I can't believe it's taking me an entire year, but I'm back! I talked about a new gunpla mission in the beginning of this year. Now that I have the time, I will elaborate it.
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| Collection of 2010 - 2011 |
I have been a robot toy collector since I was a toddler. I used to ask my parents for new toys, but now I can afford to purchase them myself. In a month, I used to purchase more or less than a dozen toys to satisfy both my impulse cravings and my collecting goals. Naturally, these robot toys accumulated. I had to sell (at lower than their original prices) or give away some of them because I needed the space for other important things. Storing these toys wouldn't really help since I like to display all of my collections.
I know that I would end up spending more money than I can afford if I continue this trend. Some collectors out there can expand their collections as vast as possible. They are usually financially stable or sponsored by a toy store. And it's totally enviable and awesome! Unfortunately, I'm not any of those.
I'm an undergrad student (with a rather cloudy future prospect) who is lucky enough to be able to pay his living expenses every month...for now. Toy collecting definitely no longer became a large part of my expenses since I started college in New York City. Therefore, I sort of quit the hobby at the end of 2011.
My parents were against this money-sucking hobby since day one. Also, living 10,000 miles away from them doesn't particularly help. However, they began to slowly accept this hobby of mine. They say, "As long as it doesn't take too much of your time and money. More importantly, as long as your significant other is okay with it."
I have an older brother who is an avid toy collector, too. Though, he collects more action figures than robot toys. My brother lives with my parents in Indonesia. Often, he requests me to bring home some action figures.
I live with my little sister and a roommate in a small yet comfortable apartment. My little sister doesn't seem to mind. I've told her that toys are my stress reliever. But sometimes, I wonder if she even cares... My current roommate is actually a Gundam fan. He has a very few Gundam model kits at home, though he is more of a Warhammer collector. Oh, he's also a Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast.
My best friend thinks that the hobby is childish and not at all "cool." But I know that he secretly wants to join in.. So, there is always a wave of support for me to continue this hobby. Of course, there is you (yes, you who is reading this). Then, there are people from
Gundam Eclipse, Youtube, etc. Thus, I decided to resume this hobby earlier this year.
I'm sure you're familiar with my cancelled project, Ex-Strike Gundam. It was such a fun and thrilling ride. I was only a novice at gunpla modification, but I learned so much from the challenge. I ended up cancelling the project because I melted the plastics down. (I tried to strip the paint off by using very harsh chemicals.)
Anyways, I find myself enjoying projects like these a lot. Combining designs from different universes can get really fun and creative. Time consuming, but worth the long journey. There are many gunpla builders out there that have done this sort of thing, most notably
Hobby no Toriko. When I finished a project, I felt the sense of accomplishment and contentment like no other. Henry (or better known as
vegeta8259) once said that creating our own designs or modifications give a very satisfying personal gratification because there is simply nothing like our own creation.
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| Finished projects of 2012 |
I might not be the best at modifications since I rely on kitbashing. And I know that there are modellers out there who look down upon kitbashing. However, I find kitbashing to be the easiest way to modify plastic models. Sometimes, I feel like I can appreciate how versatile plastic models can be that way.
I will continue doing these projects. I really enjoy them. I also get to see a design of a mobile suit from different perspectives. These projects are definitely not cheap, but they are also not over the top expensive. From now on, I will only purchase Gundam model kits that I want to modify. I guess that's my new mission in a nutshell.
I will be posting my finished projects in a couple hours. Thank you so much for reading! And stay tuned! :)~
