by Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
----
"Miles to go before I sleep."
These immortal words were once a few times have been uttered in film, one of which is from the Charles Bronson movie "Telefon." The phrase was used as "switch" to activate sleeper agents via telephone (a favorite cold war/spy plot ), hence the title. Bronson's character is an investigator with photographic memory, and he follows the trail of deaths all throughout the movie.
I haven't been posting as much as I would want to, mainly because, as I have said, creating a blog post for a WIP takes as much time for me as the WIP itself (of a part or section, at least), and since I'm on a commission build, I devote more time to building than documenting the build, oftentimes skipping a few non-essential parts of the progress since I sometimes work on transforming a simple piece or pieces of WHIPS on "cruise-control," forgetting to take pictures until I realized I should have.
As I take a break from the Hellraiser build, I also took time to "reflect" on what I've done so far project-wise (like I mentioned in my previous post, I'm actually way ahead into the build and have only managed to post the "story-based" WIPs just recently), and address the hobby-related "issues" I have been ignoring for obvious reasons. This is going to be a long and convoluted post, if the intro alone wasn't an indication. I implore you to turn away now, if you don't like word-heavy posts, or read on, if you want to hear a few great stories.
The Definition of the Word "Hobby"
From Dictionary.com
hob·by [hob-ee] noun, plural hob·bies.
1. an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation: Her hobbies include stamp-collecting and woodcarving.
2. a child's hobbyhorse.
3. Archaic. a small horse.
Idioms
4. ride a hobby, to concern oneself excessively with a favorite notion or activity. Also, ride a hobbyhorse.
Also defined as: pleasurable pastime
Synonyms: amusement, art, avocation, bag*, craft, craze, distraction, diversion, divertissement, fad*, fancy, favorite occupation, fun, game, interest, kick*, labor of love, leisure activity, leisure pursuit, obsession, occupation, pet topic, play, quest, relaxation, schtick, shot, sideline, specialty, sport, thing*, vagary, weakness, whim, whimsy
Antonyms: profession, vocation, work
----
So, just by definition alone, any pleasurable activity one does to "pass the time" (hence, pastime) is a hobby. Birdwatching is a hobby. Collecting stamps is a hobby. COLLECTING ANYTHING is a hobby. I have been a collector (and destroyer) of Gundam kits ever since Gundam Wing started showing locally about couple of decades ago. I have always been fascinated with giant robots, as such I have been drawing Voltes V and Mazinger Z in my teens (even after Marcos and his cohorts found those series too revolutionary and had them taken off the air). I bought a 1/144 HG Gundam Wing, my very first Gundam kit (they weren't called "gunpla" back then, but more on that later), and collected all of the protagonist suits. I didn't like the Tall Geese back then, as well as other grunt and antagonists units up until much later until the MG Sinanju was released.
But I digress, I had those five units (Wing, Deathscythe, Heavy Arms, Sandrock, Shenlong), and I was a happy camper. I was a COLLECTOR. A HOBBYIST. It was an upgrade from my hobby of doodling robots to actually owning them buggers. I assembled them as soon as I got them, foil stickers and all, and even posing them like they were in the cartoon. Back then, they were the most amazing things I have ever spent my money on.
Then, like in the bible, there was a flood, and I lost all of them to it (aside from the Heavy Arms, which was later destroyed by one of my daughters). I vowed never to buy any kit from then on. It was a vow I will twice make, and will twice break.
When I left my hometown of Malabon about a decade ago to live somewhere else, I saw a couple of built 1/100 kits, Wing and a Deathscythe, being sold on consignment at a "Sari-Sari" store at the 2nd floor of building where I live. I immediately contacted the owner. I wanted both kits, but reluctantly turned down the Wing because it was missing a Vfin (If I only knew back then what I have become now). At basically the same time, there was a 1/100 Wing sale (but no Wing) at Landmark, and I got a couple of kits there, I believe. Those kits were destroyed by the same daughter a year after. As such, I vowed never to buy a kit again, built or otherwise.
