The advances Bandai has made in manufacturing engineering have been astounding. They can mold assembled movable joints and multi-plastic lay-ups on a single sprue. It’s insane!
A young friend of my put down $200 on one of the big Gundam kits at a con a few years back, he spent a lot of time doing research and took eight months to build it, but he was so proud of the results. I love seeing the hobby thrive in all its forms.
Awesome. It must be an amazing kit. My most expensive is the Vosper MTB 74 St. Nazaire Raid at $ 175. CDN; peanuts compared to your kit. I saw a die cast Yamato pace Battleship the was fully functional, motorized moving parts and lights.. never did find out the cost. Would be too expensive for me.
That choice of music is even more spot on when you do a deep dive into anime culture and how that song relates. Densha Otoko, Daicon, Gainax, Evangelion, mecha renaissance of the 90s, Macross sequels, Harmony Gold, ...
To give you an idea of how big Gunpla has become globally, there's a World Championship, where you got through local, regional and nationals, and the finalists get flow to Japan for the awards ceremony. The work and passion people put into it is astonishing. Their current big project, for the 40th anniversary of Gunpla, is building a full sized Gundam that moves on it's own. The status update videos are very entertaining. Imagine growing up with a show, building the models, getting inspired to go into engineering or other careers, then getting a call asking if you want to help build a real, full sized, working Gundam. How cool is that? Oh, and they have made Gundam pinball machines. Is that old school enough? :)
Just to add, the USA Gundam Store is an independently owned store. They are excellent though and if you're interested in any modern Bandai kits, their pricing and service is great.
Ah Bandai, I still have a dozen or so of the 1/48 armor and figure kits and a 1/350 Godzilla perfect for a naval diorama. But Gundam, that brings up hobby store memories! America's kids can run any pipeline dry in a week, so when the Gundam craze hit all the kits disappeared-but not the demand. Everything that said Gundam was gone and Bandai was not in any special hurry to supply more. My secret weapon was the fact that many of the kits we sold were not in English but they were in the computer. The ones that no one could read were labelled Bandai or Gundam kit and they all had product numbers. So I kept my store in Gundams for months while everyone else was out. The tech on some Gundams must be seen to be believed. I sold one for like $300 that had 32 colors of plastic (and 7 kinds of plating) and parts molded on the tree in three colors! Kids didn't know they were glue kits, they fit so well they could be built like a snap together. Incredible.
The Bandai story sounds like the story of the plastic modeling hobby in general -- the games take over. On a happier note, I have fond memories of the Bandai 1:48 military kits, particularly the WWII German stuff. They were available at K-Mart when I was a kid in the early 70s and cheap enough the folks would let me get one now and again. They were WAY over my skill level at the time and I remember thinking that each part on the real thing was represented by a separate (tiny) part on the model. For some reason I remember diorama instructions that came with one of the kits, probably the BMW motorbike with sidecar, that included directions for making a poncho from glue and toilet paper for one of the figures.
I think Gunpla is the single biggest line of kit models in the world. You can see why they focus so heavily on it and it seems to be a winning strategy.
I remember the commercials for the Gunpla back in th late 90s/early 2000's. They made it sound cool to build them and even then they were pretty intricate.
Bandai is a monster. The tech and quality second to none. I startes to get in to gundam around 1995 . later i got most of the old military 1/48 kits. Even those 70' s kits were better than most revell or monogram kits of their time. Most have full or partíal interiors. And the recent star wars stuff is just brilliant.
Thanks for this video, I was always curious how and when this giant got started. Gunpla makes up the vast majority of my collection but it's mostly the Zeonic designs from the older series like 0079, 0083, 08th MS Team, etc. Because I love that old school look. The Gundams, though I have a few, just don't really do it for me as their look is pretty toyish. The Zaku 2 looks more like a machine of war.
I’m trying to collect as many Zaku variants as possible in the 1/144 scale. I have the Origin and 0079 Char Zakus, plus the Zaku 1, Zaku 1 Sniper, Stardust Memory Zaku…
I did not realize that they were that big and so diversified. I remember having some of their military and sci-fi kits. A lot of motorization and other things that made them more like toys than models. I wonder if anyone has all 2,000 Gundam kits in their stash. As for the 1953 film Gojira, yes it is a very dark film. I prefer it over the "Americanized" version. All of the dialogue and scenes referring to he atomic bombs dropped on Japan were remove.
