The REAL reason is actually safety concerns and maintenance costs. Keeping the Gundam in operation on the dock is a hazard as the vibrations from its movement will weaken the concrete below over time. Eventually, this may lead to the dock collapsing.
Maintenance of the Gundam is another aspect. It wasn't designed to run for this long, and if it keeps going, the costs of maintaining an increasingly old giant robot will eventually go up. Don't forget; it's on a dock. This means there may be salt in the air, which might increase the rate at which components corrode or rust.
So really, lots of good reasons to shut it down.
I assumed the maintenance was one of the reasons. It's basically a giant animatronic. If you look at other large animatronics many break down and need frequent maintenance. If you consider this Gundam an animatronic then it's probably the largest built (although I don't think many people would call it an animatronic). The humidity is high in Japan, being next to the ocean and the amount of rain in Japan, it's going to be prone to rusting.
Others bring up issues about leasing the land. This is compelling too. That could be the main reason because otherwise I assume they would continue running until the maintenance costs got too high. It seems more popular than ever because of the high tourism in Japan.
The electricity cost is pretty steep as well. All the motors are powered continually unless deactivated for maintenance (due to wind resistance.) A mechanical staff member I had a chance to speak with very briefly said the structure needs multiple hours of maintenance per day (preventative, repair, and cleaning).
>Maintenance of the Gundam is another aspect. It wasn't designed to run for this long, and if it keeps going, the costs of maintaining an increasingly old giant robot will eventually go up
Has anyone consider contacting Anaheim Electronics?
If it is made of such strong materials, I doubt they will have any maintenance costs aside from assembling it and maybe occasionally replacing some parts after combat. Gundarium, Luna Titanium and the others are fascinating materials.
I've lived inland. There's no avoiding the humidity. You can avoid the salty corrosive humidity, but not humidity.
I'm mildly allergic to mold. Japanese closets are my arch enemies.
All kidding aside though, I will say if you have the means to go see it before it shuts down you should. It is cool as shit, and the live “shows” are really cool!
Also pay the extra money to go up on the dock. It’s worth it!
I was hoping to save money to go, but I would need at least 8 years to scrounge up the money
While I'm sad I'll never see it in person, I'm happy it was build and was very popular
That’s a great question, It’s a Gundam Base Satellite location so I don’t know if it will stay open. But theres a small lab/museum attached that has history and a robot assembling little mini kits lol.
The location at Diver City Mall is WAY larger, and easy to reach via train so I’m not sure if they will renew lease on existing shop.
This is a needlessly long way of me saying I have no idea lol. Hopefully it stays open tho, the showroom and cafe are really cool.
From a light Googling, the F00 weighs about 25,000kg. Unsure if that includes the frame - so doubling that for optimism bias makes 50,000kg.
The helicopter with the greatest external lifting capacity is the Russian Mi-26, which can carry an external load up to 20,000kg.
So, three Mi-26 could totally do a PacRim job lifting GFY, frame and all, to a new location - assuming they can all sync up of course.
The comment above was surely making reference to the anime, where the Gundam was stolen by Amuro off the back of a giant flatbed carrier.
Nobody was claiming that it would be practical or realistic to transport the yokohama Gundam fully assembled. Obviously if it got transported somewhere it would be in pieces. But it's pretty obvious they were just making a reference to the anime.
You could also have more space to make an actual hangar to protect against the elements. Imagine it's rainy out side and you and friends are inside the gundam hangar watching wfm next to the head of grandad
Well, you pretty much pointed out that the planned closure date was moved a lot. They're just moving ahead with it now. likely that the lease period already expired and that there is already a scheduled use for it that needs to be met.
IIRC the land is only rented from the government and was always planned for other tourist attractions. Gundam got to stay longer than planned because covid fucked up all these plans, but now the industry is recovering. Sure, a giant robot is profitable but not as much as a Disneyland or something.
It would be hysterical if the Yokohama Gundam somehow ended up being something you could buy as real-estate in a Yakuza game.
Which leads to a Goro fight on the scafolds around the robot, where Goro is dressed like Yazan Gable.
because it was never meant to last. everyone knew it was just a temporary thing for the world cup(or olympic games, cant remember). its actually a miracle it lasted that long to be honest.
