Gundam Converge CORE 017 : RX-0 Full Armor Unicorn Gundam

Whatever happened to Converge CORE 016? I noticed during this review process that we have made a jump directly from CORE 015 (which was the God Gundam) to the brand new CORE 017 Full Armor Unicorn. Sure we've had the Psyco Gundam option set in between but those typically are not numbered, and the same goes for the 00 Gundam anniversary set. Perhaps it has been pushed back for a later release (the Neo Zeong reissue comes to mind) or maybe we'll just have to suffer an annoying hole in the line-up...

Any which way, today's focus is the Full Armor Unicorn. This is the latest CORE offering which shipped in August as a Premium Bandai item with a price of ¥2700. Released in parallel with the updated Sinanju (which was a retail figure) I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this figure. Were we looking at a mildly revised old Unicorn figure or something new?

As usual the box is stuffed really tight with two bags, one contains the mobile suit and the other a boatload of gear. This is the same set-up that we saw for the Sinanju and I am digging it a lot.

Although this isn't something we haven't seen before, all the vital Unicorn gear has now been upgraded to the reboot standard and crammed into a single box. I wish more mobile suits would be released with at least one or two weapons choices. When the Converge reboot took place, there were a couple of figures that did include gear choices but it came at the expense of other figures that received no gear at all.

Here is the basic reboot Unicorn Gundam figure with only its leg missiles attached (those annoying pieces tend to fall off, consider gluing them in place). This is the standard Destroy Mode Unicorn from Converge #08 in the green Awake Mode colour variation. My particular figure is a bit warped giving it some standing difficulties, forgivable for a ¥500 candy toy perhaps but not for an overpriced release such as this.

With all the armament options on offer we'll just quickly go through them one by one. First we have the classic beam rifle + shield configuration. Notice how long the shield peg is, this is due to it being intended for attaching a Beam Gatling gun underneath. The shield looks a bit odd without it.

Alright, with a Beam Gatling gun attached to the shield it looks tons better. Notice also the bent tip of the regular beam rifle. I am not amused.

The two Hyper Bazookas are my favourite accessories for the Unicorn. The add-on missile launchers swivel in their pegs and can be freely added or removed which brings some nice customizing options to the figure. Excellent!

Then there's the Hyper Beam Javelin thingy. Although I like translucent weapons as much as the next guy, I was never really a huge fan of this design. The weapon looks very delicate and clumsy to wield (that odd handle on the pole makes it look even less capable), surely a regular beam saber would do the job more efficiently? A nice accessory for sure but I would have really preferred the two beam tonfas that could be added to the forearms (and we already have peg holes available there).

The last gear choice is two additional shields. Unlike the standard "closed" shield, these two are opened up like the Destroy Mode shield and sporting nice shiny green sections. They also let you equip a pair of Beam Gatlings underneath each one. This is also a favourite configuration of mine since it is so unique to the FA Unicorn.

Unlike the standard Converge Destroy Mode Unicorn the FA Unicorn figure does not come with a black base plate. Instead it comes with its own Unicorn shaped transparent action base which plugs into the groin area and propels the figure nicely into the air. A pair of hanging feet are included to give the figure a nice floating look.

To convert the figure into true Full Armor mode we get an optional backpack which has five hard-points on it. The first two are reserved for the figure's booster jets which can be rotated up or down while connected so that you can keep the figure standing on the ground if you so wish.

The upper three pegs are intended for the two Hyper Bazookas and the default third shield which protects the back of the head in an elegant fashion.

Lastly we equip the two large shields and some handheld weapons of choice, in my case I simply added everything. I like that you are able to attach all weapons from the box, this leaves a minimum of leftover parts although the end result is perhaps a bit much. :)

Comparisons

The Unicorn Gundam is one of the most common figures in the Converge back catalogue. Here we can see the new Full Armor Unicorn Gundam next to some of its ancestors.

First up we have it next to the reboot Unicorn from Converge #08 and its pearl white colour variation which is a Gundam Café special release. As you can see the FA Unicorn is a slightly modified version of this figure.

We now have a total of four Awake Mode Unicorns available. The granddaddy is the Full Armor Unicorn from March 2014 (far left) released as EX 02. That figure can be displayed in a variety of modes which one ups the new FA Unicorn although the new figure is prettier and meatier. Second in line is a metallic painted Awake Mode Unicorn from a special twin pack labelled SP from August 2015 (center left). Next up we have the oddly coloured Awake Mode Unicorn from CORE 009 which was released in March 2017 (center right). That figure came with triple shields and the ability to form a single floating shield from them.

Here we see the old Full Armor Unicorn Gundam (EX 02) compared to the new version. I think the old version of the figure is still very much on point although it is clear that the new figure is a major cosmetic improvement over the old one.

Lastly, here the FA Unicorn hangs out with its rival Sinanju (Full Weapon Set) which was also released in August 2018. I really like how the two figures complement each other.

All in all, the updated Full Armor Unicorn is a phenomenal Converge figure, easily one of the best releases of 2018 (much like the Sinanju). I will admit to a certain Unicorn fatigue by now but I think this figure is pretty much the definitive RX-0 version out there at the moment. Can we please see something new now, Bandai?