Every gunpla builder, collector and fan of Mobile Suit Gundam has a particular chase kit or model that they want over all others.
For some, that might be a rare special edition, such as a Ver. Ka Master Grade kit that tweaks the design of your favourite mecha.
For others, it could be a particularly faithful and well-regarded kit, such as the legendary Dendrobium RX78GPO3 kit, which despite being a High Grade kit and technically of a smaller scale, was over three feet tall and is still quite expensive to find.
However, amongst the largest, rarest, and most sought after kits in recent memory is the Hyper Hybrid Model (HY2M), a set of extremely detailed, highly advanced and gimmick-filled model kits that have become the largest gunpla sets ever produced.
Released from 2002 to 2006, the HY2M sets were released in 1/12 scale, which meant that the standard RX 78-2 Gundam model stood at around 1.6 metres tall, which is over five feet tall and close to human-sized, as many of the publicity photos display.
They came in three boxes, although thankfully, you did not have to deal with cutting the huge components out of sprues as you would on a Perfect Grade gunpla, and they included a range of similarly sized accessories, as well as wiring and a remote to engage a range of lights and sounds in the head assembly.
They are probably the biggest and most challenging gunpla models to build, owing to their sheer scale, and the size does come with a few caveats.
For example, whilst there is a remarkable amount of articulation, it is limited to the head and arms; the legs remain static for presumably stability and structural integrity reasons.
This may be part of the reason why a half-sized 1/24 scaled HY2M model of the RX-78-2 was released in 2003. Whilst still complex, it was slightly more affordable and completely articulated.
Alongside these were special 1/60 Glorious editions, which were less huge but had a much greater emphasis on electronics, as well as HY2M parts for Master Grade kits, which included additional LEDs.
Whilst they command huge prices, the 1/12 HY2M kits are particularly unique and are worth the challenge just to look a mobile suit directly in the face.
