Gundam Converge vol. 10

With its tenth installment, the fastly expanding Converge line receives a very well-balanced set and some truly iconic models at that. I for one am pleased to see only one white Gundam in this lot (they tend to get pretty crowded), and this particular wave has several wildly different looking little machines. Converge 10 was released in March 2013 and is comprised of the usual six plus one secret figure.

57 : Predictably, the set is started off with a Gundam. Number 57 is the poster boy for the Gundam Wing series, the XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero (EW Version) seen here with angel wings as depicted in the sequel movie Endless Waltz. The wings are made up of four components made from soft plastic that slot into a frame on its back. The figure is armed with its Twin Buster rifles which are inserted into the figures clenched fists. The wrists do not rotate on this figure but the arms and head rotate as long as they are not obstructed by the wings. In spite of the large wings the figure has no balance issues.

58 : The set's second Gundam is the navy blue RX-0(N) Banshee Norn in its Unicorn Mode. The figure is armed with the Beam Magnum weapon which is attached directly to the right hand. The wrists rotate, as do the arms and head. You can also attach to its back the Armed Armor system, which is made up of two parts, the flightpack and the shield. The shield can not be fitted to the figure's arm. Due to its comparatively small feet the supportive stand can be useful to keep this figure upright.

59 : Third and last of traditional looking mobile suits in this set is the MSN-001 Delta Gundam. This attractive gold coloured figure has a number of small components to attach; fins, antenna and shield. Its beam rifle can be inserted into the figures clenched right fist while the shield sits on the back of its left arm, facing backwards. The wrists do not appear to rotate but the arms and head do. The figure stands very balanced but mine has a tendency to drop the shield a bit too easily.

60 : Next up are three Zeon units. The gang is led by the experimental MSM-07E Z'Gok Type E, a development of the regular Z'Gok and designed for underwater operations. The figure has an attractive two-tone grey body with red and black details. The monoeye sits just under a support beam and I am not sure if it can be adjusted. The top of its head appears to be removeable but looks much too fragile for me to attempt it. And speaking of fragile, the figure also comes with four thin claw pieces to be gently inserted into slots in its arms. It requires a bit more delicate handling than the usual snap-together routine we are used to. All in all the figure comes off as a bit static as there is not much you can do with it, but it looks great.

61 : The lumbering MSM-03C Hy-Gogg monstrosity finally makes its appearance in the Converge line. This awesome looking bad boy comes with detachable arms and feet. Due to its extremely stable posture Bandai didn't see it necessary to include any support stand. After you've snapped it together though, it doesn't do a whole lot. With a bit of effort you can raise its arms just enough to point straight ahead to reveal its wrist beam cannons, but the arms really don't move any further than that due to the shape of the shoulder armor. While this limits its posture abilities to an absolute minimum it still looks great.

62 : Rounding off the wave is the space combat version of the iconic Dom, the MS-09R Rick Dom. The figure comes with a giant bazooka which is attached directly to its right hand. The wrist of this arm can be rotated and some fiddling is required to position the bazooka to come to rest on the shoulder without bending in any direction (this is harder than it first seems). The arms felt a little loose compared to other Converge figures but the Rick Dom has so far had no problems to maintain their poses. Similar to the Dom figure, a yellow heat saber is included which can be attached to its back. And still, I would have loved to see the figure being able to wield the blade with its utterly useless left hand.

Secret : The hidden figure for this wave is an alternate version of the Rick Dom, looking exactly the same as the original. The only difference is the upgrading of its armament to the even bigger Beam Bazooka, the weapon of choice of ace pilot Char Aznable when fielding the Rick Dom. It seems a strange omission not to paint this secret figure Aznable-red, though perhaps such a figure will eventually appear as a regular figure in a later wave. EDIT: Char's red Rick Dom was indeed made available, though it when it finally appeared it came as a bonus figure with the publication "Gundam Converge: Complete Book".

Comparisons.

Revisiting this blog entry in late 2014, here are a couple of comparisons with some related figures.

The Endless Waltz XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam of Converge 10 compared to the XXXG-01W Wing, which was released in Converge volume 15 in June 2014.

Banshee line-up. There are currently three variations of this figure in Converge, from left to right: The Banshee (Unicorn Mode) is a limited figure released by Dengeki Hobby Magazine for the July 2012 edition. The Banshee (Destroy Mode) figure appeared in Converge volume 7 in May 2012, and lastly we now have the upgraded Banshee Norn (Unicorn Mode) released in Converge 10.

Dominators. The Converge line now fields a respectable line of DOM mobile suits. From left to right: The original release of the MS-09 DOM from Converge vol 5, released November 2011. A pale colour variation of this figure was released in the Operation Jaburo multipack in December 2012. Char Aznable's majestic red MS-09RS Rick Dom finally appeared together with the "Gundam Converge: Complete Book" publication which came out in December 2013. On the far right we see the two Rick Doms from Converge volume 10.