Try googling "Dalong net" first result is the website of a Gunpla enthusiast from Korea who I think has built all that 2,000 plus Gundam kits (or at least pretty close).
LOL! I've actually got two of those UFO Interceptor kits, but one of them is a kit put out by their rival company Imai. I'm a big UFO and Space: 1999 fan. Keep up the good work on these vids. I'm really enjoying them!
Do me a favor, open the boxes and compare them. The Bandai kit may be an Imai kit made on contract. I know Imai made their 1/24 scale N1K Shinden fighter plane.
@@maxsmodels No problem! It may take a bit. I've got quite a bit of my stash in storage in my old room at my mother's place and she lives in Florida. I live in Maryland. I'm due to visit her in a few months. I'll take some pictures of both kits and the boxes and let you know here when I have them.
Thanks for another informative video on kit manufacturers. I had a couple of the Bandai 1/48th scale armour kits back around 1980-81 and they were quite good for their era, often with interior parts such as gun breeches and engines, and figures that appeared to be directly scaled down versions of Tamiya's early 1/35 scale figures. The tracks were usually the weakest point of the kits. The instruction sheets usually had tons of photos and drawings of diorama ideas, showing off other kits in the range. Sadly, they were very rare and hard to find, only one long since closed hobby shop in my area carried a limited number of them. As for the sci-fi and Gundam stuff, I have built numerous mecha and spacecraft models by Bandai, and depending on their age, they are generally excellent, and go together well. The drawback of the pre-poly-cap mecha kits is the move able limbs etc loosen up over time, leading to " floppy robot syndrome", necessitating gluing key joints in the interest of standing up! Anyway, sorry to ramble so, thanks for the video!
Progressive rock forever! I had a lamp when I was a kid with with one of their robots nailed to it. Whoever made it did a fantastic job, because it looked real.
My goodness, I had that blue monopost racing car with the wired controller when I was a kid...! Didn't know it was a Bandai product... so many memories from your videos! Thanks! Talking about robots and universes, Maschinen Krieger could be a good subject for research to address in a future video. I know Hasegawa are producing them now.
In a somewhat similar vein as gundam (but without all the toyetic anime aspects) is SF3D/Maschinen Krieger line. Which started out as a bunch of scratch built power armors and mechs made by Kow Yokoyama, which later got picked up by Nito and Wave. The designs are super unique and creative, I highly recommend them
should've mentioned the gundam builders world cup which is an international contest where there are junior and senior divisions on building, detailing, customizing the models on dioramas and being judged annually.
Thanks for showing about other models.I've never heard much about.but I do have a collection of some older Tonka trucks.in storage boxes.even jeeps.thanks again.
Besides Gundam, they also produce Space Battleship Yamato models, another anime series of huge success, I have some kits of this line. Plus their Enterprise NCC-1701-A from The Wrath of Khan is one of my most cherished models.
Another interesting video. I have/had several Bandai kits in my collection, several of their new Star Wars kits. I have also have a series of small scale "Battleship Yamato" ships (from the original anime series), the original Thunderbird 2 pod equipnent sets and a few of the Macross kits. I had the UFO Interceptor once - I gave to a new home that I knew would build it long before I would. I also had the SKY 1 model as well. I gave that to the same home as the Interceptor. My friend then went and scratch built the "Diver" portion of the model. He gave it to me when he moved because at that time, he didn't have the room to display it in his new home. If I get a chance I'll send a photo of it. Right now it is in my brother's basement with the rest of the models i was earlier telling you about.
Another very informative video history, thanks. I'me not into Gunpla but do have a few of the Pacific Rim kits, a lot of the Star Wars kits and really wish I had that Bandai Skydiver from UFO.
