Wednesday 25 May 2016

[ Mystery Gouf ]

The latest weekly E.F.F. security bulletin featured among other items this recent reconnaissance photo from the Caspian Sea. Battalion Command believes it to be a new type of advanced mobile suit. Further scouting missions into the area have resulted in no additional data and Battalion Command have tasked us to identify the new unit. Perhaps you, dear reader, can assist in this endeavour?



This tiny Gouf figure stands only two centimeters tall which places it somewhere in the 1:930 scale range and that is pretty darn small. Highly detailed for its size, it looks and feels very much like a Mini Figure Selection figure, except for the fact that it isn't even half that size!

The Mystery Gouf is completely dwarfed by the normally tiny Mini Figure Selection Gouf.

The figure has (as you would expect) no articulation and is made from the same soft and bendy plastic that the MFS figures feature. The feet have large size-differing pegs that go into the base, which is the opposite design of the MFS figure, where the peg sits on the base instead.

Comparing the Mystery Gouf to the 1/400 Gundam Collection figure and the deformed Converge figure.

Sometimes you can pick up a few clues from the figure itself, since the factory will typically put an awkward stamp on it somewhere, in this case the only option was the underside of the base. The clues left stamped into the plastic are a little bit enlightening though: #06 © SA • S   B. CHINA  28741

A couple more size comparisons...

The number #06 clearly identifies this figure as the sixth in an unknown set of kawaaaaaaiiii little mobile suits, and 28741 is most probably stamped into the base of each and every figure of this set. Each wave of Mini Figure Selection figures for example, share the same number in this manner. Based on similar figures, I'd guess it was manufactured somewhere around 2000-2005.

Do you know anything more about this little Gouf? Production year? Brand name? Total figures in the wave? Were there more waves? Any tidbits or puzzle pieces would be highly appreciated. I have never seen this type of figure before or after, but I would wager it can't be very rare if you just know what the hell you are supposed to look for.

2 comments:

  1. I was just going through my collection the other day and came across a Gelgoog figure that is quite similar. It appears to be part of Bandai's Gundam Nano (no relation to the Nano Puzzle series of Gundams they also produce), and I've only seen a Gelgoog and RX-78 prior to discovering your website.

    I don't know the year and have long since ditched the card mine came with but I bought it in Japan in 2011 for about 200 yen. It was just sitting in a tray of miscellaneous Kamen Rider figures in Mandarake Nakano.

    https://twitter.com/TyrantVinyl

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot for the input, one step closer to solving the mystery. :)

      Delete