Gunpla?

[Tanis]

Anyone else build figurines like Gunpla?

I just started getting into this and would love some advice to make the process got easier and cleaner.

Also, if anyone has any good sets to share, that's cool too.

[freeka]

The obvious advice that comes with most of these types of questions is to poke around on specific communities dedicated to the hobby of choice (r/gunpla is a fairly useful place despite >reddit) and watch videos from people on youtube who do this stuff 'full time'. Just watching more experienced people practice the craft can help get an idea of things to do when starting, though I will say to be careful not to forget that a lot of these people have a lot of experience doing this and it will take a long time until you are anywhere near a similar level.

 

My personal advice to someone who is just starting out though, is to not be afraid of getting messy and breaking things. Experience is the best teacher after all, and if that means that you wind up building the exact same HG RX-78-2 kit 3 times in a row, than so be it. If you have existing plamo experience than this may be obvious, but getting good in this hobby takes time and patience. You WILL fuck up paint jobs. You WILL break parts. (V-fins reeeee) Your builds will NOT look like you thought they would. And to me, that is what makes a hobby like this so much more fun. It will get easier over time, but it will take some time. Start small. Buy cheap HG kits. The HG RX-78-2 is a staple kit, and is a good place to start and practice new things. Anytime I want to practice some weird technique I found? $12 for this kit, and I can experiment and play with them without having to worry about 'ruining' an expensive MG or PG kit. Starting cheap goes for your hardware too. Please god don't be duped into thinking you need a pair of God-Hands because everyone says it's the best. A pair of Tamiya or Gundam-USA nippers come at less than half the price with similar feel. You can find cheap $20ish hobby model toolkits online and they will be more than enough to start, and as time goes on, the tools you find you need better quality ones for you can get them then.

 

It's a large hobby though, and there are entire websites dedicated to starter tips, so to avoid rambling on incoherently with random tidbits, I'll just say that if there is anything more specific you want to know, hit me up and I'll see if I can help. Otherwise, the hobby is what you make of it, and there is no right or wrong way to do any one thing or build.