Ramblings Of A Fangirl: My first garage kit – Ivan Karelin

Character: Ivan Karelin

Series: Tiger & Bunny

Manufacturer: Gate River

Scale: 1/8

Material: Resin

Release Date: February 2012

Ivan Karelin is one of my absolute favourite Tiger & Bunny characters, so naturally I went off on a search for cool Origami Cyclone goodies. If you have been following our blog, you’ll know I have found some fun little trinkets. If you are a new reader let me tell you, Tiger & Bunny has some great merchandise. I came across this garage kit in Myfigurecollection.net. I had to have it!

The problem being, he was a Wonderfest exclusive. As if living thousands of miles from Wonderfest wasn’t enough of a downer, he was sold at Winter Wonderfest. Ouch. At this point it was May. It seemed hopeless. No one else in Myfigurecollection had him filed in their collection so I couldn’t even ask for help.

That was when the idea hit me. TokyoHunter was a website I had discovered awhile ago. As their name implies, you pay a fee, send them on a hunt, and with a bit of luck, acquire your item. So near the beginning of June I sent a request. After a month I still hadn’t heard anything. It seemed my chances at this kit were bleak indeed. Then just a few days before Summer Wonderfest I got a hit. He would be sold again at this event. I couldn’t believe my luck. So now two months after the initial request, I hold his small box in my hands.

I have never assembled a garage kit. It is something I would love to try, but I don’t feel this is the right one to start with. I would be devastated if I messed him up, so I went to the best people I know of for garage kit building. They sent me back the info I needed to get him going.

So now here I am super excited over the unpainted pieces of Ivan. Weird I know. I thought before I sent him off I would take a few pictures, showing what was included, and ramble a bit about my experience. I don’t know how familiar you are with garage kits, but as I said this is my first. That may be why I am so excited, or it could be because he looks so darn cool.

I knew these kits were pretty raw, but I couldn’t believe just how much sanding there is to do. It looks like so much more work than I had initially thought. I had always imagined a bit of fine tuning to the pieces, then a detailed paint job, and voila a completed figure. I know it’s silly. I have been painting pewter miniatures for years, but that didn’t even come close to preparing me for this. Major kudos to people who make these into the forms of art they become.

What this did do was spurn me on to look at more garage kits. The hunt had begun for something that I felt comfortable working on myself. Something that was not, my exclusive Tiger & Bunny figure. Hopefully in the near future you will be seeing some posts about my adventures in gk building.

When Ivan is returned to me, I will give a detailed review on the gk itself, and the completed figure. It should be fairly interesting, as this is an entirely new experience for Somewhere In The Midst. Don’t tell anybody, but there should be a model kit or two in the works as well. I do appreciate you sticking around, and reading my ramblings. It has been fun. see you next time.