Gundam STANDart vol. 12

The twelfth STANDart line appeared in January 2012 and consists of four hero style Gundams. While at first sight this may be somewhat less thrilling the figures at least show a diversity of colours which makes the lot more interesting. As far as I know there are no limited variations of the models in this group.

The figures in this voulme 12 come in the newer smaller boxes and are sandwiched in blister with some additional accessories and/or parts in a plastic bag taped to the blister pack. Despite its age this set appears to be readily available online, perhaps because it lacks any of the truly stand-out iconic figures.

044 : The set opens with the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee in its Unicorn Mode. You attach the arms, its horn and a small flight pack to its back and that's pretty much it. The head swivels as do the arms at the shoulder and underarm, but there is no further tweaking of this figure to be had. Upon first look it seems the beam weapon can be swung into extended position but not so. The figure is nicely detailed with details painted in black, silver and gold which sits nicely against the blue body.

045 : The most eyecatching model in this set is the MSN-00100 Hyaku-Shiki equipped with a huge clay bazooka. You attach a flight pack with a pair of large golden fins to its back. The paintjob on this model is excellent, a striking combination of gold, silver dark blue and red. The figure also stands taller than the others in this group. As typical for many STANDart figures the bazooka is attached directly to the right hand, but you can at least rotate the wrist. Shoulders and head also turn as expected.

046 : At the end of the wave comes two related figures from the Sega console game The Blue Destiny. First up is RX-79BD-1 Blue Destiny Unit 1, in an attractive two tone blue colour scheme. The figure comes with a detachable shield which is pegged onto the left arm, and a machine gun attached directly to the right hand making it a non-optional item. Arms and head rotate, as does the righthand wrist. While the shield can be removed, the peg sticking out of the figure's left arm makes this a non-go as well.

047 : Following its big brother is RX-79BD-3 Blue Destiny Unit 3. With its white and navy blue colouring and silver and red details it looks more like a traditional hero Gundam unit. The figure comes with a flightpack, a rifle molded into its right hand and a two coloured shield with the EFSF logo on it. The figure shares the characteristics of its brother, meaning the weapon is not optional and removing the shield will reveal a big peg sticking out from the wrist. The Blue Destiny units look really nice together though, and have just enough variations to make them interesting when placed next to each other.

STANDart vol. 12 figure size comparison, from left to right: Banshee Unicorn (ca 90 mm), the Hyaku-Shiki (about  95 mm) and the two Blue Destiny units (each about 80 mm).