I had a couple of dozen of their 1/48 tank kits back in the mid 70s . Quite revolutionary for the time with the interiors and seperate crew and engine hatches . Their figures , like most Japanese company figures of the time ( Tamiya ) , were a little on the small size , probably basing them off of the average Japanese citizen , modern kits have a better scale look . Sure wish they would re pop their 1/48 tanks , I just loved them , and with 40 plus years of modelling under my belt I could really detail the crap out of them
I still remember that Bandai still owns the Toys and the License to the Japanese version of the Go Bots, Also thanks for explaining Bandai Spirits, I was confused why bandai placed a blue color on their current Logo on selected HGs had that logo and now I see why thanks for clearing it up
I own most of the Ultraman all model ships and vehicles. I even have the bigger non Bandai version of the Ultrahawk-3. I never saw the show or knew anything about it but the models were so cool I had to check out the show. Great details and quality for kits not much biggrr than a Hotwheels car
Reason why Bandai also doesn't go back to sci-fi model kit is because they have a whole other division that specifically meant for sci-fi. They may not be model kits anymore, but they still sell because how Bandai markets them.
Greetings from Clay County, Missouri! wow Great timing Max! Earlier tonight I just dug a Bandai Cutty Sark out of my garage that I'd forgotten about . Not really into boats (I know ship) but I'm that bored. Thanks again from the 59 yo kid 86 thumbs up! later cool I saw Styx with Rick Derringer, Steve Miller and Peter Frampton Summer of '77 (or was it '78?) @ Arrowhead in KC GRRRReat show from what I do remember \m/
Awesome video once again , Bandai is definitely a Powerhouse, to bad a lot of their sci-fi kits have been discontinued like some of their futuristic space vehicles. And it still amazes me that they were able to produce kits based on the UFO TV series because to my understanding the divorce Jerry Anderson was going through basically put a lock down on everything UFO and space 1999 related.
Dang! I've only built about 20~25 Gundam kits and have about that many in the stash. I'm more into the classic series anyway but I had no idea they had that many! Great video!!
Thanks Max. But did you know the 1/48 full interior military kits Bandai produced were licensed by Monogram for production? The molds were lost at sea when the transport sank.
With you the UFO kits. Would love to have the Interceptor, Skydiver, and Mobile kits. Had the Aurora Godzilla glow in the dark kit thousand years ago. I build 1/35 armor but also alot of Gunpla as well. Take care and thanks!
Had a very good model of a Volvo 165, I was meant to have picked up a model of what I thought was a Ford Cortina Mk3, might have been a Ford Taunus, dah when I was in Bins of Sunderland back in '72. Don't know what happened to it I think my mother chucked it in the dustbin, also had a strange model of a Bedford CA police van. Lost that one in a house move 20 years ago! By the way did Bandai make Tonka Toys later on because I had one that was made in Japan from the late '70's? Great up load.
ULTRAMAN!!!.. I recently obtained a DvD box set of the original series.. Cool part is it had the Original Japanese language version of the episodes with American subtitles AND it contained the American released version of the episodes.. The farout part was to learn that the story dialog between the two versions was very different in what the characters where saying.
In Japan they go to great lenghts to keep their buisnesses "family-run". 98% of all adoptions are of grown men, 20-30 years of age. Heads of companies "adopt" their sons-in-law if they have only daughters in the family or they don't trust their own biological sons. Hell, they even adopt their employees! Great overview of tradition on the "Insider": amp.insider.com/japanese-adoption-rates-2000-2017-children-versus-adults-2017-1
I've built 60+ of their Star Wars kits. Absolutely superb engineering. The only gripe I have is the decals suck. Otherwise, fantastic! The problem now is, the license may not be renewed. And that'll be a huge blow to the hobby.
I'm sure that I read somewhere that thanks to all the Gundam stuff as well as Star Wars, Bandai is actually the world's biggest model kit manufacturer...
The 1/48th German armor kits were great. Many of them had full interiors. I remember building the Tiger I , the Panzer Mark II, the Hanomag and the Hetzer. What happened to those moulds?
Great video! I think it would be great if you could do some videos on some of the more recent brands which dont have as long of a history as many of these but create some of the highest quality molds of military kits. Just to name a few Takom, Rye Field Model and Great Wall Hobby have only existed in the last 20 years but even with that I believe there is a decent amount of interesting information. One of these that I think would really deserve a video is Wingnut Wings which is a company created 11 years ago by peter jackson that specializes in world war 1 aircraft. Wingnut by far without any doubt creates the finest detail and quality kits of biplanes and maybe in even aircraft, unfortunately very recently news have come out that they are closing down due to the virus, while no official statement has been given saying that they are permanently closing down, many sources confirm that unfortunately.
