Tag: ‘Gundam’

Mecha art by Naochika Morishita

15 Sep 2010

Hagane Bito, a book of collected works by freelance artist Naochika Morishita, is teeming with illustrations of anime robots. Here are a few.

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Gundam heads

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Daijyushin

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Gundam

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
GM Custom

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Gundam vs. Elmeth

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Jaburo

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Jaburo-2

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Z Mobile Suit-2

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Dom

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Wing Gundam Zero Custom

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
MagiDragon

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Scopedog and Berserga

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Dom Tropen

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
V Gundam RX-93 Nu Gundam (Thanks, Ian!)

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Cockpit

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Scopedog

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
GM vs. Zaku

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Gouf

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
GM Cold District Type

Mecha illustration by Naochika Morishita --
Gundam RX-78-2

[More: OZKai, ! * `n@men!cht ]

Video: Shizuoka Gundam time-lapse

04 Aug 2010


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This time-lapse video of the 18-meter (59-ft) Gundam robot in the city of Shizuoka, Japan is the latest in a series of YouTube uploads from Gundam videographer darwinfish105.

Deco-Gundam

25 Jun 2009

Just in time for the 30th anniversary festivities comes this girlie Gundam, a jewel-encrusted RX-78-2 (apparently created by a Taiwanese fan) looking pretty in pink and lace.

Deco-Gundam figure --

Deco-Gundam figure --

Deco-Gundam figure --

Deco-Gundam figure --

[Via Gigazine]

Photos: Nocturnal Gundam

12 Jun 2009

After sunset, Tokyo Gundam comes to life.

Tokyo Gundam --
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Tokyo Gundam --
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Tokyo Gundam --
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Tokyo Gundam --
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Tokyo Gundam --
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Tokyo Gundam --
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Tokyo Gundam --
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Tokyo Gundam --
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Photos: Gundam legs

20 May 2009

Gundam legs --

Piece by piece, an 18-meter tall, 35-ton full-scale Gundam statue is being assembled in Odaiba, Tokyo to commemorate 30 years of Mobile Suit Gundam. When finished in mid-July, the enormous figure will entertain onlookers by moving its head and shooting light and mist from 50 points on its body. Until then, we have these photos of its magnificent legs and assorted parts.

Gundam legs -- Gundam legs --

Gundam legs --

Gundam legs --

More photos at Mainichi.

(Thanks, Jerome!)

$725,000,000 Gundam

11 Jan 2008

Gundam -- Ever wondered how much it would cost to build a working, life-sized Gundam robot? At least $725 million for the parts and materials, according to an estimate published on the SciencePortal website run by the Japan Science and Technology Agency. The price tag for this giant humanoid, which would stand 18 meters (60 feet) tall and weigh 43.4 metric tons (nearly 100,000 lbs), does not include the cost of labor (this is where an extensive pool of robot slave labor comes in handy), nor does it include the cost of the infrastructure needed to support the machine once you are ready to climb aboard and take it for a walk.

Estimated cost of Gundam parts:

ITEM UNIT COST QTY COST
Aluminum alloy (honeycomb) $1,800 43,875 $79,000,000
(+ Metal manufacturing/processing) $240,000,000
Main computer (IBM) $1,550,000 1 $1,550,000
Gas turbine engines (GE) $52,000,000 7 $364,000,000
Superconductive motors (IHI) $260,000 30 $7,800,000
Motor drivers $260,000 30 $7,800,000
Reducers $760,000 30 $22,800,000
Sensors $910,000
Cockpit $450,000
TOTAL: $724,310,000

Note that unlike in the anime, the Gundam described here would merely be able to walk -- it would not have the ability to fly or have any fancy weaponry. Also, instead of Gundanium, the robot would be covered in aluminum alloy plating.

Gundam -- An IBM Blue Gene supercomputer would serve as the Gundam's computer system ($1.5 million sounds like a steal), and its movements would be driven by 30 giant 400KW motors -- 12 in the legs, 2 in the torso, 14 in the arms, and 2 in the neck. A 400KW motor is quite powerful -- by comparison, some Shinkansen bullet trains use 300KW motors. The motors alone would cost $7.8 million, but to power them would require the equivalent of 7 Apache helicopter engines (the helicopters cost an estimated $52 million each).

