Gunpla is a discipline of its own. Nothing gets glued: everything snaps together. The instructions are in Japanese, but they’re so clear you don’t need to read them. And there are lots of parts. Loads. The Full Armor Unicorn, on top of that, has the flaw of being a normal Gundam with a second Gundam made of armour, shields and thrusters bolted on.
September: the box
September 2016. You open the box and count the sprues. Then you stop counting, because it’s pointless anyway: every one of them will have to be cut free, one by one.
November: the robot takes shape
You start from the inner frame and work up. Torso, shoulders, arms. The hands are articulated finger by finger, and assembling them is an exercise in patience and eyesight you start to notice at a certain age.
On 20 November the Gundam stands on its own. It’s the base version, without armour: white, clean, with the green peeking out between the panels.
December: the armour
Then comes the part that gives the kit its name. Shields, extra armour, weapons, and the big tank-thrusters that mount on the back. With every part the robot gets bulkier, and the joints work a bit harder.
Finished
12 December 2016: three months after opening the box, the Unicorn is complete. Fully armed, fully assembled, and without a single part left over. Which, with Gunpla, is almost a miracle, or a sign that something is still in the bag.