Correction: The original Godzilla (Japanese title "Gojira") directed by Ishiro Honda was released in 1954, not 1953. The Americanized/re-edited version of Godzilla with additional Raymond Burr scenes, "Godzilla: King Of The Monsters!", was released in 1956.
@@maxsmodels George Pal's "War of the Worlds" is finally getting the Blu-ray treatment from Criterion. 2.0 mono uncompressed audio and a 5.1 mix from Star Wars' Ben Burtt. Lots of other extras as well --some from the '05 DVD release Release in early July.
Mark French : seems their 1/48 armor/vehicle kits...as they are so scarce...go for premium on EBay. (Who else made and where else can you find 1/48 armor/vehicles)
The only other 1/48 armor kits available then that I remember were those made by Aurora. IMO, these were not as well detailed or complete (no interiors, no engines) as Bandai ones. The 1/48 plastic armor kit market lay dormant for about 20 yrs., until Tamiya, Hobby Boss, AFV Club and a few others joined in.
I have a 1/30 Jagdpanzer iv........motorised......by Bandai....not many 1/30 scale kits around...although I do have a Nichimo Panzer iv....motorised.....to boot......
The advances Bandai has made in manufacturing engineering have been astounding. They can mold assembled movable joints and multi-plastic lay-ups on a single sprue. It’s insane!
And it costs like 10 dollars too.
That’s why I wish they did military kits again. Imagine being able to manipulate flaps on a wing? Or realistic suspension?
A young friend of my put down $200 on one of the big Gundam kits at a con a few years back, he spent a lot of time doing research and took eight months to build it, but he was so proud of the results. I love seeing the hobby thrive in all its forms.
I saw one in our local hobby/toy store for almost $500 Canadian dollars. The sucker was in a HUGE box.
You have been on a roll, cranking out this great model company history vids. Great Job.
The $1,000 Bandai Yamato Space Battleship in 1/350 scale is THE most expensive model kit I have ever splurged on.
That is expensive.
My most expensive kit is the Vintage Fighter Series P-40 at $660
Awesome. It must be an amazing kit. My most expensive is the Vosper MTB 74 St. Nazaire Raid at $ 175. CDN; peanuts compared to your kit. I saw a die cast Yamato pace Battleship the was fully functional, motorized moving parts and lights.. never did find out the cost. Would be too expensive for me.
That is a marvelous looking battleship.
My most expensive was the Gundam Deep Striker at $200 lol
The only expensive kits I’ve really done were Master Grades, and some P-Bandai stuff.
That choice of music is even more spot on when you do a deep dive into anime culture and how that song relates. Densha Otoko, Daicon, Gainax, Evangelion, mecha renaissance of the 90s, Macross sequels, Harmony Gold, ...
To give you an idea of how big Gunpla has become globally, there's a World Championship, where you got through local, regional and nationals, and the finalists get flow to Japan for the awards ceremony. The work and passion people put into it is astonishing.
Their current big project, for the 40th anniversary of Gunpla, is building a full sized Gundam that moves on it's own.
The status update videos are very entertaining.
Imagine growing up with a show, building the models, getting inspired to go into engineering or other careers, then getting a call asking if you want to help build a real, full sized, working Gundam. How cool is that?
Oh, and they have made Gundam pinball machines. Is that old school enough? :)
I have a 5 bandai full interior military vehicle kits and I love how well detailed that all are.
I built a full interior 1/48 Bandai Tiger Ii in the late 1970s, thought it was so cool. I like that scale, too.
Those Master Grade Gundam are incredible
Just to add, the USA Gundam Store is an independently owned store. They are excellent though and if you're interested in any modern Bandai kits, their pricing and service is great.
Ah Bandai, I still have a dozen or so of the 1/48 armor and figure kits and a 1/350 Godzilla perfect for a naval diorama. But Gundam, that brings up hobby store memories! America's kids can run any pipeline dry in a week, so when the Gundam craze hit all the kits disappeared-but not the demand. Everything that said Gundam was gone and Bandai was not in any special hurry to supply more. My secret weapon was the fact that many of the kits we sold were not in English but they were in the computer. The ones that no one could read were labelled Bandai or Gundam kit and they all had product numbers. So I kept my store in Gundams for months while everyone else was out. The tech on some Gundams must be seen to be believed. I sold one for like $300 that had 32 colors of plastic (and 7 kinds of plating) and parts molded on the tree in three colors! Kids didn't know they were glue kits, they fit so well they could be built like a snap together. Incredible.
