This somewhat came out of nowhere, but the titular Zeta Gundam is finally getting its own fully transformable Metal Build figure.
Visiting the new Metal Build Festival 2024 yesterday in Akihabara, Tokyo, there were a bunch of surprising new toys on show.
The Metal Build line is an offshoot from the chogokin (diecast) toys that tend to fetch high prices due to the materials used and the complexity of the engineering involved. We already had a nice 50th Chogokin Anniversary exhibition, and so it’s only fitting that the Metal Build line gets similar treatment.
Metal Build toys were normally Gundam related, albeit with a far more stylized look to them. That is still very much the case, but these days we also have mecha from Evangelion, Code Geass and Dunbine joining the ranks.
The latter is notable, as the follow up to the amazing Metal Build Sirbine is a very lovely looking Metal Build Bellvine. Unlike the Sirbine, which was featured in one of the Dunbine OVAs, the Bellvine was never animated. Moreover, the color scheme being used here is from the Kingdom of Na, which was used in the original TV series.
These designs were also featured in the Aura Phantasm artbooks back in the 80s and the continuing popularity, as well as the recent resurgence of Dunbine as a major mecha property, is no doubt the main driving force behind this upcoming Metal Build Bellvine.
Following that we finally got to see the Metal Build God Gundam from G Gundam. This was a lot sleeker than I expected but definitely fits what the Metal Build line is all about. To be honest, I am surprised it took this long to get the God Gundam featured.
However, the big surprise was a fully transformable Metal Build Zeta Gundam (shown above) from the anime series of the same name. This is a notoriously difficult design to render in model kit or toy form, and the version that we tend to get has often been worked over by Hajime Katoki.
This new Metal Build toy looks far closer to Kazumi Fujita’s original design work and that alone is impressive. Doubly so as it actually transforms between mobile suit and wave rider modes.
Metal Build toys are very much a prestige purchase though, not least for all the work that goes into making them (something this event briefly touches upon) but also the rather high price points they tend to fetch. The latter is still very much in effect, as the yen exchange rate is pushing up the prices even further.
In any case, if you want to go and check out this Metal Build Festival 2024 event, it’s being held at the Tamashii Nations Store Tokyo in Akihabara until September 2.
Metal Build Festival 2024 Gallery
Location: Tamashii Nations Store Tokyo
Opening Date: July 5th 2024
Entrance: Free
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