A Price Analysis of Entry Grade Gunpla Model Kits

Hi there! And welcome to our sixth deep dive into the pricing of Gunpla model kits. In this edition we’ll be covering another relatively new grade: the beginner-friendly Entry Grade (EG). If this grade isn’t really your cup of tea, be sure to check out our other price analyses here. Otherwise, let’s get started.

Although it was initially released as a cheaper offering geared towards emerging markets, it was rebooted in 2020. What’s interesting is that in terms of color separation and the articulation of model kits, they’re pretty much in line with High Grade. Moreover, these kits are designed with the goal of an incredibly fast and easy building process. In practice, this means that Entry Grade kits feature relatively less parts and require less tools. These kits can even be built without a nipper, making it a truly beginner friendly line of Gunpla.

Because this grade of Gunpla is relatively new, we do notice that there are a lot less kits as compared to other grades. Additionally, there are many vendors who offer none to just a limited amount of EG kits. In fact, the vendors we cover only offer a total of 13 Entry Grade kits – and that includes some limited edition models that are incredibly hard to come by. We were able to find EG offers by 20 vendors, with most offering about 5 different kids of this grade. As such, our sample dataset consists of 103 offers.

 Let’s look at some summary price statistics first. The average price of an Entry Grade model kit comes in at slightly under $13, which is about 50% less than the average price of a High Grade kit. Unlike most other grades, we also find that the average price is actually slightly lower than the median price ($13). This means that the nature of any outliers is to be cheaper than the price of a typical Entry Grade kit.

If we take a look at the differences between the minimum and average prices for EG model kits,  we observe this to be around $1.80. This results in a surprisingly high average savings rate of almost 14%! And if we compare the lowest prices to the maximum prices for EG kits, the maximum savings potential is over 25%. So, if you’re a frequent shopper of Entry Grade kits, it’s still worth it to do a quick price comparison.

The most expensive EG kit we track is the Gundam Base limited edition of the 93FF Nu Gundam, based on the 1:1 size statue that’s located in Japan (Fukuoka) since 2022, which will set you back $27.99. Another relatively expensive Entry Grade model kit we track is the Baihu version of the RX-78-2, which comes in at $24.99. Tied in third place come the Deactive and the Grand Slam Equipped versions of the Strike Gundam, which both cost $19.99.

For those looking for Entry Grade kits at bargain prices, the OG RX-78-2 can be purchased for as little as $7.99. Another good option is the Strike Gundam which multiple vendors offers for just $8.99. So if you’re trying to get your friends into Gunpla with the least amount of effort and money required, these kits make for pretty good options.

And that’s it for this edition of our price analysis series! Currently, we’re working hard behind the scenes to add the SD range of Gunpla model kits to our website in the near future. As such, our next edition of this series will focus on these little fellas. In the meantime, be sure to check out our website when purchasing your next Gunpla to profit from an average savings rate of 10%.