And with this vid you get me as a subscriber.
Thank you for making this fine and cozy hobby channel.
The Bandai story sounds like the story of the plastic modeling hobby in general -- the games take over.
On a happier note, I have fond memories of the Bandai 1:48 military kits, particularly the WWII German stuff. They were available at K-Mart when I was a kid in the early 70s and cheap enough the folks would let me get one now and again. They were WAY over my skill level at the time and I remember thinking that each part on the real thing was represented by a separate (tiny) part on the model. For some reason I remember diorama instructions that came with one of the kits, probably the BMW motorbike with sidecar, that included directions for making a poncho from glue and toilet paper for one of the figures.
The Bandi 1/12 1966 Indy Turbine usually sells for around 1500.00 for unmolested
Not a lot of classic modelers would have any knowledge in this video. Great job Max
Great cover of Mr roboto always enjoy your videos thanks for making them
What a great episode. Your “brief” overviews always have plenty of good material that most of us didn’t know.
Thanks
From a Gunpla builder who has been building Gundam Models on my channel for over 12 years now thank you for doing this short but excellent documentary
Has Max ever built a Gundam? Should I send him one to take on and customize? I'd like to see his take on it personally. :D
I think Gunpla is the single biggest line of kit models in the world. You can see why they focus so heavily on it and it seems to be a winning strategy.
it is a business, you make what sells
“GUNDAM!” (shows a Bandai Go-Bots figure)
I remember the commercials for the Gunpla back in th late 90s/early 2000's. They made it sound cool to build them and even then they were pretty intricate.
The 1/48th scale armor kits were great. I learned a log about tank interiors when I was a kid.
Surprised you didn't mention the UPC connection (Universal Powermaster Corp.) And their awesome 1/16 Ford models - GT40 , Lola , Brabham etc . !
Another stellar production!
Great job love series.
Loved their 1/48 armour kits, the detail was really good for their day.
Gundam is a powerhouse franchise! It's been going 4 more 41 years & counting.
Very high quality model kits, I've built several of 'em.
Bandai is a monster. The tech and quality second to none. I startes to get in to gundam around 1995 . later i got most of the old military 1/48 kits. Even those 70' s kits were better than most revell or monogram kits of their time. Most have full or partíal interiors.
And the recent star wars stuff is just brilliant.
Thanks for this video, I was always curious how and when this giant got started. Gunpla makes up the vast majority of my collection but it's mostly the Zeonic designs from the older series like 0079, 0083, 08th MS Team, etc. Because I love that old school look. The Gundams, though I have a few, just don't really do it for me as their look is pretty toyish. The Zaku 2 looks more like a machine of war.
Nice, another Zaku fan. I have about five of them now and 4 other Zeon mobile suits.
I’m trying to collect as many Zaku variants as possible in the 1/144 scale. I have the Origin and 0079 Char Zakus, plus the Zaku 1, Zaku 1 Sniper, Stardust Memory Zaku…
I have purchased and built many Bandai models and I have many unbuilt or partially built robot models waiting. Love them!
I did not realize that they were that big and so diversified. I remember having some of their military and sci-fi kits. A lot of motorization and other things that made them more like toys than models. I wonder if anyone has all 2,000 Gundam kits in their stash. As for the 1953 film Gojira, yes it is a very dark film. I prefer it over the "Americanized" version. All of the dialogue and scenes referring to he atomic bombs dropped on Japan were remove.
Try googling "Dalong net" first result is the website of a Gunpla enthusiast from Korea who I think has built all that 2,000 plus Gundam kits (or at least pretty close).
From Australia: Keep up all the good videos, man, I love them !!
LOL! I've actually got two of those UFO Interceptor kits, but one of them is a kit put out by their rival company Imai. I'm a big UFO and Space: 1999 fan. Keep up the good work on these vids. I'm really enjoying them!
Do me a favor, open the boxes and compare them. The Bandai kit may be an Imai kit made on contract. I know Imai made their 1/24 scale N1K Shinden fighter plane.
