Gundam Converge #12

After having to wait an inordinate amount of time for some of my packages to clear customs I finally received my Converge #12 figure set that I ordered back in early December(!) and which has since been in the hands of the local postal service for more than two months. I don't intend for this to be a political blog but the amount of red tape and obstacles that are slowly being injected into the legal system here in the EU is doing its best to kill off international trade.

Converge #12 was released in the beginning of October last year and so I am sure anyone interested in these figures will have already managed to secure them by now. We'll continue with a closer look into the figures anyway... : )

Volume twelve continues the approach that we have seen for a while now, releasing both upgraded versions of previous figures as well as introducing a couple of new ones. This set is split in half between reissues and new mobile suits and mainly introduces the new line of figures from F91 and Crossbone Gundam which would continue into the beginning of 2019.


188 : F91 Gundam F91

The first figure in the set is the resculpted version of the Gundam F91. Just like many of the other new Converge figures this is an amazing improvement over the original figure. The new F91 stands quite a bit taller and is very crisply detailed. While the original figure had many of the same colour applications we see here the new figure is just that much more refined.

While the figure has no special gimmicks (the Ensemble figure could equip the two VSBR's for example) or optional gear the new beam rifle sculpt is now also larger and has been properly painted in white and grey.

The only real complaint I have against this new F91 figure is that -again - Bandai and FusionWorks stopped short of upgrading the old Harrison Maddin figure as well. This has happened so many times in the recent Converge line-up and I honestly cannot understand why Bandai won't do this. At least we got two colour variations of the Den'an Gei in this set which at least is a victory for the hardcore collector. :)

The new Converge #12 Gundam F91 compared to its predecessors in the old Converge volume 12 series (above left and right), the Realtype Color reissue (center left) and the new F91 from Ensemble volume 08 (below).

 

189 : RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee (Destroy Mode)

Well, it has been nearly two months since we got a Converge Unicorn so Bandai found us another candidate for its Converge upgrade program. This time around the love is spread to the Banshee which gets a much deserved facelift as well.

Again we see a figure which is meatier looking than its predecessor with more defined limbs and increased weapon suite size. The colours have also been tweaked a bit to better reflect the original design. The new Newtype Destroyer system looks especially good.

The old Converge Unicorn Banshee figures were quite good looking already but the new figure takes things to a new level. Just compare the look of the original Unicorn Mode (a Dengeki Hobby exclusive released July 2012) and Destroy Mode (Figure 39 from May same year) figures next to the new machine. I am doubtful that we will get a resculpt of the Unicorn Mode figure in the new Converge series but you never know...

The entire Converge Banshee and Banshee Norn family at the time of Converge #12's release. Top row: RX-0 Unicorn Mode (Dengeki Hobby exclusive, July 2012), RX-0 Destroy Mode (Converge 189, October 2018) and Banshee Destroy Mode (Converge 39, May 2012). Front row: Banshee Norn Unicorn Mode (Converge 58, April 2013), Banshee Destroy Mode (Metallic Color ver.) (Overseas Only SP, August 2015), Banshee Norn Destroy Mode (CORE 006, January 2016) and Banshee Destroy Mode (Real Color ver.) (Converge Selection, May 2017).

 

190 : XXXG-01SR2 Sandrock Kai (Endless Waltz ver.)

Just like the Blitz Gundam in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, the Sandrock always seems to get the short end of the stick when it comes to figure releases. The wing is always plastered all over the place in as many as three or four different versions. The Deathscythe always seems to do quite well also and then it gets more hairy for the Heavyarms and the Altron/Nataku. The Sandrock usually sits on the level below those which is a shame because it is really neat. I like both the original white/black/yellow figure from the TV series as well as this here less cartoony looking Endless Waltz variation.

While the Sandrock is a bit of a forgettable machine in a show with five Gundams battling for attention anyone who has seen it will immediately think about its two Heat Shotel heat blade weapons. While present also for this figure they are only available in storage mode, sitting tightly attached to the backpack. You would have to do some serious modding to equip the blades which is a little bit of a missed opportunity but it is what is to be expected for a ¥500 retail figure. Perhaps Bandai could come out with a Gundam Wing jubilee pack kind of like they did with the Celestial Being figures last year, including some additional gear and features for some of its Gundam Wing Converge line.