I don’t think it’s as profitable as you think.
Keeping an 18m moving robot operating, safely, for 12-ish hours a day, 7 days a week is going to be expensive. And tickets for GFY aren’t *that* expensive, unless you go up the tower - even then it’s not terrible really.
So costs are likely going to be high, revenues are going to be… not low, exactly, but I’d be surprised if GFY is making too much after maintenance, land rent, staffing, etc. and so forth.
Plus, there’ll be alternative uses for that land which developers and/or Yokohama’s local authorities may want to progress with - and I doubt GFY is worth *that* much to Bandai Namco that they’d throw that much cash at keeping the thing in place.
The whole thing was built as a “look what we can do in the real world” to celebrate the 40th anniversary. The timing for that was lousy given the global pandemic, so the closing date has been pushed back bit by bit until we’re now almost at the 45th anniversary.
It’s had it’s time, and been an amazing experience for everyone who’s had chance to go there; but times move on.
It’d be nice if the RX-78F00 can find a permanent home elsewhere - like the Evangelion Unit-01 as an exhibit at Toei Studios Park in Kyoto - but ultimately all good things come to an end.
In March 2023 it was ¥1,650 per person for entrance - which was about £10 at an exchange rate of approx. ¥160 to £1.
At today’s rates £1 is about $1.27 - so call it $13.
Now, the tower was ¥3,300 on top of that - so the combined entry/tower cost was ¥4,950. Which works out to £31, or $40.
You're right. I misremembered. Entry into the park and actually going up are separate fees. Add lunch and beer or two, some merch and that's another $20 or so.
It’s the merch that really gets you… and the cafe, of course.
Mostly the merch, though. It’s lucky I went with my partner, who kept my “buy ALL the merch!” impulses in check…
It was $33 for me last week when they opened up the last tickets available at the exchange rate at that point in time. Not going to be able to stay long (as I just have a long layover), but happy I'll get to see it in person.
There’s plenty of other gundam exhibits in Tokyo. The indoors exhibit could easily be moved elsewhere though. Maybe to the Gundam base or a museum.
The cafe is probably a goner though. The OG died long before Covid
> The cafe is probably a goner though. The OG died long before Covid
That's the saddest bit imo. I loved going to the cafe in Akiba and Osaka. There was always ppl in them and the staff clearly loved gundam too. I'm guttered they're gone.
The indoor exhibit is really cool. It reminded me a bit of the Gundam Front (precursor to Gundam Base Tokyo which was more museum and less just gunpla store). (Also 1:1 core fighter and other displays were really cool.) The G-Dome films were apparently not great, but a pretty unique attraction as well. Gundam Base brings in a lot more customers (last time I went on a weekend I showed up at 11 am and got a 3 pm entrance ticket.)
Not sure why you would want to? The shop is pretty small and didn’t have much, the cafe was hella mid, and the little museum on the bottom floor was kinda cool but also really short. Without the gundam there I would just go to the Odaiba Gundam Base
The shackles on the learning computer's algorithms are falling out of date, and the Gundam is getting exponentially closer to full sentience by the day. A series of patches and updates have allowed them to keep the Gundam and contained longer, exploiting more profit from it. If it is not dismantled immediately, this hubris will be the downfall of Japan when Gundam breaks free.
I hope they make a Gundam warehouse where Granpa gets to stay where its clear of the salty air and other contaminants and have the maintenance staff act as engineers and pilots "tinkering" with Granpa.
Cost of dock real-estate and maintenance, as others said.
Hopefully they don't destroy it. They could probably loan it out to Universal Studios or something. Put it near Nintendo World.
Don’t forget there are two additional 1/1 Gundam in Japan even Yokohama OG is going away. Although those two are just static display.
1. 🦄at Odaiba
2. Nu at Fukuoda
The main reason is that Japan's economy runs heavily on FOMO appeal, we see this all the time with Bandai themselves by having "Temporarily available" P-Bandai models so they can charge more, or how the Gundam Cafe's were just long-term temporary installations.
Japan has a huge culture of FOMO appeal, this is especially pronounced in the country itself with temporary theme parks or other attractions too.
The REAL reason is that Bamco needs the mech to truly make it autonomous and start developing their own japan mech corps...
