Verified: 2026-07-10 · Author: Danil Glukhov, Head of International at Maketto
Gunpla are Bandai's Gundam plastic model kits, and Japan is their home market. Modelers order from Japan because P-Bandai web exclusives and Gundam Base limited kits are not sold in regular Western retail, new releases reach Japan first, Japanese list prices are lower than Western reseller prices, and Japanese auctions hold a deep market of unbuilt second-hand kits.
What is Gunpla, and what do HG, RG, MG, PG and SD mean?
Gunpla is short for "Gundam plastic model" — snap-fit kits of the mobile suits from the Gundam franchise, produced by BANDAI SPIRITS since 1980. The grades are official Bandai product lines, each with its own brand page on the Bandai Hobby Site:
| Grade | Scale | In the line since | Official price anchor (RX-78-2 family) |
|---|---|---|---|
| EG — Entry Grade | 1/144 | modern line since 2020 | EG RX-78-2 — ¥1,000 |
| HG — High Grade | 1/144 | 1990 | HG RX-78-2 [Beyond Global] — ¥2,000 |
| RG — Real Grade | 1/144 | 2010 | RG RX-78-2 Ver.2.0 — ¥3,500 |
| MG — Master Grade | 1/100 | 1995 | MG RX-78-2 Ver.3.0 — ¥4,900 |
| PG — Perfect Grade | 1/60 | 1998 | PG Unleashed RX-78-2 — ¥27,500 |
| SD — Super Deformed | non-scale | multiple sub-lines | from a few hundred yen (EG Gundam Base Color — ¥700) |
Source: official Bandai brand and product pages, global.bandai-hobby.net, checked 2026-07-10. Bandai prices each kit, not grades — the anchors are official prices of specific kits.
In short: EG is the no-tools beginner kit, HG the mainstream line with the widest choice, RG near-MG detail at 1/144, MG a full inner frame at 1/100, PG the 1/60 flagship, SD the chibi fun builds. Official in-between lines exist too (Full Mechanics, RE/100, MGSD).
Why do modelers order Gunpla from Japan?
Four reasons, all about availability and price rather than "secret quality" — a kit is the same plastic wherever you buy it:
- P-Bandai web exclusives are sold only through Bandai's own online store, and the Japanese storefront ships within Japan only.
- Gundam Base limited kits — special colorways, clear and metallic versions — are sold at the official Gundam Base stores in Japan.
- Releases reach Japan first. There is no simultaneous worldwide release; by hobby-press accounts, overseas stock typically lags the Japanese street date by 1–2 months.
- Japanese list prices are lower than Western resellers' — the gap is widest on exclusives (figures below).
What is P-Bandai, and why can't you just buy its kits at home?
Premium Bandai (p-bandai.jp) is Bandai's official store for web-exclusive items. The model is limited production to order: pre-orders open for a set window (or made-to-order), the window closes, the batch ships months later — with no guarantee of a rerun. The scarcity is by design.
The catch: the Japanese Premium Bandai ships only within Japan. Official regional storefronts exist (USA, Singapore, Hong Kong/Taiwan, Australia and others), but their selection is narrower, and many Gunpla exclusives never leave the Japanese storefront. That is why P-Bandai is the single biggest reason modelers use proxies: catching an order window takes a Japanese address.
Once the window closes, the only route left is resale at scalper prices — and official prices are climbing too: in May 2026 BANDAI SPIRITS raised many P-Bandai kits by roughly 20–30%.
Ordering Gunpla through Maketto
This is where a proxy earns its place. Maketto buys Gunpla in Japan for you: regular kits straight from the Maketto catalog, while P-Bandai exclusives, Gundam Base limited items and auction lots go through an assisted order — send the link and we handle the Japanese storefront, the order window and the seller. Because Gunpla boxes are bulky, consolidation is the real lever: several kits packed into one parcel at the warehouse ship for far less than the same kits sent separately. The kit price and our fee (10%, minimum ¥1,000 for the whole service — purchase, warehouse, inspection, seller communication and arranging shipping) are set from the start; shipping is estimated by weight, box size and country with the shipping calculator and confirmed once the parcel is measured at the warehouse. Find Gunpla kits across all Japanese stores →
How do Japanese prices compare with Western prices?