Unlike mobile suits like the Wing Gundam the appearance of the Sandrock Custom (or Kai) designs are quite subtle in comparison to their original versions. The Sandrock in the original TV series (left) for example receives a number of extra maneuvering thrusters to make it space combat ready. The most interesting feature of the Sandrock Kai from Endless Waltz is its large diffusing cloak which looks like a robe covering up most of the mobile suit kind of like the Crossbone Gundam cloaks. This feature is missing in the Converge figure and it would have been nice to see it in an option set or CORE version of the figure or something to that effect. The likelihood that this would actually happen strikes me as very unlikely.

With the Sandrock in my hand I can now finally complete my Gundam Wing pretty boy line-up. We can include the Tallgeese III and the Epyon into this family shot as well (let's face it - Treize is the only character you can take seriously in Wing). Now we can sit back and hope/wait for Bandai and FusionWorks to do some of the original TV series versions of these suits as well. I would really like to see the red coloured Heavyarms figure especially.

 

191 : MS-07B Gouf

Somewhat surprisingly, the real star of Converge #12 is the good ol' Gouf from the original Mobile Suit Gundam television series. Not only is it a reissue of a now rather rare figure (the original Gouf figure was one of the first Converge figures ever and has not been seen in Converge since 2012) but the new sculpt and paintjob are much more accurate toward its appearance in the TV show. The old figures have still aged well but they are no match in comparison to the new figure.

Not only has the updated Converge Gouf received all the love and experience that FusionWorks have gathered during the seven years that have passed since its first release, but the engineers have gone to town to give it a vastly improved equipment kit as well. While the original figure came with the heat sword and a shield, the new figure also adds an entire new right arm with attachment for its iconic heat rod as well as an optional left hand manipulator without the machine gun attachments.

The heat sword of the original figure looked pretty good already but the updated blade is looking even better. Notice that this arm does not feature the connection point for the heat rod. There is so much awesomeness in this figure that I will definitely have to get two of them.

Just look at the gear choices for the Gouf, including a moving monoeye as well. Even the shield connector can be removed from the left arm although it leaves a bit of a gaping hole in the arm.

Bandai and FusionWorks have released a number of original Zeonic mobile suits as of late, but none of them have been as ambitious as the Gouf. I have a feeling this will be one of the best figures to come out of Converge during all of 2019. Grab it while it is still hot! 

 

192 : XM-02 Den'an-Gei

At the tail end of this set sit the two figures that round out the set. These are figures that typically do not get as much prestige or accessories as the others. Still the two Den'an-Gei army-builder suits of the Crossbone Vanguard were the two figures I wanted the most out of this set. The Crossbone Vanguard has some really menacing looking designs and it feels so good to see them get some love in Converge, and with the new level of detail FusionWorks pour into their craft as of late they look rather stunning.

Sure, the mass production Den'an-Gei is a bit bland in its all gray livery but you can see the two tone colour scheme present here as well as nice metallic paint apps on its thrusters. This is just such a well rounded and realistic looking machine that it gives me the chills.

There isn't much happening on the accessory side of the Den'an-Gei. We get the beam rifle and while it doesn't have an outlandish selection of equipment I feel it is pretty bad that Bandai have only supplied the Beam Shield in its deactivated mode. This would have added tremendous impact to the model. I guess you could say the same for the F91 but that figure isn't exactly in the same need of some striking colour apps.
 

193 : XM-02 Den'an-Gei (Black Vanguard Squadron)

The last figure in this set is the same Den'an-Gei in its sexy Black Vanguard elite squadron colour scheme. Two beautiful army-builder machines in this set as well as the Gouf, I have to give Bandai and FusionWorks a lot of credit for this as I absolutely love mass production suits (if only they'd done the blue F91 as well but...).

The Black Vanguard figure is a simple colour swap of the standard gray design with no extra or changed equipment. Imagine if they would have shipped the gray figure with a beam rifle and the black one with a beam saber, I would have been forced to buy doubles just like that... So many missed opportunities in Converge but I will be optimistic and hope that we can finally see some pricy but juicy equipment sets sometime in the future, the option sets that they put out for the mobile armors appear to do just fine.

Now, I don't mean to rub it in but look at these Gashapon Warrior NEXT representations of the Den'an-Gei (from NEXT volume 10), see those little beam shields there? I sure wish we had those in Converge. Another interesting thing is that the XM-01 Den'an-Zon has also been seen in Gashapon Warrior DASH as late as 2016, here's hoping that we will see it one day in Converge as well.

