Statue of Liberty? Striking, but a bit demure. Trenchcoat-clad Stalin statue in Gori, Georgia? Iconic, but disheartening. Giant RX-78-2 Gundam statue at Shiokaze Park in Tokyo, Japan? Unquestionably badass. The massive biped is currently under construction, part of a celebration for the 30 year anniversary of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. When completed it will be full-scale, standing 59-feet tall, weighing 35 tons, and even shooting "light or mist" from 50 different points along its structure. All systems should be fully operational by July 11 -- hopefully soon enough to stop the forthcoming Zeon armada.

[Via technabob]

Right on schedule, the GUNDAM CRISIS attraction at the Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park in Japan has opened its door for fanatics paying guests, and just as we expected, a whole slew of live photographs have made their way out. Fanboys (and girls) hoping that a great deal of care would be taken in its construction are likely to be pleased, as the 1:1 creation certainly bears a resemblance to the real deal. Without further ado, head on past the break for a few more shots, and tag the read link if you're looking for the whole roll.

[Via Slashgear]

While those of you who have the luxury of frequenting the Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan, we're sure a tear was shed when Gundam the Ride: A Baoa Qu was closed down just months ago. Thankfully, the successor is bigger, better, and almost ready to rock, as the GUNDAM CRISIS thrill ride prepares to envelope you in a Gundam hanger and elicit quite a few smiles. The actual Gundam will indeed be a 1:1 full scale rendition, meaning that it'll stretch to about 18-meters in height, and while we certainly wish you could strap it onto a rail and call it a roller coaster, this attraction looks to be one of those tamer "walk through types." Of course, that also means that there is no height or age requirement to see the ominous beast, and considering that it should shuffle its first guests through in July, you won't have to wait much longer to get your Gundam fix at Fuji-Q.

[Via Impress]

What's better than a 5-inch Gundam? Why a 5-inch Gundam slathered in platinum with diamonds for eyes, of course. This $250,000 robot soldier is manufactured by Bandai and will be on display next month at Baselworld, in Basel Switzerland. You know, for the big watch and jewelry show everyone's been talking about... sheez. Great, but we're not interested until this can be produced on a 1:1 scale.

[Via Impress]

As part of a celebration for the Lantern Festival, a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar year, the Taiwanese district of Jiayi put up a 1:1 scale model of the original Gundam in lantern form. Traditionally, an animal lantern is used as the central display, but this year a competition was run and as you can see, the RX-78 Gundam lantern won out. Not that the citizens had any choice in the matter: paper sheets have never looked so formidable. It still does "NOT!" top our Engadget pumpkin though.

You'll have to forgive us for indulging ourselves in a moment of fanboyish wonderment here, but about the only thing we can think of that's better than Bandai's life-sized Gundam replica is that very replica being built from the ground up by Robo-One 10 Championship winners, the Maru family. There isn't any exact parallel here, but we'd vaguely liken this to watching Miyamoto-san assemble a Wii -- except still somehow better, perhaps due to the looks on those childrens' faces that manages to warm even our cold, metallic heart-pump devices. Trust us, your inner-child / fanboy will be sated.

[Via Robots Dreams]

Japan's largest toy manufacturer is about to get life sized with the unveiling of a 5-foot tall Gundam. Bandai feels the worldwide recognition of the hit show Mobile Suit Gundam will garner big interest from "20- to 40- year old men," i.e. fanboys, otaku, whatever you wanna call 'em. The 77 pound robot has 14 movable body parts right down to its finger joints, and emits a plethora of sound effects (yes, the Vulcan fires too) while you remotely control his fear-inducing flashing eyes. Marketed as a "sophisticated plastic model" (kind of like its companion to the left), Bandai hopes to ship over 1,000 of these behemoths to living rooms and anime stores everywhere when they drop this December. If this has instantly skyrocketed atop your holiday wish list, you may want to reconsider -- the ¥350,000 ($3,000) pricetag and the giant hassle of self-assembling over 250 parts might just deter all but the most hardcore fans who won't even get the pleasure of mounting up and wearing it around the house, shooting at imaginary Gundam Wings.