Then in 2007, I was working as a Team Leader of designers somewhere at Ortigas. It was that time that a designer gave me "copies" of a new Gundam Series called 00. That time, I broke my vow a second time. Though the immersion wasn't immediate, I found myself purchasing a 1/100 NG Exia at GTO when they were still at Goldcrest/Glorietta. It was also then when most everyone I encountered at GTO were talking about painting their kits and joining the BAKUC, and when asked, I simply said I just collect them." It was also then that someone asked me what units I collect, and that time, I collected protagonist units and Gundams that had a mean look as well as anything that has "wings," except the Wing Zero Custom. Never did it cross my mind to cut my kits anywhere except to free them from the runners so I can "build" them, until the day I encountered Erix93's Exia.
Never say Never.
True enough, my first attempt at major modifications was a bust, destroying an NG 00 in the process. But it marked a step in my hobby "evolution" from a simple collector, to a modeler. At this point, I started buying the basic tools I needed, searching the internet for references and joining forums for research. I've discovered that this hobby is not cheap, as such, I also searched for alternative tools and materials as I dove deeper, from modifications to scratch-building. The latter part was inevitable, at least for me, since the hobby allowed me to rediscover the reason why I like taking things apart to begin with.
So, from a failed first mod, to painting, to a full mod, to a failed attempt at scratch-building, and several unfinished builds later on, I've gone from a "collector who doesn't really care for anything else" to a "modeler who can probably build anything given the right tools" in a span of three years since I held a knife and accidentally cut myself deep while clearing a piece of nub from its root. I believe that was at that moment, seeing a gush of red, that I've established what I was going to do with kits in the years to come, and instead of shying away and making another vow of contempt, the blood actually made me realize my foolishness. I was NEVER going to be able to rid myself of the hobby especially now that blood has been spilled.
More Than Just a Hobby.
Just a few days ago, I encountered (or was rather brought into) a discussion regarding our collective plastic "hobby." Apparently, some believe merely collecting them buggers isn't a hobby. Yes, forget the definition I've dropped. I'm a collector, but not a hobbyist. A hobbyist (according to someone who probably don't know how to use a dictionary to define words) is someone who goes beyond collecting. Lucky me, then, that I've actually gone farther beyond collecting in a short span of time than most have in years, being able to build things now basically from scratch. So, you guys out there simply collect, say, Transformers toys, or SOC Voltes V, Daimos and Mazinger Zs, and Iron Man figures, what you're doing is not a hobby, it's just collecting, according to that person. Forget all your delusions. When you buy toys and exclusive items, you don't have a hobby. We must think of a new term for what you do, because the term "hobby" is now being owned by a virtually unknown person. I shudder to wonder what I should call Gibe Lindayag who most probably has about EVERY Gunpla kit released, rivaling perhaps our favorite online resource Dalong in quantity at least. Gibe, being the nice guy he is, has had detractors just because he has that many kits.
I seldom brag about what I do and can do. I have never found a need to, because people who follow and see my work have given me enough unsolicited praises. We all post our work to show them off, that alone for me, can be considered "bragging" to a certain extent. I'm not a competitive person either, as I have mentioned a few times over, that I won't rush a build just to be able to join a competition, or join a competition for the sake of it. Heck, I seldom finish projects at all, stopping short of painting it, mainly because I prefer modifications and scratch builds above all else. What satisfies me is being able to see a problem, think of a fix then fix it. And whereas a nicely painted kit is nice and impressive, I am more impressed when someone can turn a sheet of plastic into something I can consider more amazing.
As such, I break my silence over trivial matters such as what is actually a hobby, and bootlegs, when I simply cannot ignore them altogether. These trivial matters do pop up from time to time, especially when an overzealous "hobbier" or "hobbiest" comes out of the woodwork and declares himself all-knowing, as if the ones who came before him didn't know any better. This person will make or even force a non-issue just to be noticed, all because of a hidden agenda that reveals itself later on. I also do not appreciate it when a virtual nobody suddenly comes up and declares that one needs to have won a competition in order to matter.