While $700 million is a lot of money (more than the GDP of Liberia, Grenada and a dozen or so other nations), it does not seem like so much when you compare it to the cost of other large-scale machinery. Military tanks costs around $4 to $7 million each, commercial passenger planes cost around $200 to $300 million, rockets can cost around $100 million to launch, expensive fighter jets can cost billions, and aircraft carriers cost about $5 billion.

A robot of this size and stature would face a number of physical challenges, such as the inability to walk without completely destroying the ground surface beneath its feet. When humans walk, we exert about 1.5 times our body weight of pressure on the ground (and on our feet) with each step. This poses a huge problem for a 43-ton humanoid, which would probably need to have very wide feet (to distribute the pressure over a larger area) and walk very very slowly. Dinosaurs found a way to get around, though, so giant robots probably can, too.

But perhaps the greatest challenge of all would be to find the funding for an enormous walking machine with no apparent practical or military application. With no money, this Gundam will forever remain just a dream.

[Source: SciencePortal]

HRP-3 Promet Mk-II blue-collar robot

21 Jun 2007

HRP-3 Promet Mk-II ---

The HRP-3 Promet Mk-II, a blue-collar android tough enough to trudge through heavy rains, carry out disaster relief operations and work in environments hazardous to humans, demonstrated its skills at a June 21 press conference at Kawada Industries headquarters in Tochigi prefecture. In addition to flaunting its ability to walk on slippery surfaces, the robot showed off its electric screwdriver wielding talents by taking the opportunity to tighten up some loose screws.

The 1.6 meter (5 ft 3 in) tall, 68 kilogram (150 lb) robot, sometimes lovingly referred to as "Ma-kun," is the latest fruit of a 5-year joint effort by Kawada Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) to develop a humanoid robot with sufficient skills to enter the workforce. This latest HRP incarnation features tougher hardware to make it more suitable for work in adverse environments, as well as improved balance and the ability to move its body parts in a more complex, coordinated fashion.

As with previous HRP series robots, the HRP-3 Promet Mk-II -- which cost 400 million yen ($3.3 million) to develop -- was designed by mecha creator Yutaka Izubuchi, who is well-known for his work on anime such as Gundam and Patlabor. Depending on how the droid is programmed, it can either work autonomously or be operated by a human via a wireless remote control system.

Ma-kun's creators say they hope to one day see it land a dirty, dangerous job.

(UPDATE: For lots of short videos, go to THIS PAGE, scroll down to the second group of photos, and click on the links under each picture -- WMV format.

...Or better yet, check out the remix version set to Senor Coconut's funky cha-cha-cha version of Kraftwerk's classic "The Robots.")

[Sources: Chunichi, AIST press release]

Platinum Gundam

30 Mar 2007

Gundam Fix Platinum --- Bandai and Ginza Tanaka have teamed up to create a Mobile Suit Gundam made from pure platinum. Called Gundam Fix Platinum, the 12.5-cm (5-in.) tall, 1.4-kg (3-lb.) work features 89 separate parts and a head adorned with a 0.15 carat diamond. Hajime Katoki, a mechanical designer and illustrator noted for his work in a range of anime and games, oversaw the two-year long production process.

According to the Bandai press release, the aim of the platinum Gundam masterpiece is to combine the pure, rare and eternal nature of platinum with the everlasting Gundam worldview. While Ginza Tanaka hopes to attract attention to the beauty and value of platinum, Bandai hopes to boost Gundam's name recognition around the world, nearly 30 years after the first anime episode aired on Japanese TV.

The platinum Gundam will be exhibited at BASELWORLD 2007, an annual watch and jewelry show held in Basel, Switzerland beginning April 12. After that, it will return to Japan.

There are currently no plans to sell the Gundam, but Bandai estimates its value at $250,000 (30 million yen).

[Sources: Fuji Sankei, Bandai press release]