Haropla

Hello Kitty Haropla 2021-07-05

Earlier this year I discovered that there is a locally owned hobby shop in a nearby town, and this month I finally had the time to make a trip and check it out.

The verdict? It’s a pretty great place! I actually met other Gunpla fans and chatted with them for a good thirty minutes. The store also had a ton of supplies and tools, though their actual selection of models was a bit thin. I’m 99.9% certain that this is due to COVID-related changes to supply and demand. Once things settle down again, and inventory goes back to normal, I can see them having a nice variety of stuff.

In any case, I left with just one small kit, though it’s a pretty nifty one:

Gunpla Build - Haropla Zakrello (Build) 2020-11-20

Let’s get this little Haro put together. First, the parts:

It is at once both less pieces than I’m used to, and more than you might expect from this kind of kit. Also, I can kind of see why this thing cost almost the same as the HG Gundam Revive. While the Revive has many more parts, none of them are quite as big and/or dense as that big blue piece, or the red stand.

Gunpla Build - Haropla Zakrello (Intro) 2020-11-19

It appears as if my local Barnes and Noble has almost no Gunpla in stock. I cannot tell whether this is because they are giving up on them, or whether they are simply in short supply due to the pandemic. I am hoping it is the latter - even though it may not be my go-to place for kits, it is always nice to pop in and see what they have for sale.

As of this writing, the store had only one actual Gundam model kit, as well as a handful of figurines. I thought I might as well get the kit before someone else did, and so that’s exactly what I did. Behold the Haropla Zakrello!!