Bandai's booth was full of surprises, with plenty of Gundam and kits from other series as well! One of the biggest reveals from their Gunpla lineup was the massive HG Narrative Gundam that will appear in the upcoming "Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative" film. A story that takes place after the events of "Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn"! Other Gunpla highlights include the HG Moon Gundam with its crescent moon-shaped backpack, and the HG Sinanju Stein.

Bandai also surprised us with the addition of "Naruto Shippuden" kits to their Figure-rise Standard series, that will include both Naruto and Sasuke! And we can't wait to see their newly announced Dragon Ball x Bandai Spirits collaboration, that will feature Bulma and a transforming motorbike!

Hasegawa's kits at this year's Hobby Show included two outstanding Macross kits! The 1/72 VF-31F from "Macross Delta the Movie," comes with the Lildraken equipment and parts to build the wings and tail in different positions. It also includes decals for two versions: Hayate Immelman's ride, or the one flown by Messer Ihlefeld. They also previewed the Sv-262Ba Draken III Mirage with Lilldraken, which is scheduled for release later this month!

Also on tap was a new 1/24 Calsonic Skyline GTS-R (R31), which raced in the 1989 All Japan Touring Car Championship Group A division, driven by Hoshino Kazuyoshi and Kitano Yuan! This kit is based on thorough examinations of the actual vehicle. Check out the photos of the display version of this kit for a taste of how stunning it can look when complete!

Speaking of speed, check out Takeshi Hongo's Suzuki GT380B motorcycle as seen in "Kamen Rider"! The distinctive cowling on this speed machine is a completely new part.

We also checked out the Wheel Loader ZW100-6 from Hitachi, which is a major player in construction, agriculture, the livestock industry, forestry, snow removal and more! Hasegawa's new kit of this powerhouse is a completely new mold based on close inspection of the actual machine, and features a vertically moving lift arm and rotating tires.

Aoshima wowed the crowd with an array of greatness at this year's Shizuoka Hobby Show! About to soar in celebration of the 35th anniversary of Macross, this specially marked VF-31J Siegfried will join Aoshima's non-scale Variable Fighter Girls series of snap-fit plastic kits! You can have this "Delta"-ribboned gal meet machine in Fighter, Gerwalk, and Battroid modes by transforming or combining parts. Preorders will start in mid-May, and it's planned to launch this August!

The mighty MFS-3 Type 3 Kiryu, from the 2002 film "Godzilla X Mechagodzilla," is getting closer! Planned to feature gimmicks galore, this snap-fit star in the Aoshima Character Kit Selection line will come in a package emblazoned with art by designer Shinji Nishikawa. It's slated for release this fall, so preorders should start soon—stay tuned!

A delightful surprise reveal was this 1/20-scale kit of the Robonoid, from the seminal 1978 anime series "Future Boy Conan." Planned to be posable upon completion, with extra hands and of course Captain Dyce in the pilot seat, this kit does not yet have a release date but we'll hope for good news soon!

Naval fans will welcome Aoshima's all-new 1/700-scale HMS Dorsetshire, torpedoer of the mighty Bismarck. The British heavy cruiser met her own end in the Imperial Navy's 1942 Indian Ocean raid, commemorated in this July release with an exhibit stand and a model of the 99-type naval bomb that sank her.

Another all-new tooling, the JGSDF Type 10 with Type 73 Extra-large Type Semitrailer will bring Aoshima's 1/72 AFV series lineup even more military might. Featuring a slide-molded body, turret and gun barrel, as well as a movable turret and gun, it's slated for July release.

Fine Molds brought us some classic IJN aircraft kits for this year's Hobby Show! Before the Zero, there was the Ka-14, also designed by the legendary Jiro Horikoshi. While prototype Ka-14s featured a few different designs, this kit from Fine Molds reproduces the type with an inverted gull wing, and a distinctive cowling. This is the first time this modification of the first prototype has been released as a 1/72 scale kit! The next exciting release is the IJN Type 96 Reconnaissance Aircraft 12. The Type 96 underwent improvements in 1942, and the result was the Type 96 Reconnaissance Aircraft 12, which could fly at greater speed than the original.

In addition, they also brought out their recently released 1/72 USN F-14A Tomcat "USS Independence 1995," a supersonic fighter aircraft with a long history of service in the U.S. Navy that began in 1974!

"Max Factory knew exactly how to draw Shizuoka Hobby Show attendees to their booth -- they displayed their enormous 1/20 PLAMAX VF-1 Super/Strike Gerwalk Valkyrie! This big beast dwarfed nearly every other model kit in the venue and grabbed lots of attention! A selection of their PLAMAX "Macross" figures was also on display nearby.

Other items on display from Max Factory included figma figures from "Arms Note" and "Heavily Armed High School Girls," including Ichi, as well as PLAMAX figures from "Guilty Princess" designed by Tony Taka!

More Space Marine Heroes from "Warhammer 40,000" will be on the way soon as well, as well as new PLAMAX kits from the classic anime "Fang of the Sun Dougram," such as the quadrupedal Abitate F35C Buzzard Gunner and the two-legged mech Cabarov AG9 Nicholaiev!

Takara Tomy brought lots of good news for Transformers fans! We were most excited to see an upcoming 43rd addition to their ever-popular MasterPiece line with a Beast Wars Megatron. With one of his arms as the head of a fierce dinosaur, we can't wait to see the transformation abilities and coloring of the final action figure.

We were also happy to see many upcoming additions to the Diaclone series, including Battle Buffalo, Maneuver Gamma, and Maneuver Delta! It was also fantastic to see some of their Studio Series items on display, including Autobot Jazz, Lockdown, Megatron, and B-Roll.