@@maxsmodels No problem! It may take a bit. I've got quite a bit of my stash in storage in my old room at my mother's place and she lives in Florida. I live in Maryland. I'm due to visit her in a few months. I'll take some pictures of both kits and the boxes and let you know here when I have them.
Great Bandai documentary, Max! !!
Great model selection!
I remember building their 1/48 scale armor, back in ,1974.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for another informative video on kit manufacturers. I had a couple of the Bandai 1/48th scale armour kits back around 1980-81 and they were quite good for their era, often with interior parts such as gun breeches and engines, and figures that appeared to be directly scaled down versions of Tamiya's early 1/35 scale figures. The tracks were usually the weakest point of the kits. The instruction sheets usually had tons of photos and drawings of diorama ideas, showing off other kits in the range. Sadly, they were very rare and hard to find, only one long since closed hobby shop in my area carried a limited number of them. As for the sci-fi and Gundam stuff, I have built numerous mecha and spacecraft models by Bandai, and depending on their age, they are generally excellent, and go together well. The drawback of the pre-poly-cap mecha kits is the move able limbs etc loosen up over time, leading to " floppy robot syndrome", necessitating gluing key joints in the interest of standing up!
Anyway, sorry to ramble so, thanks for the video!
Bandai 1/48 military were my drug of choice !!!
Wow! Great music! And totally agree about power rangers!
Progressive rock forever! I had a lamp when I was a kid with with one of their robots nailed to it. Whoever made it did a fantastic job, because it looked real.
Love the music !
The very first Gundam show was almost canceled, but was saved because the Bandai models sold so well
I LOVED the UFO tv series. No idea Bandai made kits of the series. Thank you for another great video.
“it’s a gundam!”
Thanks again Max, great job keeping us model nerds entertained !!!!!!!!!!
My goodness, I had that blue monopost racing car with the wired controller when I was a kid...! Didn't know it was a Bandai product... so many memories from your videos! Thanks!
Talking about robots and universes, Maschinen Krieger could be a good subject for research to address in a future video. I know Hasegawa are producing them now.
In a somewhat similar vein as gundam (but without all the toyetic anime aspects) is SF3D/Maschinen Krieger line. Which started out as a bunch of scratch built power armors and mechs made by Kow Yokoyama, which later got picked up by Nito and Wave. The designs are super unique and creative, I highly recommend them
I am working in Nitto. Not much info outside of scaelemates
@@maxsmodels maschinenkrueger.com has a lot of info on the lore of SF3D as well as an archive of a lot of kits
Cool!
should've mentioned the gundam builders world cup which is an international contest where there are junior and senior divisions on building, detailing, customizing the models on dioramas and being judged annually.
Thanks for showing about other models.I've never heard much about.but I do have a collection of some older Tonka trucks.in storage boxes.even jeeps.thanks again.
Besides Gundam, they also produce Space Battleship Yamato models, another anime series of huge success, I have some kits of this line. Plus their Enterprise NCC-1701-A from The Wrath of Khan is one of my most cherished models.
Great video! Thanks for a good series on these model making companies.
So enjoyable and educational! Thanks so much, keep 'em coming!
I've built quite a few Gunpla including the old ones that require glue and paint. All thanks to Gundam Wing when I first saw it.
Another interesting video. I have/had several Bandai kits in my collection, several of their new Star Wars kits. I have also have a series of small scale "Battleship Yamato" ships (from the original anime series), the original Thunderbird 2 pod equipnent sets and a few of the Macross kits.
I had the UFO Interceptor once - I gave to a new home that I knew would build it long before I would.
I also had the SKY 1 model as well. I gave that to the same home as the Interceptor. My friend then went and scratch built the "Diver" portion of the model. He gave it to me when he moved because at that time, he didn't have the room to display it in his new home.
If I get a chance I'll send a photo of it. Right now it is in my brother's basement with the rest of the models i was earlier telling you about.
I loved looking through their catalogs. I'm pretty sure I built a couple of their 1/48 planes.
Perfect music, BTW!
Another very informative video history, thanks. I'me not into Gunpla but do have a few of the Pacific Rim kits, a lot of the Star Wars kits and really wish I had that Bandai Skydiver from UFO.
Omg!! Amazing stuff sir!