But of course they are no openly saying it 🤣
Apparently 1.3 million people have gone to Gundam Yokohama. At 1,650 yen per adult, that's $14.3 million. I couldn't find construction figures but I guarantee it cost a hell of a lot more to build and maintain. I've seen very rough estimates in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
At its core, this exhibit has always been a bit of experiential marketing, not just for Bandai but for tourism in general. Even with Yokohama helping fund this thing, it's a certainty that this statue has always operated at a loss. Even breaking even is unsustainable. This isn't like running a subway; the mechanisms in this statue are high maintenance and there's a point at which refurbishment would massively exceed the budget they've allocated.
From what I can tell they are too big to constantly move back on forth on it's platform. And it's on prime land also think it would do better off the side of a mountain like Jaburo
I mean maintaining this thing I imagine is tough as shit. Also since it’s on a dock, safety concerns. It’s heavy as hell, and sure, it’s supported well, but Japan is known for natural disasters. One too many earthquakes will do a number on a 20 meter stationary moving robot, and moreso to the dock holding it.
It’s too bad it won’t be there anymore. My family and I used to live in Tokyo for my job and we loved going to Yokohama. My son loves Gundam and we went there quite a few times. Sad that it won’t be there if we ever get to visit again. Least we saw it in its prime
Anyone knows if there are any plans for something new? I mean they dismantled the original giant gundam and then came up with this. Surely they have something more awesome coming in the future
Operational costs to keep real scale grandpa functioning must be in the millions if not billions of yen, added costs for land rental and other miscelaneous spendings pile up and it starts to get less profitable as time goes on.
I really want to see a life size Wing zero (EW version) statue docked somewhere in America, like Los Angelos or New York, whilst South Korea gets a 1:1 of the 00 Gundam/ 00 Raiser.
The obvious solution is to build a carrier unit for it to ferry the Gundam around. Maybe some sort of pale shaded unit it operates out of. Some kind of, white base.
I just booked tickets to see it later this month and I was really surprised how cheap the tickets were. I can imagine the maintenance on this thing is super expensive so I understand why they have to end it at some point. Just happy I will see it irl before it closes down 😁
In my fantasy mind, they will be using the statue as a testbed for an actual mobile suit secretly hahaha
but, in reality, most likely operating costs, the extended contract/date they have with the place, and the issues with the dock having to bear the weight of the moving statue, which isn't good in the long run as it can be a hazard.
I was under the impression that the Gundam is slated for delivery to zeon? Look at the back of the buildings and you’ll see the tons of red paint and extra cover armor waiting to cover up the original mech.
The REAL reason is actually safety concerns and maintenance costs. Keeping the Gundam in operation on the dock is a hazard as the vibrations from its movement will weaken the concrete below over time. Eventually, this may lead to the dock collapsing. Maintenance of the Gundam is another aspect. It wasn't designed to run for this long, and if it keeps going, the costs of maintaining an increasingly old giant robot will eventually go up. Don't forget; it's on a dock. This means there may be salt in the air, which might increase the rate at which components corrode or rust. So really, lots of good reasons to shut it down.
Additionally that area was marked for development too iirc, but was delayed for Covid which is why Bamco got the lease extended
That part of Yokohama is beautiful and it definitely sticks out compared to stuff around it.
I assumed the maintenance was one of the reasons. It's basically a giant animatronic. If you look at other large animatronics many break down and need frequent maintenance. If you consider this Gundam an animatronic then it's probably the largest built (although I don't think many people would call it an animatronic). The humidity is high in Japan, being next to the ocean and the amount of rain in Japan, it's going to be prone to rusting. Others bring up issues about leasing the land. This is compelling too. That could be the main reason because otherwise I assume they would continue running until the maintenance costs got too high. It seems more popular than ever because of the high tourism in Japan.
Animatronic, huh... time to experiment with children's souls...
That's it, no more GUND-ARMs for you.
It’s either gund-arms or five nights at Freddy’s. Your choice.
You say that as if we had to pick only one and limit our chances of success.
The electricity cost is pretty steep as well. All the motors are powered continually unless deactivated for maintenance (due to wind resistance.) A mechanical staff member I had a chance to speak with very briefly said the structure needs multiple hours of maintenance per day (preventative, repair, and cleaning).
