We recently looked at the Ensemble EX 06A figure, which is also an advanced Mobile Suit Gundam 00 design. Both figures were released through the Premium Bandai program in July 2018, with this figure coming in at a price of ¥3240, slightly more expensive than the 00 Qan[T] Full Saber was. I picked mine up from Mandarake just a few days after its release and ended up paying ¥4000 for it.
The box for the 00 XN raiser is very attractive and full colour. It gives you a clear idea of what you are purchasing and what alternative configurations are available for this figure.
The box is absolutely loaded with parts bags but thankfully there is also a folded up instruction leaflet included. I did have some minor issues following these instructions by the way. Some parts were a bit tricky to identify because they looked white on paper but were black in reality and so on.
Just look at all these components. This is gonna get messy! We'll work through the various suggested combinations as offered up by the instruction sheet.
GN-0000 00 Gundam
Let's just start by taking a quick look on the basic 00 Gundam figure. It is pretty much exactly the same figure as featured in the Mobile Suit Ensemble volume 02 line-up from April last year.
This box also includes the 0 Raiser figure as well as the 00 Gundam
specific bonus parts from that volume's equipment set (the expressive
open hands and the GN Sword III).
With all these parts you are able to build the same basic 00 Gundam variations as per the regular figure. You can equip it with a pair of GN Sword II or the GN Sword III as well as combining it with the 0 Raiser.
The above image shows the new 00 Gundam + 0 Raiser from EX06B on the left and the retail 00 Gundam + 0 Raiser from Ensemble volume 2 on the right. As you can see, even the colours are almost exactly the same. I should also point out that the two 0 Raiser figures are sitting on a pair of custom bases made from Assault Kingdom figure bases, they fit perfectly onto them.
GN021XN XN Unit
Right, with that out of the way, it is time to look at what is actually new with this figure. The first thing we will look at is the XN Unit, which I do not really know anything about except that it can be plugged into either the 00 Gundam or the 0 Raiser. It is basically a kind of backpack thingy holding two large GN Buster III Swords and some sub-arms.
I am not familiar with the lore in
Mobile Suit Gundam 00V from where this thing apparently hails, so I'm not sure if this XN Unit is supposed to be able to operate standalone. It sure looks sleek and menacing though.
The Ensemble version of the XN Unit is also very large. Just look at how it dwarves the 00 Gundam which is supposed to wear it as a backpack. Ah yes, speaking about that...
GN-0000/XN XN 00 Gundam
After taking the XN Unit apart and reassembling it in a slightly different combination we instead get it as a backpack support unit for the 00 Gundam. This is really my least favourite thing coming out of the EX06B box. The proportion of this thing compared to the mobile suit itself seems a bit off. I ended up google this thing to make sure that I had actually understood the assembly instructions correctly. While the instructions are quite detailed some of the images aren't the most clear.
Just look at those large Buster Swords dangling down the figure's back. You'd really not want to try posing the XN 00 Gundam without an action base as it would look a bit silly.
GN Buster Sword III
As mentioned earlier the two blades on the XN Unit can combine into two, and with some minor parts swapping you can make the 00 Gundam figure hold this combined sword as any other weapon.
While this super sword is pretty cool it is not that easy to pose. The weapon is rather cumbersome and will quickly get stuck on the figure's other extremities. The large pegs and pegholes also do it no favours from an aesthetic perspective. Some effect parts might have livened things up a bit but there are no such things in the box.
GNR-010/XN XN Raiser
Ok, so here is where I find this set is beginning to get really interesting. You can strip down both the XN Unit and then also the 0 Raiser and reassemble the two into a formidable support craft; the XN Raiser.
This craft looks really awesome; easily the most beautiful thing to come out of this box. The parts also stick together quite well. Some Gashapon figures tend to be very fiddly and come apart easily but this figure feels pretty solid.
Unfortunately the stand included with the 00 XN Raiser is not able to accommodate the XN Raiser. We had the same problem with the 0 Raiser in Mobile Suit Ensemble 02; the figure was pretty nice but the base was not really intended for it. Here I am again employing an Assault Kingdom base which is sturdy enough to hold this large figure and also allows for some dynamic posing.
The XN Raiser is huuuuuge. Once I put it together I didn't want to take it apart again but there was one more mode I had to cover in this review.
GN-0000+GNR-010/XN 00 XN Raiser
Here is where we go all-in. Time to reassemble the XN Raiser one more time and rearrange its configuration into stowed mode. We then plonk it onto the back of the 00 Gundam to form the 00 XN Raiser. Now we have almost all the new stuff hanging on the back of the figure.
As you can see this mode is a bit ludicrous on a tiny Gashapon figure. The XN Raiser components are much larger than the 00 Gundam itself and the whole thing looks pretty dumb. Still I can appreciate all the engineering effort that went into creating this figure.
With all these modes available I am still on the fence about how I should pose this figure. I do like the XN Raiser the best, but building it renders the basic 00 Gundam figure useless. At the moment I am keeping it in the 00 XN Raiser configuration, with a pair of GN Sword II:s tacked on to it for good measure. I have a feeling though that over time I will revert back to the XN Raiser because of its attractiveness.
00 Gundam Family
Let's finish off with a couple of family photos. First up is the 00 Gundam in its various MS Ensemble forms. We have the basic 00 Gundam and 0 raiser from volume 02, the same two figures in Trans-Am colours from MSE Part 2.5, an 00 Raiser combo (which is just a second set of the 00 Gundam and the 0 raiser from volume 02 combined together) and lastly now also the 00 XN Raiser.
And here at the end we have the two Ensemble 00 Anniversary figures together; the 00 Qan[T] Full Saber (EX06A) with the 00 XN Raiser (EX06B). The Qan[T] really has got the XN Raiser beat when it comes to cool looking effect parts.
Conclusion
If you enjoy messing with the Mobile Suit Ensemble figures you are really getting a lot to play with in this box. The fact that you are getting two basic figures (the 00 Gundam and the 0 Raiser) as well as a whole boatload of new gear to mix and match with them means you can get a lot of entertainment out of the box. Both of the EX06 figures are great but where the Qan[T] might have the 00 XN Raiser beat for appearance the latter is definitely more fun to play around with. I can definitely recommend both figures to MS Ensemble collectors. Each offers a pretty decent bang for your buck priced as they are around ¥3000-4000 (especially when you consider the prices of the other Ensemble EX figures out there). MS Ensemble is not a cheap figure line so these two feel like good starting points if you want to venture out of the basic ¥500 figure range.
No comments:
Post a Comment