But if Transformers aren't your thing, never fear - plenty of Zoids from their "Zoids Wild" lineup were also on display! A Wild Liger and Gilraptor made an appearance, as well as a Japanese rhinoceros beetle zoid and a scorpion zoid. It looks like Takara Tomy have lots lined up for the near future, so keep an eye out for them on HLJ!

Platz had a big lineup in store for us at this year's Shizuoka Hobby Show, including the JASDF FS-T2 Kai, an aircraft noted for connecting the Supersonic Mitsubishi T-2 and F-1! The 1/72 scale kitl features new molding for the FS-T2 Kai's unique equipment, and includes silk screen printed decals by Cartograf.

They're also bringing us a 1/35 scale kit of the Kettenkrad from the dystopian anime series "Girls' Last Tour," which includes figures of Chito and Yuuri so they can ride their favorite post-apocalyptic mode of transportation after you build it! And if you're already a fan of Platz's kits based on the anime "Girls und Panzer", you'll be happy to hear they're releasing two new figure sets to display alongside your tanks!

We were pleased to see there's much more on the horizon from Platz, with the 1/72 Airline Model Special Series MiG-29 (9.13) Fulcrum C, the 1/144 Flying Color Selection AV8B Harrier II (2pcs), and much more, so be sure to check out all the photos!

"Tamiya's booth at the Shizuoka Hobby Show displayed several new-tool kits!

First up is the late-production version of the US Light Tank M3 Stuart. This new Stuart replaces Tamiya's nearly 45-year-old Stuart kit. With new details and crisp new molding, this 1/35th scale Stuart looks like a winner!

1/48th-scale armor modeling fans will want to add Tamiya's new British Churchill Mk.VII Crocodile to their workbench! This tank has been available as a 1/35th-scale kit for a while, and now Tamiya downsizes it to 1/48! The Crocodile variant of the Churchill is notable for replacing the machine gun with a flame thrower, and adding a trailer to hold the fuel for the flame thrower! This kit includes a figure, too.

If new armor kits don't float your boat, this next one will definitely catch your attention! From the Japanese military manga "Kubo Ibuki" (Aircraft Carrier Ibuki) comes the namesake of the manga series, the Aircraft Carrier Ibuki in 1/700th scale! Unlike the real life Izumo-class "helicopter destroyers," the Ibuki features a distinctive "ski jump" on the port bow to facilitate easier vertical takeoff flight operations!

A sleek new Grumman F-14D Tomcat was also shown off, featuring a wide variety of missiles and decals, as well as their recently released 1/20 Ferrari SF70H!"

It was Frame Arms galore from Kotobukiya! They had two provisional Frame Arms kits on display, one an FA Destroyer Model with some seriously heavy duty weaponry, and another a Hawk-mounted surface-to-air missile type. Their upcoming JX-25F/RC Ji-Dao EA Ver., coming soon in August, also looked great in action-filled pose!

Megami Device fans are also sure to be impressed with the upcoming selection of kits, including the very cool Lancer and Launcher, as well as a crossover with anime "Busou Shinki" to create a Megami Device version of B1 Edelweiss!

Kotobukiya are also adding to their popular Hexa Gear series with two new kits, one flying type and one crawling type (which we particularly enjoyed seeing in color).

Mecha battling game "Border Break" also gets two kit releases that look like they'll be awesome builds!

Armor specialist Meng had quite an arsenal of offerings, several of them adorable! Sweetly stylized as it appears in the game "World War Toons," Meng's non-scale KV-2 snap-fit kit will soon be back with pre-colored parts, this time in an eye-grabbing color scheme with bear-rific graphics! More details as we get them!

The M26 Pershing is another iconic tank getting the crazy-cute "World War Toons" treatment. It's planned to be snap-fit so no glue will be required, making it a fun choice whether you're a beginning builder or a seasoned armor modeler. No release date yet, but stay "tooned"!

Several additions to Meng's non-scale Warship Builder series are on the horizon! Each a caricature that emphasizes what makes it unique, tthe German U-Boat VII has a June release in its sights, while a trio of other countries' warships—England's battlecruiser HMS Hood, America's battleship USS Missouri, and Japan's IJN cruiser Atago (not shown)—are progressing toward release in the near future.

Good Smile Company had a wide selection of their MODEROID prepainted model kits on display, including their exciting upcoming additions to the series, the Mazinkaiser Liger and the Mazinkaiser Haou!

Also joining the MODEROID lineup is Savage Crossbow from "Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory". Fully articulated when complete, Savage Crossbow also comes with parts to build an assault rifle, HEAT hammer, and "Boxer" scattershot, giving lots of display options.

We also saw the Chitocerium LXXVIII platinum, an original character who it appears may be released in up to five different colours! We love the interesting design aspects of the LXXVII platinum, and look forward to seeing more soon.

With all these kits, you're going to need something to help you put them together - and Good Smile Company have you covered with new nippers. The MSS-41 Nipper features the Good Smile Racing logo for a nice extra design touch.

Some of the other vendors present at Shizuoka Hobby Show included Takom, who showed a Hanomag SS100 Meillerwagbn V2 rocket transporter and erector through Beaver, as well as a 1/35 King Tiger tank; Hobby Japan had an incredible 1/6-scale Renault FT-17 French tank made entirely out of metal (very attention-getting at 83cm long!); and Yamashita Hobby, with their finely detailed 1/700-scale Japanese destroyers, including the Akebono, Ayanami, Ushiho, and Ikaduchi.

Also through Beaver, Wingnut Wings showed off a couple new offerings in their continuing lineup of museum-quality World War I aircraft models, including a Sopwith SF.1 Dolphin, Junkers D.1, and a Halberstadt Cl.II still in development.

ModelCollect's 1/72 B-2A Spirit Stealth Bomber is highly sought after, and after seeing it on display at Beaver's booth, it's easy to understand why!