Kimi The Builder

Even the Japanese are mad over this one.

HELLO! We’re back! 

In today’s 534th edition of our Let’s Talk Gunpla segment, we’ll discuss one of P-Bandai’s latest Gunpla release announcements. Interestingly, we’re getting another P-Bandai exclusive kit for the HGTWFM series. 

Frankly, this particular reveal baffled us since we thought that since HGTWFM kits have been making Bandai a stupid amount of money, it would make sense for them to release another kit under the retail banner. But we’re getting this ‘crucial to the story fan favorite’ MS (Or Mobile Doll) released as a P-Bandai release. 

So, without further ado. Let us get into it, shall we?

HG 1/144 XGF-E3 Gundnode (HGTWFM)

Release Date: June 2024

Estimated price: JPY 2,420 (MYR 76.84* / USD 16.40* / EUR 15.01*)

*The price is subject to change, depending on the situation

If you’re baffled by this news, don’t worry. We’re as well.  

With the success of the HGTWFM lineup, we’re baffled by Bandai’s decision to release the Gundnode under the P-Bandai banner. 

Look, we get why, for some Gunpla releases, they get the ‘P-Bandai’ treatment. Not everyone would be interested in getting the same differently colored MG/HG/RG/PG of an obscure MSV/Side Story character. 

However, when it comes down to an MS design from a popular series, everyone wanted to turn into Gunpla, which also is an original design. That is where we find it to be a bit much. 

It was so bad that even the Japanese Gunpla builders found it hard to understand why the HGTWFM Gundnode got a P-Bandai treatment. If they plan to have more people want to get into model building, having a fan-favorite Mobile Suit design getting a limited release isn’t making people want to get into the hobby. In fact, we feel that it would be detrimental to their aim. 

But enough about that, let us go back to talking about the Gunpla. 

From what we can see here, it is clear that this is a HGTWFM kit with a completely new mold. 

There are bits on the HGTWFM Gundnode that we can see that look like it taken inspiration from other HGTWFM kits, and we’re sure that it would be using the same joint system as the rest of the Gundam based HGTWFM kits. 

But the rest? They’re new, we’re sure of it. We tried cross-referencing all the parts we suspect are similar to other kits, but we couldn’t find anything remotely the same. 

But the thing we liked most about this release is that you could link the HGTWFM Gundnodes together. When we saw P-Bandai use this as a selling point for this kit, admittedly, we were baffled as to why this was getting a P-Bandai release. Even if they wanted this to be a P-Bandai release, why didn’t they sell a bundle of 30 plus Gundnodes and have that sold as a P-Bandai? But at the same time, have an option for the masses to buy individual Gundnodes? Then, it would’ve made more sense to people. 

Why do we find this baffling, you ask?

What is the point of having a kit that you could display linked to another kit if you can only get three or fewer? It’s not about whether we can afford it or not. It’s more like if you could find anyone selling more than three to you. So, if you plan to recreate the quiet zero diorama using more than three Gundnodes? Well, good luck in your endeavors in trying. We wish you all the best. 

Honestly? We do like what we see here. Admittedly, this is one of the reasons why this might be one of those kits that we find hard to see getting treated like this. 

It’s not like we understand what Bandai is thinking and have any control over anything. But things like this are why I get why the bootleg industry is thriving and why fewer people are interested in the hobby.  

And that concludes our 534th edition of the Let’s Talk Gunpla segment. It’s scary how Prominent P-Bandai is with their Gunpla releases nowadays. We’re getting fewer and fewer Retail kits, but we’re getting more P-Bandai ones nowadays. 

We hate to say this, but maybe the day we all fear is slowly closing in on us, the day Gunplas would be only getting P-Bandai releases. We have already seen regular MG kits (not the Ver. Ka ones) only getting new P-Bandai releases. We wouldn’t be surprised if the rest would follow suit.

We would love to see Bandai prove us wrong with the upcoming announcements. But at this stage, we don’t think so.  

We’ll be back next coming Thursday (hopefully) with a new blog post. So do look forward to it! 

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Hopefully, by sharing our love and passion for building and writing about gunplas or other plamos here, we hope this post will inspire all of you to pick up on the hobby. Or better yet, reignite your love and passion for the hobby.

We shall see all of you again soon, and we hope all of you here have a splendid day and week ahead! Oh, before we go, please have an excellent time building your awesome gunplas there and until next time.

Ciao!