The Bootleg Bootcamp Bumper Boost
I've written at least twice about bootlegs since I've started this blog, and regardless of how impressed I am of some of the newer generation bootlegs, THEY ARE STILL BOOTLEGS. Go buy them, if you like, just don't justify buying them because no matter what you say, they are still bootlegs. I've seen and heard people saying "no brand distinction." Sure, but, since I am in advertising and songwriting, I know a little bit about trademarks and copyright. First, a brand is something that has been officially registered as a "product," and attached to it, a brand NAME and a TRADEmark. These are registered in a country's trade regulatory agency. Locally, we have the Department of Trade and Industry and Intellectual Property Office for those needs.
No brand distinction. Let's go with that. Bandai is a brand. Kotobukiya is a brand. Hasegawa, et al, is a brand. Sure, I don't have a "brand distinction" because those brands carry different product lines. But, what if, hypothetically, Kotobukiya suddenly licensed Sunrise to produce a Gundam line, and the line turned out to be better (or worse) and cheaper (or more expensive) than the Bandai line. What would happen to your choices then? You will now have to choose between a product line of the same trademarked "Gundam" from two different brand manufacturers. You now have brand distinction of the same product line (same being both produce Gundams).
But, when you purchase a bootleg, you are not buying a "brand." That's why it's called a BOOTLEG. If you can't grasp that concept, it's the same thing as your collective identity as a person. Your name and your face, along with your blood type, finger prints and DNA is your collective identity. Even the way your write, speak, and move can be used to identify you (online, I can sometimes "detect" the same person using different names by checking how they write). But, what if someone decided to use your name and impersonated you, and did nasty things under your identity? Sure, he could use your name, and even disguise himself to look like you, but that person still won't be you. He is a bootleg of you. But Identity theft is real, you will have to prove in a court of law (or at least a precinct) that you have been a victim of identity theft, and the cross dressing "gangnam" dancer they caught on camera wasn't you.
Also, you can't say "No Brand Distinction" then later on diss the people who prefer only branded kits. One must NOT make a blanket statement, then later on exclude oneself of it.
"Gunpla" stands for "Gundam Plastic" and is a registered trademark along with "Gundam." The long and short of it, even if you turn a bootleg in to a "masterpiece," (as I have claimed once way back because a jackass declared he's the best Gunpla "painter" and he uses and airbrush to do it) it's still not technically gunpla. You've wasted your skills on a piece of cheap plastic. People will appreciate it for the skills involved in it, but, unless you're the cheapskate "anonymous" person who commented on an earlier post of mine, you won't dare enter that into an official competition. Back then, sure, you only need an official Bandai box, to enter, but now that a receipt is required, you might as well have bought that Bandai kit.
A while back, Voltaire and I went to Divisoria to buy Bosny Cans on the cheap. Along our way, we visited a few shops selling bootlegs. We went to and from one of the shops where I eyed a MGD DeathScythe Hell and told Voltaire I'd get it if the price went down from 600 to 500 PhP. On our last return, the Korean shopkeeper finally said "400," but, before parting with my hard-earned cash, I first inspected the kit.
Voltaire saw my face turned sour, as I visually assessed the kit, in comparison to how I know the Bandai MG DSH while I was building it. "No way am I paying even 400 for that piece crap, I'd rather buy 6 more cans of Bosny, and a bunch of incense instead," I muttered while we were walking away. I'm pretty sure the shopkeeper and the saleslady were disgusted with what I did since they took notice of me the second time we went back there.
