Tiny Plastic Reinforcements

A few weeks ago, I posted the story of how my family stepped into the Gundam model world and had started to enjoy watching some of the various Gundam series on our streaming services. Well...that hobby has exploded in our home! This is going to be my first follow-up post to a previous story. So, lets go back to the workshop and talk some more about Gundams.

When last we talked about Gundam models, we had started working on our third set of models. The RX-78-2 and the Calibarn joined the display shelf and look great. Then, as luck would have it, a list of Gundam models went on sale on Bandai's storefront on Amazon. So, with each paycheck came a few more boxes in the mail. Every time a new Amazon box arrived, it was like a miniature Christmas in the Nostalgia house. And, with each new model, our skills grew and our models got cleaner and nicer looking. Not long after Little Miss and I really hit our stride with building these tiny technical marvels, my son asked for his first model to join in the fun. With a little help and guidance (very little help was needed), he proudly added his first model to the lineup: the Schwalbe Graze. I saw that familiar spark light up in him as his eyes lit up. His extensive experience with his LEGO inventions had given him a firm foundation to step into the scale modeling world. No sooner had his Schwalbe Graze's feet touched the shelf, the question came..."Dad, can we order another for me to build?"...he was hooked.

We've still been watching various Gundam anime in the evenings and building new models as fast as we can get ahold of them. The 08th MS Team, Iron Blooded Orphans, Build Fighters, and the original Mobile Suit Gundam have all graced the glow of our television as our tiny plastic pieces are meticulously snipped out, trimmed and filed, and clicked together. It's been a wonderful bonding time for the kids and me. We've now gotten bold enough to branch out into applying decals and panel lining ink to our models. Both of which have taken our tiny warriors to a new level. It seems like each time we discover some new technique or idea to make our suits look better, some other idea shows up on our YouTube suggestions to tease us further into the hobby. We've even found that most of our D&D and Warhammer tricks translate very well to the Gundam hobby as well. It's been a wonderful adventure to say the least.

Now, as of tonight, we have twenty Gundam models on a dedicated display shelf with a few favorites separated off to their own display. We've also dared to build our first Real Grade and our first Master Grade Gundams for the collection. The Master Grade Wing Gundam Zero EW version was a joy to build. Gundam Wing was my first encounter with the Gundam universe and will forever hold a special nostalgic place in my heart. So, adding the most iconic suit from my favorite Gundam series was a milestone for me. Little Miss Nostalgia took on the challenge of our first Real Grade...and her struggles and mad ramblings as she works are a comedy I never knew I needed in my life. Little Mr Nostalgia on the other hand, has fallen in love with the models from Iron Blooded Orphans. The amount of focus and attention to detail he put into his builds is astounding...particularly with his struggles with ADHD in most other things. Watching him build with Gundams or with his LEGOs is like watching him disappear into another world. I truly think that, in his mind, he sees himself as a engineer building a real, giant robot when he gets into his flow. It's amazing to watch.

But, all good things must eventually come to an end. The Bandai Amazon sale ended, and the flow of plastic models has slowed to a trickle. Our collection stands proudly in our workshop, waiting for us to learn new techniques to make them look better. We've been slowly pulling them out, one at a time, for panel lining and to clean up small defects and mistakes. Our next challenge is to unpack our air brush and make an attempt at giving one of our models a custom paint job. But, that's an adventure for another day. I said it once and I'll say it again, if you have any nostalgia for the Gundam franchise or if you enjoy building highly detailed little things, give the Gundam model hobby a chance. I'd bet you'll be glad you did. And, with that, God bless you all and peace be with you...and as always, GAME ON!

---

We've added a new page to the website called the Gundam Workshop. We'll be posting quick thoughts and pictures of the Gundams we add to the collection. So, if you enjoy looking at awesome robots, give it a look!