Gunpla?

Gunpla may be an unfamiliar word, but in some circles it is as devoutly followed as some religions. Gunpla is the term used to refer to the hobby of collecting and assembling a series of model kits from a Japanese company called Bandai that are based upon the many animated series and films of Mobile Suit Gundam. Mobile Suit Gundam is a multi-title series of anime that first aired in 1979 and has been going strong for the last 31 years. These kits are almost exclusively of the mobile suits themselves featuring a large variety of sizes, colors, and designs. These kits are primarily snap together and molded in the correct colors and are, as a result, perfect for the beginner. In just a few short hours a novice can have a display piece that looks incredible with little to no traditional model building supplies. As experience and confidence grows, application of traditional model building paint and assembly skills can result in a piece of unbelievable quality that can classify in many ways as a work of art. The line itself is designed to grow with the builder's skills and comfort starting with easily snapped together and pre-painted Fast Grade kits and culminating with the huge Perfect Grades. Perfect Grade kits are made of thousands of individual parts and usually feature LED lighting effects requiring great care, patience, and skill. Over the years the Gunpla hobby has, in many ways, eclipsed the original source materiel of the anime. It is rare to find a hobby that anyone with interest can have something of which to be truly proud. Most model kit based hobbies require years of patience and practice before they truly begin to pay off, but Gunpla grows with the builder supplying a sense of accomplishment lacking in the early years of others. Gunpla is like a sunny day or a good potato chip. One is never enough.