I think this may be the 8th wonder of the world… It’s certainly the coolest. Because giant robots (Gundams in particular) have been so influential in Japanese pop culture, they felt a statue was in order to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the famous animated television series “Mobile Suit Gundam”. And they haven’t done things by halves… A 20-meter-high (60ft) “life-size” Gundam Robot statue has been built and is drawing crowds to Tokyo’s Odaiba. The detailed statue of the iconic RX-78-2 Gundam, which stands in Odaiba’s Shiokaze Park, weighs 35 tons, its head can move and it can emit lights or mist from 50 points on its body! The colossal tribute will be on show only until August 31st (which means I’ll get to take a look on my my hols!), at that point, nobody knows what’s going to happen – my guess, it’ll take off and rampage its way through mainland Japan.

(Opinion: Jon Price – Designer)