Model Kit: 1/24 Tachikoma

From: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Time to build: 24 hours

Difficulty: medium (many small parts, complex assembly)

The Story
I ordered this kit as soon as it was released in Japan. I love the Stand Alone Complex show, and the Tachikoma, a group of A.I. tanks that babble like Japanese schoolgirls, are by far my favourite characters. And although this model is quite small when finished (only about 4 inches tall) it is very accurate and poseable.

It is also composed of something like A MILLION pieces. Even though the instructions are only a few pages, I spent a lot of time studying them closely to insure I was building and painting in the right order. This was also the first model kit I’ve built “properly”, in that I sealed and painted everything and gave it a final protective coating (gloss and matte, depending on the piece). This added most of the time to the process, but the result is more than worth it. My only regret is that I didn’t use putty to smooth out the stubborn seams, but that is the lesson learned on this one.

This model is now my favourite toy. But it is more than a toy, of course. The many hours of work and the loving attention to detail mean that I have imbued this piece of plastic with a bit of my soul, and it stands out from the rest of my collection. If only it talked in a high-pitched female Japanese voice…

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