When I was 7, my dad introduced me to Mobile Suit Gundam through VHS tapes. Besides watching and drawing these giant machines for two decades, I’ve also dabbled in Gunpla, a portmanteau for Gundam plastic model, Bandai’s culmination of art and engineering compressed into a build-able model kit. Despite having handled a large variety of kits since the 90’s, I’ve seldom done more than a simple snap build. 2018 marks the year of my first custom build, wherein applied kitbashing, panel lining, detailing, and coating. What you'll see here are the results of my laborious craftsmanship and passion over the course of that summer season. At the bottom of the post you can also watch a short timelapse/montage of some of my working sessions with this absolute unit!
The optional metal parts set was a first for me; I honestly expected a simple parts substitution, but as it turns out I needed to cut and drill a lot of parts of the original build - a scary prospect when working on a $90+ kit. I’ve also had really bad luck applying decals; my prior Master Grades have little to no markings present. I did build two Real Grades before this though and went through the builds diligently, giving me the practice I needed to complete the markings for the Sazabi. Along the way however, I had an accidental spill that ruined the decal sheet, and also lost the mouth visor to boot. I need to give a special shout-out to GUNDAM REPLACEMENT PARTS for getting me the replacements I needed. They secure these by requesting a warranty stub found inside every manual - I didn’t even know that was an actual thing you could do in Japan! If you ever need something in your Gundam model kit replaced, be sure to check these guys out!
All in all, this was a fantastic project to take on. With the exception of a few design/engineering choices on certain parts, the Master Grade Sazabi created by Katoki and the teams at Bandai is one of the best representations of peak mecha and toy design. I look at and get inspired by a lot of custom builds like those submitted to GWBC and am always looking to get closer to that level of craftsmanship. You can see some of my old builds to the right to catch a glimpse of the progress I made. I’m itching for a chance to finish another custom build like this by next year!
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this deeper look - I put in a lot of extra effort for this one cause I have been over-baking its presentation for the last two years. Until next time everyone -
Cheers!
