Gundam Converge EX 26 : RX-80PR Pale Rider

2019 has seen a lot of great Converge releases but out of all of them, this is the one I was looking forward to the most. The Pale Rider is a beautiful and unusual mobile suit choice which rarely gets the attention I think it deserves. Now FusionWorks and Bandai are giving it a lot of love with a dual release where the standard mode is being released as a retail figure and with its HADES mode activated as a CORE Premium Bandai release.

In this review we will look at the standard retail version of the figure; we'll do a little bit more comparison in the CORE figure review which will follow shortly. Bandai put the recommended price for both figures at ¥2600 although the CORE figure seems to fetch a bit more on the secondary market. I ended up paying ¥2000 for my figure on its very release date while the CORE version had already climbed to ¥3500.

The Pale Rider figure comes in a small box almost the size of a regular Converge figure and with two bags of components, an instruction sheet and the classic gum the box is stuffed to the brim.

The Pale Rider figure comes with a lot of equipment options. You will find five weapon choices, two different shields as well as some body parts to be swapped to support the various weapon systems.
  

HFW-GMG·MG79-90mm Bullpup Machine Gun

Let's start things off with the very basic machine gun, a real mainstay seen with several GM type mobile suits across a number of series. It is a simple handheld submachine gun which fits into the figure's right hand. Sadly the left hand is molded as a tight fist effectively robbing you of the fun to dual wield...

Also visible in this mode is the large 180mm Cannon stowed, folded (actually parts detached) and hung over the right shoulder as well as the Spike Shield attached to the right arm. You will recognize this style of shield from the Ground Type Gundam. The shields for this figure can be attached to both arms so you can mess around with them as you choose, too bad we didn't get this option also for the hands.
   

180mm Cannon

When the 90 mm bullet isn't good enough it is time to bring out the big gun. Tossing away the machine gun (there is no storage option on the figure) the 180 mm Cannon gets reassembled and then held in the right hand. Notice how the gun handle sits on the top placing the cannon beneath the arm instead of above.

Notice the beautiful two colour paintjob on the cannon, the paint applications are really on point for this figure. I am not as impressed by the soft antenna on the top of the head. This type of detail would usually be a removable component on a Converge figure but here it is made of a soft and flexible material giving it a rather odd shape. I had this problem on both of my Pale Rider figures.
   

XBR-M-79H-2 Hyper Beam Rifle

Next up is an energy weapon option for the Pale Rider. The XBR Beam Rifle will look very familiar since it is a development of the rifle originally wielded by the RX-78. However, there are several other parts swaps present in this picture. We have replaced the Spike Shield with a traditional Earth Federation shield and on each leg you can now see a 3-pod missile launcher. We have also replaced the shoulder components with the thinner versions and replaced the backpack weapon rack to accommodate the Giant Gatling.

Notice the fins attached to this version of the weapon rack. The Gatling Cannon is stowed in a similar way as the 180mm Cannon but it is also connected to an ammo drum with a tightly strung ammunition belt. The belt piece is slightly flexible and is very easy to attach to the figure, unlike frustrating and loose attachments that we have seen in the past on figures such as the S-Gundam and the FAZZ.
   

Giant Gatling Gun

The last weapon option is the massive Gatling Gun. Again you toss the beam rifle away and then place the Gatling in the figure's right hand. You then replace the ammo belt component with a longer piece which fits with the other components very elegantly. The modeling in this figure is truly superb.

The four loadouts you have seen here are the four suggested in the instruction sheet. You can easily modify these to fit your own tastes. As mentioned above, it is such a pity that the left hand is taken out of the equation, as this would have allowed for more crazy builds. The five weapons included are all very nice although I kind of wish a beam saber would also have been included. Presumably, this was skipped since the sabers are molded directly onto the hips. Still, you can always steal one from another Converge figure. Hint: The red sabers from the Converge Exia figure will do just fine... :)

If you think ¥2600 is a bit rich for a Converge figure you can also look into the Gashapon Senshi Forte Pale Rider figure which is also really great. It comes with both a machine gun and the 180mm Cannon as well as an option part for the visor with the HADES System activated shining brightly red.

We will compare the retail Pale Rider with its P-Bandai CORE sibling in a separate review.

Overall, the Converge Pale Rider has a few minor niggles. I mentioned the weird looking antenna on the head as well as the lack of a functioning left hand already. Both of my figures also have bent right legs or feet that don't fit exactly as intended into the action bases which is something we see quite often in the new Converge figures. However all these faults are pretty minor, I fell for this figure the moment I saw it and the actual product does not disappoint.

Custom gear choices stolen from a Converge Exia and a Universal Unit Ground Type Gundam.

With all the great gear choices available I have now realized that the two figures I purchased feel so limiting that I have decided to go into the market for a couple more. If one figure is enough for you though, I would recommend the CORE version of this figure for its more striking colour scheme (the components are otherwise exactly the same).