Exclusives for the Exclusive
The hobby is expensive. If you got the gist of my Divisoria tale, you'll see how I value MY money. I just value it differently than some people do. Whereas some find value in bootlegs because they're cheap, I find value in quality. We get what we pay for. In line with the bootleg issue is why Bandai likes to milk a line with recolors and exclusives. Let me clarify once and for all, I don't appreciate Bandai's recolor schemes and exclusives. I for one am not too fond of titanium, extra finish and plated kits. Since I bash and cut them to kingdom come, I'd like them plain as they are.
But, that is where my disgust ends and my being a collector begins. I for one have refused an MG Destiny recolor in favor of an MG DSH, but that decision was made due to the fact that I didn't like the Destiny to begin with, and I needed an MG DSH as reference for the Hellraiser. So, you can pretty much see how I add kits to my collection. I once resisted getting HG 1/144s, but, some of the great-looking kits, like the Gabtheley, K'trya, Athene, Gaplant, Bawoo, Hazel Advanced (I and II), et al, only come in that scale, so I got those as well. I'm not into exclusives because I know Bandai will at one point in the future re-release them, like what they did with the Unicorn Head base (supposedly exclusive/limited with the Dengeki magazine) which later on was included with the HGUC Unicorn, and now the Sinanju Bazooka (with the novel) which will now come with a non vKa MG Sinanju. With these, we feel Bandai is ripping us off. But, it's a business after all. As a "businessman" myself I can understand that part of the trade. It's blatant at times, but, we will all get one sooner or later. (I'm actually getting an RG Zeta Karaba, just because it's so freaking kewl, and getting a regular RG Zeta and turning it into a Karaba will just cost the same, but hey, since I'm a stickler for stressing a point, I might just do that for the heck it).
It all boils down to one's purchasing power. Someone said he is just being "practical" buying bootlegs, but proceeds to bash other collectors who CAN buy the more expensive stuff. Being practical is not preferring a cheaper item over an expensive one, where the cheaper one is a bootleg. Being practical is cancelling/delaying a purchase because an expense of necessity and priority comes up. This is a hobby. It's expensive to begin with. No amount of "being practical" will make it practical because it's an expense of want. But hey, we all need hobbies. We all need an activity that calms our nerves (even if this one stresses a lot of people because they can't handle the negative comments on their projects), and as much as we don't want to spend top dollar, we often find ourselves doing so because that is the nature of the hobby.
In Retrospect
I looked up the definition of the word, just to be sure I was using it correctly. This post marks my third year into the "hobby" since merely collecting isn't a real hobby. Of course, I'm being sarcastic when I said that. Back in high school, we had a discussion with our Social Studies teacher as to why going to market can be considered an art. I remember it well, because I had the most acceptable answer.
"Because of the way we do it." Art is not exclusive to the artist after all, as such, someone working as a baker can still be regarded as an artist getting paid doing what he loves to do. That's why some people are happy doing what some of us consider "menial" or "mediocre." And though in my eyes, a simple red dot in the middle of a field of white is more a flag of Japan than art, who am I to tell someone else it isn't?
It took me no less than 5 hours composing this post, inclusive of the lunch I have to prepare and eat, the bathroom breaks, the moments I had to open the door for someone and feed Birdie and clean Birdie's cage. I'm pretty sure I have grammatical errors and misspelled words, so I'll just correct them over time. But I took time composing, more thinking about how to say what I needed to say, in the same light as I do take a lot of time thinking of a modification than actually doing that modification. This is a scheduled break. I have finished most of the major modifications needed for the Hellraiser, and I'm simply prepping myself for the Hellraiser's coup de grace.
The fact remains, though, If you find buying Gundam kits too expensive, it is. Until you can afford to buy them (like having a nice-paying job), get another hobby that doesn't require too much money, like origami, cross-stitching or knitting, Instead of envying those who can buy them.
I know how to knit after all.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
----
"Miles to go before I sleep."
