You may have already heard of "Gunpla" as a general reference for model building in Japan, but do you know the origin of this word? It comes from "Gundam plastic-model," and first appeared in the '80s when released by Bandai.

Photo Credit: CitrusJuiceBox (Instagram @citrusjuicebox)

Gunpla is a plastic model depicting various mobile suit designs based on mobile weapons of Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. Most of these kits come molded in colored plastic and snap together without any glue. All you need is a pair of nippers, an X-Acto knife, or some sandpaper of your choice. Gunpla kits are poseable and have working joints and accessories, which is one of the primary reasons why so many people around the globe love Gunpla.

Although they are movable, they are more of a figure than an action toy. We do not recommend playing with your finished Gunpla too much. Most Gunpla kits come with small stickers and decals that could detach if you're too vigorous.

When Gunpla first started in the 1980s, you needed to glue the kit together and paint it. That was fun, but they had horrible proportion, bad seamlines and you couldn't even pose them. Now, Gunpla is ahead of its game in detail and engineered joints, mechanisms, and gimmicks. From its humble beginnings, you can appreciate how amazing the majority of Gunpla kits are today.

Bandai uses colored runners that are already detailed and easy to assemble, making it relatively simple for anyone with a bit of time to construct. Although Bandai has some competition from companies like Kotobukiya, there is no denying that they are the very best model kit company out there.

There is a wide variety of Gunpla to choose from labeled by different levels of grades from high grade to real grade. However, these grades do not specify the easiness of assembling the model; all build difficulties are all muddled around. We will get on to explaining the different grades later on in this article.

Although Gunpla already comes colored, you can still customize it to be precisely how you want it to be. Most kits are paintable, but we recommend you see how the paint reacts to your Gunpla before you start entirely painting it. We know a lot of builders who like to do simple alterations to their kits, for instance, giving panels a top coat and lining. Other advanced builders paint every panel in their kits to make it one of a kind.

Due to all of the reasons stated above, Gunpla is one of the most popular model kits in the world. Its got a wide variety of models and advanced engineering to go with it. And the best thing about it? The prices are also low compared to other similar figures.

The Different Gunpla Grades

If you're new to Gunpla, you will want to know the differences between the grades before ordering your first one, or possibly moving up a degree. We will give you a quick overview and stable traits of all of the existing classes.

High Grade (HG)

These models are the main line of Gunpla and therefore have the most comprehensive selection of figures. They are usually quite simple, easy to make, and are made from excellent quality plastic. There are many sublines which vary depending on when they were produced with most of them being at palm-sized 1/144 scale. The Gunpla High Grade is a genuinely fantastic line for beginners and casual builders.

Browse High-Grade Gunpla on ZenPlus

Master Grade (MG)

These models are more extensive and detailed than HG Gunpla but are still on the cheaper sides of figures. For these reasons, Master Grade is also a prevalent grade for most Gunpla fans for their amount of parts, gimmicks, details, and colors. They also frequently come with an inner frame that is the perfect base structure for your Gunpla. For us, this is the ideal line for fans who are looking for more of a challenge and a more detailed figure.

Browse Master Grade Gunpla on ZenPlus

Perfect Grade (PG)

Perfect Grade Gunpla are the most expensive, most extensive, and complicated out of all the collections. They employ a lot of Gunpla design techniques that the other grades don't, for instance, metal parts and screws to make the build feel a lot complex. The finished product is full of detail and consists of a stunning frame and armor. After all that hard work of putting it together, you can undoubtedly sit back and admire the beauty of this figure. For us, it is undoubtedly the best grade that money can buy.

Browse Perfect Grade Gunpla on ZenPlus

Real Grade (RG)

Introduced in 2010 as part of the Gundam 30th Anniversary commemoration project. They consist of a mixture of Mobile Suits from both the Universal Century and the Alternative Centuries. RG combines the best aspects of all three Gunpla lines: the small size and affordable prices of HG, the advanced inner frame technology of MG and the massive parts count of PG. 

They are not the sturdiest kits out there. We recommend you get used to handling other Gunpla kits before you more on to these as they need a lot of care and attention to detail.

Browse Real Grade Gunpla on ZenPlus

Super Deformed (SD)

 Say hello to this adorable chibi-like line of Gunpla usually aimed at kids. Super Deformed models are simple to build taking, on average, only an hour. Despite being quite unpopular, SD's are the oldest known grade and date back to that time when glue was needed to assemble Gunplas. They are a great entry point for children or anyone who likes the chibi nature of these figures.

Browse Super Deformed Gunpla on ZenPlus

So that's it for the primary Gunpla grades, which one interests you the most? Let us know on our social media sites below. We are looking forward to hearing from you all.

Get The Conversation Started #ZenPlus.