2013

Gunpla Chronicles 2 - Building the Core Fighter 2013-01-27

One of the coolest things about the Real Grade RX 78-2 is the inclusion of a working Core Fighter. The tiny aircraft can actually be used to help form the torso of the Gundam just like in the show. Due to its small size, I decided it was a good place to begin.

Before beginning this build, I told myself that I needed to improve on my skills and make fewer mistakes. To that end, I got a few additional tools to help me out, most notably a set of hobby sandpaper sheets to use in place of the very coarse grit nail file I abused the Zaku with. Unfortunately, by the end of the first night of work on the Core Fighter, I feel like I haven’t gotten any better, and may have even got worse. Here’s a picture of what I wound up with:

You can’t quite see it, but the clear plastic of the windshield is a bit scratched up. Furthermore, those big black panel markings on the top of the fighter are dreadfully ugly, and it turns out that I placed them in a spot where stickers are supposed to go. I’m not really sure if I can remove them now that they’ve dried, but I’m crossing my fingers that I can find a reasonable solution.

Gunpla Chronicles 2 2013-01-26

The first series of Gunpla Chronicles entries detailed my attempts to build the Real Grade Char’s Custom Zaku II. While I didn’t do a very good job of updating my progress down the stretch, I did get manage to finish the kit. I found the experience to be challenging, educational, and ultimately rewarding. While I made more than a few mistakes (and nearly broke one of the leg pieces permanently), I still think the Zaku came out better than I expected for a first try. To this day I cannot work in my office without stopping to admire the thing.

I don’t know how much farther I plan to take Gunpla as a hobby (I lack the time, money and space to build kits on a regular basis), but ever since last spring I knew I wanted to build at least one more kit to tide me over for the foreseeable future. Now, almost a year later, it’s time.

2012

Gunpla Chronicles - Upper Body 2012-05-03

For reasons which will be explained later, I’m going to detail the remainder of the build process in this single post. Apologies for the lack of photos.

Right Arm - I was a bit too tired when I assembled the right arm, and when I get tired, I tend to do things fast and sloppy. Some of the pieces became warped at the cut points, though luckily most of these pieces were part of the exoskeleton, meaning they’d be concealed under the outer armor. The rest of the assembly process went smoothly, which was a welcome state of affairs after the crisis I had with the leg joint.

My stickering got a lot better with the right arm. I found myself coming up with a process; I would remove the sticker with the hobby knife, transfer it to the nail care stick, and apply to the model. I then used the stick to reposition and set it in place. All told, the stickering wasn’t perfect (the larger decals on the shoulder mounted shield are a little off angle), but it was still a dramatic (and noticeable) improvement.

I did the entire arm in a single night, spending a little under three hours.

Gunpla Chronicles - Beginning the Build 2012-04-30

Before chronicling the build process, here’s a list of tools and supplies I’m working with.

Sprue Cutter - I actually found a sprue cutter in Hobby Lobby, so I decided to grab it rather than relying on nail clippers for cutting out pieces. So far, I’m happy with the decision. They work really well as long as I’m careful. I’m sure the clippers would function well enough, but I feel like they would also be less intuitive.
X-acto Knife - In all honesty I didn’t need this, but it cost three bucks, so it wasn’t really a splurge. I’ve used it to remove certain pieces in lieu of the Sprue cutter, and for cleaning up some of my shittier cuts. I’ve also found that some of the kit’s joint pieces are kept rigid via very small pieces of connecting plastic that only the knife can really remove. I’ve also found it to be useful for taking stickers off the sticker sheet.
.02mm art marker - It isn’t a Gundam Marker, but it’s acid free and wipes off clean, so I think it’ll suffice. It looks like this was one of the thinnest markers available, and yet it is still a bit too big for some of the panel lining I’ve done.

Gunpla Chronicles - About Gunpla 2012-04-29

When I returned home, the first thing I had to do was pour over the Gunpla scene and determine what it is I got myself into. The news was almost entirely good. Most modern model kits do not need to be painted, nor do they need to be secured using glue or modeling cement. The only thing stopping them from being build-able “out of the box” is the fact that you still need a handful of tools to put them together correctly.

The other good news is that, contrary to my fears, the Gunpla scene is a healthy mix of casual hobbyists and hardcore builders. This is a big deal for me; the internet communities surrounding most hobbies are made up entirely of enthusiasts, and enthusiasts lack the perspective needed to help beginners. They’ll recommend setups which require significant investments in time and money, without any regard to the fact that a newbie is probably looking to get their feet wet with something small and simple, to see if they’re really interested before they lay down any serious cash.

Gunpla Chronicles 2012-04-28

While we were at Disney World, my wife insisted that I buy something “nice for myself” while I was there. This was not an easy task for me. As a child souvenirs were mostly off the table, and as an adult I’m still affected somewhat by that conditioning. But even when I find something intriguing, I’m still held back by the fact that anything I’m going to find is either going to be a simple trinket, or a replacement for some household item I already have. In my mind, a souvenir should be something special, something you keep for years as a symbol of all the good memories you made on your trip.

In the end, I found something that was absolutely perfect. It won’t be used or broken, I’ll see it all the time (thus reminding me constantly of the best vacation I’ve ever been on), and it is something that lines up perfectly with my interests. I bought a Gundam Model kit.

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Thoughts on 'Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky' 0001-01-01

Spoiler Preface!!!

This post contains extreme spoilers. You have been warned

I’m doing my recap of all the Gundam movies I watched on Youtube in order, which means we have to start with Part 1 of Gundam Thunderbolt

Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky is quite beloved by fans. I can understand why. It’s beautifully animated, with some of the best looking mobile suit fights I’ve ever seen. It’s (mainly, but not exclusively) jazz-driven soundtrack is the kind of thing you can either genuinely appreciate, or at least pretend to appreciate in order to look smart.

Most importantly (in the sense that it’s key to understanding its popularity), December Sky wallows in the kind “#wellactually both sides were wrong” whataboutist BS that is increasingly (and disturbingly) common in modern Gundam stories. And it does so by being excessively dark and edgy in the name of highlighting the horrors of war (which, I imagine, is also part of the appeal).

So I understand why it is popular, but that doesn’t mean I think it’s good. Yes, the animation is good. Yes the music works (the chaos of improv jazz really does match the chaos of the Thunderbolt sector, a region place where the remnants of destroyed colonies crackle with lightning). But as a story, this one falls flat.