These immortal words were once a few times have been uttered in film, one of which is from the Charles Bronson movie "Telefon." The phrase was used as "switch" to activate sleeper agents via telephone (a favorite cold war/spy plot ), hence the title. Bronson's character is an investigator with photographic memory, and he follows the trail of deaths all throughout the movie.
I haven't been posting as much as I would want to, mainly because, as I have said, creating a blog post for a WIP takes as much time for me as the WIP itself (of a part or section, at least), and since I'm on a commission build, I devote more time to building than documenting the build, oftentimes skipping a few non-essential parts of the progress since I sometimes work on transforming a simple piece or pieces of WHIPS on "cruise-control," forgetting to take pictures until I realized I should have.
As I take a break from the Hellraiser build, I also took time to "reflect" on what I've done so far project-wise (like I mentioned in my previous post, I'm actually way ahead into the build and have only managed to post the "story-based" WIPs just recently), and address the hobby-related "issues" I have been ignoring for obvious reasons. This is going to be a long and convoluted post, if the intro alone wasn't an indication. I implore you to turn away now, if you don't like word-heavy posts, or read on, if you want to hear a few great stories.
The Definition of the Word "Hobby"
From Dictionary.com
hob·by [hob-ee] noun, plural hob·bies.
1. an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation: Her hobbies include stamp-collecting and woodcarving.
2. a child's hobbyhorse.
3. Archaic. a small horse.
Idioms
4. ride a hobby, to concern oneself excessively with a favorite notion or activity. Also, ride a hobbyhorse.
Origin:
1325–75; Middle English hoby ( n ), probably for Robin, or Robert (cf. hob2 ), used as horse's name, as in dobbin
1325–75; Middle English hoby ( n ), probably for Robin, or Robert (cf. hob2 ), used as horse's name, as in dobbin
Also defined as: pleasurable pastime
Synonyms: amusement, art, avocation, bag*, craft, craze, distraction, diversion, divertissement, fad*, fancy, favorite occupation, fun, game, interest, kick*, labor of love, leisure activity, leisure pursuit, obsession, occupation, pet topic, play, quest, relaxation, schtick, shot, sideline, specialty, sport, thing*, vagary, weakness, whim, whimsy
Antonyms: profession, vocation, work
----
So, just by definition alone, any pleasurable activity one does to "pass the time" (hence, pastime) is a hobby. Birdwatching is a hobby. Collecting stamps is a hobby. COLLECTING ANYTHING is a hobby. I have been a collector (and destroyer) of Gundam kits ever since Gundam Wing started showing locally about couple of decades ago. I have always been fascinated with giant robots, as such I have been drawing Voltes V and Mazinger Z in my teens (even after Marcos and his cohorts found those series too revolutionary and had them taken off the air). I bought a 1/144 HG Gundam Wing, my very first Gundam kit (they weren't called "gunpla" back then, but more on that later), and collected all of the protagonist suits. I didn't like the Tall Geese back then, as well as other grunt and antagonists units up until much later until the MG Sinanju was released.
But I digress, I had those five units (Wing, Deathscythe, Heavy Arms, Sandrock, Shenlong), and I was a happy camper. I was a COLLECTOR. A HOBBYIST. It was an upgrade from my hobby of doodling robots to actually owning them buggers. I assembled them as soon as I got them, foil stickers and all, and even posing them like they were in the cartoon. Back then, they were the most amazing things I have ever spent my money on.
Then, like in the bible, there was a flood, and I lost all of them to it (aside from the Heavy Arms, which was later destroyed by one of my daughters). I vowed never to buy any kit from then on. It was a vow I will twice make, and will twice break.
When I left my hometown of Malabon about a decade ago to live somewhere else, I saw a couple of built 1/100 kits, Wing and a Deathscythe, being sold on consignment at a "Sari-Sari" store at the 2nd floor of building where I live. I immediately contacted the owner. I wanted both kits, but reluctantly turned down the Wing because it was missing a Vfin (If I only knew back then what I have become now). At basically the same time, there was a 1/100 Wing sale (but no Wing) at Landmark, and I got a couple of kits there, I believe. Those kits were destroyed by the same daughter a year after. As such, I vowed never to buy a kit again, built or otherwise.
