wig was a must have item for any anime con appearance.

From a quick glance I wasn’t too impressed with the mecha design of this Transformers Disney Label Mickey Mouse — the problem was that it just wasn’t cute enough! But of course the devil is in the details: If you look closely at the top you’ll see the classic Mickey Mouse enjoying being at the controls of his very own giant robot (which won us over).

I hate insects with a passion but my favorite new toy line of geek toys was Hexbugs — a collection of actual working robots each of which is equipped with a different type of sensor (light, sound, motion, etc.) which effects how it interacts with you. Here are the Hexbugs from their debut at the New York Toy Fair:

Just when I had thought that I had seen every Mobile Suit Gundam goodie along comes another trinket to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the classic anime series. In this case we’ve got a collection of ballpoint pens that are shaped like the various weapons the mecha suits carry into battle, and at $11 the set is pretty cheap in terms of collectables:

Here’s the Gundam pen in action followed by the Gundam pen at rest:

The Gundam pens come in eight varieties:

Found via nerdapproved.com.

This video of two Gundam robots slugging it out is from the recent 2009 International Robot Exhibition. I like how the decapitated Gundam continues to dance after defeat…

Mobile Suit Gundam fanboys can now enjoy Char Aznable’s Spicy Curry Noodles from Nissin Foods which features a special reusable glass cup which features the infamous red Zaku suit. The instant soup is also colored red and features spicy and red peppers contrasted with just a hint of cheddar cheese flavor. Nissin is also selling refill sets, although my guess is that most Gundam fans won’t dare open the package. Here are some other shots of the product:

Sadly all good things come to an end sooner or later: And thus I’m afraid for yours truly it’s a bit too soon as the giant Gundam on display in Tokyo is being taken apart! Part of me always assumed that the Gundam would be on display forever, but sadly I was wrong. And what makes it worse is that the damn robot just sits there and does nothing to defend itself against a wimpy looking crane…

You can relive your memories of the early days of anime with this Mobile Suit Gundam USB Memory device. It will hold up to 4 gigs, which might just hold a few digital backups of your old VHS tapes or photos of your giant robot collection:

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam there will be a special full scale replica of Char Aznable’s helmet released this month. I think this has to be one of the most distinctive hat designs in the history of anime, on par perhaps with Darth Vader’s infamous helmet:

Found via moeyo.com.

Before the San Diego Comic-Con 2009 fades into memory we present these highlights from the show — presented by the talented artist and toymaker David Foox:

David Foox’s ORGAN DONORS finally released for sale at SDCC 2009

Nathan Hamill’s Boris the Raccoon (yes Luke Skywalker’s son)

Batman Bat Wing

New AVATAR toy series released for movie. They look a little delicate and the plastic looks a little soft (poor quality) but the toys are very beautiful and they match a great upcoming movie release.

Battle Force 5 by Hot Wheels

GI Joe Baroness (gorgeous in all her ways)

Batman and Bat Pod

Mobile Suit Gundam

Robotech

Ron English McDonald’s Parody

Strange Kiss and Kozik partner up to release these scary but gorgeous toys

What do the Suicide Girls have to do with toys? Nothing! But hey this is comic con…

David Foox is an artist and toymaker and has recently released his first vinyl blind box series called ORGAN DONORS. You can learn more about David and his art at FOOX-U.com.

Shown above is the latest commercial for the upcoming action videogame Senki Gundam for the Playstation3 and is due out on September 3rd, 2009. The developers behind this game also did the well remembered Dreamcast and Saturn games — so Gundam fanboys are pretty psyched about this. Below is a video from earlier in July which shows some actual gameplay:

I have to admit that as an old Star Blazers fanboy I’m very envious at the way the 30th anniversary of Gundam has been done on every level from the giant statue to even he trade books that are coming out. There’s a Yamato film due out at the end of this year, but even that looks like Yoshinobu Nishizaki cashing in on the name — part of me would love to see Leiji Matsumoto and Nishizaki come together so the original series and movies could be honored in the proper way. Sadly the 30th anniversary of the film Arrivederchi Yamato will go unmarked on July 31st this year.

If you love Gundam you may want to get your hands on The Gundam Big Face Encyclopedia which was just released in Japan. This soft covered book features 125 faces from various giant robots in the classic anime series which is now celebrating its 30th anniversary. Of course you just don’t get he faces, there are smaller full body shots of each mecha with commentary in Japanese. Here’s a preview of the book shot by an otaku for an Akihabara focused blog:

Found via blog.livedoor.jp/geek.

Up until this point I’ve guessed that everybody has seen photos of the full scale Gundam model in Japan which was created for the 30th anniversary of the show. But what I don’t think many folks have seen is a video of this amazing wonder, which gives you a much better feeling for the impressive scale of this wonder.

I could be wrong but it looks like in this episode of Saku Saku Morning Call that they’re looking at a line of Mobile Suit Gundam merchandise which includes a vibrator.