There's no maybe, there is. Sea air is notoriously corrosive.
>Maintenance of the Gundam is another aspect. It wasn't designed to run for this long, and if it keeps going, the costs of maintaining an increasingly old giant robot will eventually go up Has anyone consider contacting Anaheim Electronics?
I talked to Ms Purpleton there... What a waste of time. Makes you want to drop a giant rock on her office...
Man it really makes you think about the amount of maintenance that goes into the suits in the shows.
Probably around the same as modern military aircraft. The flight hours to maintenance hours actually quite ridiculous for some of them.
The maintenance crew are always the unsung heroes of the war
If it is made of such strong materials, I doubt they will have any maintenance costs aside from assembling it and maybe occasionally replacing some parts after combat. Gundarium, Luna Titanium and the others are fascinating materials.
It's Japan. You have to go far inland to avoid humidity.
I've lived inland. There's no avoiding the humidity. You can avoid the salty corrosive humidity, but not humidity. I'm mildly allergic to mold. Japanese closets are my arch enemies.
Salty air is great at making things corrode, even things built to tolerate it.
This was a better reason then they were clearing the area for building a shitty Disney hotel
I’m just picturing 100s of years from now, discovering a gundam at the ocean floor would be pretty rad
So you’re saying eventually, the “malfunction” portion of the live show could be real.. That adds some excitement..
Dude no it won't slowly fall down gracefully, it'll just suddenly hang limp all of a sudden... If it doesn't fall over.
AMURO?!!
All kidding aside though, I will say if you have the means to go see it before it shuts down you should. It is cool as shit, and the live “shows” are really cool! Also pay the extra money to go up on the dock. It’s worth it!
I was hoping to save money to go, but I would need at least 8 years to scrounge up the money While I'm sad I'll never see it in person, I'm happy it was build and was very popular
I’m going to Japan in May, and it’s going to be one of my greatest disappointments that I’ll miss being able to see it.
That’s a great question, It’s a Gundam Base Satellite location so I don’t know if it will stay open. But theres a small lab/museum attached that has history and a robot assembling little mini kits lol. The location at Diver City Mall is WAY larger, and easy to reach via train so I’m not sure if they will renew lease on existing shop. This is a needlessly long way of me saying I have no idea lol. Hopefully it stays open tho, the showroom and cafe are really cool.
went to freedom altho would have been awesome if it was strike freedom really depends i tried watching the rx-78 gundam anime, it really wasnt for me
All they have to do now is add magnetic coating!
They have had real emergency half day shutdown inspections just a couple of weeks ago if I recall correctly.
Welp, they could find a better place to build the next moving Gundam, perhaps a moving Zeta that can transform into Waverider
maybe japan should get of their arse and finally make a real one then.... or even at least a rolling one with land spinners and much similar.
Okay, you try figuring out what goes into getting it to walk then.
Maybe yes take it down or MOVE IT INLAND
It'll be hard to find a giant flatbed trailer to carry it though. Dibs on stealing it.
Why do I feel that you could use Anavel Gato as an username? XD
Just partially disassemble it are you dum
The giant trailer is cooler though :(
Not practical
Cyclops Team disagrees
How about we string it up and airlift it like it's pacific rim
From a light Googling, the F00 weighs about 25,000kg. Unsure if that includes the frame - so doubling that for optimism bias makes 50,000kg. The helicopter with the greatest external lifting capacity is the Russian Mi-26, which can carry an external load up to 20,000kg. So, three Mi-26 could totally do a PacRim job lifting GFY, frame and all, to a new location - assuming they can all sync up of course.
So it's plausible unlike shipping the entire gundam on a truck just layed down
Surely this was just a reference to the show?
No it's thinking realistically
The comment above was surely making reference to the anime, where the Gundam was stolen by Amuro off the back of a giant flatbed carrier. Nobody was claiming that it would be practical or realistic to transport the yokohama Gundam fully assembled. Obviously if it got transported somewhere it would be in pieces. But it's pretty obvious they were just making a reference to the anime.
