After my Fukuoka-Tokyo trip in December 2023, I decided to return a year later for a Tokyo trip. It would’ve been my first solo international trip, and it would be a test of whether I learned anything from these previous Japan visits since I’ve always been dependent on my friends for the itinerary and navigation. But 2024 had different plans so I had to scratch that trip, and promised to push though in 2025 instead.
2025 came and I finally got that chance for a solo Japan trip in late November. It was a definite success as I was able to navigate without getting significantly lost (though it still took me 20 minutes to get out of Shinjuku station). I’m not sure if my wallet agrees with that success though, as reflected my credit card bill. So, here’s my hobby haul from my #SoloTokyo2025 trip.
If I’m only able to get a single kit for the entirety of this trip (which totally wasn’t the case), it would be Volks’ IMS 1/144 The Knight of Gold [Type D Mirage / Delta Berunn 3007] from The Five Star Stories. I already got the IMS 1/144 L.E.D. Mirage in 2023, albeit still in the backlog, and this kit would be the next logical purchase.
Volks’ Injection Assembly Mortar Headd Series (or IMS) line is a significant improvement over Wave’s Five Star Stories kits, but they are not Gunpla-level in ease of assembly. You will definitely need to do some work to make these look good. Regardless, I am looking forward to building these kits, and even got some gold paints for this purpose.
Next up are the kits I got from The Gundam Base Tokyo. Coming into the store, I don’t have any specific kits in mind to purchase. I was actually looking at getting some apparel during my visit, though it feels wrong to visit a Gundam Base and come out without any kits.
I kind of went ahead and picked up Ecopla versions of the HGUC RX-78-2 Gundam (2001) and HGUC Gundam Mk-II [Titans] (2002) for some reason, which I assume were being reissued at that time. To those unfamiliar, Ecopla are basically kits made from recycled plastic, hence being colored black. After after thinking about it, I really have no reasons for getting them, oh well.
If not for the Ecopla, I would’ve only picked up the White Base MS Hangar Set. I believe this was made to work with Realistic Model Series White Base Catapult Deck from Megahouse, but for the majority of us who don’t have the space for a whole catapult deck, then this set should fit the bill.
A box contains parts to build three hangar bays meant for 1/144 scale Gundam, Guntank, and Guncannon kits. But no one stops you from using them for other 1/144 scale, or similarly sized kits that can fit, and I will definitely use them in the photobooth.
These two are kits I’ve eyed on getting despite already having some version in my collection. First is the HG 1/144 Vifam with Sling Pannier, released in 2022. I already got The Robot Spirits version prior and while that figure looks and poses good, I am retiring it in favor of this HG.
Then we have the Combat Armors MAX 1/72 Dougram (Get Truth), a kit I was curious with since I already have the 1/72 “Get Truth” Dougram kit that came with a special edition version of the Get Truth: Fang of the Sun Dougram manga. Upon doing some research, I found out that both kits are actually similar, except that the special edition released in 2021 came with the Cutter Arm unit, to which this newer one doesn’t.
I also make it a point during these trips to pick up MODEROID kits I would otherwise skip as a good number of them are being sold on discount, whether on regular retail or second-hand shops. I got both MODEROID Demonbane and MODEROID Orgun this time.
A couple of years ago, we had an official Good Smile Company store locally, and I had MODEROID Demonbane on pre-order. Due to some legal shenanigans involving their local partner, Good Smile Company had to pull out. However, their local partner mentions still being committed to fulfill all remaining pre-orders, including my Demonbane. Unfortunately, nothing came out of it and I just decided to pick this one, at least still less than retail price.
MODEROID Orgun is a kit I’ve been wanting to get as an alternative for the RIOBOT version. Chiefly because the figure is already hard to track, not to mention expensive. And, two, I’m leaning more towards getting model kit versions instead of figures, even if it would require more effort from my end to actually build.
Some more kits on discount for one reason or another.
First is the Frame Arms Girl Jinrai [Lancer], a variant of the vanilla Jinrai many are familiar with. I got this at a lower price thanks to a long weekend promo or something. Besides being a close combat variant with its lance, it also sports a color scheme I prefer over the usual green associated with this design.
Then there’s Structure Arts Plus Type 11 Raven, which I choose over the much more expensive Structure Arts Plus Seibzehn. I often find Square Enix products to be unnecessarily expensive, not to mention being hit-or-miss in quality control. This made me think twice on getting Seibzehn and chose the Type 11 / Raven instead. That said, I’m only seeing reviews for the Seibzehn online, and I hope these would be enough reference when I decide to build this kit.
I also got the 5inM Option Sets intended for their 1/48 scale POWER DoLLS kits. In a case of carelessness, I previously got option sets intended for their larger 1/35 scale counterparts. Hopefully I can use those for some custom project, but at least I now have the correctly scaled sets.
These last two items are what I’ll file under the purchase-on-a-whim category because they were indeed purchased on a whim, but with intent. I remember getting the 1/144 Turn X from Turn A Gundam years ago, but I can’t find where it is for the life of me. So, when I saw this guy in Surugaya, I pulled the trigger despite the price roughly 10 times the original retail.
I also got a Tomica Unlimited Renault Alpine A310 (Misato Katsuragi) die-cast model. I got this while killing time to enter the Kamen Rider Store in Tokyo Character Street since they were allowing customers by batch. I do believe this should look good beside any of the Evangelion model kits in my collection so the purchase is valid.
Besides getting kits, I also spent quite a lot on tools as I am changing my build workflow to accommodate using Dspiae’s washless airbrush. I’m not showing each and every tool I got here, but I do want to highlight these two.
We have Wave’s Handy Cleaner which is something I was definitely influenced to get by Japaneste YouTuber CRAFTA Channel. It is just a vaccuum cleaner for smaller nubs, though I’m not sure I still need to use it when I also have Plamokojo’s Workstation 2.0 Pro. I would really benefit the LED lights and magnifying glass (or loupe) for those smaller parts. At the same time, it has a dedicated nub collector so everything will be collected underneath and I don’t have to use the Handy Cleaner.
But let’s see once I start using this, and the other tools I got during the holiday break.
That’s the loot and yes, I definitely spent much more than I intended. But at least I got them (mostly) at lower than retail prices. Especially if I went the route of searching for them in Yahoo! Auctions. All of the kits are going to the backlog, but the tools are definitely going into the new build workflow I’m staring with the next build.