Japanese list price is the baseline — everyone else adds margin. A dated example: the flagship PG Unleashed Nu Gundam released in Japan on 31 January 2026 at ¥66,000; US pre-orders ran $608 (P-Rex Hobby, January 2026). Depending on the exchange rate ¥66,000 is roughly $420–470, so the US price carried a premium of a third or more. On regular retail the gap is smaller; on sold-out P-Bandai and limited kits, resale at 1.5–2× the Japanese price and above is common (market observation, not official statistics).
| Kit (new, January 2026 schedule) | Japanese price |
|---|---|
| HG GQuuuuuuX (Endymion Unit Awakening) | ¥2,860 |
| HG Legend Gundam | ¥3,080 |
| MGEX Strike Freedom [Mechanical Clear] (P-Bandai) | ¥18,700 |
| PG Unleashed Nu Gundam | ¥66,000 |
Source: BANDAI SPIRITS January 2026 release schedule as relayed by hobby press, checked 2026-07-10. Prices move: a broad price revision took effect in May–June 2026.
Gundam Base limited kits
THE GUNDAM BASE is Bandai's official Gunpla store chain. The Tokyo flagship — 7th floor of DiverCity Tokyo Plaza in Odaiba, under the life-size Unicorn Gundam — opened on 19 August 2017 and stocks over 2,000 kits; further stores run in Fukuoka, New Chitose Airport and satellite cities.
The collectors' draw is THE GUNDAM BASE LIMITED line: store-exclusive versions in special colors, clear or metallic plastic and unique markings, never sold in regular retail (occasionally offered via Premium Bandai). A first US Gundam Base opened in Chicago in December 2025, but the Japanese stores remain the source for most limited items — so the practical route is the same as with P-Bandai: someone in Japan buys the kit for you.
Is the second-hand Gunpla market worth it?
Yes — the second-hand market is where discontinued kits live. On JDirectItems auctions (formerly Yahoo! Auctions — what it is) whole collections of unbuilt kits come up regularly: modelers buy more than they build, and stashes get sold off in bulk. Out-of-production kits, old P-Bandai exclusives and vintage 1980s–90s boxes are often found only there; used-hobby chains like Mandarake and Suruga-ya also carry kits and grade condition.
Words to know in listings: 未組立 (unassembled), 未開封 (unopened), 当時物 (original vintage item), ジャンク (junk — as-is, usually no returns). The standard target is an unbuilt kit in an unopened box; "junk" lots may hide started runners or missing parts — read descriptions carefully.
How do you avoid recasts and bootlegs?
BANDAI SPIRITS warns officially that counterfeit Gunpla exist, their quality is not guaranteed, and Bandai offers no support or part replacement for them. The official advice: check the kit against the catalog on the Bandai Hobby Site before buying. The red flags follow — a kit missing from the official catalog, a "version" Bandai never made, a price far below official. Standard Gunpla carries no hologram sticker: Bandai's anti-counterfeit seal applies to Tamashii Nations figures, not model kits (official genuine-vs-fake signs are in our figures guide). Japanese retail and established shops lower the risk; on C2C auctions, check the seller's rating and photos of the actual runners.
Boxes are light but big: the real shipping cost
Gunpla is a textbook case of volumetric weight. The kits themselves are light, but the boxes are bulky — and express couriers (DHL and similar) charge by whichever is greater: actual weight or L×W×H (cm) ÷ 5,000. Illustrative example: a 40×26×13 cm box → 13,520 cm³ ÷ 5,000 ≈ 2.7 kg chargeable, even if the kit weighs far less. Japan Post charges by actual weight within size limits (EMS: up to 30 kg, length up to 1.5 m, length + girth up to 3 m for most destinations) — checked 2026-07-10.
