Optimus Prime & Co.: A Newbies attempt at Gunpla

A long long time ago, back in the forgotten Before Time, Justin came on the Weekender (At the SAME TABLE as other people!  No masks or anything!) talking about a Gunpla model kit he’d got and was looking to build (I can’t find the footage.  The search functions aren’t giving it to me).  I’d previously assumed they were not much different from Airfix kits, which don’t greatly interest me, but he made it sound like a lot more fun to build them.  He got me interested.  I’m not in to Gundam though, and a lot of those models look more or less the same to my uneducated eyes, so I filed it away at the back of my brain as something to perhaps look in to later.

A few months ago I was listening to a Podcast and the host started talking about his Transformers models and something clicked.  Do they do Gunpla kits of Transformers?  That could be cool!  I then spent a while googling to see what’s out there, and there is a company who makes a handful, and they are within my price range.  They were mostly out of stock in the UK, but Dawfydd was a huge help and tracked one down for me (It instantly went out of stock so I may have got the last Optimus Prime in the country).  I paid £60 after delivery.  Pretty sure I’d seen it closer to £40 elsewhere, but no one had stock.  It’s a bit pricey, but as a one off it’s not too bad.  If I get in to it I’ll be a more patient and frugal shopper.

I figured if I was going to do this, I may as well share and review my experience.  Perhaps others in our hobby are curious if it’s worth it, and how long it takes to build, and if there are different challenges or skills needed.

So what did I get?  Flame Toys make a fair few Transformers models based on the different continuities.  I wanted a classic cartoon design.  The G1 version.  They also do different types of model.  Most are pre-built display pieces / action figures.  Their Furai Models line is their kits.  In my hunt to see what’s out there, I often found it unclear if what I was looking at was a DIY kit, or a pre-built piece.  It would be nice if more boxes made it obvious.  If you go shopping for your first kit after reading this please make sure you’re getting what you think you are.

There’s not many in the Furai line yet, so I was keen to start with a classic: Optimus Prime!

So what’s in the box?

I’ve no idea what standard practise is at this stage, but as a wargamer it is my reflex to wash everything before I begin.  This kit doesn’t require glue, and comes pre-coloured so it doesn’t need painting.  Washing it should be unnecessary.  However, should I decide to pin wash some shade and depth in to it, this may help prevent issues.  I see no harm in was the sprues, and only possible benefits, so I did.  perhaps someone more experienced will tell me I did a bad thing?

They were given a gentle rub with a toothbrush in warm soapy water and then left to air dry.

If you’re reading this and you know of other licenced model lines I might be interested in please add links in the comments.  I’ve seen there’s some Evangelion kits out there.  If I enjoy this I’m tempted by Starscream, and EVA 01.

I need to finish off my Spring Cleaning Hobby Challenge and perhaps get some other bits taken care of before I build Prime, but I washed him over the weekend while waiting for paint to dry, so I took some pics so I could prepare this project.  This may sit untouched now for a while, but I’ll be back.