How it started for me - The Gunpla Hobby

"GUNPLA"

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..to quote the ever reliable Mr. Wiki 

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Gundam model

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gundam Models refers to plastic and non-plastic model kits depicting the mechas, vehicles and characters of the fictional Mobile Suit Gundam universe by Bandai. These kits have become popular among anime fans and model enthusiasts, especially in Japan and in other nearby Asian countries since the 1980s. The popularity of Gundam models increased in the 1990s with North America and Europe being exposed to Gundam through television, video and manga. These Gundam Models are also called Gunpla (ガンプラ Ganpura^?), a portmanteau of "Gundam plastic model". "Gunpla" more commonly refers to the practice of building Gundam models, rather than the models themselves.

 

My venture into Gunpla started before I even got into the Gundam Anime bandwagon.

Around late 96' to 97' (thats the 1990's eh... in case the Y2K infected the brains)... I got my first Gundam Plastic Model Kit. Its the Gundam Air Master Burst 1/144 non graded kit from the GUNDAM X series.

It was not my direct intention to buy this kit although I have experience already with plastic modeling. When I was still in my junior to senior High School years, I have already built and painted several kits, most particularly Aircraft kits...the fighting kind. I started way before that with "carton" reproductions of air-crafts (non scaled) using only "illustration boards" (the 2~3mm thick paper boards with one side black and other side white which is ussually used for projects as art boards or template sheets where you stick specimens such as leaves cloth or whatever it is needed to be presented). Back then I only rely on mostly B&W pics from school text books and several colored magazine I can have my hands on to "National Geographic" back-issues I usually buy from the then small unnoticed "BOOKSALE" stores within some stationery shops in my area. Paints usually comes in variations of stationery markers of the Blue, Black, Red colors...I'll be lucky if I have colors of green available on the shops. "Colored pen" ink are gone after several use so I use them sparingly. I have some "passable" works finished, the best one I did probably was the Viking Mars Lander and Orbiter model I did for a school project. It was lighted with a first generation LED light powered by a C cell battery hidden on the base. Unfortunately they removed the base when they displayed it on the Science Fair booth so the lighting was not used (I'm still mad at the guy who did that). And since theres still no digital cams back then and "negatives" are quite expensive also, so I dont have much to show here other than my word that tells it happened.

The first Plastic kit I had was an MIG kit, that much I can remember and its TAMIYA, so only that. The scale and the exact model I don't remember now except its the MIG with propellers. I built it using variations of glue (the paper glue :D... honestly I don't know then and there's no internet and books on the hobby are almost non existent then - or even if there are, its so expensive and in places I don't have the way to go to.) When that didn't work, I used All Purpose Contact Cement (RUGBY or DO-ALL) - messy but did a good job and later some Cyanoacrylate stuff (Mighty Bond, Super Glue, Loctite), fast setting and frustrating. Paints, I used those left-over enamels, thinned with paint or lacquer thinner, and some water-based type I used for Silk-Screen T-Shirt prints (that gets washed away easily on plastic - really, I don't have that knowledge then of the thing called "CLEAR TOP-COAT")... and decals, my first venture on decals are straightforward "water-slides" so no problem with me there, the instructions are included in the back of the decal sheets itself.

My next and next kits were as blurred as I can remember, an F-15, another MIG (twin burner?) a Delta wing (influenced by the TOP-GUN movie) two tanks (both Tigers), a Jeep assemble with figures (I had so much fun detailing the figs than the Jeep Itself) and a Jap build Destroyer ship (12” long I think) whose name I did not bother to remember. I did not finish it actually due to undecipherable text (that is in Japanese of course), just boxed it back midway and gave it away to some lucky friends who found it hiding in my closet or boxes. That’s what happened to all the rest of my models – even the papercraft ones…given away.

