SD Gashapon Senshi Forte 06

Senshi Forte part six was released in June 2018 and it has taken me this long to finally gather all its components for review. For some reason I didn't encounter a full set so picked the figures up piece by piece. It was only recently that I managed to dig up the white Qubeley (after the initial attempt where I ordered one which arrived two months later only to be a completely different miniature... pffft).

Ensemble figures don't have a very long lifespan on the market. Once the initial wave has sold out you will be in a rather tricky spot. I imagine it could be somewhat easier if you have access to the local second hand-market in Japan but it seems even there they are less likely to be encountered than say e.g. Converge figures.

Senshi Forte volume 06 were released both in Gashapon capsules (which come with the full colour booklets) and in random boxes with standardized artwork.
   

F032 : MSZ-010S Enhanced ZZ Gundam

Set six leans heavily into Zeta and Double Zeta Gundam which was true also for volume five before it. The set is spearheaded by the ZZ Gundam in its enhanced configuration, a figure we recently saw also in Gundam Converge by the way.

The Senshi Forte version of the Double Zeta looks really nice. It has a bright and colourful design with standout fins on its arms and shoulders. The large backpack is very detailed although it is too bad that the beam saber hilts didn't get some white colour applications on them.

The Enhanced ZZ Gundam comes with only one accessory, its classic double barreled beam gun. The figure is a bit of a brick though. The gigantic backpack as well as the large fins do impair articulation a bit so it typically just gets to stand around doing nothing.

Size and style comparison with some regular ZZ Gundams from Gashapon SD Full Color, Gashapon Warrior NEXT and Gundam Converge. Notice how the NEXT figure from 2011 does feature white beam saber hilts on its backpack only for the Senshi Forte figure to lose them again. :)

The mobile suits operated by the A.E.U.G. and its friends in the Karaba as available in the Senshi Forte figure line. A pretty impressive selection, although I wish there were also the friendly faces of the Methuss and the Nemo in this line-up. For the skilled painter it will also be possible to paint up the new Zeta Plus A1 figure from Senshi Forte 09 in Karaba colours as well.
   

F033 : AMX-004 Qubeley

So here is the figure which eluded me for almost a year. It is definitely a nice representation of the Qubeley and the translucent beam saber is a really nice touch. Not sure what happened to its eyes though, where are the pupils? And I think there is a pretty severe production error in this figure as well. Notice how the two wing binder shapes don't line up properly. It looks like they accidentally painted the three pink stripes on the binder which is supposed to go on the back side and left the front component unpainted. Ouch!

I am curious if any other Senshi Forte collectors also encountered this problem with their Qubeleys or if this is a Monday sample... Manufacturing errors aside I have to say I am a bit disappointed by the decision to skip paint applications on the wing binder backsides. I suppose it could be relatively easy to fill in the missing markings (as long as you can find the proper pink and purple colours that is).

Notice also the graceful open hands of the Qubeley figure. I love how Bandai gave all the Senshi Forte figures unique hand sculpts, something we can probably forget when the replacement Gashapon replacement series hits the market.

Qubeley as seen in SD Full Color Stage 44 (October 2003), SD Full Color Stage 8 (April 1999), Senshi Forte 06 (June 2018) and as a Banpresto Keyring Figure from its 2005 Zeta Gundam Part 2 collection.

More Quebely fashion from Gashapon Warrior NEXT 02 (April 2011), Senshi Forte 06 again, and original appearance from Converge (August 2013).

Just for fun, let's check out some other Qubeley figures and their ever changing colour schemes. Not only do the colours of the eyes change drastically but so does the colour apps on its torso.
   

F034 : AMX-004-3 Qubeley Mk-II (Ple Two Use)

Ok... seriously. What in the world is going on here? Having just recovered from the mistake in the Qubeley figure the Mark II is going to double down. On this figure they goy the yellow paint apps on two wing binders of matching shapes yes, but they are supposed to go on the back side. At least they got it half right with the previous figure... Bandai, where is your QC department? :)

While paint mishaps such as these are annoying I won't lose any sleep over it. To be honest I didn't even discover this until I sat down and worked on the photos for the review. However now I am really curious to find out if everyone has received figures with completely random paint apps or if the same mistakes are propagated throughout the entire Senshi Forte Qubeley line.

If there are indeed different variations out there it could help explain why the Senshi Forte Qubeleys are hard to find. I will be keeping an extra eye open for additional figure myself. Perhaps it is possible to construct a fully painted figure from swapping parts from different figures (and then paint up Unit 2 while we are at it...).

As you can see the two Senshi Forte Qubeleys are simple colour swaps and I can't really fault them for it. The Mark II is supposed to have two additional funnel bits stored on its skirt armor but they both feature ten here.
   

F035 : PMX-003 The-O

Next up is the peculiar The-O mobile suit operated by the great Paptimus Scirocco himself. It is a pretty dismal design to come out of the epic PMX line which opened up with such evergreen designs as the Messala and Palace Athene, designs we only rarely get to see in figure form, presumably because they are hell to design. Much easier to take a lumpy design like The-O and convert I suppose...

