GBWC 2016: Interview #17
Thank you again and again to all the participants in the GBWC. We get more and more amazed with every entry and it was a definite honor to have a deeper look with the winner of Best in Show at NYCC, Tim Harkins! His entry “MSZ-006C1 (BST) Zeta Plus C1 "Hummingbird" was a real showstopper! Let’s take a look!
How did you first get into Gunpla? How long have you been building?
Like many American modelers, I was introduced to Gunpla by watching Gundam Wing on Cartoon Network back in 2000. I was randomly channel surfing and came upon this amazing animated robot fight and the rest, as they say, is history.
What was the inspiration for your entry? Could you tell us about your concept?
The main inspiration was the amazing mech designer Hajime Katoki’s original Hummingbird artwork. I’m a huge Katoki fan-boy and the Zeta+ and Hummingbird variant have always been my favorites. The concept for my rendition was to have a more refined version of the Hummingbird that could take a little more damage if need be. The original Hummingbird is a bit light on armor, especially around the shoulders and legs, so my version has more protection in those areas. In the canon story, the Hummingbird was originally an escort unit for the Deepstriker, but after that plan was scrapped, so was the Hummingbird. In my little backstory, the development for the Hummingbird continued in secret and it went on to be used as a fast-attack unit, cleaning up the remnants of Zeon/Neo-Zeon and the New Decides.
Is there a style or theme or signature type of build that defines you? What is it?
I’m a very technical builder. I like angles and rigidity, and I try to think about practicality when I build. I imagine what the unit would be like in real life and build around that. Again the work of Hajime Katoki is a huge inspiration here. His original book Gundam Fix, where he creates artwork of Gundam units in a more “real world” style was a massive influence in how I develop my own style.
What was the build process like? Did you use any unconventional materials or techniques?
This build took around 4 years of trial and error. There were a lot of technical hurdles I had to tackle that made this build a complex one. The final products has been built and re-built a few times over to get everything to fit just right. I wanted the Hummingbird to showcase all of my skill sets, so there’s a lot of scratch building. The base, which I’m particularly proud of, is 100% scratch built from Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF), plastic sheet, and detail parts. I also incorporated several resin cast pieces that I first scratch built, then molded and casted to create multiple copies. I used vacuforming to create the armor overlays on the back skirt as well.
What part of building (in general) do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy building itself. Before the sanding and painting and all, I enjoy working with the plastic to create new shapes or customize something in a way that nobody else has done it. It’s similar to sculpting in a way. You make the plastic bend and conform to your will to create something amazing.
What’s your favorite Gundam series? Favorite mobile suit?
To choose one Gundam series is really difficult. I’d say it’s a tossup between 8th MS Team, Char’s Counterattack, and Gundam Unicorn, but if that included side stories and manga, I’d have to say Gundam Sentinel hands down. My favorite mobile suit is an easy one; it’s the Zeta+ C1 variant.
Anything else you’d like to say? Any interesting facts?
I’d like to thank Bandai and Bluefin for allowing me to compete and I’m humbled by being selected as Best of Show at NYCC. Over the course of my 15+ years in this hobby, I’ve had the privilege of meeting and interacting with some truly amazing people. Some live pretty close to me, others live across the country, while others live on the other side of the world. None of those interactions would have been possible without Gunpla. Gunpla, to me, is much more than a hobby. It’s a passion to create something amazing out of a bunch of plastic pieces. It’s about creating art and I’m truly grateful to all of those who made this possible.
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