Overview

Gundam Challenge is a creative build competition focused on personal customisation, not kit-bashing excess or full diorama scenes.

All participants will receive the same mystery High Grade (HG) 1/144 kit, revealed only once the challenge begins. The kit will be a relatively recent HG release (within the last five years).

Pick up date: 24 Jan 2026

Submission dat: 14 Feb 2026

The goal is to create your version of that mobile suit — imagine it as your personal custom, ace unit, or specialised loadout — while staying true to the original machine’s identity.

Think: “This is my Gundam.”

Core Philosophy (The Spirit of the Challenge)

This competition values:

• Creativity within constraints
• Respect for the original design
• Personal expression over scale-breaking spectacle

This is not a diorama competition.
This is not a full kitbash competition.
It is about how you would customise this mobile suit if it were yours.

Rules & Guidelines

1) Base Kit

• All entrants must use the provided mystery HG 1/144 kit as the primary and defining build.
• The kit must remain clearly recognisable as that specific Gundam or mobile suit.

2) Structural Integrity (What You Cannot Change)

To preserve the identity of the suit, you may not replace or swap:

• Head units
• Torso / chest units
• Arms or legs

No limb swaps. No alternate heads from other kits. No turning it into a different mobile suit. The original kit’s core silhouette and anatomy must remain intact.

3) Weapons & Equipment (What You Can Change)

Weapon swaps and additions are allowed, including weapons from other HG kits, optional loadouts, and extra shields/rifles/melee weapons.

Conditions:

• All added weapons must be 1/144 scale.
• Weapons must be reasonable in size for the kit (no comically oversized or scale-breaking equipment).

Think: believable field modifications, not super-robot exaggeration.

4) Customisation & Detailing

You are encouraged to:

• Fully repaint the kit or leave it partially/unpainted
• Apply weathering, battle damage, or wear
• Add decals, panel lining, or detailing
• Add subtle effect parts (e.g. scorch marks, beam effects, thruster glow)

Painting is not required — clean builds are welcome — but craftsmanship and intent matter.

5) Base Rules

A base is allowed, but with strict limitations:

• Bases may be used for stability or posing
• Bases may be painted a single colour if desired

Bases may not:

• Become a diorama
• Include terrain, scenery, or storytelling elements
• Include figures, debris, or environmental context

The focus must remain entirely on the Gundam.

6) Dioramas & Scene Builds

Dioramas are not permitted. No battlefield scenes, narrative environments, or action scenes involving terrain or enemies. This ensures all entries are judged purely on the mobile suit itself.

Judging Criteria (High-Level)

• Creativity & originality
• Execution & craftsmanship
• Cohesion of the custom concept
• Respect for the base kit’s identity
• Overall visual impact

Painting skill matters — but so does design intent.

Final Word

Gundam Challenge is about restraint with purpose.

If someone looked at your build and said: “Yeah — that’s clearly the same Gundam… but it’s your version.”
Then you’ve nailed it.