The short and stumpy SD version of the The-O almost looks better than the oddly shaped full figure form. The figure is a bit light on colour applications though. I wouldn't have minded seeing at least a few decorative paint apps on here as the figure is very yellow.

The Senshi Forte The-O comes armed with its signature high output beam rifle and a nice translucent beam saber. Really, three figures in this volume are given translucent beam sabers, this is such a nice treat. While you can equip either in the figure's regular hands you also get two optional sub arms that can also wield any weapon you please. If you pick up a second The-O you could have both sub arms equipped with beam sabers for example, definitely something I would like to do.

Here we see the Senshi Forte figure with a greenish yellow figure from SD Full Color Stage 8 (April 1999), a very yellow version from Gashapon Warrior NEXT (March 2015) and the Converge figure (September 2015) with its ridiculous pointy head.

The Titans have a decent selection of mobile suits in Senshi Forte although it could do with some fleshing out. There are a number of suitable candidates for this in the FW SD Gundam NEO collection that I could recommend.
   

F036 : AMX-014 Döven Wolf

The third Neo Zeon representative in SF 06 is the mighty Döven Wolf mass production type mobile suit. It employs technology from advanced machines such as the Psycho Gundam Mk-II and Gundam Mk-V as well as advanced tech based on Psycommu systems field tested in the Hamma Hamma. It stands taller than most regular mobile suits and has a massive output from its ultra compact fusion reactor.

I wish that the Döven Wolf got more screen time in the Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam television series but at least I can compensate somewhat for it and army build in Senshi Forte. The SF figure doesn't really betray its high performance and I kind of wish Bandai had put a couple of extra millimeters on its height.

Much like your average Gundam the Döven Wolf is armed to teeth with a powerful array of weapons. Here we get its most iconic gear option only; its gigantic beam rifle.

The head contains a black cylinder with the monoeye painted on it so that you can rotate it freely 360 degrees. It is a nice feature although I generally find that the monoeye figures looks best when their eyes are center forward.

The weapon can connect directly into the two mega particle launchers seen on the figures torso (the two red circles) and the Senshi Forte figure does a good job of mimicking this. In this configuration the weapon turns into a Mega Beam Launcher which almost quadruples its energy output.

It is hard to create an SD figure of a monster of a mobile suit such as the Döven Wolf. I find that the Senshi Forte figure has an overall bulkier feel than the recent Converge figure (above right) put when compared to a scale figure such as the 1:400 Gundam Collection figure you can see just how much of the suit's impressive design that gets watered down in the process.

I am nevertheless very happy with how the Döven Wolf figure turned out in Senshi Forte and just the fact that it exists is enough to put a smile on my face.

The Senshi Forte Axis/Neo Zeon line-up is quite strong when compared to many other figure series. Still, there are so many gaps in this line-up that will never be filled, not even by foraging into different SD figure sets.
   

F037 : Musha Gundam

The last figure in the set is an SD Gundam character, a fine tradition upheld ever since the first Senshi Forte set was released (set 09 is the first set to omit one completely). The Musha Gundam design is kind of the granddaddy for all the weird variations that followed and is probably also the most iconic of the bunch.

I love how Bandai have decided to splurge on the Senshi Forte Musha figures with exquisite colour schemes which often include metallic colour applications; detail that the regular figures of the line can only dream about. Musha Gundam has an attractive red and black colour scheme with detail in white and gold. And just look at all the texture in the design, it looks phenomenal.

Not only is the Musha Gundam lavishly decorated, it also comes with a whopping six pieces of equipment. The main headache here is how to equip as many of them as possible because it feels like such a wasted effort to only be able to wield a few of them at any given time. :)

The Musha's nice and shiny blade, the Nichirinmaru Katana, even comes in two different configurations. We get one piece which has the sword sheathed as well as a separate blade and empty sheath. The Gundam Converge figure did the same thing in its day and it feels really excessive and awesome. John Hammond of Jurassic Park would be proud.

Other equipment choices for the Musha Gundam is its Sankoumaru Jumonji Yari, a very powerful spear, and the Tanegashima gun which draws its visual style from traditional Ozutsu guns (don't ask me from which century though...).

Not counting the Knight, Full Armor Knight, Satan, Monster Black Dragon or Command Gundam here is the full Musha Gundam line-up from Senshi Forte. On the top row we see the Musha next to the Musha-Nu. The front row features the Musha Psycho Mk-II, Musha Mk-II and Musha ZZ Gundam.
   

Conclusion

Overall the Senshi Forte 06 set is hampered a bit by some production mishaps but to be frank they are also quite minor. I find the set as a whole great with many iconic mobile suits that I was more than happy to add to my Senshi Forte line-up. It would be great if Bandai would choose to continue fleshing out the different line-ups with new mobile suits types and not fall into the tired recycling of the same old suit choices once the Senshi Forte follow up comes online. I am not holding my breath that they will.