I had a couple of dozen of their 1/48 tank kits back in the mid 70s . Quite revolutionary for the time with the interiors and seperate crew and engine hatches . Their figures , like most Japanese company figures of the time ( Tamiya ) , were a little on the small size , probably basing them off of the average Japanese citizen , modern kits have a better scale look . Sure wish they would re pop their 1/48 tanks , I just loved them , and with 40 plus years of modelling under my belt I could really detail the crap out of them
Their current star wars models are fantastically good.
I just did the Y-wing. Awesome
Very informative video🙂 I never knew Bandai was so diverse!
I still remember that Bandai still owns the Toys and the License to the Japanese version of the Go Bots, Also thanks for explaining Bandai Spirits, I was confused why bandai placed a blue color on their current Logo on selected HGs had that logo and now I see why thanks for clearing it up
I own most of the Ultraman all model ships and vehicles. I even have the bigger non Bandai version of the Ultrahawk-3. I never saw the show or knew anything about it but the models were so cool I had to check out the show. Great details and quality for kits not much biggrr than a Hotwheels car
I have a lot of Gobots or Machine Robo from Bandai-Tonka!
Reason why Bandai also doesn't go back to sci-fi model kit is because they have a whole other division that specifically meant for sci-fi. They may not be model kits anymore, but they still sell because how Bandai markets them.
When I was building Gundam robots a TV show called Tranzor Z was on. I was in 7th Heaven! Happily I have all 17 episodes of Tranzor on DVD! 👍
Greetings from Clay County, Missouri!
wow Great timing Max! Earlier tonight I just dug a Bandai Cutty Sark out of my garage that I'd forgotten about .
Not really into boats (I know ship) but I'm that bored.
Thanks again from the 59 yo kid 86 thumbs up! later
cool I saw Styx with Rick Derringer, Steve Miller and Peter Frampton Summer of '77 (or was it '78?) @ Arrowhead in KC
GRRRReat show from what I do remember \m/
I had the Star Blazers Kits.👍
Awesome video once again , Bandai is definitely a Powerhouse, to bad a lot of their sci-fi kits have been discontinued like some of their futuristic space vehicles. And it still amazes me that they were able to produce kits based on the UFO TV series because to my understanding the divorce Jerry Anderson was going through basically put a lock down on everything UFO and space 1999 related.
Awesome Star Wars kits!
When I was in Japan in 1971, Ultraman was airing on their TVs.
I think is sad to see how older moddeling generations see gunpla as nothing more than toys and not as the future of plastic moddeling
Just unusual. Were they manufacturers of Transformers? Yet another weird but bizarre video. Do like your endings.
Dang! I've only built about 20~25 Gundam kits and have about that many in the stash. I'm more into the classic series anyway but I had no idea they had that many! Great video!!
That leaves you with only about 1950 to get. :-)
Worked at Bandai America for 10 years. Most fun job I ever had, and awesome people. But Gundam kits are insane to build!
Gets even crazier when you add transformable Gundams to the mix, like Kyrios.
Thanks Max. But did you know the 1/48 full interior military kits Bandai produced were licensed by Monogram for production? The molds were lost at sea when the transport sank.
WOW, I had no idea.
With you the UFO kits. Would love to have the Interceptor, Skydiver, and Mobile kits. Had the Aurora Godzilla glow in the dark kit thousand years ago. I build 1/35 armor but also alot of Gunpla as well. Take care and thanks!
Had a very good model of a Volvo 165, I was meant to have picked up a model of what I thought was a Ford Cortina Mk3, might have been a Ford Taunus, dah when I was in Bins of Sunderland back in '72. Don't know what happened to it I think my mother chucked it in the dustbin, also had a strange model of a Bedford CA police van. Lost that one in a house move 20 years ago! By the way did Bandai make Tonka Toys later on because I had one that was made in Japan from the late '70's? Great up load.
Thank you for the video.
one of my favourite brand toy company
ULTRAMAN!!!.. I recently obtained a DvD box set of the original series.. Cool part is it had the Original Japanese language version of the episodes with American subtitles AND it contained the American released version of the episodes.. The farout part was to learn that the story dialog between the two versions was very different in what the characters where saying.
Tonka are the bomb.....that blue pickup is worth a small fortune if it is 100% original as new.
