My Recent Acquisitions - 1/100 Garbaldy

I've been a big fan of Kallamity's work for a while now, but his models have always been far out of my reach. Whether it was the limited availability or the high prices of the models, there was always a reason I couldn't get hold of one. I was browsing the website longingly, as I have a habit of doing, and I noticed that he only had 12 of the 2nd Run 1/100 Garbaldy's left. I originally wanted a Briegel as most people do, but the more I looked at it the more the Garbaldy grew on me. I didn't have the money at the time, so I emailed Luca to ask if he'd accept a deposit to secure one of the remaining models - it actually turns out he had 8 left, not 12, and he hadn't been able to update the website.

After exchanging a few emails with him and explaining how much of a fan I was (those of you who have seen my Sazabi can probably tell how heavily influenced by Luca it is), I found out just how kind Luca really was. He was very busy as I imagine he would be but he still found the time to email me to try and arrange putting a kit aside. In the end he decided the easiest thing was to hold one on trust, which I was very grateful for, and I was determined to hold my end of the bargain when the time came.

So here it is - number 40 of 50 from the second run. I think I consider this model like a limited edition print, a piece of artwork. The limited availability and the sheer amount of love and care that has obviously gone into the creation of this kit really justifies the price for me.

The second run of this model got me excited because of all the option parts it comes with. Unlike the first edition, you can choose to have rounded shoulder pads on both arms, instead of that enormous shield, and there are lots of different options for those square shoulder markings, actually cast into the resin this time instead of as photo etched parts.

All in all this kit, though I have very limited experience with resin, seems to be cast very nicely. I have started cleaning it up and there's hardly any flash or huge seam lines, and no bubbles that I can see. The amount of detail he's worked into the parts is staggering. Again, there's a 50p with some of the parts to demonstrate how big they are. This is a very large kit! I have a practice resin kit I'll be doing before I touch this or my Zaku, but I really can't wait to get stuck in. I'm so proud to have one of these models and I'm really going to try and do it justice.