IT MUST HAPPEN. But not New York! San Francisco! That thing must tower over the Golden Gate bridge. That's where the invasion must begin!

To see that in NYC... I'd give up to $100 if I was guaranteed at least 60 seconds to get a photo with it.

Children, remember, in addition to paying for the Gundam itself, there is shipping, and actually finding a location willing and able to house it properly. Also, since it was built for a temporary stay in Japan during the summer, it would probably need to be a location where the weather wouldn't become a problem, which narrows things down even further. :)

@giapet:Why must you crush our hopes and dreams with your logic!

@Raukon: Hey, if the man is talking about this as a real possibility, it's important to consider it as such! ;)

Dude, I'd TOTALLY love to see this happen. WE need to start a petition or a drive or something.

This will bring tears of JOY to my New Yorker eyes!!!!

@giapet: Weather and shipping?

Try L.A.-- Large city, closer to Japan, no rain.

Being the resident Gundam nut, I'll say this:

For the price of shipping one, or at least the price you guys mentioned (assuming it would cost $1 million USD), you could pretty much build your own.

I mean, yeah, sure, it'd be cool to have one at NYAF, but the Odaiba Gundam actually means something to the average Japanese by comparison to the average American. At most your typical American has heard of Gundam, but by comparison very few have seen it or at least care.

Plus if you built your own 1:1 you could base it off of Wing or 08th MS team since a lot more Americans have seen either of those shows than the original (sadly) or at least that would separate it from just being tossed off as nothing new. And if my local MTAC convention could make a 1:2 scale bust of Deathscythe given the practically non-existant budget they have, a 1:1 scale with a million doesn't seem quite as impractical.

The other issue (and more realistic) is where the heck would you put it?? New York is already full of buildings, and you're basically talking about adding in another 60ft tall building just for a few days...

I mean, for a lot cheaper than a million dollars it'd be a lot more practical to have Yoshiyuki Tomino attend and maybe get Michael Bay make a really awesome Gundam-themed opening video for the starting ceremonies...

The scale you guys are talking about, this is something that should already have been planned ahead at least 8 months ago, not less than 3 months away.

Just for the sake of having solid figures as a frame of reference, the Odaiba Gundam weighs approximately 32 tons. That's almost half the weight of an M1 Abrams, and in addition to the weight of it, the sheer size of it would barely fit into 3 Boeing 737s.

@Heero: Killjoy XP

Lol, no. Those are all valid points. But regardless of whether the Odaiba Gundam gets shipped or fans build their own here, I actually don't think display space would be too hard to come by. If you could convince a city's tourism board that a 1:1 scale Gundam would bring visitors, they'd probably give you a permit for a park somewhere. The thing is 60 ft tall, not 60 ft wide. As long as they're not paying for it, cities love spectacle that will generate press and possibly profit.

Three months IS too short of a notice, though. Government red tape + furlows = need waaaaaaaay more advanced warning to set something up.

The cost isn't just shipping, it'd include setting it up and all that. And fuck all you killjoys. This thing will stand!

Ok. Where do I send a check?

I would pitch in if collections were started

I'd chip in. Man, that'd be awesome.

it would be funny to have it built next to the statue of liberty. As if it's gonna attack it!

I'd chip in IF you show me a spreadsheet with the figures you've calculated and estimates for about how much you'd need from each donating source (how much from company A, donors, company B, etc.)

Because right now this just doesn't add up to me...

come to Toronto? lol ... tear....