My name is Darren - I'm a NY-based gunpla enthusiast who began building in 2018. This blog represents my ups and downs over the years as I've learned the art of gunpla and become enthralled with the Gundam franchise.
I grew up in northeastern NJ and was always into comics and animation. Around the age of ten, a friend introduced me to these incredible little toys called "Gundams," which you first had to assemble before playing with. I had no idea what a Gundam was, but instantly fell in love with their unique designs and chunky proportions (I later learned that these were all specifically SD Gundams). I had never seen anything like them, and they quickly became my favorite toys. It was always a special treat when a relative would take me to Yaohan, the Japanese mega-mart in Edgewater, NJ (later Mitsuwa), to buy a new Gundam.
Fast-forward twenty five years - in that time I grew up, graduated school, worked countless service industry jobs, attained both a BFA and MFA, moved to New York City, got married, and began a career at Marvel Entertainment, where I've worked since 2007.
One day, while cleaning out some old things from the depths of my parents' attic, I came across my old SD Gundam toys, which instantly brought back all those nostalgic childhood memories. Most were in a state of heavy disrepair, but I cleaned up and salvaged what I could and brought them back to NYC with me to display in my home office alongside my other collectibles. I wondered what Gundam kits had been released since then, and thought maybe I would add one or two newer figures to my old collection. One web search later and I had discovered gunpla.
Being an anime fan, I was long-since familiar with the overall Gundam franchise, but was totally unaware of the gunpla hobby. I was blown away by the sheer scale - the more I looked, the more it piqued my interest, until I decided to purchase a few kits and supplies to try my hand at it. I wanted them to be SD kits, as those were the versions I felt attached to from my childhood. My first kit was the SD EX-Standard Deathscythe Hell EW, which I fully painted. It was an absolute nightmare! Everything that could possibly go wrong did. The poor kit spent numerous months sitting on the shelf when I felt discouraged and didn't know what I was doing wrong. Ultimately, after a lot of trial and error (including re-buying the kit four times), I managed to finish. I had finally gotten the basic hang of the hobby, and felt excited and confident enough to move on to another model.
Since then, I've worked at a much more steady pace. My skills have improved a lot, but I still have a ton to learn. Here you can see the chronicles of my progress since my very first kit up to the present day, with more to come as I keep working on this amazing hobby. I've also become a big fan of the overall Gundam franchise, and post reviews of the various anime installments in addition to my gunpla kits.
Thanks for visiting, and I hope you enjoy!