GUNPLA! Not a Greek salutation, but a Japanese Mech model kit!
What Start Another New Line of Model Making?
Well, the short answer is that I am - by nature - an eclectic. I am a hugely inquisitive person and love discovering new things. That said, there is a very practical reason that I was drawn to these Japanese Animi-themed Mech model kits...
My health is progressing along nicely! In fact, I am very optimistic that I will eventually recover a good deal of my dexterity and co-ordination and be able to make a near full return to model making and crafting in the not too distant future. However... Currently I am taking things slowly and methodically towards this goal and try to pick my battles (those projects that aren't beyond my present abilities).
GUNPLA - the making of Gundam - [a Japanese military fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam"] - is a interesting form of plastic model making and one that appeals to my current situation.
The basic premise of GUNPLA is the construction of scale model kit versions of Gundam Mecha but which - unlike the traditional military models that I used to make - are not intended to need to be painted. They are moulded in coloured plastic and just require assembly.
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| Above: The contents of my first GUNPLA kit. Bandai's HG RX-78-2 Revive. Note the various different coloured plastic parts all ready to go! |
This suits my circumstances very nicely as painting -particularly detailed painting - is something which I am still not confident enough to undertake.
But, putting together these superbly designed scale models seems a hugely relaxing pastime.
Really? Are They Just Construction Kits Then?
OK, like all hobbies that seem 'simple' enthusiasts soon find a way to make things complicated! 😏
Gunpla is no different and while the simple objective is still building Gundam 'out of the box' - making it a great hobby for young and old alike - there is a very lively community of modellers who explore just how far they can push the activity by customising and painting their kits.
I like the idea that I can start simple - just by building a nice looking model - but then progress onwards to adding additional detail and decoration should I want to... That's what being a [Mil]'geek' is all about!
In fact, I have already been sucked in by one of the more advanced additional techniques called 'scribing' and have even experimented with it even before I have put together my very first Gunpla kit!
Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of doing what I used to do with hobbies and run before I can walk. My first attempts at Gunpla kits will definitely be to make them OOB (out the box) with no extra bells and whistles.
But scribing - engraving or scoring extra panel line detail on the model - is such an intriguing technique I thought I'd like to have a bash. Particularly as it has transferrable benefits to my other model making activity of making scale model railway scenery.
But, anyway, that's an aside... I really just want to build a few GUNPLA to put on my shelf along side the other various types of models that I have made that I found particularly cool looking.
Hopefully, I will start making my first Gunpla this week. So wish me luck, hopefully mine will look like this......
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