Recently I purchased a model kit from my local Hobby Town. A friend of mine told me that he has been building Gundam models and he invited me to a model building day. I went down to the store to check it out.
I used to build models when I was a kid. I loved snap kits. I was less of a fan of kits where I had to glue the pieces together, and I was not a fan of having to paint anything. Gundam models seem to be made for nerds like me. Most are pre-painted or use stickers. Most kits have snap-together pieces that do not require glue. Also, they are giant robots! I have seen a few Gundam episodes to understand that the franchise is about giant fighting robots. I was intrigued so I asked my friend some questions and I picked up a Gundam kit to take home. The one I chose was called "SD Gundam Ex-Standard GN-001 Gundam Exia". The kit cost $6.99 plus tax.
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| Picture of the box |
The kit came with five sprues and sheet of stickers. Did I mention that I hate stickers? Luckily I enlisted the help of my ten year old daughter. The only tool I used was an X-Acto knife and my daughter used a pair of tweezers for the tiny stickers. First, the stickers were surprisingly easy to use and looked good on the model. Second, the pieces were very forgiving and easy to fit together. Third, once the model was together the completed figure had great articulation.
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| The finished product |
This model was a total win. I had no experience with the whole Gundam model experience before building this. I will definitely buy another one. The kit was a great value. The box said for ages 15 and up but my daughter did %80 of the building. There was no glue, no mess, and I got to spend the evening building a cool robot with my kid. I rate this model a win.
Pros:
Easy to build
No glue or paint required
Inexpensive
Final figure has articulate
Cons:
The store only had one in stock otherwise I would have bought more!
I do know that Gundam kits can get more expensive and more complex. I would definitely recommend this particular kit as a great entry point. Go Gundam!
