The term Gunpla refers to the plastic mecha models, characters or vehicles from the Japanese Gundam franchise marketed by Bandai; it's a contraction of "Gundam plastic model". Introduced in 1980.
THE GUNPLA PHILOSOPHY: MODELS FOR EVERYONE! "without glue or paint
All Gundam models are characterized by two essential properties:
- parts can be nested
- and are molded in full color.
Gunpla are classified into ranges (called "grades") according to their quality and/or size. The main ones are :
NG No Grade (1980), although the term doesn't appear until much later, in retrospect it refers to the first models released as early as 1980.
HG High Grade (1990), the first high-grade range in 1/144 scale.
MG Master Grade (1995), higher quality than HG High Grade, with, for example, the internal mechanics fully modeled in 1/100 scale.
PG Perfect Grade (1998), the most technically advanced range in 1/60 scale.
FG First Grade (1999), an inexpensive clip-on range.
HGUC High Grade Universal Century (1999), popular reissue of Universal Century robots.
EX-model (2001), a range dedicated not to robots but to related vehicles and flying machines.
MS Mega Size (2009), 1/48 scale range.
RG Real Grade (2010), similar to MG Master Grade with a more advanced internal skeleton, but in 1/144 scale like "HG High Grade".
RE/100 Reborn One Hundred (2014), a new range of 1/100 gunpla.
Super Deformed Gundam or SD Gundam is a Japanese animation franchise whose works are parodies of the Gundam saga, adopting the graphic codes of super deformed.
However, exhaustive classification is far more complex, since it depends on scale (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).
