18-metre life-sized Gundam revealed in Japan, first Gundam statue with ability to move

No pilots needed.

Mabel Wong | August 07, 2020, 05:48 PM

A life-sized Gundam statue has been built at the Yamashita Pier in Yokohama, Japan.

Screenshot from ガンダムチャンネル | YouTube.

Screenshot from ガンダムチャンネル | YouTube.

Here's a video on the process:

Named RX-78FOO

The building of the Gundam has been a plan in action since 2014.

It currently stands at a height of 18 metres, and weighs 25 tons (~22,679kg).

Screenshot from ガンダムチャンネル | YouTube.

The Gundam's "lore" has also been revealed, according to RobotStart.

Parts of the original RX-78-2 Gundam, mainly controlled by the show's protagonist Amuro Ray, had been rediscovered after its major battle with A Baou Qu, a space fortress.

The parts were then used to secretly build a new Gundam, now named RX-78FOO.

Here's a picture of RX-78-2 for comparison.

Photo from Gundam Wiki.

Definitely pretty similar.

Ability to move

This isn't Japan's first Gundam statue though, as a statue of the original RX-78-2 was first erected in Tokyo in 2009, with the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam replacing it in 2018.

However, the RX-78FOO will be the first Gundam statue with the ability to move.

You can check out its test walk below:

&v=tYirnOIzEa4&feature=emb_logo

RobotStart also reported that the Gundam statue will have two types of poses.

The first shows the Gundam pointing up towards the sky, which may be a familiar sight to Gundam fans.

This is the same pose that the original RX-78-2 Gundam pulled in the 1979 "Mobile Suit Gundam" animation, also known as the "Last Shooting Stance".

Screenshot from ガンダムチャンネル | YouTube.

Photo from ガンダムチャンネル | YouTube and C4Cintron | YouTube.

The second pose has the Gundam with both its arms elevated, a reference to the 1999 anime series "Turn A Gundam".

Screenshot from ガンダムチャンネル | YouTube.

Photo from ガンダムチャンネル | YouTube and IMDB.

October opening postponed

A special tour of the observation deck had been planned for July and August, but it was unfortunately cancelled.

The original plan for its official opening in October has also been postponed until further notice.

If you'd like to stay updated on the Gundam's well-being though, you can visit the Gundam website here.

Top images from ガンダムチャンネル | YouTube.