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When I was in Japan, I knew there were certain things I had to buy from Tokyo before leaving. Gundam model kits — or ‘Gunpla‘ (Gundam+plastic) as they are also called — were definitely on my list. Considering Gunpla kits are mostly ‘imported’ elsewhere and thus have a high mark-up, buying the kits from Japan makes it fairly ‘cheap’. This was going to be the first time I was attempting to make a Gundam model figure, so I stuck to the basics for now and bought HG (High Grade) sets. (More on HG, RG, MG, and PG below). And so I came back to India with three Gunpla sets in tow. One for myself and two others for my brothers.

RX 78-2 Gundam Gunpla kit box — This was my Gunpla set: the RX 78-2 Gundam HG model kit. It cost 751 yen (Rs. 385/$6/€5)

RX78-2 Gundam Gunpla unboxed parts — Inside the box are an instructional manual, the runners and stickers (if supplied). Next to that is a hobby knife I picked up from a 100 yen shop.

The runners are the sets which contain the various pieces that need to be cut out and pieced together to make various parts of the Gundam robot. The runners are also coded by alphabets.

RX 78-2 Gundam Gunpla runners — So from left o right, that’s A (yellow-red-blue), B (white), C (grey) and the small runner named PE.

RX 78-2 Gundam Gunpla instruction manual — There’s no use showing you a close-up of the instruction manual…because it’s all in Japanese. But not to worry.

The instructions for assembling the individual pieces are easy enough to understand and use the ABCs and numbers.

Gunpla instruction manual symbols — I watched this video that explained what these symbols meant and I just wrote them down.

Daiso precision knife closeup — The hobby knife I was going to use was nothing fancy. Although I did see ones from Tamiya, they were kind of expensive, so I thought I’ve give these from Daiso a shot. After all, they were just 100 yen (Rs. 50). It looked sharp enough to me anyway.

Hard surface books — Although I had laid everything out on my dining table, I was going to do all the cutting out of pieces on top of this hard cover brochure (and notebook underneath).

So let’s begin, shall we? The first piece I had to assemble was the thigh part of the Gundam’s leg. The first piece I cut was B29.

Cutting Gunpla piece runner — So take runner B, find the piece numbered 29.

There are two ways to cut. Some suggest cutting right in the middle of the connector and then slicing off the stubs. I on the hand decided to just cut close to the edge itself, but do it very carefully. By the way, I just placed the runner against the dark surface of my wooden table only for taking the above photo. I didn’t actually cut it on my table.

PE runner joint parts Gunpla — The PE runner comprises of parts that act as flexible joints. The material used is slightly more softer and when cutting them, it feels like you are cutting rubber. You don’t get the snap sound you usually get from the other plastic pieces.

Joining parts making Gunpla kit — Once you cut the respective pieces, it’s just a matter of piecing them together asp er the instruction diagrams. No glue required.

Assembled part Gundam model kit — And voila! The first piece

Cutting parts off runner Gunpla — And so you keep cutting and snapping the pieces together to form different parts of the robot’s body. If it appears to be a bit hard to cut to from one side, flip it over and cut it from behind.

Gundam legs Gunpla model kit — Ta-da! I was really getting into it now 🙂

Gunpla assembled parts Gundam model — An hour or so later (took a break in between too), it was all coming together

Mobile suit Gundam Jet model figure — The final product!

Gundam model kit from back — Strike a pose! This Gunpla model comes with a bunch of weapons

Used runners Gunpla assembly — Don’t be surprised if you are left with a few pieces on the runners. Mine came with an extra pair of hands and some joints.

Cuts in the book — It may not be clear but the book cover was stabbed quite a bit by the hobby knife

It took nearly 2 hours but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It’s been a long time since I assembled something like this. I used to play around with a lot of crafts when I was a school kid but such hobbies gave way to electronic entertainment (video games) and music as I grew older. So it felt good to create something with my own hands — even though the HG series of Gunpla kits are the “entry level” models.

Gundam gunpla model Dualshock 4 — Here is a photo I took the following morning. Placed it next to the PlayStation Dualshock 4 controller to give you a perspective on its size. The HG series are mostly 1/144 scale.

Buying Gunpla model kits are now a certainty for me, if and when I return to Japan. There are some deals to be found online but shipping costs to India make it a deal breaker for me.

I might move up the kit ladder and pick up an MG (Master Grade, 1/100 scale) or RG (Real Grade, 1/144 scale but better detail) next (size difference between 1/100 and 1/144 scale). Just for a little bit more challenge. For example, the RX-78-2 Gundam model that I bought has an RG variant that looks more detailed and is of better quality — but more than double the price. Then you have HG 1/60 which is High Grade but bigger in size and then ultimate — PG (Perfect Grade) — which looks amazing! There are some other special sizes too, baby size models from the SD (Seed Destiny) range, mega size specials and the really basic First Grade. There’s so much to choose from, but if you are just starting out, begin with the HG range.

RX 78-2 Gundam model sizes — The many sizes (Source)

Mind you, you can do a lot more to your Gunpla models after you have assembled it. You can paint them, buy accessories, and attach new parts to make your models look better and different. It’s amazing!

In fact, I realized why I saw so many paints and other art accessories sold right beside the model kits. It’s because if you get really good, you can customize or polish up your Gundam models to give it a finish or look like nothing else! Check out the works of some experienced Gunpla modellers at this sub-Reddit.

Gundam model kits Yodobashi Akiba — I’ll be beginning to write my Japan travel posts soon, and the first post will be about my visit to the amazing Yodobashi Camera store in Akihabara! 🙂

Nail filer Gunpla smoothening — One thing I wouldn’t recommend is using a nail filer to smoothen the stubs once you have cut them. I found that it leaves scratch marks and the finish came off rough. Some suggest sanding paper or sticks.

It may seem intimidating at first but assembling the Gunpla pieces gets easy later. Anyway, I know I’ll get better at assembling Gunpla sets. I just hope this blog posts helps other first time assemblers. If it did, want to leave me tips or if I got something wrong, leave me a comment below! 🙂

Date: 29th October 2014

Today was our last day in beautiful Oman. And we still had lot’s to see before our flight at night! So after an early wake-up call, we had a quick breakfast.

Omani breakfast buffet — On offer was a ‘dosa’ made of *maida* (unrefined flour) and yellow daal (lentil curry) among other dishes

Breakfast in Oman — Didn’t eat “much” because we really had to leave the desert camp soon

When we all collected our bags, checked out and made our way to the jeep, our driver Majjid was in a sleepless state. He was out all night with a group of drivers in search of an SUV that had gotten lost in the desert! 🙁 It was one of their friends along with a group of elderly tourists, and they lost communication with them after a few hours (phone batteries must have died).

Fortunately they found the group… but only today morning. They found them after the driver burned one of the tires and used the smoke to pinpoint their location. It was tragic to hear considering the elderly tourists were weak and had to be taken to the hospital.

But despite the lack of sleep, Majjid had to stick to his job and take us around.