The term Gunpla refers to plastic model kits of mechas, characters, or vehicles from the Japanese Gundam franchise, marketed by Bandai; it results from the contraction of “Gundam plastic model.” It appeared in 1980.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF GUNPLA: MODELING FOR EVERYONE! “without glue or paint”
All Gundam models are characterized by two essential properties:
the pieces are snap-fit
and they are molded in colors.
Gunpla are classified by ranges (called “grades”) based on their quality and/or size. The main ones are:
NG No Grade (1980), although the term only appeared much later, it retrospectively refers to the first models released since 1980.
HG High Grade (1990), the first range of superior quality at a 1/144 scale.
MG Master Grade (1995), superior quality to HG High Grade with, for example, fully modeled internal mechanics at a 1/100 scale.
PG Perfect Grade (1998), the most technically advanced range at a 1/60 scale.
FG First Grade (1999), inexpensive snap-fit range.
HGUC High Grade Universal Century (1999), popular reissue of Universal Century robots.
EX-model (2001), a range dedicated not to robots but to vehicles and auxiliary flying vehicles.
MS Mega Size (2009), range at a 1/48 scale.
RG Real Grade (2010), similar to MG Master Grade with an advanced internal skeleton but at a size called 1/144 like the “HG High Grade.”
RE/100 Reborn One Hundred (2014), a new range of Gunpla at 1/100 scale.
Super Deformed Gundam or SD Gundam is a Japanese animation franchise whose works are parodies of the Gundam saga, adopting the graphic codes of the super deformed.
The exhaustive classification, however, is much more complex, as it depends on the scale (ranging from 1/550 to 1/35), improvements (the master grade range exists in versions 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0), and special events (a Ver.G 30th range was released for the franchise’s thirtieth anniversary, for example).
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