Blog Auto-sage

Hi, Josh here. It’s been a while, I know. My hiatus could be mostly attributed to a combination of finishing my studying period abroad, moving back to my country, looking for a job, and working. However, during this time some things remain the same; some have change. It is curious how life is full of paradigms; and, as you grow, some things start to change, you start liking some things, and you start disliking some other things, etc., etc.

One of my greatest paradigms for many years was: “If it’s not for build, no deal”, or something like that. As a modeler, maybe one of the worst things that you could have suggested to me was to buy something already built. It is kind of logical at first, going in life looking forward to the next project to complete and what not. However, two things: It is OK to feel good about your work, but it’s not like you can’t admire and enjoy other people’s work as they might also enjoy yours; and, let’s face it, modelers will usually tend to accumulate more than they can build. So, at least if you’re going to build piles of stuff, let them be at least some piles of things you might enjoy even though you didn't build them. And with this I’m referring to the thrilling and expensive world of figure and toy collecting (a.k.a. the rabbit hole).

Just exactly what is the reason why we do things like this? Burn hundreds of dollars in merchandise that goes from PVC statues to articulated figures and everything in between or remotely related to them. Well, to me it might be a combination of “guilt” and a genuine feeling of motivation every time I see someone blocking-out the next material representation of a character. Someone said once: “maybe art is just anything which produces an emotional attachment to the person that perceives it”; making art a very personal experience. So, to me, it might be all about the art; the way to make that amalgam of experiences, feelings, paradigms and archetypes we call a character have, well, character within the limits of material substance. That’s just philosophy by the way, you can go as deep as you like, or just say “whatever…”

Anyway, back into the expensive hobby. I have been collecting lots of different kinds of figures, form lots of different series, and lots of different characters. In the meantime, I developed a love for the tokusatsu genre (more on that later to come), and basically my circle of interest remains strong towards Japanese popular media. There’s really something about Japan I will always like, so that might be another topic to discuss later on.

Sometime in the near future I’ll try to resume my work as a modeler. It’s been a while, but I’m too getting way to overboard with the rabbit holes I have fell upon, so I’m expecting to do as the world economy and start proposing a budget cut and austerity plans for next year; reducing the size in the hole of my bank account, as well as trying to fill that void with trying to build things on my own, and also writing this blog.

I’m also looking forward for some comments from the people reading this and share some ideas and experiences. Until the next post then, stay tuned.