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by real-dino 1644 days ago
After reading a polygon post about Gundam Plastic Models (Gunpla) I have become OBSESSED with them. Getting the tools, decals, different grades.

https://www.polygon.com/guides/22653114/gunpla-gundam-models...

Before you know it I've acquired 15+ of the things, am writing a price comparison site and streaming on YouTube and CrunchyRoll.

And I wouldn't consider myself a Weeb, or anime fan. I just love the models. It's everything I've loved about model kits in the past, but none of the awkward paining or glue.

And it's WAY cheaper than LEGO.
3 comments
slillibri 1644 days ago
I got into Gunpla and other scale models about 6 years ago, and the great thing is you can get as deep into it as you want. Bandai is the cutting edge of snap-fit models and it easy to get started with a $10 toolkit from Amazon and a $15 High Grade kit. Building the kits straight is enjoyable and in my opinion rewarding. The engineering of Bandai kits are simply amazing. Plus, it's easy to go from straight builds to kit-bashing (combining multiple kits into a custom model) to painting to full custom LEDs and dioramas. Watch the EA Gunpla and Otaku Builder channels on Youtube for more examples (these are my favorites). I went from 1 kit bought at a local Anime convention to 100+ built kits and a deep backlog of kits to build.
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shishy 1644 days ago
I messed around with Maschinen Krieger models which you might also enjoy :)
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bitxbitxbitcoin 1644 days ago
How does the value hold compared to LEGO?
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real-dino 1644 days ago
It doesn't. They only hold value if you don't build them, and older kits are less desirable as they are constantly improving.

Gunpla are pretty much worthless once you have built them in the same way a movie ticket is worthless once you've watched a film. The journey is where the value is, and much more so than with LEGO sets where you might discover one or two cool building tricks.

Spacewise they are economical. They shrink volume dramatically once built and you don't have to worry about keeping the box.

But if you want deep value, get some Gamestop or some crypto. They are much more economical space wise.

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