3 Things to Include With Your Gunpla at a Competition

Nobody said competitive Gunpla building is easy. Just gathering your courage to submit your work under the unrelenting scrutiny of the judges is a major accomplishment. Gunpla 101 and contributor and competition judge Megaplamo wants your next competition experience to be a positive one. Here are his tips for ensuring your Gunpla kit can look its very best. 

Here’s a worst-case scenario that keeps me up at night.

I worked really hard on a kit for a competition. I did some kitbashing, added some lights, filled all the gaps and seams–even created my own color scheme. I then entered a local model show and… the judges didn’t really get it. They’re not sure what I did. Maybe they’re not even very familiar with Gunpla and they can’t tell the difference between my fully painted kit and the unpainted molding of the kit next to it. (This one has actually happened to me, and it hurts!)

Nobody would judge you if something like this happened to you and it made you lose your faith in model shows and competitions.

See also: How To Find And Enter Gunpla Competitions

On the other side of the coin, and at the risk of losing my status as a nerd, I’ll admit that I know next to nothing about Star Trek. As a model competition judge, I’ve often had to ask other judges to help me assess models from that series accurately and fairly. Even in the Gunpla genre there are mobile suits that I don’t know, and I’ve been a fan of the franchise for almost a quarter of a century. I also can’t really tell how much work has been put into a kit unless I have previously built that same kit myself.

Some things are pretty straightforward. It’s pretty easy to judge the quality of the build by making sure there are no seams or nubs, making sure there isn’t any orange peel or uneven paint. But the creative stuff, the stuff that gets you bonus points, the stuff that we really love in this hobby, needs to be illuminated.

See also: How to Avoid “Orange Peel” When Painting Gunpla

So what can you do?

I suggest that you include three pieces of information with your model to help judges accurately assess your work. Remember to keep it short and sweet: judges are doing a lot of work and need to move quickly. Of course, make sure to check the rules first and if you aren’t sure, ask one of the judges if it’s OK. But if you get the green light to do so, these are the three pieces of information I suggest you include to help your Gunpla kit shine its brightest.

1. Include a picture of the unpainted kit, artwork, or out-of-box build

A friend once recommended this to me and now I do it for every show if I can. You could use the instruction booklet, the box, or even a picture you took yourself during the test fitting process. This will help judges quickly see that you used shading, custom colors, modifications and how it compares to the snap built version of the kit. It will also help illustrate the difference between a painted kit and an unpainted kit. If you did a kitbash, include some pictures of the kits you used. If you are depicting a scene from the anime, include a picture of that scene.

2. Fill out the notes section or include your own notes

At the last show I participated in as a judge, we had at least five contestants leave the notes section blank. As a result we couldn’t give them any bonus points.

This is your time to shine. Let the judges know about your journey with this kit. Most judges are also builders so we love to hear about the process. List the techniques you used. Be specific about modifications (for example “I added Pla Plates to give more detail to the blank space on the chest” or” I filled both the seams on the shoulders”). Brush up on your technique vocabulary so you can let them know you used a pin wash, hand painted the eyes with enamels, or dry brushed the armor. Be sure to list all custom work or if any aftermarket garage kit parts were used. Get really into the nitty gritty. For example, describe why you chose salt chipping instead of sponge chipping. Make sure the judges realize just how hard you worked.

3. Tell a little backstory of the subject

What are we looking at? Is this a space vehicle? Is it a desert type mobile suit? (Maybe it’s a dessert type… with sprinkles instead of weathering, yum!) Whatever the case may be, this can give the judges a little background on the environment and story of your Gunpla. A bit of backstory can help them see what you were going for with the weathering or diorama. This can be really helpful if you are trying to depict a certain scene from the anime or depict your own story. Be sure to let the model do most of the talking, but mention its faction, pilot, and place in the Gundam universe. Feel free to get creative with the narrative if it is a diorama.

See also: How to Build a Mesa Diorama For Gunpla Display

Model making is a fascinating hobby because it sits somewhere between art and science. The scientific part is easy to judge, but the artistic part is far tougher especially since both builders and judges can’t know everything. By providing a little more contextual information, we can help make each competition a little better and more fun. You might not walk away as the winner of the whole competition, but you’ll know that you gave it your all, and even better, that the judges fully understood your piece. After all, at the end of the day it’s not about winning, it’s about friendship, sharing your work with other people who can appreciate it, and learning how to grow and thrive in the hobby you love.

🎶 (Insert generic shonen theme song here!) 🎶

Megaplamo has been building plastic models since 2001. When not building he plays the guitar, bikes, and travels. He lives near the Gulf Coast of Alabama where he and his wife are teaching their two cats to become productive members of society. You can follow @megaplamo on Instagram for current projects, completed projects, and Gunpla building tips.