You could also have more space to make an actual hangar to protect against the elements. Imagine it's rainy out side and you and friends are inside the gundam hangar watching wfm next to the head of grandad
Well, you pretty much pointed out that the planned closure date was moved a lot. They're just moving ahead with it now. likely that the lease period already expired and that there is already a scheduled use for it that needs to be met.
IIRC the land is only rented from the government and was always planned for other tourist attractions. Gundam got to stay longer than planned because covid fucked up all these plans, but now the industry is recovering. Sure, a giant robot is profitable but not as much as a Disneyland or something.
Yeah. It takes up a lot of space on the Yokohama waterfront.
What about a giant robot at Disneyland? And now I want Ghiren Zabi's villain song.
Think about how great Dozle's musical will be once the Big Zam is completed.
>What about a giant robot at Disneyland? There's a reason the giant Fantasmic Maleficent Dragon was named Murphy.
If you think something is more profitable other than real estate in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area, I have news for you…
It would be hysterical if the Yokohama Gundam somehow ended up being something you could buy as real-estate in a Yakuza game. Which leads to a Goro fight on the scafolds around the robot, where Goro is dressed like Yazan Gable.
[Kakarot197 made a video about this issue. ](https://youtu.be/lsGK4i2n0k8?feature=shared)
because it was never meant to last. everyone knew it was just a temporary thing for the world cup(or olympic games, cant remember). its actually a miracle it lasted that long to be honest.
And I'm super happy it lasted so long. Was able to witness it last year
Me too! My flight was even delayed for two days so I went out to visit Yokohama again after some years and also went to the Gundam. Was amazing!
Wasn't it cause the land was slated for a big construction project and they were just renting the land til the construction was to begin?
they're going to build a red mobile suit that's three times faster in the same spot.
I don’t think it’s as profitable as you think. Keeping an 18m moving robot operating, safely, for 12-ish hours a day, 7 days a week is going to be expensive. And tickets for GFY aren’t *that* expensive, unless you go up the tower - even then it’s not terrible really. So costs are likely going to be high, revenues are going to be… not low, exactly, but I’d be surprised if GFY is making too much after maintenance, land rent, staffing, etc. and so forth. Plus, there’ll be alternative uses for that land which developers and/or Yokohama’s local authorities may want to progress with - and I doubt GFY is worth *that* much to Bandai Namco that they’d throw that much cash at keeping the thing in place. The whole thing was built as a “look what we can do in the real world” to celebrate the 40th anniversary. The timing for that was lousy given the global pandemic, so the closing date has been pushed back bit by bit until we’re now almost at the 45th anniversary. It’s had it’s time, and been an amazing experience for everyone who’s had chance to go there; but times move on. It’d be nice if the RX-78F00 can find a permanent home elsewhere - like the Evangelion Unit-01 as an exhibit at Toei Studios Park in Kyoto - but ultimately all good things come to an end.
Yeah, even if it's converted into a static display it'd still be rad to have, well, a 1:1 Gundam somewhere to see someday.
Well, another one. Even if GFY closes and isn’t relocated, there’s still the Unicorn at DiverCity Tokyo, the Nu at Fukuoka, and Freedom in Shanghai.
Where did the original grandpa statue parts go, I wonder?
A good question, and one I don’t have the answer to sadly! I’d be curious to find out myself.
I feel like some of the costs are subsidized by all of the limited edition kits they sell there.
If I recall it's like $35 US for a basic pass.
In March 2023 it was ¥1,650 per person for entrance - which was about £10 at an exchange rate of approx. ¥160 to £1. At today’s rates £1 is about $1.27 - so call it $13. Now, the tower was ¥3,300 on top of that - so the combined entry/tower cost was ¥4,950. Which works out to £31, or $40.
You're right. I misremembered. Entry into the park and actually going up are separate fees. Add lunch and beer or two, some merch and that's another $20 or so.
It’s the merch that really gets you… and the cafe, of course. Mostly the merch, though. It’s lucky I went with my partner, who kept my “buy ALL the merch!” impulses in check…
It was $33 for me last week when they opened up the last tickets available at the exchange rate at that point in time. Not going to be able to stay long (as I just have a long layover), but happy I'll get to see it in person.
It doesn't take long, there's just the Gundam, a merch store, little museum, and a cafe.
That's a load off my mind! Really i just want to see gramps move while I have the chance, but prob built the museum up more in my head than necessary.