Then in 2007, I was working as a Team Leader of designers somewhere at Ortigas. It was that time that a designer gave me "copies" of a new Gundam Series called 00. That time, I broke my vow a second time. Though the immersion wasn't immediate, I found myself purchasing a 1/100 NG Exia at GTO when they were still at Goldcrest/Glorietta. It was also then when most everyone I encountered at GTO were talking about painting their kits and joining the BAKUC, and when asked, I simply said I just collect them." It was also then that someone asked me what units I collect, and that time, I collected protagonist units and Gundams that had a mean look as well as anything that has "wings," except the Wing Zero Custom. Never did it cross my mind to cut my kits anywhere except to free them from the runners so I can "build" them, until the day I encountered Erix93's Exia.
Never say Never.
True enough, my first attempt at major modifications was a bust, destroying an NG 00 in the process. But it marked a step in my hobby "evolution" from a simple collector, to a modeler. At this point, I started buying the basic tools I needed, searching the internet for references and joining forums for research. I've discovered that this hobby is not cheap, as such, I also searched for alternative tools and materials as I dove deeper, from modifications to scratch-building. The latter part was inevitable, at least for me, since the hobby allowed me to rediscover the reason why I like taking things apart to begin with.
So, from a failed first mod, to painting, to a full mod, to a failed attempt at scratch-building, and several unfinished builds later on, I've gone from a "collector who doesn't really care for anything else" to a "modeler who can probably build anything given the right tools" in a span of three years since I held a knife and accidentally cut myself deep while clearing a piece of nub from its root. I believe that was at that moment, seeing a gush of red, that I've established what I was going to do with kits in the years to come, and instead of shying away and making another vow of contempt, the blood actually made me realize my foolishness. I was NEVER going to be able to rid myself of the hobby especially now that blood has been spilled.
More Than Just a Hobby.
Just a few days ago, I encountered (or was rather brought into) a discussion regarding our collective plastic "hobby." Apparently, some believe merely collecting them buggers isn't a hobby. Yes, forget the definition I've dropped. I'm a collector, but not a hobbyist. A hobbyist (according to someone who probably don't know how to use a dictionary to define words) is someone who goes beyond collecting. Lucky me, then, that I've actually gone farther beyond collecting in a short span of time than most have in years, being able to build things now basically from scratch. So, you guys out there simply collect, say, Transformers toys, or SOC Voltes V, Daimos and Mazinger Zs, and Iron Man figures, what you're doing is not a hobby, it's just collecting, according to that person. Forget all your delusions. When you buy toys and exclusive items, you don't have a hobby. We must think of a new term for what you do, because the term "hobby" is now being owned by a virtually unknown person. I shudder to wonder what I should call Gibe Lindayag who most probably has about EVERY Gunpla kit released, rivaling perhaps our favorite online resource Dalong in quantity at least. Gibe, being the nice guy he is, has had detractors just because he has that many kits.
 |
| Lotur: Giving other collectors a reason to get a cabinet |
I seldom brag about what I do and can do. I have never found a need to, because people who follow and see my work have given me enough unsolicited praises. We all post our work to show them off, that alone for me, can be considered "bragging" to a certain extent. I'm not a competitive person either, as I have mentioned a few times over, that I won't rush a build just to be able to join a competition, or join a competition for the sake of it. Heck, I seldom finish projects at all, stopping short of painting it, mainly because I prefer modifications and scratch builds above all else. What satisfies me is being able to see a problem, think of a fix then fix it. And whereas a nicely painted kit is nice and impressive, I am more impressed when someone can turn a sheet of plastic into something I can consider more amazing.