Forward to1996… a full 5 to 6 years perhaps and I am in my Major year in Engineering. That is when I walked to a department store and saw these colorful boxes with several names in Japanese and English mix on it. From the looks, I already realized Its Gundam. I am already familiar with it (but not that too familiar) since I saw some commercials on it on rented Anime tapes I’ve watched (IN VHS AND BETAMAX!!!! :D). First and foremost I am a Science Fiction Fan, and a MECHA (Read: MECHA not ROBOT) fanatic. I love Mazinger Z, VOLTEZ V, DAIMOS and my first space soap opera – STARBLAZERS (Starship YAMATO). MACROSS I watched under the name of ROBOTECH. Back then I never knew Transformers and Voltron were originally Japanese (DiaClone & Go-Lion) but I loved them nonetheless. All US made animation dealing with sci-fi such as M.A.S.K, Go-Bots (poor TF clone), Centurions, SilverHawks, BraveStar, Thunder Cats, Bionic 6, DinoSaucers, Sky Commanders, even He-Man and G.I. Joe. 

When I saw the gundam kit, I actually did not look inside yet, just browsed through the several boxes for names and designs. Internet access then were few and far in between (and expensive). Knowing the Gundam stuff means you have to ask friends who knows and rent some available anime tapes which are mostly 2 to 3 episodes per tape, and is not in chronological order so it’s quite confusing. My first series was actually the then latest WING series; I got into it during the release of the “Endless Waltz” arc.

When I returned to the store as if by fate that is pulling me, I got around the shelves and looked at the boxed kits again. The then store clerk approached me and asked if I want to see the inside, surprised I said yes (because before I only buy boxed Kits “sealed” – meaning it is either re-sealed with plastic or “taped” on ends to avoid losing parts). When the box was opened, he explained that its snap fit….HUH?,,, what’s that?  Before I got any answer, I saw these pre-molded colored plastics of the kit (I remember it as the Aesculapius which I did not buy first but I did get as my second kit). That alone sold me out, and I only found out about the “snap-fit” thing as I started the assembly… whaddaya know… build out of the box and with stickers! No Paint no Glue!

From then on I became a Gunpla addict. As for the Gundam history, frankly, I felt that I had known Gundam before I had the chance to have the kit and watch the anime, It’s just like it’s a curriculum that I have already in good knowledge off… weird really.

Unfortunately for me again, I have to work and work hard. The hobby I just started (with about 7 kits of HG and No Grades) has to stop since I don’t have the money to funnel down the “want” pipe. I never did got into the spray paint stuff and the panel linings I did was mostly done with hard purchased (read: expensive – for me) Gundam Markers and some (again – I have to be resourceful) stationery issues of 0.1, 02, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 black ink markers and technical pens. I did made some several “weathering” kind of stuff using the same wide tip Gundam Markers, some acetone, swabs, permanent ink Markers and just plain rubbing on the rough walls. The brunt of this effort went to my very first – the AIR MASTER BURST and my own Wing Favorite – the HEAVY ARMS CUSTOM (1/144). I will be posting pics of them once I get them out of storage the time I go back home from this overseas job. (As a note, I still am not in the know of the thing called “CLEAR TOP COAT”… poor me :C)

Well so that’s basically covers it, how I got into Gunpla. Next time I’ll tell you ‘bout how I got back into the hobby and the things I do have now. Oh, thou I stopped collecting Gunpla then, I continued with the search for other Gundam related materials, such as Anime – from the original to the latest incarnations, and with the advent of accessible internet, I amassed great stuff on the series. That’s why when I came back to the hobby; I already know which stuff I want and not just some random box.

To finish, I’ll list those first Gunpla kits I had in chronological Order,

1. AIR MASTER BURST (1/144) – Gundam x
2. Aesculapious (1/144) – Gundam x
3.  Heavy Arms Custom (1/144) – Gundam Wing - Endless Wlatz
4.  Air Master (original colors) (1/100) – Gundam X
5. Endless Waltz: Gundam Deathscythe Hell (1/100) - Gundam Wing - EW (my pal has one also - he has the original release - I have the "Hell Custom" release)
6. RX-93 Nu Gundam - ...this one courtesy of a friend of mine
7. OZ-15AGX Hydra Gundam (1/144) - Gundam Wing:G-Unit (manga)
8. Gundam Ashtaron (HG) - After War Gundam X
9. Gundam L.O. Booster (1/144) - Gundam Wing:G-Unit (manga)

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