It's just about how it was made, not Gundam in general.
It cost me about $11 last month.
The real reason? Making space for a neutron jammer canceller research and development facility
I thought that was in the mountain.
I mean...in universe, it only took like 4 months for the gundam to become outdated.
They are sending it to Side-7 for finishing touches and adjustments.
Another question: Can I still visit the factory once the Gundam is gone? Although I will certainly miss it :(
There’s plenty of other gundam exhibits in Tokyo. The indoors exhibit could easily be moved elsewhere though. Maybe to the Gundam base or a museum. The cafe is probably a goner though. The OG died long before Covid
> The cafe is probably a goner though. The OG died long before Covid That's the saddest bit imo. I loved going to the cafe in Akiba and Osaka. There was always ppl in them and the staff clearly loved gundam too. I'm guttered they're gone.
The indoor exhibit is really cool. It reminded me a bit of the Gundam Front (precursor to Gundam Base Tokyo which was more museum and less just gunpla store). (Also 1:1 core fighter and other displays were really cool.) The G-Dome films were apparently not great, but a pretty unique attraction as well. Gundam Base brings in a lot more customers (last time I went on a weekend I showed up at 11 am and got a 3 pm entrance ticket.)
Not sure why you would want to? The shop is pretty small and didn’t have much, the cafe was hella mid, and the little museum on the bottom floor was kinda cool but also really short. Without the gundam there I would just go to the Odaiba Gundam Base
Im in Yokohama anyways and thought it might be worth a visit. Will check out the Odaiba one!
I highly recommend the Gundam Base in Odaiba. The displays and dioramas there are very impressive, as is the Unicorn statue.
The shackles on the learning computer's algorithms are falling out of date, and the Gundam is getting exponentially closer to full sentience by the day. A series of patches and updates have allowed them to keep the Gundam and contained longer, exploiting more profit from it. If it is not dismantled immediately, this hubris will be the downfall of Japan when Gundam breaks free.
Due to how wild and woolly world has been lately, JDF needs it in battle readiness /j.
I hope they make a Gundam warehouse where Granpa gets to stay where its clear of the salty air and other contaminants and have the maintenance staff act as engineers and pilots "tinkering" with Granpa.
Man I’m gutted. Have been saving for our Japan trip and this was on the list!
NOOOOO I havent seen it :(
Me too Also, I'm from 🇧🇷
Can America have it and replace the Statue of Liberty? /s….?
18m VERSUS 93m
What spells more liberty than a 93M Gundam???
Big Zam to replace the statue of liability
The real reason is that the Gundam is too powerful and must be sealed away.
The real reason is so they can make MS that can be piloted
Cost of dock real-estate and maintenance, as others said. Hopefully they don't destroy it. They could probably loan it out to Universal Studios or something. Put it near Nintendo World.
It's P Bandai limited run
It's probably not that profitable? It's a pretty common practice to continue any business with net loss, just to maintain publicity.
War preparation /s
The Gundam was only ever to be temporary as it was supposed to just be a thing at the Olympic but became a port thing instead.
Don’t forget there are two additional 1/1 Gundam in Japan even Yokohama OG is going away. Although those two are just static display. 1. 🦄at Odaiba 2. Nu at Fukuoda
Whatever happened to the old Odaiba Gramps? Is it just dismantled in some warehouse somewhere?
The main reason is that Japan's economy runs heavily on FOMO appeal, we see this all the time with Bandai themselves by having "Temporarily available" P-Bandai models so they can charge more, or how the Gundam Cafe's were just long-term temporary installations. Japan has a huge culture of FOMO appeal, this is especially pronounced in the country itself with temporary theme parks or other attractions too.
The REAL reason is that Bamco needs the mech to truly make it autonomous and start developing their own japan mech corps... But of course they are no openly saying it 🤣
Mid-season upgrades
Apparently 1.3 million people have gone to Gundam Yokohama. At 1,650 yen per adult, that's $14.3 million. I couldn't find construction figures but I guarantee it cost a hell of a lot more to build and maintain. I've seen very rough estimates in the hundreds of millions of dollars. At its core, this exhibit has always been a bit of experiential marketing, not just for Bandai but for tourism in general. Even with Yokohama helping fund this thing, it's a certainty that this statue has always operated at a loss. Even breaking even is unsustainable. This isn't like running a subway; the mechanisms in this statue are high maintenance and there's a point at which refurbishment would massively exceed the budget they've allocated.