As such, I break my silence over trivial matters such as what is actually a hobby, and bootlegs, when I simply cannot ignore them altogether. These trivial matters do pop up from time to time, especially when an overzealous "hobbier" or "hobbiest" comes out of the woodwork and declares himself all-knowing, as if the ones who came before him didn't know any better. This person will make or even force a non-issue just to be noticed, all because of a hidden agenda that reveals itself later on. I also do not appreciate it when a virtual nobody suddenly comes up and declares that one needs to have won a competition in order to matter.
The Bootleg Bootcamp Bumper Boost
I've written at least twice about bootlegs since I've started this blog, and regardless of how impressed I am of some of the newer generation bootlegs, THEY ARE STILL BOOTLEGS. Go buy them, if you like, just don't justify buying them because no matter what you say, they are still bootlegs. I've seen and heard people saying "no brand distinction." Sure, but, since I am in advertising and songwriting, I know a little bit about trademarks and copyright. First, a brand is something that has been officially registered as a "product," and attached to it, a brand NAME and a TRADEmark. These are registered in a country's trade regulatory agency. Locally, we have the Department of Trade and Industry and Intellectual Property Office for those needs.
No brand distinction. Let's go with that. Bandai is a brand. Kotobukiya is a brand. Hasegawa, et al, is a brand. Sure, I don't have a "brand distinction" because those brands carry different product lines. But, what if, hypothetically, Kotobukiya suddenly licensed Sunrise to produce a Gundam line, and the line turned out to be better (or worse) and cheaper (or more expensive) than the Bandai line. What would happen to your choices then? You will now have to choose between a product line of the same trademarked "Gundam" from two different brand manufacturers. You now have brand distinction of the same product line (same being both produce Gundams).
But, when you purchase a bootleg, you are not buying a "brand." That's why it's called a BOOTLEG. If you can't grasp that concept, it's the same thing as your collective identity as a person. Your name and your face, along with your blood type, finger prints and DNA is your collective identity. Even the way your write, speak, and move can be used to identify you (online, I can sometimes "detect" the same person using different names by checking how they write). But, what if someone decided to use your name and impersonated you, and did nasty things under your identity? Sure, he could use your name, and even disguise himself to look like you, but that person still won't be you. He is a bootleg of you. But Identity theft is real, you will have to prove in a court of law (or at least a precinct) that you have been a victim of identity theft, and the cross dressing "gangnam" dancer they caught on camera wasn't you.
Also, you can't say "No Brand Distinction" then later on diss the people who prefer only branded kits. One must NOT make a blanket statement, then later on exclude oneself of it.
"Gunpla" stands for "Gundam Plastic" and is a registered trademark along with "Gundam." The long and short of it, even if you turn a bootleg in to a "masterpiece," (as I have claimed once way back because a jackass declared he's the best Gunpla "painter" and he uses and airbrush to do it) it's still not technically gunpla. You've wasted your skills on a piece of cheap plastic. People will appreciate it for the skills involved in it, but, unless you're the cheapskate "anonymous" person who commented on an earlier post of mine, you won't dare enter that into an official competition. Back then, sure, you only need an official Bandai box, to enter, but now that a receipt is required, you might as well have bought that Bandai kit.
A while back, Voltaire and I went to Divisoria to buy Bosny Cans on the cheap. Along our way, we visited a few shops selling bootlegs. We went to and from one of the shops where I eyed a MGD DeathScythe Hell and told Voltaire I'd get it if the price went down from 600 to 500 PhP. On our last return, the Korean shopkeeper finally said "400," but, before parting with my hard-earned cash, I first inspected the kit.
Voltaire saw my face turned sour, as I visually assessed the kit, in comparison to how I know the Bandai MG DSH while I was building it. "No way am I paying even 400 for that piece crap, I'd rather buy 6 more cans of Bosny, and a bunch of incense instead," I muttered while we were walking away. I'm pretty sure the shopkeeper and the saleslady were disgusted with what I did since they took notice of me the second time we went back there.
