I recently got back from vacation. It was … didn’t go well.
One saving grace is that I got to stop (and shop) at a Hobbytown USA that was on the way home. I’ve never been to a Hobbytown, and I’ve long been curious about what I was missing. This one had more painting supplies than my local hobby shops, but the Gunpla selection itself was about the same. It was nice to learn that I’m not really missing out on much.
As for my haul:
Spoiler Preface!!!
This post contains some small spoilers for Gundam: The Witch From Mercury. You may want to skip it if you haven’t watched the show.
On the right is the Full Armor Gundam 7th. I’ve been fascinated by this kit for a long time. It’s big, it’s bulky, it has some serious weaponry, yet somehow it only costs $20. I’ve never understood how that could be possible. Is there a catch? Or is there something about the economics of Gunpla that I just don’t understand? I figured the only way to find out was to build it myself.
Econ Theory
I suspect - but cannot prove - that Bandai is hesitant to raise prices on older kits.For example, kits that cost $25 when I got into the hobby eleven years ago still seem to cost about $25.
This could explain why this kit is still only $20.
Of course, on the flip side , Bandai seems to have no qualms charging more for newer kits. It's hard to find a brand new model that costs under $25.
The second kit is the Darilbalde from Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, and it has very quickly come to be very special to me. The Darilbalde is the mobile suit of Guel Jeturk, who eventually became one of my favorite characters on the show1. While I don’t identify with his assholery at the start of the show, I still see something of myself in him.
Without going into detail, there are parts of his character arc that hit close to home, and for that reason he (and his mobile suit) became my favorite part of the show.
I’d love to get right into one (or both!) of these builds, but life is getting pretty crazy lately. With luck I might get one of them done this month, but all bets are off.
- Guel in fact became a favorite character among many people, though some grew to resent him for eventually taking so much of the spotlight. I sympathize with that sentiment, even as I consider myself a fan. [return]