The Best $10 I've Ever Spent At Epcot

If you know Disney's Epcot then you're probably familiar with Mitsukoshi, the Japan pavilion's famous mega-store. It has everything from anime toys to Japanese candies, and is THE shopping destination of the World Showcase.

Anyway, last time I was there I stumbled across this:

 

And while I know nothing about Gundam, much less Gundam models, this was friggin' adorable and ONLY COST $9.99, so heck yeah it came home with me.

Very little of the box was in English, so I had no idea what to expect inside, or if I'd need glue or paint or special tools. Worst case, I figured it was a $10 gamble.

Inside: four sheets of snap-out plastic pieces, and a sheet of tiny stickers. 

And as it turns out, that's all you need. (Yay!)

The pieces twist out easily from their plastic frames, and then snap together, no glue needed. 

And what really blew my mind? There are plastic ball bearing joints, so the Gundam is completely articulated! You can twist and pose his feet, legs, arms, hands, waist, and head.

Snapping the plastic pieces together is easy, so the only part that requires actual skill are the teensy tiny stickers:

Some were so small - and fit into such tiny nooks and crannies - that I had to smooth them with a toothpick. The metallic blue ones look amaaazing, the solid white ones, not so much. (If I do another, I might leave the white off.)

The kit instructions are an Ikea-like map of numbered illustrations, so nothing a good squinting-and-staring won't (eventually) decipher.

 

Since I love jigsaw puzzles and those tiny Metal Earth models, this little Gundam kit hit all the right buttons for me. I put it together in two sittings of maybe an hour each, so this is easily a one-night build.

Ready to see the finished product?

Ta-daaa!

(ERMERGERSH HE'S SO CUTE)

 I figured there was no way the figure would look as nice as the box art, so color me pleasantly surprised:

Size reference:

 I have wee Hobbit hands, so this guy's pretty small!

 He's holding a removable flame missile, btw; there is a second hand under there.

More glamour shots:

Best of all for those of you who can't pop over to Epcot anytime soon, I found the same kit on Amazon! In fact, it's a little LESS than $10 over there, and has Prime shipping, so now I'm off to see if they sell any more styles.

Any of you like models kits and/or puzzles? I find them soothing, though I'll admit to a little cursing over the more complex Metal Earth kits. Anyway, I'd love to try more new stuff, so lemme know what you'd recommend in the comments!