OH BOY! Now to talk about one of my favorite hobbies! Model Kits! More specifically, Bandai Mobile Suit Gundam model kits. There are tons of model kits out there made by many different brands like Kotobukiya or Wave and even knock off brands like TT Hongli. However, I specifically enjoy Bandai Gundam model kits more. Bandai makes many different model kits for different series, so it is important that I clarify that my interest lie in Gundam. I believe the term Plamo is a kind of slang used for any plastic modeling.
The reason I specifically enjoy Bandai Gundam kits is because of its user friendliness. The kits do not usually require painting or glue. The pricing is reasonable and there are very little defects. The kit comes with these plastic trees or trays (I like to call them trees^^) that have all the parts attached to them. The trees are in sealed plastic bags. There is also an instruction manual that is in Japanese, but the pictures and guided steps are so easy to follow that knowledge in Japanese is not needed.
So I just want to tell you all a few things I have learned through out my years of Gundam kit making. I have been into building Gundam kits for a little more than a decade now, but Gundam model kits are practically as old as Gundam itself. There is also another slang name specifically for Gundam model kits. It is Gunpla ^^, GUNdam PLAstic kit. There are many things I can say about Gunpla so I'll try to be as organized as I can.
First, let’s have a brief chat on engineering. Like most things that are manufactured, Gunpla engineering evolves. Remember the first iPod? Only plays music with no color in the interface. Now today's iPods have color, video playback, cameras, phones and much more. Gunpla is the same. Kits from 1980 are extremely different from kits made now. As a matter of fact, Bandai is recreating the same kits over with the newer more efficient engineering of today's day and age. My recommendation to anyone interested in getting into the Plamo world, purchase a kit that was at least manufactured in 2000 or up. Unless your favorite Gundam only has a kit that was made before 2000, then you practically have no choice. I have done this. Gundam Wing kits were made before 2000 and were never remade (except for one!).
Now I will get into scales. These will tell you how much larger your kit will be compared to the actual size of the Gundam you are building. The most popular scales are 1/144, 1/100 and 1/60. I believe the scales works this way: for example 1/144 means to make one real size Gundam, you need to stack 144 kits on top of each other to make the real height. That is a lot of kits...
Time for a matter that I feel is probably the most important, Grades! Basically, these give you an idea on how the kit you are looking to purchase was engineered. It also heavily influences the price of said kit. Here are the grades I know of: No Grade, Speed Grade(SG), First Grade(FG), High Grade(HG), High Grade Universal Century(HGUC), Master Grade(MG) and Perfect Grade(PG). There is also the newly announced Real Grade. I do not know if I should consider it a grade but I will also mention the Super Deformed Gundams.
No Grade kits are not the cheapest kits available. Honestly, I'm not too sure why some kits are No Grade. Even the newest 00 Gundam kits are no grade. This grade visits all scales I believe.
Speed Grade and First Grade are the lower quality kits. These do not have much articulation and color on these kits. This grade actually goes in to the scale of 1/200 I believe, so they are very small.
The High Grade and HGUC kits have evolved greatly over the years. The kits come with many colored parts that allow the builder to build the kit with out painting. These kits also have very decent articulation. Lately, the lines between HG and MG are blurring. That is how much the HG kits have evolved over the years. HG kits are what I would recommend to beginners. They are cheap and simple to build. They also tend to be in the 1/144 scale and 1/100 scale. They go into 1/60 every now and then.
Master Grade kits is where I draw the line. After purchasing my first Master Grade kit, I could not see myself going back to HG. Master Grade kits have great articulation and so many different colored parts that make painting even less needed. MG kits can be as cheap as 20 dollars and can go past the 100 dollar range. A beginner can make mistakes easily on MG, since it can be complicated in building. This grade, I think, is strictly in the 1/100 scale range.
Then there is the Perfect Grade. The grade's name speaks for itself. These are the most expensive, detailed and most articulate kits available. They tend to light up too ^^. I have yet to purchase a Perfect Grade. I'm dieing to build one though! These bad boys are strictly 1/60. They are very large.
Can't forget about the Super Deformed Gundams. These are small chibified versions of the gundams. These kits can fit in the palm of your hand. They have large heads, the eyes are larger than usual. Their bodies are much smaller than usual but still proportional. They are made to look cute and cool at the same time. These kits tend to have very little articulation due to their size and physique. The trees of these kits tend to not have much color on them. To make them look as good as they do on the box you need to paint them.
Gunpla is such a fun hobby. I just enjoy building them so much. The sense of accomplishment after you are done building feels great also. But I think most Gunpla hobbyist would agree that the build is always the most fun part of the kit. Even though Bandai makes it easier for people to complete the kit, you can still customize the kit by adding your own paints or adding panel lines (a colored line made on the kit to further define a line on the plastic).
So here is a little summary for people getting into the kit. First think about what Gundam you like, see what kits are available for it. I would recommend either the 1/144 HG or 1/100 HG. If you do not have a favorite Gundam or you are not even into Gundam but want to build a kit, just pick one that looks cool to you ^^. My personal goal is to get every Gundam that has a Super Deformed kit, MG and PG kit. It is an expensive goal....
Well hope this was informative to you all! Maybe I will get back to you all with an actual kit review!
© 2010 Linda Thai
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