Exclusives for the Exclusive
The hobby is expensive. If you got the gist of my Divisoria tale, you'll see how I value MY money. I just value it differently than some people do. Whereas some find value in bootlegs because they're cheap, I find value in quality. We get what we pay for. In line with the bootleg issue is why Bandai likes to milk a line with recolors and exclusives. Let me clarify once and for all, I don't appreciate Bandai's recolor schemes and exclusives. I for one am not too fond of titanium, extra finish and plated kits. Since I bash and cut them to kingdom come, I'd like them plain as they are.
But, that is where my disgust ends and my being a collector begins. I for one have refused an MG Destiny recolor in favor of an MG DSH, but that decision was made due to the fact that I didn't like the Destiny to begin with, and I needed an MG DSH as reference for the Hellraiser. So, you can pretty much see how I add kits to my collection. I once resisted getting HG 1/144s, but, some of the great-looking kits, like the Gabtheley, K'trya, Athene, Gaplant, Bawoo, Hazel Advanced (I and II), et al, only come in that scale, so I got those as well. I'm not into exclusives because I know Bandai will at one point in the future re-release them, like what they did with the Unicorn Head base (supposedly exclusive/limited with the Dengeki magazine) which later on was included with the HGUC Unicorn, and now the Sinanju Bazooka (with the novel) which will now come with a non vKa MG Sinanju. With these, we feel Bandai is ripping us off. But, it's a business after all. As a "businessman" myself I can understand that part of the trade. It's blatant at times, but, we will all get one sooner or later. (I'm actually getting an RG Zeta Karaba, just because it's so freaking kewl, and getting a regular RG Zeta and turning it into a Karaba will just cost the same, but hey, since I'm a stickler for stressing a point, I might just do that for the heck it).
It all boils down to one's purchasing power. Someone said he is just being "practical" buying bootlegs, but proceeds to bash other collectors who CAN buy the more expensive stuff. Being practical is not preferring a cheaper item over an expensive one, where the cheaper one is a bootleg. Being practical is cancelling/delaying a purchase because an expense of necessity and priority comes up. This is a hobby. It's expensive to begin with. No amount of "being practical" will make it practical because it's an expense of want. But hey, we all need hobbies. We all need an activity that calms our nerves (even if this one stresses a lot of people because they can't handle the negative comments on their projects), and as much as we don't want to spend top dollar, we often find ourselves doing so because that is the nature of the hobby.
In Retrospect
I looked up the definition of the word, just to be sure I was using it correctly. This post marks my third year into the "hobby" since merely collecting isn't a real hobby. Of course, I'm being sarcastic when I said that. Back in high school, we had a discussion with our Social Studies teacher as to why going to market can be considered an art. I remember it well, because I had the most acceptable answer.
"Because of the way we do it." Art is not exclusive to the artist after all, as such, someone working as a baker can still be regarded as an artist getting paid doing what he loves to do. That's why some people are happy doing what some of us consider "menial" or "mediocre." And though in my eyes, a simple red dot in the middle of a field of white is more a flag of Japan than art, who am I to tell someone else it isn't?
It took me no less than 5 hours composing this post, inclusive of the lunch I have to prepare and eat, the bathroom breaks, the moments I had to open the door for someone and feed Birdie and clean Birdie's cage. I'm pretty sure I have grammatical errors and misspelled words, so I'll just correct them over time. But I took time composing, more thinking about how to say what I needed to say, in the same light as I do take a lot of time thinking of a modification than actually doing that modification. This is a scheduled break. I have finished most of the major modifications needed for the Hellraiser, and I'm simply prepping myself for the Hellraiser's coup de grace.
The fact remains, though, If you find buying Gundam kits too expensive, it is. Until you can afford to buy them (like having a nice-paying job), get another hobby that doesn't require too much money, like origami, cross-stitching or knitting, Instead of envying those who can buy them.
I know how to knit after all.
