Text, video/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Huang Shitu/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Huang Shi (except for signature) Has your circle of friends been flooded with giant Gundams recently? From now until July 17, Guangzhou’s first Gundam Mobile Exhibition is

text, video/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Huang Shi

pictures/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Huang Shi (except signature)

Has your circle of friends been flooded by the giant Gundam recently? From now until July 17, Guangzhou’s first Gundam Mobile Exhibition is on display at Guangzhou Taikoo Hui . In addition to the dizzying array of giant Gunpla models, the exhibition area for the previous champions of the Gunpla Model World Cup (hereinafter referred to as GWBC) located on the L3 floor has also attracted a large number of Gunpla players and collectors to stop and "worship".

In recent years, as the domestic Gunpla player base has continued to expand and their level has improved significantly, the "glue" cultural atmosphere created by Gunpla production has become increasingly strong. Against this background, Gundam has evolved into a trendy toy, and more young people have entered the game. More and more Chinese players have created Gundam model works with traditional Chinese cultural elements, and have entered the world stage.

A few days ago, a reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News interviewed Zhao Zhujun, the overall champion of the GBWC 2019 World Championship, and Li Xiaolong, the GBWC 2018 China champion, and listened to the story of two passionate Gundam teenagers who persisted in their mecha dreams with love.

The first Gundam Mobile Exhibition in Guangzhou set off a craze among Gundam fans

"The classic shape in the Gundam cartoon has been reproduced in the real world. The ν Gundam, which is more than 6 meters tall, fights against Sazabi's The giant model is full of details, allowing the audience to feel the shock of the final showdown." At the first Gundam Mobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, Mr. Zhang was as excited as many Gundam fans who came to check in.

Last weekend, the reporter came to Guangzhou Taikoo Hui and saw that the mall was transformed into a Gundam exhibition hall. Giant Gundam bodies were spread on almost every floor, and classic series models were displayed simultaneously. It attracted many Gunpla enthusiasts to line up and watch. The 3-meter-tall Liberty Gundam bust unveiled in Guangzhou was the first to be exhibited in China. Before the mall closed at 10 p.m., many citizens were still queuing up to take photos with it.

In the exhibition, the two champion works that most Gundam enthusiasts will never leave are: "Dream", the winning work of the GBWC2019 World Championship, and "HOPE", the winning work of the GBWC2018 China Region. Gundam fans all know that GBWC is the only international Gunpla competition officially organized by Bandai and spanning 16 countries and regions around the world, bringing together the city's top Gunpla builders.

The work "HOPE" exhibited by GBWC2018 China Champion Li Xiaolong uses a Chinese-style body, changes the Flying Dragon Gundam into a military commander style, and adds elements of Chinese dragons and traditional red ribbons. "Integrating national trends into gunpla production and bringing it to the world stage through competitions is a manifestation of cultural confidence." said Li Xiaolong, who has participated in GBWC since 2014.

Gundam Fans: Undying Dreams in the Young Years

The cartoon "Mobile Suit Gundam ", which premiered in 1979, is still a childhood memory for many people. Many teenagers have dreamed of piloting a giant mecha to save the world and defeat evil - this is a dream that has never faded in the youthful years of Gundam fans.

"Gundam animation is of great significance to most boys. Elements such as mechas and transformations are hard for them to refuse. Making your own Gunpla model is the epitome of a young man's dream coming true." from GBWC 2019 World Competition in Foshan, Guangdong Overall champion Zhao Zhujun said that Gunpla, which was born based on Gundam animation, has gradually formed a new trend from its initial role as a part of otaku culture to its frequent appearance on various social platforms.

Nowadays, when searching with the keyword " Gunpla " on a certain lifestyle platform, more than 20,000 related notes appeared. At the same time, on the short video platform that gathers many "two-dimensional" enthusiasts, a short video about Zhao Junzhu's road to winning the championship has currently been viewed more than 180,000 times. Niche culture like Gunpla is attracting more young people.

