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.
Never in my life did I expect to find something like this in a Disney park, but the gift shop in the Japan section of Epcot’s World Showcase has all sorts of anime related merch. I’ve never built a model kit before, and when I picked it up, I had no idea if I’d even have all the tools to do so. But seeing it on a shelf, I knew I had to have it. Nevermind the fact that model kits can be easily obtained on the Internet. To someone outside the hobby, these things still feel rare and exotic. Finding one on a physical store shelf felt akin to unearthing buried treasure. I vowed not only to buy one, but to built it at any cost.
This series of posts chronicles my attempt to built the Real Grade Zaku II Char Custom. I’ll do my best to take quality photos of each section as they’re built, but I make no guarantees about my photography skills.