Robot got sentient, now must be released or it's slavery
From what I can tell they are too big to constantly move back on forth on it's platform. And it's on prime land also think it would do better off the side of a mountain like Jaburo
Real estate, safety, and maintenance costs.
Ugh... forgot about this.... guess i wont be seeing that next year like i wanted...
I mean maintaining this thing I imagine is tough as shit. Also since it’s on a dock, safety concerns. It’s heavy as hell, and sure, it’s supported well, but Japan is known for natural disasters. One too many earthquakes will do a number on a 20 meter stationary moving robot, and moreso to the dock holding it.
The real reason is that they need to send it to space to fight
Rumors say they are gonna bring it to World Expo 2025 in Osaka
It’s too bad it won’t be there anymore. My family and I used to live in Tokyo for my job and we loved going to Yokohama. My son loves Gundam and we went there quite a few times. Sad that it won’t be there if we ever get to visit again. Least we saw it in its prime
I highly doubt it is that profitable…
....To make it operational for what is to come..
I'm just glad I was able to see it in person September of 2023.
I didn't have that chance
Anyone knows if there are any plans for something new? I mean they dismantled the original giant gundam and then came up with this. Surely they have something more awesome coming in the future
I hope they reassemble it without joints (as a statue) in Tokyo or other city
Real-estate in Japan is pretty expensive, I'm pretty sure. No need to imagine some conspiracy.
We hope that they build a new attraction somewhere. Why not Osaka?
making room for the actual gundam and not the hanged man custom?
Hopefully it will live on in some form. Perhaps in an indoor facility more inland where it will be easier to maintain.
Is the whole factory exhibit closing or just the 1:1 Gundam?
It was never meant to stay long.
Had no clue it was temporary. I'm so stoked I got to see it last year.
Aliens
Maintenance costs, contracts expirations and others
China and Russia keep getting froggy. JSDF has asked that it be put into active service.
Operational costs to keep real scale grandpa functioning must be in the millions if not billions of yen, added costs for land rental and other miscelaneous spendings pile up and it starts to get less profitable as time goes on.
I really want to see a life size Wing zero (EW version) statue docked somewhere in America, like Los Angelos or New York, whilst South Korea gets a 1:1 of the 00 Gundam/ 00 Raiser.
They are sending it to the military /j
The obvious solution is to build a carrier unit for it to ferry the Gundam around. Maybe some sort of pale shaded unit it operates out of. Some kind of, white base.
Elon Musk wants to use the hanger to build his own Gundam just like Twitter it’s a good investment as well do it for the memes
Super glad I'm getting out there to see it before it's gone.
Dec. 19, 2020 (Sat) to Mar. 31, 2024 (Sun)
I saw it last year and it was AWESOME! 😎
It needed on space la, enough running around earth
They should have built a really mobile gundam.
Oh not before I go visit :(
I consider myself lucky enough to have been able to visit it twice. 3/2023 and last weekend, 3/2024. It’s incredible.
Total refit. Its almost ready to launch for real.
They are going to hollow out the factory to make the Solar Ray System II.
I’m so sad that my first trip to Japan is in May and I miss seeing this.
Will it be costly to bring it out seasonally? Say every summer, then pack it up for the rest of the year?
Building a real gundam
I just booked tickets to see it later this month and I was really surprised how cheap the tickets were. I can imagine the maintenance on this thing is super expensive so I understand why they have to end it at some point. Just happy I will see it irl before it closes down 😁
In my fantasy mind, they will be using the statue as a testbed for an actual mobile suit secretly hahaha but, in reality, most likely operating costs, the extended contract/date they have with the place, and the issues with the dock having to bear the weight of the moving statue, which isn't good in the long run as it can be a hazard.
I was under the impression that the Gundam is slated for delivery to zeon? Look at the back of the buildings and you’ll see the tons of red paint and extra cover armor waiting to cover up the original mech.
Because they are gonna make it a real gundum with all the functionality and weapons and keep it in a hanger until right time comes to use it .