Halloo!

Scratch build

verb (used with object), scratch building.

The process of building a scale model "from scratch", i.e. from raw materials, rather than building it from a commercial kit, kitbashing or buying it pre-assembled.

Kitbash 

verb (used with object), kitbashing.

Kitbashing or model bashing is a practice whereby a new scale model is created by taking pieces out of two or more existing commercial kits. These pieces may be added to a custom project or to another kit.

Gunpla

Noun, slang.

A Japanese term combining the two words Gundam and plastic (model). Refers specifically to plastic models from the various Gundam animated series, also from Japan.

There are a lot of Gundam blogs out there.

 Like a lot of them. Have you looked? It’s crazy.

 Of course that begs the question; why am I adding another one to the pile?

 Okay, fair enough. Well, I think the main reason I’m doing it, is because I haven’t found one that tends to focus more the specific areas that appeal most to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some amazing things out there across the internet. But when I go looking for aspects of the hobby that I want to focus on, so I can learn more and get better at it, I tend to find rather basic and uninspired stuff.

 Well fine, I’ll just have to do it myself and hope I get some feedback. Maybe I’ll even learn a few new tricks along the way that I can share too.

 So what am I going to do that’s going to make this blog different than all the other ones out there? Well, here’s a few things about the way I build Gunpla that you should know:

1)   I only build HG kits. Bummer huh? I can hear half of you saying that’s just beginner/basic/kiddie stuff!  Consider this though; they are (mostly) inexpensive, simple to modify, and most importantly, there are hundreds of them! That last one is really important because it gives me a lot of options for customising, without eating my paycheck! Can’t say that about any of the other classes of Gunpla can you? Okay, SDs but they’re special..        

2)   I can’t do a straight build. HG kits practically BEG to be modified once they’re built, and I am happy to accommodate them.

3)   I don’t do reviews. I’ll happily speak about a kit that I’m working on but only if it’s part of my current project, not just because it just came out. There are literally hundreds of sites out there for that, but this isn’t one of them.

4)   Names are really important! I’ll probably write a small article just about this at some point, but coming up with a name before you start building can make a big difference, and I name all my custom kits.

5)   I draw a lot of my scratch build projects, and I’ll post them! I studied animation in college for 2 years so I do know how to draw and that really helps the creative process. I will gladly share my ideas and show you how I make them into solid plastic. Feel free to use them yourselves, or build on the ideas that I don’t use.

 So there you go! If you think this might be the kind of stuff you’d be interested, by all means bookmark it or just hang around. I promise weekly updates, and I will answer every (real) question I get!

 Oh yeah, there'll be pictures to go along with everything, so it's easier to follow what I'm talking about too.