Many have said that building model kits are the perfect hobby to do while in quarantine. That’s true… as long as you still have the supplies needed to build these kits, or if shipping hasn’t been delayed due to a myriad of reasons. For me, it’s more of the former but the latter is very much applicable as well, especially to the recent MODEROID and Kotobukiya releases I’m really excited to get my hands on.
From the aforementioned recent releases, these three are on the top of my MODEROID and Kotobukiya build list. Two of three three kits are actually still in my private warehouse over at Hobbylink Japan thanks to the temporary removal of the 60-day retention period.
MODEROID Escaflowne (center) is an obvious choice as I’ve been clamoring a modern figure or model kit of this classic machine and we now got one from Good Smile Company. I’ve been watching reviews online and the kit looks great out of the box thanks to some pre-painted parts. They also mention the limited outward hip articulation to the point that Good Smile Company has recommended a modification to fix this.
On the left of that top image is MODEROID God Raijin-Oh, a combination of MODEROID Raijin-Oh and Bakuryu-Oh kits. I’ve been contemplating how to go with this build as I’ve mentioned getting two copies of kits that require parts replacement for transformation. Add a gimmick of combination and the number of copies to get also increases. To build the complete God Raijin-Oh set, I’ll need three copies of both Raijin-Oh and Bakuryu-Oh. One for their separate components or alternate modes, another for the combined or transformed robot modes, and one more for the final combination to God Raijin-Oh. I can imagine this taking some time (and budget) to complete.
On the right of the top image is the recently released Great Exkaiser kit from Kotobukiya, as part of their new Brave Series 30th Anniversay lineup of kits. Unlike Good Smile Company’s take on their Eldran Series kits, Kotobukiya forewent any transformation and combination gimmicks and would instead release kits in different size classes to represent the basic and final forms of these machines. I also think their combinations are much crazier than their Eldran counterparts.
Stay tuned to this blog for more kits I wish I’m building right now, and if you want to check out more builds from this modeler, please head onto the blog linked here.
