The Endless Nausicaa Model Thread

Real G: "I built a model of Nausicaa riding Kai for a friend over 25 years ago, and it returned to the shop for a bit of repairs."

I built Kai and Nausicaa for my brother and gave it to him for Christmas last year. He is a Ghibli fanboy, and had been out to the Ghibli museum in Tokyo when we were out there in early 2020. He bought me the Flappter model from Laputa, to add to the Pirate's skyship and Porco Rosso models as yet unbuilt.

This is also the Tsukuda kit, I picked it up at Leonardo's second hand model shop in Akihabara. There was a lot of clean up to do and I added some milliput feathers to blend in some obvious joins.

Lostagain, we seem to cover similar ground!  I have visited Leonardo in Akihabara as well.  I didn't get to their 2nd store which is near the 1st.  They used to be on the other side of the station, where their 2nd floor had perilously narrow spaces between the shelves!  Most big guys from the US would have gotten stuck.    Nice build BTW!  I noticed you did the glint in the lenses for Nausicaa and Kai!    The friend I gave my spare kit to has started building his, so I'd better get cracking too!

Mongoose, yeah you have to be careful about stuff like Miyazaki and anime.  Like I warned Tanker Builder it is a slippery slope - so easy to fall in!  Back in the late 1980s Japanese anime was rather unknown in the US, but it seems to be (sort of) mainstream now.  That is a good thing, as they have hundreds of gems for every taste.  Personally I like the "hardware anime" like the original timeline Gundam and Macross.

Real G, I have been to Tokyo a number of times as we head over to go skiing in Japan (more reliable than Australia) Every visit I go to Leonardo LG1&2, Leonardo EG and a few others in Akihabara. The family know I need a good half day in Akihabara to myself to keep me happy!

Lostagain,

Oh wow, now there's three Leonardos in Akihabara?  I only knew of LG1 and LG2.  So what's the deal with EG?  Do they sell different stuff?

The last time I was in Tokyo (2016), I spent half a day in Akihabara, completely unsupervised and unhindered.  As I stood outside the train station, I took in a deep breath, looked around, and felt the thrill of a model shopping spree.

And then I got tired.    I actually skipped a bunch of my regular stops because my feet hurt, I had a headache, and I just didn't feel it any more.  And no, my arms were not full of model kits, like the time I went to Namba with a bunch of friends.  Two of them had to help me carry my stuff back to the hotel!  I think I only bought two medium sized kits and a few accessories.  It's an age thing I guess.  Plus there was nobody around me telling me I had to buy this or that.

I think the original Leonardo closed down from the 3 storey place (I got there once, 2011?) Then they split into LG and EG close by.

It can be tiring in Akihabara, there is a bit of sensory overload, especially at night.

I need to go back as there is an eel restaurant just round the corner I want to go to.

I haven't got to Namba yet, next time...

Lostagain,

Namba is in Osaka, on the south side of the JR loop.  It's just like Akihabara, "Otaku Paradise" as it was described to me by a resident.

I usually shop in Japan in the daytime, because when it gets dark I have this instinct to head to a family restaurant, then go back to the hotel for a relaxing bath and to gloat over the day's purchases while watching wacky Japanese game shows.

I only went out a couple of times at night - Kabukicho is not a place to be if you don't know what you are doing. But we did play Battletech one night and it was realy fun.  The advertisement proclaimed "More fun than riding a cow!"  The mechs kinda steered like them.

Last week I went to see Nausicaa at a local theater that is screening Miyazaki films.  It was the first time I saw it in the theater.  Although the animation looked a little dated (it came out in 1984) I enjoyed it immensely.

Seeing it on the big screen allowed me a better look at the aircraft too, so it gave me a boost of modeling incentive.  Okay so the Pejite Brig has no overhead windows above the cockpit, and the side cargo door rolls open towards the front and slides inside the fuselage, with the actuating crank at the rear...