Bandai Namco
Assembling the MG Gundam Barbatos Recirculation Color/Neon Blue: My first time in the Gunpla world
A challenging and interesting hobby.
Over the past few years, I have managed to connect with my more passionate and even geeky side. Beyond video games, I started playing Dungeons and Dragons, spinning Gachapons, and delving into the world of trading card games. For a long time, however, there was one hobby that seemed to interest some of my colleagues: Gunpla. I paid attention to the connection with the important Gundam franchise, whose robot design had always catched my attention. But what’s so special about this world of plastic parts?
First of all, what is a Gunpla? They are plastic model kits made by Bandai that allow us to build the incredible mechas we have seen in the Mobile Suit Gundam anime series. In fact, the word comes from the combination of Gundam and plastic model. One of the most interesting details is that these model kits do not require glue or anything like that, you just have to take the pieces out of their runners (the plastic trays they come in), cut them and assemble them.
One of the details to consider is that there are different levels of difficulty. These range from Entry Grade to Perfect Grade, and each one adds some kind of difficulty in parts, size, or even level of detail, based on the scale it has with the robot that inspired it.
Starting the operation
It is very rare that I go into a new hobby, game or adventure without doing some research first, and this was one of the very rare occasions that I did so. In a group with colleagues, we had been talking about these Gunplas, and in choosing the MG Gundam Barbatos Recirculation Color/ Neon Blue, one of the comments in the group was that this was one of the most elaborate to put together. When I opened it up and looked at each of the trays, I felt a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of small parts that not only had to be assembled, but also cut out of the molds. Seeing everything so neatly arranged and a quick glance at the instructions made me realize one thing: the task was not easy, but not impossible. Years of assembling LEGOs and every piece of furniture in my house had prepared me for this moment.
Before I started, I had to be fully prepared and that required special tools. I bought a kit of tweezers and sandpaper on Amazon that had been approved by our expert on the subject. With the tools in place, I moved on to the most important moment: reading the instructions. Although the booklet looked overwhelming, when I saw how systematically everything was explained, I felt that everything depended on my skills.
Assembling a Gunpla
Finally, the moment arrived. With everything in place, tweezers in hand, and the manual in position, the process began. The manual, the grids, the small part numbers on each- everything is very well indicated. I have to say that part of the first afternoon of assembly was divided into two thoughts, “What part am I putting together right now?” and “How is this going to fit in here?”
It was all a journey of discovery and seeing how the figure made sense. Every time I finished assembling a piece of the manual and saw the grid getting cleaner, I felt a great sense of satisfaction, and at the same time I was amazed at how each piece added a new detail. Transforming a leg with armor, for example, is an amazing change.
I must admit that there were a couple of moments when the assembly process was not as easy as I expected, sometimes there were instructions that stopped the flow of the process, or that I had to juggle three small pieces to make them all fit together at the same time. And well, what to say about the little stickers to finish decorating it. However, after almost 15 hours over a weekend, I was able to finish assembling the MG Gundam Barbatos Recirculation Color/ Neon Blue.
What surprised me the most was the enormous amount of precision and engineering that went into the design of these models. The level of detail is amazing, from aspects such as the detail in the armor to the fact that the cockpit can be opened. Every joint works perfectly so you can position it however you want; knowing that you can put all that together and turn plastic parts into a scale version of a mecha made me understand why many people are attracted to this activity.
Assembling my first Gunpla was an activity that, although not an easy task, left me with great satisfaction. Despite its high level of complexity, more than 30 years of experience being a fan of assembling and disassembling things paid off. I was very surprised by the high degree of design that exists in this hobby, which requires a lot of patience, but leaves a very good taste in the mouth, wanting to put something else together.