Conclusion

I feel like I am repeating myself here but overall, Converge #12 is yet another highly successful figure set that greatly expands on your Converge figure collection. There is not a single dud here; each figure adds something to improve on your already formidable Converge line-up. And having said that, Converge #14 is already out and I hope it won't be a four month wait before I get a chance to review it...

The latest Gashapon news...

Preorder has opened for the two new Zeonic mobile armors we were teased with last week.

Senshi Forte EX 06 : NZ-333 Alpha Azieru

The Alpha Azieru will stand 21 centimers tall and can also morph into its high speed ferry mode (through parts replacement rather than transformation). So... does that mean I feel completist enough to purchase two? I guess the market price will decide. The Alpha Azieru is scheduled for delivery in July and will cost ¥5184 when purchased through P-Bandai. Also teased for Senshi Forte volume 09 are the RX-93 Nu Gundam and the RGM-89 Jegan. Bandai are currently also evaluating whether to put the RGZ-91 Re-GZ into the line-up of a future set as well.

Mobile Suit Ensemble EX 11 : Apsalus II

The other big honcho is of course the Apsalus II. The new promotional shots make it clear that the figure will not just be a static mobile armor design, but it will actually contain a compartment for the test type Zaku mobile suit held within. Just like those 1980s Star Wars toys we used to play with... :)  Option parts are also included to create the Apsalus I (which is basically the same figure without the mega particle cannon). These gimmicks make this figure even more interesting and it looks to be a fun thing to pick up.

The Apsalus II is also slotted for release in July and the price will be slightly lower than that of the Alpha Azieru coming in at ¥4860. The P-Bandai page is here.

SD Gashapon Warrior NEXT Sengokuden "Illusion of the Great General"

In today's review, we are looking at something that could be described as a bit of a dark horse. Released as a Premium Bandai item in the Gashapon Warrior NEXT series, I don't even have a clue what is written on the box. The title I am going with here is puzzled together from a semi-complete Mandarake shop translation as well as the description on the P-Bandai Asia website (Bandai's Hong Kong based branch). It probably helped if I had any insight into the reference in the title and even the Gundam Wiki is rather short of content about the Sengoku-den material.

So, this particular black box - which may or may not have something to do with a General (or rather Shogun as we shall see) - was really anonymous to me when I first encountered it. The only clues for a non-speaker to go on are the NEXT brand and release year 2014. The box doesn't exactly give any hints about what type of figure (or even how many) that lie hidden within either. Well, it was "only" ¥2000 on Mandarake so I figured it was worth a shot. The original P-Bandai price was ¥2200 at a time of release in June 2014, back when the regular NEXT figures sold for ¥200 each so you know it is going to be something special.

Had I not cracked this mystery before I ordered this item I would probably have been a bit miffed at there being only two figures in the box, its size could easily have managed twice that amount. Instead we get some really oversized and compartmentalized plastic bags in the Gundam Converge-style, where regular NEXT figures come in a single plastic bag. Still, there are some delicate pieces here but the box size would probably have been made much smaller in today's economy.

When first laying eyes on the pieces in the box I had little idea what was to be expected from this set. So I just merrily went along and put the figures together. Being NEXT series figures they have the traditional figure build with the exception that one figure has a couple of extra connector pieces to be used for its backpack, all elegantly detailed on the large paper leaflet's flip-side. Assembly should present no issues whatsoever here (which is more than you can sometimes say about Senshi Forte's tight joints).

Before examining each figure in detail, I tried to do some reading up on what exactly these characters are supposed to be. The best source I have come across is the flavour text descriptions on the BB Senshi model kit boxes, from where I have collected (and slightly edited down) the following gems of murky character bios:

The righteous Musha Army fights against the evil Dark Army during the Warring States Era. Sho Gundam, leader of the army, bestows the title "Musha" on elite soldiers he gathers from throughout the land. Musha Gundam, a master of every martial art, is the first to receive the title, followed by Musha Gundam Mk-II, who possessed individual combat abilities that even surpassed Musha Gundam. Mk-III seizes two hidden treasures of the Gundam Army to demonstrate his power. He is struck by lightning and is shunted off to a world called Suda Doaka, where he is split into Knight Gundam and Demon Lord Satan Gundam, and is destined to engage in battle between his two halves.

