Gundam Converge EX 18 : MSA-0011(Ext) Ex-S Gundam

These days the Converge EX-series is all over the place. We've seen gigantic Neo Zeon mobile armors, large transforming mobile suits and even some smaller figures. The EX 18 entry in the Converge line is definitely one of the smaller variety. In fact when I first pulled out the bags from the box and saw the main body of the mobile suit my first reaction was; "wait, that's all?".

After us having been spoiled with many large EX figures lately this package is going back toward the Converge series' roots. The figure is basically an old-era (before the brand relaunch) S Gundam enhanced with some new trinkets and gear. Bandai and FusionWorks didn't decide to bring the S Gundam into the era of redesigns, and rather taking the old figure and tweaking it to suit their needs.

As you can see from these photos the parts count is pretty low, but there are a couple of fiddly features which require some parts swapping to get the mobile suit to perform all the intended poses.

Notice the return of the old clip-style clear support piece and the blue Shokugan chewing gum. Bandai replaced these with white gums some months ago across all Gundam Shokugan series and here the blue one is sneaking back in again, which I find oddly amusing. I should of course point out that this figure is purchased from Japan, otherwise the gum would not be included (and there would be ugly safety stickers on the back cover of the box).

Mode 1

This is the classic Gundam Converge pose. The figure stands on the ground holding a rifle of some sort in its right hand. The Ex-S Gundam can perform this feat also, but requires the clipping support piece since its large booster pack is too heavy for the figure to carry while standing upright unsupported. Not even the long beam smart gun can balance it out.

My figure seems to have some issues with the lining up of the binders dangling from its shoulders. It looks a bit distracting when you move the arms up and down and there is not a whole lot you can do about it.

The closest match for the Ex-S Gundam would be the base version of the Deep Striker figure (Converge EX 03 and CORE 011). You can easily see the kinship between these miniatures even though the Ex-S Gundam is receiving larger weapons and boosters.

Mode 2

Next up is an alternate variation in holding the large smart gun. The weapon has two special slots where it can be attached to the figure's two hands. When not in use, small pieces are inserted into those holes to cover them up which is neat.

I like this mode better than the previous one, the smart gun is just so long it looks a bit weird when it dangles in front of the mobile suit.

In this mode the closest comparison would be to the original S Gundam figure from Converge vol. 13 (December 2013). The two definitely have a lot in common.

Mode 3

The final mode described in the assembly instructions is perhaps also the more interesting one. Here we get to replace the feet and the left arm and get to place the mobile suit on that nice looking clear action base. This eliminates the clumsy look which came from the clipping support piece in use while standing.

The way the beam smart gun is held is sometimes referred to as the keyboard pose but if you don't like it you can just as easily change the pieces around to have the figure holding the rifle in any of the other two configurations we saw earlier:

With so many different poses to choose from you should find something to your tastes quite easily. I definitely prefer the flying poses which also show the mobile suit in its true element.

Conclusion

There isn't really a whole lot to say about this figure, it is a pretty basic Converge figure with some minor posing variations. Is it worth the ¥2500 that Bandai think you should spend on it? Well, when you consider that you can get the transforming Super Gundam (which is a P-Bandai at that) for ¥2000 the price seems a bit high for this figure. When I purchased mine from Mandarake the price was already down to ¥2000. If you like the design it should be a worthy inclusion into your figure line-up but it probably pays to shop around.

Converge S Gundam lineage: MSA-0011 S Gundam from Converge vol. 13 (released December 2013), the basic form of the MSA-0011(Bst) Deep Striker (Converge EX03 released June 2014), the CORE 002 S Gundam with blue livery (August 2015) and the new Ex-S Gundam.