Two consequences. A PG-sized box is expensive to ship however you cut it — factor that in early. And consolidation saves real money: several kits packed into one box at the warehouse ship for less than the same kits sent separately. Estimate shipping in advance with the shipping calculator (weight + country); the exact figure is known once the parcel is weighed and measured at the warehouse.
FAQ
Is Gunpla sold outside Japan less "genuine"? No. Bandai distributes worldwide and a retail kit is identical plastic. Ordering from Japan is about exclusives, earlier releases, prices and the second-hand market — not authenticity.
Can I order from P-Bandai without a Japanese address? Not from the Japanese storefront — it ships within Japan only. Check the official regional P-Bandai stores first; if the kit is Japan-only (most Gunpla exclusives are), a proxy with a Japanese address is the standard route.
Which grade should a beginner start with? Entry Grade or HG. EG is designed to be built without tools; HG offers the largest choice of mobile suits at moderate prices (¥1,500–3,000 for most kits).
What happens if I miss a P-Bandai order window? Production is limited and reissues are not guaranteed. After the window closes the kit moves to the resale market at a premium — or turns up later, sometimes unbuilt, on Japanese auctions.
Why did Gunpla prices rise in 2026? BANDAI SPIRITS ran a broad price revision in May–June 2026, lifting many retail and P-Bandai kits by roughly 20–30%. The prices in this article were checked on 2026-07-10.
Key takeaways
- The grades are official Bandai lines: EG and HG (1/144, entry to mainstream), RG (1/144, high detail), MG (1/100, inner frame), PG (1/60, flagship), SD (chibi) — price anchors from ¥1,000 for EG to ¥27,500–66,000 for PG.
- P-Bandai is the main reason to order directly: web-exclusive kits with limited order windows, made to order, no reissue guarantee — and the Japanese storefront ships only within Japan.
- Gundam Base limited kits (special colors, clear and metallic versions) are sold at official Gundam Base stores in Japan, with Tokyo as the flagship.
- Japan gets releases first and cheaper: overseas stock typically lags by 1–2 months; Western reseller prices on hot kits run a third or more above Japanese list.
- Watch the volumetric weight: boxes are light but bulky, couriers charge L×W×H ÷ 5,000 — consolidating several kits into one parcel is the main way to save.
Sources
- Bandai Hobby Site — official Gunpla brand hub (grades HG/RG/MG/PG/EG and lineup):
https://global.bandai-hobby.net/en-us/gunpla/— checked 2026-07-10. - Bandai Hobby Site — official kit pages used as price anchors (EG
item/01_2984, HGitem/01_2746, RGitem/01_5261, MGitem/01_5849):https://global.bandai-hobby.net/en-us/— checked 2026-07-10. - Premium Bandai — official global/regional storefront page:
https://p-bandai.jp/contents/global/— checked 2026-07-10. - THE GUNDAM BASE — official facility page (locations, zones, limited goods):
https://www.gundam-base.net/about/— checked 2026-07-10. - Gundam official site — Gundam Base Tokyo opening announcement (2017-08-19, DiverCity Tokyo Plaza):
https://en.gundam-official.com/news/i/news/hot-topics/news_hot-topics_20170803_135803p - Japan Post — EMS size and weight limits:
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/ems/size/index_en.html— checked 2026-07-10. - DHL Express — volumetric weight calculation (L×W×H ÷ 5,000):
https://www.dhl.com/discover/en-sg/ship-with-dhl/start-shipping/how-to-calculate-dhl-volumetric-weight— checked 2026-07-10.
A note on sourcing: grade lineup and anchor prices come from official Bandai pages; Bandai publishes per-kit prices, not per-grade ranges, so the ranges here are orientation drawn from official kit prices. The January 2026 schedule prices and the May 2026 price revision are BANDAI SPIRITS announcements relayed by hobby press. The $608 US pre-order figure is a dated single data point (P-Rex Hobby, January 2026), illustrative rather than a market average; "1.5–2× on resale" is market observation, not an official statistic.
Update history
- 2026-07-10 — article published.