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This article is about Japanese merchandising. For some pointers about related subjects like bootlegs, Japanese version vs the world, or the Toei sticker, you can consult the Merchandise FAQ page. |
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Illustrations on this page are stock photos of finished and polished model kits. You may require some cutting, assembling and painting skills to let them look like completed products. |
MG Figure-Rise is a series of 1/8 scaled articulated models produced by Bandai. This series takes after the long experience of Bandai in model kit production, mainly geared towards Gundam mecha, but this time applied to the new concept of "figurized" plastic models, i.e. the concept of model kits applied to human-like characters instead of robots or vehicles. This concept had already been applied to Pokémon under the model kit series PokéPla (contraction of Pocket Monster Plastic Model).
Because this series is made of model kits, a box contains several pre-painted pieces of plastic (about 150 parts spread on a dozen of runners) that must be combined together during a specific amount of time (usually a few to several hours) to eventually obtain an action figure. No additional paint or glue are required as the series is designed for ease of use. The final size of each model should be around 22 cm tall.
MG stands for Master Grade. So MG Figure-Rise also uses the popular GunPla (for Gundam Plastic Model) grading system to advertise itself about its accuracy, seriousness and over-all quality associated with Gundam Master Grade models. Here follows a summary of the GunPla grading system:
| Grade | Full Name | Scale | Model Final Size | Budget Type | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SG | Speed Grade | 1:200 | around 9 cm | Low | Introduced in 2007. It did not get any success and quickly vanished. |
| FG | First Grade | 1:144 | around 12.5 cm | Low | 300~800¥ Introduced in 1999. It replaced old GunPla of the same scale and quality but without grade (since then called NG for No Grade) |
| HG | High Grade | 1:144 | around 12.5 cm | Mid | 1,000~2,000¥ Introduced in 1990. |
| RG | Real Grade | 1:144 | around 12.5 cm | Mid-High | Introduced in 2010 and surpassed HG in quality |
| MG | Master Grade | 1:100 | around 18 cm | High | 3,000~8,000¥ Introduced in 1995. |
| PG | Perfect Grade | 1:60 | around 30 cm | Outstanding | 15,000~25,000¥ Introduced in 1998. |
| JG | Jumbo Grade | 1:35 | around 60 cm | Above Outstanding | 28,140¥ Introduced in 2008. Only 1 model, the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam. |
It's to be noted that the table above gives the standard scales of every grades, but a grade can actually have lines with different scales, which have mainly happened for HG models. Although this grading is primarily applied on Gundam models, a few other mecha series did come out under it, e.g. Neon Genesis Evangelion, but the current move is to actually create separate brands with their own labelling system, which may still mix Gundam models in.
Model Kits[]
The first wave of MG Figure-Rise model kits came out in December 2009 with Son Goku of Dragon Ball fame and is growing exponentially:
- Dragon Ball Kai
- December 2009: Son Goku (3,675¥, 5% tax included)
- March 2010: Super Saiyan Son Goku (3,990¥, 5% tax included)
- 2011: Kaioken Ver. Son Goku (3,990¥, 5% tax included)
- Kamen Rider W
- August 2010: Cyclone Joker (3,990¥, 5% tax included)
- September 2010: Luna Rider (3,990¥, 5% tax included)
- December 2010: Heat Metal (3,990¥, 5% tax included)
- One Piece
- November 2010: Monkey D. Luffy (3,990¥, 5% tax included)
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