LET’S BUILD A MODEL KIT.
This was a birthday gift to myself. I bought it cuz it rocked the Select Button “What Should Bachelor Buy On His Birthday Trip to Gundam Planet” vote. It is a robot from Sakura Taisen, a game I have never played. I believe it’s a strategy RPG for the Sega Saturn that is also a dating sim. At one point in my life that sounded like a dream game, as I liked doing strategies, and also enjoyed romance, but nowadays only one thing can make my heart go pitter-patter: robot model kits.
Here are the runners. There are 7 of them. This is a High Grade kit, and High Grade kits tend to have about that many runners. This kit was more expensive than your average Gundam High Grade though. Those are usually $10-25. This kit cost me $35 after discount! That is Master Grade price range! Master Grades are larger than High Grades, and far more detailed. They will have well over a dozen runners, and they’re all very big runners. I assume the higher price is due to licensing costs. I think Bandai owns at least a part of Gundams so that keeps costs low. Or perhaps they’re jacking the price up because Sakura Taisen fans are marks. I don’t know! I just know this robot better be worth the money! And I’m sure it will be, cuz I have faith…in Bandai, and all you dopes who said “buy the pink one.”
This is my “setup”. I have a hobby knife! I have two pairs of nippers. One of them is a very cheap pair I got in a Gunpla “starter kit”. I use that to cut pieces from the runners. Then I use my much nicer Gundam Planet branded nippers to make a second cut much closer to the “flesh” of the part. These cuts are often clean, and don’t require much sanding. This greatly cuts down on the time you spend building a kit! I highly recommend investing in a second set of nippers if you get into doing Gundams.
There’s a brand of nippers called GOD HAND and they are allegedly the best possible nippers, but also fragile. And expensive. I do not own a set of GOD HANDS. I’m not using an SB-friendly euphemism there. I think it’s totally okay to own and/or play GOD HAND. I am simply happy with my Gundam Planet nippers. But if I ever win more than $500 playing scratch off lotto…you better believe I’ll spurge on some GOD HANDS, and talk about them a lot on Select Button in hopes that the 4 people who are still are still around who remember the “playing GOD HAND” filter give me pity blood potions.
I use 400, 600, and 1000 grade sandpaper. They’re taped to…like…sticks. Don’t ask me what those sticks are. I took them from my moms. I think you’re supposed to dip those sticks in moisturizers and then slap your face a bit. But I don’t care about faces. I care about robots. So I used to superglue those sandpapers to sticks but then I ran out of superglue. Now I just tape them on using some old-ass double-stick tape. So those sticks are cleaner than they look, ok. Here’s what you do with those sticks: if you cut a piece from the runner and it’s lookin’ not great you start with the 400 for a few strokes, then you bust out the 600, and then you go down to 1000, and hopefully everything is ok.
I live an elaborate fantasy life and sometimes I imagine a real looker coming over to my apartment – which is at least 30% model kits at the moment – and shaming me for having slightly visible “nub marks” on my completed builds. But that’s silly! That will never happen. To me. Or to you. If I came over your place and you had a real shitty looking Gundam there’s no way I’d bust on you for it. I’d just say a silent prayer of thanks. “Thank you, friend…I love model kits, and if you give money to the model kit makers that means I may get more cool model kits, someday.”
MORE EXCITING SCENES SOON TO COME – IF YOU’VE EVER WANTED TO SEE A SAKURA TAISEN CHARACTER UNPAINTED AND SQUATTING IN A MECH THIS IS THE TREAD TO REFRESH EVERY HOUR, ON THE HOUR