It is said that Gundam Daishogun saved the land of Ark from the Dark Army. Previously, four Gundam Daishogun gathered together from their respective eras and defeated the powerful embodiment of darkness. The Gundam Crystal, which shines on the forehead of Daishogun is normally a sole existence in each era, but with the gathering of four such Gundam Crystals in the same era, it was posed to become a new, single presence. Soon the Gundam Crystals were reborn as the Crystal Phoenix, a new presence with a strong will of its own. In the battle with the New Dark Army, the Crystal Phoenix recognizes Gundam Mk-III as possessing the proof of justice and promotes Gundam Mk-III to Mk-III Daishogun.

Uuuhh... ok. So... it appears these two figures might actually be the same guy... or maybe the same guy but from parallel universes... or recombined or something? Black Musha Mk-III steals or seizes a sacred relic of the Musha Army, is punished by being sent into some kind of personal hell where he has to battle himself. Then some kind of crystal which sits on the Daishogun's forehead is reborn into a crystal bird. The bird recognizes that one of the artifacts the Mk-III carries around as the proof of justice (you know, one of the relics he "seized") and decides to promote him to Shogun for some reason. Or promotes only half of him... or maybe this happened before he split, or I dunno. What I do know is that Demon Lord Satan Gundam is the most badass name a Sengoku-den character could ever want, why didn't they include a figure of that one as well? I actually think that this is the same character as the Satan Gundam we recently received in the Senshi Forte line. So, with all question marks straightened out and everything being crystal clear, let's head on to the figures themselves...


Musha Gundam Mk-III

Right, so this here is the Musha Mk-III, eager to show his prowess by pilfering valuables as part of his strategy. I am going to assume that this is what the Mk-III looked like before he was banished to Suda Doaka and forced to enter a schizophrenic battle between his two sides.

As you can see from the parts shot, it is a really simple Gashapon Warrior NEXT figure of the sort you could expect to find in a regular capsule. It does have a couple of extra accessories and some metallic gold and silver paint applied to it but that is pretty much all. Notice also the assymetric shape of the V-fin. At first I thought I had received a warped figure but it is really supposed to look like that which is rather cool.

The figure has two standard holding hands so you can put the sword and the trident in either hand and mix and match as you prefer. The sword has a nice storage slot for it on the backside of the shield as well. Here we have the figure with the blade drawn:

As the pictures reveal this is a pretty straightforward NEXT figure. I am not entirely sold on the extra pair of horse hind legs and tail, giving the figure some kind of Centaur-like pose, but you can easily remove that piece if you prefer.


Gundam Mk-III Daishogun

Looking at the parts for the Daishogun figure it is clear where the majority of the budget for this box set was spent. It is almost as if the Musha Mk-III figure was added in to make the Daishogun seem a bit cheaper. Any which way, there is a lot of snazzy golden detail on this figure, especially on its head and shoulders.

If you wanted to compare this figure to something out of the more common Gundam franchises I would say the Freedom Gundam and the Destiny Gundam come really close as far as anatomy is concerned. Basically this figure is a souped up winged Gundam which gets a couple of extra connector pieces on its backpack for the wings, enabling them to flap backwards and rotate a bit kind of like a butterfly.

The figure is rather back heavy though so you won't get many wild poses out of it. The two hand held weapons come in nicely to help balance it a bit. I noticed that the backpack sections are a bit loose so with them holding up the heavy wings and extra gear, the projection is that some glue application might be necessary here before too long.

Pretty lavish decorations on this figure, notice that little emblem on its chest as well. I guess the jade-coloured crystal on his forehead is the one that combined from four others and became a crystal bird, so exactly what it is still doing on his helmet after he got promoted by said bird I did not really understand. Perhaps Bandai's planned 2019 SD television series will clear some of this confusion up?

Musha Mk-III is struck by lightning and ... split into Knight Gundam and Demon Lord Satan Gundam.

Overall, this is a pretty obscure Gashapon figure release that I suspect will go ignored by many of the core Gundam fans. I wasn't much impressed with Sengoku-den to begin with either and the Converge SD-style figures especially did not hit home with me. Still, as I have been picking up complete sets of NEXT and Senshi Forte figures I began to take a liking to these guys. Since they are designed as SD figures this is also the format they should stay in. When they become taller and more drawn out like the Converge figures they aren't nearly as cute. I would prefer it if Bandai sticks with Sengoku-den figures in the SD format, I don't care much of the idea to see them pop up in Ensemble or Converge again. Bottom line though, if you like Gashapon Sengoku-den style Gundam figures, these two will definitely not disappoint.