I'm glad I didn't give up. The day the Nightingale finally came into my hands.
I couldn't buy it on the release date. I couldn't buy it during the restock either. I kept losing the lotteries. The reason I didn't give up, even so, was because the Nightingale was not just a mobile suit I "liked," but one I was "fated to love."
■ The encounter began with a single piece of cover art
Everything started with the cover art for the novel "Beltorchika's Children." That silhouette—the crimson armor enveloping the entire body, the strangely heavy sense of gravity, and its presence as the "arch-nemesis of the Nu Gundam." I still vividly remember the feeling of being glued to it the moment I opened the page.
While the Sazabi appears in the theatrical version of "Char's Counterattack," it is the Nightingale that Char Aznable pilots in the novel version. More massive, more sinister, and more aristocratic. I'm sure many Gundam fans felt that "this is the true machine for Char."
The Robot Spirits and Reborn-Hundred lines are wonderful. But I wanted this HG. I believe that kind of dedication is the essence of Gunpla.
■ The reality of searching for years
It has been a long time since the issue of Gunpla scalping became serious. Popular kits sell out on their release date, and restocks and lotteries end in the blink of an eye. The era where you could "buy any kit you wanted at any time" is long gone.
That is precisely why the relationship with a familiar hobby shop shines. When a clerk who recognizes your face tells you, "Oh, we have one in stock," that route is a pure "human connection" that involves no algorithms or lottery bots. In an era where scalpers run rampant, there is a special meaning to obtaining a kit through this kind of encounter.
■ When I picked it up, I was speechless at the size of the box
I have preconceived notions about the HG grade. "Affordable size," "compact"—that's the image. However, the moment I lifted the Nightingale's box, I gasped at its weight and surface area.
The box size is almost the same as the HG Allus Earthree I bought the other day. Of course, the price and number of parts are completely different, but the gap of "this scale despite being an HG" was, first and foremost, the best experience. The Nightingale's setting height is about 26 meters. The significance of a giant that surpasses even the Nu Gundam and Sazabi existing as an HG at an affordable price—this is true romance.
■ The Gunpla life never ends
Getting the Nightingale doesn't mean I've "completed my favorite MS collection." That is the terrifying and wonderful thing about Gunpla.
The Nightingale isn't the only MS I like. There are the legendary machines of the Universal Century, and I'm also curious about the suits from SEED and Wing. Every time a new Gundam is announced, a new "favorite" is born, and the list is updated each time. Even though I have a backlog of unbuilt kits, I want the next one—this infinite loop is the true nature of the bottomless swamp that is the Gunpla culture.
But that's okay. Because the one box I finally got after searching for years makes me this happy. I realized once again this time that before Gunpla is a "hobby of displaying finished products," it is a hobby that includes the experience of "searching, encountering, and building."
There is no guarantee you will encounter the kit you want. That is precisely why the joy when you do find it is exceptional. There is no finish line in the Gunpla life.
Now then, what shall I build next—no, what shall I go searching for next?
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