SD Gundam Full Color Stage 23

More new figures are coming up but first let's sneak in another legacy Gashapon set, this time from February 2001. These figures are legendary Gashapons from the first full colour versions and whose descendants we still find today in figure lines such as Senshi Forte although today they are a bit more complex in nature.

I picked this set up from Mandarake for ¥1000 which is a decent price but you'll find that most of the figures in this set are not that hard to find also on the secondary market and I have had several duplicates pass through the collection at this point.

As you can see these figures aren't the most complicated although they do contain a number of moving parts varying from figure to figure. Some of these joints can be a bit imperfect and some pegs fit into holes better than others do.
  

123 : RX-78GP01-Fb Gundam GP01 "Zephyranthes" Full Burnern

Just like Stage 22 before it (and the following Stage 24), Stage 23 focuses on mobile suits from the Stardust Memory television series. Both sets also throw in guest stars from Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz and each open with a version of the Gundam GP01 - Here we have the Full Burnern specification.

I mentioned imperfect figure joints and right out of the gate, the Zephyranthes for example has a lot of trouble in this area. The soft plastic peg for the backpack can be jammed into the figure's back but then immediately proceeds to slowly squeeze itself out again. None of the three figures that passed through my collection has really wanted to attach its backpack properly.

GP01 ''Zephyranthes'' from Full Color Stage 22 and the Full Burnern'' from Stage 23.

The Full Burnern figure as seen in Stage 23 (left) and in the jubilee Stage 50 reissue set.

Overall you may want to glue some of the components of this figure together. I've found a couple of them on the secondhand market missing their backpacks so it always pays to be vigilant when shopping for second hand figures.
 

124 : RX-78GP02A Gundam GP02 "Physalis" (Ver.2.0)

You cannot say GP01 without giving the GP02 a mention, and the two often follow each other through the various figure series. Gashapon Full Color does a double here just like with GP01, and we get a second version in Stage 23. Some Gashapon tend to be bulkier and stumpier than the rest and the GP02 is a fine example of such a design.

This version of the figure is in a more dynamic pose than its counterpart from Stage 22 and loses the puny beam saber for its signature Nuclear Bazooka.

Here the GP02 (center) poses with its beam saber-wielding counterpart from Stage 22 and the darker colour variation from Stage 50 which features reissues of various Gundams only.
  

125 : MA-06 Val-Walo

The first really original design in Stage 23 is the wonderfully quirky Zeonic mobile armor that answers to the idiotic name Val-Walo. It was a pretty menacing design which had little work to do in that snooze of a battle it partook in, in the Stardust Memory storyline.

While the Val-Walo dwarves a mobile suit several times over the diminutive Gashapon version looks more like the crab sticker you find on some Japanese subway trains as a reminder to not squeeze your fingers in the closing doors. Still I think it looks really neat for what it is and I wonder if we will ever see it appear in Converge.

The Val-Walo figure can rotate its two arms into forward or backward positioning to emulate its simple travelling form. The claws however are completely rigid.

If you would want a slightly beefier Val-Walo to pose with your Gashapon gang I can recommend the normally proportioned figure from the HG Gashapon Mobile Armor Selection line, released in 2000. It is quite rare though, but shouldn't set you back that much if you do happen to find it, especially if found in Japan.
  

126 : MS-14Fs Gelgoog Marine (Cima Custom)

Cima Garahau was one of the more colourful characters in the Stardust Memory series and before teching up with the Gerbera-Tetra she rode around the battlefield in a pretty unique looking Gelgoog Marine Type. You might be a bit shocked to learn that this is the only SD Gashapon figure available of Cima's Gelgoog as well as the regular MS-14F Marine Type mass production type. Bohoo!

Although their equipment varies and Cima's machine differs quite a bit from the average MS-14F I have been considering conversion of some duplicates into regular Marine Type form, we shall see if I end up doing it in the future. You can of course also make do with regular green/gray MS-14A Gelgoogs of which there are a couple of SD versions to choose from.
  

127 : XXXG-01S2 Altron Gundam

The last two slots in this set belong to Gundam Wing and its sequel Endless Waltz. Bandai kept sneaking out these EW versions of the Gundams through Stage 21 to 24. A Wing Zero, Tallgeese and Leo had also appeared in earlier sets.

Just like the other EW Gundam figures the Altron has come out pretty nicely. It has a really colourful style and manages to wield its trident weapons in a nice little action pose.

The Altron's variation the Shenlong Gundam appeared four years later in Full Color Stage 54. Again, these are the only two embodiments you will find of this figure in SD form although it has also appeared as a slightly larger Banpresto keyring figure.
  

128 : MMS-01 Serpent

The last figure in this set is an army builder with a square face showing its Leo heritage. I really like this immediately recognizable and unique Oz-style face and I think that most of the mobile suits in Wing that wore it looked really cool.

The Gashapon Serpent comes with a double barrel Gatling Gun which is attached to the figure's right underarm (from where it can also be removed although this will leave an ugly peg sticking out).

The Serpent was intended as the replacement for the Leo but instead ended up as the workhorse in the rebellious Mariemaia Army. Its weapons systems also borrow from the Heavyarms. Here pilot Trowa Barton (from the Banpresto EW Keyring series) poses with the Serpent and the Heavyarms Kai from Full Color Stage 22.
   

Conclusion

Overall Stage 23 is a nice middle of the road-type set from the long running Full Color series. It features a thematic line-up as well and when paired with the figures from Stage 22 and 24 especially becomes really impressive.