Kueh showing how a model kit looks like before it has been assembled and painted.
Adrian displaying a few of his prized motor GP scale models which he assembled and painted by hand.
Ivan, himself an ardent fan, showing a sampling of the wide range of model kits available in Kuching.
Mecha are among the most popular scale models on display.
IT is not very often one hears of parents being supportive of their children’s desire to play with plastic robots, especially when the children are on the brink of adulthood.
However, in Kueh Siaw Khern’s case, his parents are okay with it.
The 18-year-old college student assembled his first model about five years ago when a friend introduced him to the hobby — and was hooked ever since.
With support of like-minded friends and members of the Kuching Hobbyist and Collectors Club (KHCC), his knowledge and skills grew as well as his collection.
He estimates he now has about 200 figurines and models which he keeps and displays in his bedroom — and values at about RM5,000.
“I saved my pocket money to purchase them. My parents support my hobby and see it as a good thing, as it is a much more positive activity compared to something like drugs,” he told thesundaypost at a KHCC gathering held at One TJ IT mall recently.
In fact, Kueh credits his hobby with sparking his interest in electronic and electrical engineering which led him to pursue the course after leaving secondary school.
He doesn’t have as much time for his hobby now as he used to but he still keeps tabs on the latest news and happenings as well as helps out during KHCC gatherings whenever he can.
Social connections
One of KHCC’s founding members and event coordinator Ivan Nicholas Si said normally they would try to organise gatherings at least twice a year for members to meet.
“There are many people who assemble models but most don’t get the opportunity to share their collections with others, even though they have invested a lot of hard work and efforts into their hobby.
“Organising gatherings like these allows our members to not only interact and display their collections but also exchange information and show improvements they have made.
“More experienced collectors can share their knowledge and skills while newer collectors will be able to learn from them and get help with some of the problems they may be facing,” Ivan said, adding that the club was still relatively young, having only been founded about two years ago.
Members come from as far away as Kota Samarahan and Sri Aman to participate in meet-ups in Kuching.
Common interests
It is difficult to place KHCC into a single definitive category as members’ interests and hobbies are as many as the number of members itself.
Among them are scale models, role-playing card and board games, Nerf, and remote controlled model cars. Within the scale model category itself are a wide range of sub-categories such as mecha models (like the Gundam series); scale models and figurines based on anime, video games, comic books and movies; military and naval war vehicles and carriers, and modern-era road, sea and aviation machines.
However, the club’s diversity and inclusiveness is also part of its attractions and strengths. The group provide a social meeting point and outlet for hobbyists to share their passions with other like-minded people.
“We don’t discriminate. As long as you have the interest, you are welcome,” Ivan said, explaining the sense of belonging and camaraderie that club members share through common interests.
While many of those who attended and participated in the recent gathering were male, the club also has female members who are just as passionate.
“A number of our members are working professionals who enjoy building and collecting models as a way to release stress,” he added.
Not just for kids
Based on the overall composition of the displays at the most recent gathering, the most popular hobby amongst KHCC members is scale model assembly, particularly those from the mecha genre.
Mecha is a Japanese term and abbreviation of the word mechanical, normally used to describe robots or full-body suit armors, piloted by humans, which are prevalent in Japanese anime and manga series.
In the past, people used to just assemble models and display them but nowadays, most will also paint and colour the models.
“The trend started in Taiwan and Japan before spreading to other places like Malaysia,” Ivan explained.
Compared to a decade ago, it is now much easier to pick up the hobby, thanks to the Internet and the growing availability of local retail outlets which also supply kits, tools, how-to-guides and fan magazines locally. Indeed, it is not difficult to admire the painstaking attention to detail and delicate work on many of the robots and mobile suit armours. Assembling models is pretty straightforward, but it is going the extra mile to make them just right in the pursuit of perfection is what truly defines a hobbyist.
“More often than not, they still need to do some work like filing off sharp points to get parts to fit well and sandpaper surfaces to get a smoother paint finish,” Ivan noted.
The addition of fine details such as rust marks and aging patinas with techniques like airbrushing are testament to the club members’ passion for their hobby.
Many mecha and military model collectors also go to great lengths to build detailed panaromas to house their finished models, usually in mid-action poses to impart a sense of realism to the scene. This is clearly anything but child’s play.
Thriving subculture
Ivan, who operates a model shop at One TJ IT mall, has been a keen fan and collector of Gundam as well as other types of model figures for about 30 years, so he understands first-hand the loyal dedication and deep affection that many of his customers and the club members have for their hobby. Of all the various types of mecha on display, probably the most well known are the Gunpla.
Gunpla (an amalgram of the words Gundam and plastic model) is the common name for plastic models of mobile suits, mobile armour and other robots or battleships which appear in the Mobile Suit Gundam series.
According to the Gunpla Navigations Catalogue 2013, over 400 million Gunpla models have been sold in the past 30 years since the 1:144 Gundam was released in 1980.
The models are part of a worldwide multi-media franchise spawned by the success of an animated TV series called Mobile Suit Gundam which started broadcasting in Japan in 1979.
Today, the Gundam trademark and franchise is a lucrative multi-million dollar industry.
To feed the interest in Gundam, the company which created the TV series, Sunrise Studios, has a multilingual website at gundam.info where fans from all over the world can watch the latest episodes for free, in addition to brushing up on their Gundam trivia and getting the latest updates on events, products, and services. There are also countless websites, forums and online groups where fans can immerse themselves in the subculture.
Such is the worldwide branding power of the Gundam franchise that nowadays the name is commonly used to refer to most types of mecha models, regardless of whether it hails from the franchise or not.
It has also created a market for bootleg models — usually produced in mainland Chinese factories – which has, in turn, been adopted by the mecha fan community and created additional sub-categories of the genre.
“Bootlegs are more accessible because they are cheaper. Not everyone has the budget to afford original kits from Japan,” Ivan said.
However, bootlegs can also be an opportunity for individuals to display their assembly and painting skills. In some cases, it can be a point of pride to be able to modify and paint a bootleg model to look as good as the original.
Ivan and Kueh showed thesundaypost a few examples of bootlegged models, which at first glance, appear indistinguishable from originals — thanks to excellent paintwork and fine detailing.
This is testament to the diligent research and hard work put in by the fans and members, as well as the high level of skills they have developed in pursuit of perfection.
Ivan added that some individuals also like to mix kits or kit bash, resulting in unique, creative, customised models.
He also shared that there are more local Gunplayists (individuals who assemble or own Gunpla) who are starting to compete in sanctioned competitions locally. While the numbers are still relatively low, he is confident of their skills and is supportive for more of them to take part in these competitions as well as those held overseas.
More than robots
Civil servant Adrian Chan Fook Weng who brought a few of his prized motor GP scale models to the gathering, acknowledged that he is probably in the minority amongst the model collectors in Kuching.
“People tend to gravitate mostly to Gundams and robots but there are many other branches which are just as interesting and I wanted to show that,” the 32-year-old said.
Like many newcomers to the hobby, Adrian started with assembling mecha but eventually moved to motor GP scale models as his interest in motor racing sports grew. The first model he built wasa Camel Honda 2003 edition racing motor bike.
He orders most of his model kits and supplies, such as decals from Japan, through online websites because of the difficulty in sourcing it locally and the generally higher quality of Japanese produced kits and supplies.
Adrian estimates spending “a few thousand ringgit” on his hobby but counts it as time and money well spent.
“It helps me to relax as I like to assemble the kits. It also feels very satisfying to see my models completed and put on display,” he added.
For more information on the Kuching Hobbyist and Collectors Club and their events, visit their Facebook page.