In Japan they go to great lenghts to keep their buisnesses "family-run". 98% of all adoptions are of grown men, 20-30 years of age. Heads of companies "adopt" their sons-in-law if they have only daughters in the family or they don't trust their own biological sons. Hell, they even adopt their employees!
Great overview of tradition on the "Insider": amp.insider.com/japanese-adoption-rates-2000-2017-children-versus-adults-2017-1
interesting
That's a tradition that goes back to the old Samurai/Daimyo clans.
There are companies there that go back 15 to 20 generations.
I've built 60+ of their Star Wars kits. Absolutely superb engineering. The only gripe I have is the decals suck. Otherwise, fantastic! The problem now is, the license may not be renewed. And that'll be a huge blow to the hobby.
I'm sure that I read somewhere that thanks to all the Gundam stuff as well as Star Wars, Bandai is actually the world's biggest model kit manufacturer...
probably
As a fan of Gerry Anderson ----- How many of their kits did i own. Thunderbirds, UFO, etc. And of course my Space Battle Ship Yamato.
Sure miss those 1/48 armor kits. Ahead of there time. They had interior details. Thanks.
The 1/48th German armor kits were great. Many of them had full interiors. I remember building the Tiger I , the Panzer Mark II, the Hanomag and the Hetzer. What happened to those moulds?
Thank you very much! And just to be a pain...Accurate Miniatures was[?] made some really nice kits.
I wish they would re-do their Lotus 47GT... I can't afford an original, now in the many hundreds...
I have a 1/24 Ban Dai Mustang.
It has markings for an A number R.A.A.F. aircraft
The nearest hobby shop here stays afloat thanks to Gundam.
🚲 Really. Japanese robot dolls ?
Love gundam!!!
Great video! I think it would be great if you could do some videos on some of the more recent brands which dont have as long of a history as many of these but create some of the highest quality molds of military kits. Just to name a few Takom, Rye Field Model and Great Wall Hobby have only existed in the last 20 years but even with that I believe there is a decent amount of interesting information. One of these that I think would really deserve a video is Wingnut Wings which is a company created 11 years ago by peter jackson that specializes in world war 1 aircraft. Wingnut by far without any doubt creates the finest detail and quality kits of biplanes and maybe in even aircraft, unfortunately very recently news have come out that they are closing down due to the virus, while no official statement has been given saying that they are permanently closing down, many sources confirm that unfortunately.
Great suggestions, WIngnuts is lucky to have a superlative sugar-daddy in Jackson. If I had the $$ I would create a company like that.
You could make a 3 hour video with all the kits that Bandai makes😳
yes you could
Correction: The original Godzilla (Japanese title "Gojira") directed by Ishiro Honda was released in 1954, not 1953. The Americanized/re-edited version of Godzilla with additional Raymond Burr scenes, "Godzilla: King Of The Monsters!", was released in 1956.
Oops, you are right. I keep mixing the dates up with War of the Worlds.
@@maxsmodels George Pal's "War of the Worlds" is finally getting the Blu-ray treatment from Criterion. 2.0 mono uncompressed audio and a 5.1 mix from Star Wars' Ben Burtt. Lots of other extras as well --some from the '05 DVD release Release in early July.
At least I got it right in the 'credits' 11:54
@@denniskristos3800 great
Bandi Namco also made a few very popular video games. Like Dark souls.
They published it. From Software are the makers.
Got some of those Yamato 2099 small spaceships only like 4 dollars here in Japan, but great quality
I have one of the 1/48th scale Jeeps that I've never gotten around to building. Some day hopefully.
Mark French : seems their 1/48 armor/vehicle kits...as they are so scarce...go for premium on EBay. (Who else made and where else can you find 1/48 armor/vehicles)
The only other 1/48 armor kits available then that I remember were those made by Aurora. IMO, these were not as well detailed or complete (no interiors, no engines) as Bandai ones. The 1/48 plastic armor kit market lay dormant for about 20 yrs., until Tamiya, Hobby Boss, AFV Club and a few others joined in.
I have a 1/30 Jagdpanzer iv........motorised......by Bandai....not many 1/30 scale kits around...although I do have a Nichimo Panzer iv....motorised.....to boot......
I think is saw Mr Roboto on that corporate organization chart!