>>15
thanks a lot for the advice, i'll keep this in mind!

>>16, >>17
i'm sorry. i'm also very new at mobile suits in general (really my only is a few games and watching the original MS Gundam at a younger age, as well as Gundam Wing, Evagelion, 08th MS Team, and some others, before really paying attention to the models and such), but i'm working on learning more now.

Yes, the RX78-GP03S was correct.
Thank you both for the links.

A local anime shop ( http://wizzywig.com/photos/albums/Store%20-%202005/19-models4.JPG ) has some SD models. I might go with those, they're cheaper and look easier. After getting the hang of painting and building correctly, I think i'll get a RX78-GP03S, Zaku II, and Red comet, as they seem to be the "standards." I don't really like the Wing series truthfully but I think a Wing Zero Custom model might be really cool.

Any other suggestions for a beginner? They also have Eva and other series (FMP, RaXephon) models in that store, so i'm open to anything.

Thanks!