In the past, Gunpla players were dominated by young men. In recent years, the impression that "boys only play Gunpla" has gradually been broken, and there are more and more female players.There is a group of girls around Li Xiaolong who like to make models and are obsessed with machinery, bringing fresh blood to the hard-core mechas. In Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the group of players who like to play with model figures are called "Jiao Lao". With the emergence of female Gundam players, the team of "Jiao Lao and Jiao Girls" is growing.

A good way to relieve stress in urban life

For many Gundam fans, building Gundam models is a personal hobby and also reflects an attitude towards life. For Zhao Zhujun and Li Xiaolong, who have competed in world-class model competitions, making Gundam models is like a good way to relieve the stress of urban life. In the process of communicating with many colleagues, they will find that they come from all walks of life, in order to present the best ideals in their hearts. Working hard on Gundam works is a healing process.

conducts a series of designs and assemblies on the basic Gunpla model, turning it into a unique and personal modification work, which is an advanced play method for current Gunpla players. As a gathering place for trendy toy culture, Guangzhou has large and small trendy toy shops and model shops, which provides creative soil for gunpla enthusiasts. For many Gundam fans, today's increasingly open and diverse circles also make it possible for them to create the Gundam models of their inner dreams.

As a senior "glue man" in the industry, Zhao Zhujun suggested that novice players can communicate more with the enthusiasts around them to avoid detours in the model making process. Be more hands-on and practice more; veteran players and collectors must maintain their original aspirations, discover more potential novice players around them, and jointly create a good gunpla creation environment.

Passionate Gundam Boys:

The seeds of the mecha dream bloom into the world champion

Recently, the first Gundam Model Exhibition in Guangzhou attracted many Gundam "enthusiasts" to visit the exhibition. Gundam Model World Cup 2019 World Champion Zhao Zhujun brought The award-winning work "Dream" was unveiled at the exhibition. As the first Chinese teenager to win the official Bandai world-class competition championship, Zhao Zhujun's dream-chasing journey, like his works, infected and inspired every Gunpla enthusiast present.

Zhao Zhujun is from Foshan, Guangdong. He first came into contact with Gunpla in the third grade of elementary school. He received an "hg" as a gift from his cousin that year. Gunpla made him happy for a whole summer vacation. As he grows older, Zhao Zhujun becomes more and more interested in Gundam model making, and his requirements continue to increase. Now he has a large collection, and he is getting further and further on the road to challenge the production of high-level Gunpla models.

In Zhao Zhujun’s mind, every model that has been poured into the creator’s efforts is a “good work.” His original intention of making Gunpla was to use Gunpla to restore his favorite and memorable aircraft or images.

"There is no standard for the production cycle of Gunpla. Ordinary basic works can be completed in a few hours, but good scene production, single body modification and other Gunpla production can take anywhere from a few months to several hours. Year." Zhao Zhujun said that the production of his winning work "Dream" took more than a year. It took about 3 months to prepare the materials, and the production process took another 10 months.

Zhao Zhujun's winning work "Dream" combines traditional Chinese cultural elements with gunpla. The main body is transformed with Chinese style design elements, and the surface of the robotic fish is treated with light , reaching a porcelain-like texture, and its works generally present the artistic conception of the classical Chinese "Zhuang Sheng's Dream of Butterflies".

Zhao Zhujun recalled that the biggest difficulty encountered during the production process was the dynamic performance of the robotic fish. Generally, Gunpla parts have a square geometric shape and a tough structure. After sifting through multiple models, he found suitable streamlined parts. After modifying them, he finally achieved the ideal Gunpla effect. Another difficulty is the details of the moiré lines on the body. Since there are no auxiliary tools, we can only carve them by hand one by one.While maintaining symmetry on both sides, it must also be neat and clean, which is quite a test of patience.

Talking about the impact of winning the championship on his life, Zhao Zhujun said humbly: "After winning the championship, I have become more demanding on myself in model making, because I have met many senior players in the circle, which reminds me all the time. We need to maintain an open mind to learn. The pursuit of dreams continues, and winning the championship is another new starting point. "

(For more news, please pay attention. Yangcheng Pai pai.ycwb.com)

Source | Yangcheng Evening News • Yangcheng Pai

Editor | Wang Min

Proofreading | Li Hongyu