Bouncing Red Ball

The construction of the Giant Gundam in Odaiba, Tokyo is underway and should be completed in time for its unveiling sometime in early July.

This “life-sized” (18-meter) giant robot is the centerpiece of the Green Tokyo Gundam Project to commemorate the 30th 30th anniversary of the Gundam Moblie Suit robot franchise and will be displayed this summer from July 11 to August 31.

Giant Gundam metal frame

While artist’s renditions of the Giant Gundam look impressive, the sheer size of this mechanical sculpture is apparent up close. Here are the legs and waist made of iron pipes. The electric cables running up the legs will be used to control the motion of the head and the functioning of the various electronic parts throughout the body.

Giant Gundam plastic outer shell

This legs and waist frame is already 11 meters; a further 7 meters will complete the torso and head. Fiberglass-reinforced plastic parts will cover this metal frame, like this familiar blue-and-yellow breastplate. For those of us accustomed to 1/30 model Gundams, this is huge. (Images from Gundam Info.)

The Tokyo Olympics 2016 Gundam

As can be seen by the new model above, the Giant Gundam will also sport the logo and the text “Tokyo 2016 Candidate City” on its left shoulder, to bolster Tokyo’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

This sends a strong message to the Olympics Selection Committee: “You better choose Tokyo for 2016 or this giant Gundam will kick all your collective asses.” It might just work.

Artist’s rendition of the completed Giant Gundam

Impressive day and night-time renditions of the completed Gundam. A good place to visit the next time to venture into Odaiba in Tokyo this summer and a must-see for all Gundam fanatics.

Further information is available at the official site. Yahoo Japan also hosts the latest updates about the Giant Gundam under construction. The latest videos are great but the requirement to download and install Microsoft’s Silverlight is not.

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3. 18-meter Gundam to be built in Tokyo, will defend metropolis from giant lizard attacks
4. Tokyo’s Giant Gundam struck with lightning, burns in flames
5. Tokyo’s giant Gundam is geared for battle