Where Can I Buy Gunpla?
There are two options here: importing from Japan directly, or buying locally (for most of our readers, this will mean U.S. suppliers). There are advantages and disadvantages to both: importing from Japan means you’re going to be paying less for a kit more often than not, as you’re paying the retail price in yen, but you’ll rack up extra cost on shipping and potential import tax charges. You’ll get access to the latest kits as soon as they’re available too—useful if you want in on either the newest models or are a Gundam convert thanks to Witch From Mercury, where most of the available kits aren’t necessarily easy to get outside of Japan (or in it, given the series’ popularity) right now. The easiest options for this are Hobbylink Japan, or Amazon Japan.
Buying from a local supplier for Bandai America—whether it’s on shelves at stores like Target or your local hobby shop or comics store, or online at everywhere from Amazon or Big Bad Toy Store, to specific Gunpla stores like USA Gundam Store, Newtype, and many more—means you won’t have to worry about import fees, and shipping won’t take as long. But you’ll probably end up paying higher prices per kit, as most suppliers will raise the RRP to account for their own imports, and you’ll also be waiting longer for newer kits to get officially distributed.
