Depends on the kind of Mecha you are after. 

If you are looking for realistic I suggest going after a Ma.k Kit.

http://www.bonanza.com/listings/Wave-Ma-K-Maschinen-Krieger-AFS-Luna-Pawn-1-20-Model-Kit/38151794

(I cant vouch for that shop but I have built that specific kit as my first Ma.k and quite enjoyed it.

If you want more anime/fantasy kind I suggest this kit.  My favorite

http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban946732.html

ok the site is in korean language but here have a total piece and snapped visual review of all avaible hguc gundams 1/144, just copy the name on your custom vendors to find it.

http://www.dalong.net/review/hg/hg_cata_e.htm

after open the wished subject, clicking on the top information button you have a visual review of instruction and sprues to have an idea of what you will get in the box

heres the 1/100 MG kits more complex and more expensive (range from 30 to about 150 € price)

http://www.dalong.net/review/mg/mg_cata1_e.htm

the rules on the two pages is the kits are from the top you have the oder kits and the lates are in the bottom of pages.

here the home page from you can also find other anime mechs series included the valkirie from macros etc

http://www.dalong.net/

Are there any shows that you like that you'd like to build something from?

If nothing in particular comes to mins, or if this is more of a "practice" project to try something different, I can make a few suggestions based on what I got together for the boys here.

There are some pretty cheap and simple "twin kits" in 1:144 scale from Macross 7 made by Bandai.  Each kit has a separate model of the mecha in airplane and battloid form.  While I'd skip the foil stickers they include for "decals", the kits are snap-optional and the insignia are marked in the plastic to let you paint them on.  They're simple enough that I was able to use one of the sets for the 48-hour "Weekend Madness" GB a few months back.

There used to be a series of simple Gundam kits several years ago.  Those are also snap-optional and good for a beginning pass at mecha.  I think Bandai still uses the "LM" grading for the simpler kits in the series.

Another that I can think of that's a little more expensive, but still gives you a pretty good finished product for a simple kit, is the old Patlabor kits.  While these have been discontinued for a while, you can still find them on ebay for less than the usual collector's prices.

One big thing I would be careful about is the single-mode mecha kits from the Macross series that were originally made in the '80s.  This includes the 1:100 and 1:72 kits.  The 1:100 Destroids aren't too bad except for the lack of detail, but the few Valkyries I've seen have terrible fit issues.

Low details gundams are named FG "first grade", have less pieces than hg or hguc but have some increased difficult to paint, as the kit have less pieces to isolate.

Patlabor old kits are even good things (i presume the 1/60 series) but have no perfect fittings like newest kits

What's about the valkirye combo kits? never see around Kugai , you have some links?

Kugai

One big thing I would be careful about is the single-mode mecha kits from the Macross series that were originally made in the '80s.  This includes the 1:100 and 1:72 kits.  The 1:100 Destroids aren't too bad except for the lack of detail, but the few Valkyries I've seen have terrible fit issues.

This is certainly true of the '80's vintage Arii and Imai kits (some of which have been re-popped by Bandai). The more recent Hasegawa and Wave kits are another story altogether, and are well worth investigating, as are the Bandai releases from the later series (eg. Macross Frontier).

I'm going to stick wtih my recommendation.  There both SIMPLE kits while having a mass variety of options of how to go about building and painting them.

bsyamato

Low details gundams are named FG "first grade", have less pieces than hg or hguc but have some increased difficult to paint, as the kit have less pieces to isolate.

Patlabor old kits are even good things (i presume the 1/60 series) but have no perfect fittings like newest kits

What's about the valkirye combo kits? never see around Kugai , you have some links?

Thanks for the tip on FG.  The main exposure I've had to anything under Master Grade was the old Evangelion kits.  I guess some things have changed.

HLJ has the 1:144 kits for the VF-11C, Fire Valk, and VF-11MAXL. though I got most of mine on ebay.

Phil, yeah those Hasegawa kits are nice, but I was figuring that I'd offer some lower-cost options ( If you're careful avoiding the collector's prices that are all-too-common for mediocre kits ) for experimentation.  While some things are the same no matter what you're building ( using the right glue or cement, masking, puttying, etc. ), I personally think that there are some aspects of detailing that aren't as universal to get good results.  For example, the techniques you'd use for weathering a WWII fighter never seemed quite the same as what you'd use for weathering a battleship.

Kugai

 

 

 

Thanks for the tip on FG.  The main exposure I've had to anything under Master Grade was the old Evangelion kits.  I guess some things have changed.

totally forget about the evangelion kits .. patlabor series have also an MG grade series (1/35) 

Best score i think to find a good hguc for low price , keeping a good compromise between price and quality , have good fittings . 

Z'gok as example is about 9€ in italy , great fitting and high posability and easy sub assemblies painting

 Also these old kits (as the mentioned old bandai patlabor kits) can have rubber parts hard to manage and paint (and on my alphonse avoid to keep a pose) or as the mazinger z from MC mecha collection have whole body rubber parts

MG and better grades of all series are totally inadvisable for newbies for the skill needed and for the high prices .

Kotobukiya mechs kits (super robot wars, armored core, border break etc) seems few less or equal to MG standards.

Without harking on it anymore... If you go gundam, go with what I linked, the GM1 Sniper.  The kit itself is solid, its on the cusp of bandai's new tech so its very nicely detailed and doesn't have the issues that even some of the hguc had

Guys thanks for posting this, interesting stuff. If I may jump in does anyone do anything more 'low-tech' other than the Ma.k kits? I've always liked the looks of the old FASA Battletech line which I understand were based off Japanese series. Can anyone tell me which line this was or something similar? I'm a little more interested in odd less humanoid stuff like six-legged mechs etc.  

Gamera

 I've always liked the looks of the old FASA Battletech line which I understand were based off Japanese series. Can anyone tell me which line this was or something similar? I'm a little more interested in odd less humanoid stuff like six-legged mechs etc.  

The original BT mechs came from Macross, Dougram, and Crusher Joe.  No one has made anything from any of those except Macross in almost 30 years, but you can still find them sometimes on auction sites, though at pretty high prices.  Some of the Dougram kits were also repackaged as Revell's "Robotech Defenders" line, also pretty expensive these days.  One of the rare ones just happens to be a six-legged walker, since you mentioned it.

As far as more recent stuff, I haven't seen much in the "low tech" recently.  My impression has been that the style used in Dougram was kind of a transition from the style of the anime mecha of the '60s and '70s like Mazinger to the more modern-looking stuff like Evangelion.  Smeagol's Gundams seem to be the only ones that kept that more boxy look, though they have added a lot more "flair" since the original series.

As far as quads and such go, anything like that seems to be pretty rare.  Kinda hard to pull of something resembling samurai poses and action in a quad mecha.

Thanks Kugai! You just answered all my questions.

Funny I have the six-legged Robotech walker somewhere. The local Kay-Bee toys had a whole table of them, the Valkyries, and a bunch of other Robotech kits marked down about twenty-five years ago. I picked up a Valkyrie and the six-legger just because they looked cool. Wish I knew where they were and I'd bought a couple more if I'd known they'd be this rare now. Oh well 

I've seen some Second World War fantasy mechs and stuff and got kinda interested in a sorta clunky boxy look mecha idea. The sniper mech Smegol linked is pretty cool looking for high tech though. Next time I hit a hobby show I'll be looking around. Sometimes you get a little mecha type stuff showing up with different vendors.

Cliff