From Gunpla to Plamo

After a recent discussion on facebook with some celebrities in the local gunpla scene, and reading a fellow blogger's post that hit home all too well it almost seemed like it was written in response to a comment I made in a facebook group  - I've come to realize that there is simply no way to justify a bootleg - just as there is no way to justify a downloaded movie or series episode, a copied .mp3, or a jailbroken phone loaded with cracked apps.

More after the jump...


Now if you have absolutely none of those things, or any copyright infringing object in your house, then you can go ahead and lecture me. You must be making quite a bit of money, inherited it, or are receiving a sizable allowance from daddy and have no poor-people problems. I'm happy for you, I really am. You can afford to buy Bandai kits and share your builds with your friends who also enjoy the same luxuries. You can all make fun of us less fortunate "gundam fans" who buy bootleg kits, and get your panties in a bunch looking at our growing collection of rip-offs as we gradually improve our building skills using kits made of shitty plastic.

I buy bootlegs out of convenience. Like many Filipinos, I struggle to make ends meet. But despite my limitations, I want what I want and no one can tell me what I'm supposed to want. I like building plastic robots. I get a kick out of taking a crappy kit and turning it into something that looks nice, at least to me. I live in the Philippines, and this is the reality we face here. Our shopping centers are plagued by knock off toys, clothes, bags and DVDs. The masses patronize them in an effort to stretch their meager salaries. I hate it, but it is what it is. Of course those in the upper class are mostly clueless of how it is we middle to lower class people live, and pass off their judgement nonchalantly. Should I take up another hobby then? like knitting? Maybe. But until I find something I enjoy as much as this, I'll keep building whatever the hell I want.

the controversial DM TG3

Funny thing is, I did end up buying a few bandai kits after I got hooked with the bootlegs. After 2 years into this hobby the money I spent on those few bandai kits still trump what I've spent on the bootlegs. That's how far apart these things are priced here. I can buy 3 or more bootleg kits for the price of 1 bandai kit.

I got this bandai FAZZ for 4k

That said, I think I'll be making a few changes around here. I just read a post from Kawaguchi himself apparently, stating his disapproval of bootleg kits, and how they should not even be called gunpla, which makes sense to me. I don't really care what they're called. They could slap "Turdbot McPenis" on the box of a kit and I'd still buy it if I liked the design and it was within my budget. So, henceforth I will no longer refer to bootleg kits as "gunpla". Instead I'll refer to them as plastic models or "plamos". Yes, plamos that highly resemble gundams but aren't.

can't wait to build this plamo!

I've been into a lot of different things in the past - tamiya car racing, miniature gaming, magic the gathering - and there have always been elitists who act all high and mighty because they had seven copies of Black Lotus and whatnot, laughing at the kids playing with proxies. Never gave a rats ass about them, never got discouraged, and I never will. I did my thing and had fun. In fact every time I felt like I was looked down upon it made me want to up my game even more. So yeah, that means I'll be taking my building a bit more seriously now - not to prove anything to anyone, but to see how much I can improve in this hobby before I move on to the next. I don't mind being noticed myself, but anyone with the audacity to think they have worshipers must be experiencing some sort of god complex.

Lastly, if you're going to judge the guys who buy knock offs, make sure you don't have anything copied in a similar fashion, so you don't end up looking like a hypocrite. I sold a bandai kit once to a guy who kept asking if it was authentic because he hated bootlegs. I couldn't help but notice the strange looking crocodile that was peeling off of his polo shirt.

Until the next WIP, keep building gunp...I mean, plamo! Cheers!