Gundam Photographs Capture the Scale and Majesty of Japan’s 80-Foot-Tall Statue

A new set of photos provide a beautiful new look at the life-sized Gundam statue in Yokohama, Japan.

The new photographs were taken by Japanese professional photographer who is known by the screen name @hiro_cameras on Twitter. The photographer used their skills to capture Yokohama's famous life-sized Gundam in a variety of lighting and weather conditions. @hiro_cameras' photos not only show off the massive scale of the over 80-foot tall mobile suit, but also showcase the incredible amount of detail that went into its molding and paint job.

More of @hiro_cameras' gorgeous work can be viewed on their Twitter and Instagram pages, where they frequently post more photographs of the 1:1 scale Gundam statue, as well as numerous other famous Japanese landmarks, such as Tokyo Disney Sea theme park and the famous Tokyo Sky Tree observation tower.

The RX-78-2 statue is located outside of The Gundam Factory in Yokohama. In addition to serving a specialty shop dedicated to all things Gundam, the location also houses a museum that exhibits art work, classic Gunpla models, and more objects of interest from the anime franchise's 40 year history. While numerous other 1:1 scale Gundam statues have been erected throughout the world, the Yokohama figure is unique in that it sports a full range of movement and is capable of walking in place and recreating several iconic poses from the classic anime series. Visitors to the location can pay to take a guided tour of the figure and see all of its details up close.

The original Gundam isn't the only one of Amuro Ray's mobile suits to be given the life-sized statue treatment: Amuro's final mecha, the Nu Gundam, will soon debut its 1:1 scale figure, through this robot will sport a substantial redesign. The new statue features a number of changes from its original appearance in 1988's Char's Counterattack; the array of remote controlled funnel weapons have been replaced by a single, massive beam canon, and its original, mostly monochromatic color scheme has been replaced with a more colorful paint job that matches the bright blues, reds and yellows of the RX-78-2. The statue is nearing completion and is set to be officially unveiled next spring.

Fans looking for more of the RX-78-2 should clear their calendars for the franchise's next movie, Cucuruz Doan's Island, which is scheduled to premiere in Japan in 2022. The new movie is a feature-length remake of one of the more famous episodes of the original 1979 anime series, and will once again see Amuro in the cockpit of his original mobile suit. Details about the movie's international release have yet to be announced.

Source: Twitter