SD Gundam Full Color Stage 31

We're back to SD Gundam Full Color again, the cutest little 18 meter mobile suits running around you'll ever see. In my opinion none of the other super deformed figure series can quite match the level of kawai that these figures display. The set was released in February 2002 and is comprised of seven different Gashapon figures, originally priced ¥100 per figure.

While I had some of these figures before I picked up the missing ones as part of a full set from Mandarake paying next to nothing for them, ¥375 to be precise. Granted these figures were all second hand and as such came in ziploc bags instead of their original packaging.

As you can see we have a pretty eclectic mix of figures and vehicles from either the Universal Century or the After Colony era here. Let's just dive right in.
   

176 : RX-78-2 Gundam (Ver.13.0)

The absolutely most common figure to open a set is the RX-78 and here it is at the prime spot again, having spearheaded at least a dozen sets before this one.

Gundam version thirteen is all about the Beam Saber. It clutches a really nicely translucent pink saber with both of its hand manipulators, which are painted black. This makes it different from e.g. the saber wielding Gundam in set 27 which holds it with two white hands or the multitude of figures that equip the saber in one hand only. I'd like to have done a full comparison here but I don't have enough of the other RX-78 figures in the collection just yet.
    

177 : OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon

Next up is a new face for the figure series, the Epyon. The After Colony era had seen around ten other figures released in the series up to this point so it was time for the Epyon to join in on the fun. One of the advantages of the SD Full Color series is that it is relatively easy to bring complex or extravagant mobile suits designs into this format, increasing the chance the developers won't skip something too costly or intricate to model.

The Epyon comes armed with a nice translucent green beam sword and a heat rod attached to its shield, something we see also on the final version of the Tallgeese. The bright red colour seems a bit off from the darker tone of the original design. The second version of this figure from stage 63 appears to have been corrected in this regard.
   

178 : XXX-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero (Ver.1.0)

You can be almost certain that there has to be a Wing Gundam in a set where something like the Tallgeese or Epyon would appear and set 31 won't disappoint in this regard. There had been two other Wing Gundams released in the series up until this point; the Wing Zero from Endless Waltz and the Wing from the original TV series and here we get the Wing Zero from the TV series.

The original Wing Gundam design has a lot of colour applications, most of which have been ignored here giving the figure a really boring almost completely white flip side. At least the level of detail in the sculpting remains very good so you can always consider painting it up to something of a more eye-pleasing standard. The television series Wing Zero was released again in series 52 and 63 but I don't have any of those figures available for a comparison yet.
   

179 : G-Sky

The next figure drags us all the way back to the beginning of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise with one the questionable G-System components, in this case the G-Sky. It is basically the Gundam's core fighter attached to a large booster unit. The figure is also lucky to come with one of the coveted clear stands which are compatible with the other SD Gundam Full Color figures. When you buy figures on the second hand market you will often come across figures that are missing their stands and at times I have picked up some doubles just to get to the stands themselves. As always; buyer beware!

The G-Sky figure has some gimmicks associated with it. First of all the idea from Stage 31 is that the Gundam itself can ride upon it. This works out reasonably well but there is no dedicated area for it to stand so you will have just as poor luck as with any random SD figure really. It manages to stay on as long as the pilot restricts the G-Sky to level flight I guess...

"Tobe! Gandamu!"

The G-Sky figure is also parts swappable together with the G-Bull figure from Stage 30, allowing you to reassemble the figures into the G-Armor. There isn't much in the way of instruction except the tiny photograph that appears in the booklet but let's see what we can do...

Not a terribly complex parts swapping process but it gets the job done for a reasonable display of the G-Armor.

So much so in fact that I wouldn't mind picking up a pair of extra figures to be able to display the G-Armor next to the G-Bull and the G-Sky.

There are quite a few figures related to the G-Sky in the Full Color series. Above can be seen the strangely mono-colour Core Fighter that comes with the Gundam from Stage 56, the G-Mechanical from Stage 28 and the Core Booster from Stage 42.
   

180 : MS-09 Dom (Ver.4.0)

Next up is a versatile Dom figure armed to the teeth with both a Heat Saber and a Bazooka. We've seen quite a number of Doms in the SD series but I believe this is the first one to equip dual weapons.

Notice how nice the Dom looks also on its backside. Unlike Gundam figures which are often all white on the flip side this figure as accurately painted detail on its backside, including a nice gray for its thruster pack.

The Dom posing with some of its brethren of various types, all from the SD Full Color series. Plenty more exist as well.
   

181 : Type 61 MBT

And here's something for the Dom to combat. I wouldn't want to be in the receiving end of that heat saber but the Type 61 Main Battle Tank is fearlessly up for the task.

This is such a cool little figure. Alright, maybe the proportions of the tank aren't that great in SD mode and as a vehicle it is gargantuan when standing next to a mobile suit figure but I think we can all look past that if we are into SD figures, right?

Vehicle figures are very rare in the Gundam toy lines which is a shame since there are so many to choose from. The SD series itself also features the Magella Attack tank and a Gallop-Class Land Hovercraft and a couple of flyers.
   

182 : MS-08TX(EXAM) Efreet Custom

The closing figure of the set hails from the Blue Destiny storyline and is another example of a rather rare design. There are a handful of really interesting looking Efreet designs out there, but so far this is the only one to have ever made it into figure form. In fact, the entire SD figure line only has room for one other mobile suit from the Blue Destiny saga, the Blue Destiny Unit 1.

The Efreet Custom comes armed with two blazing large heat swords. While the shoulders are part of the torso the arms themselves can rotate in their shoulder sockets so you can get some different poses out of this nice little figure.

The Efreet Custom was revitalized in the Senshi Forte figure line in September 2017. It is a much welcome update and I wonder if Bandai will ever revisit the design now that they have it to do some of the other versions of this awesome looking mobile suit.
 

Conclusion

So there you have it folks, SD Gundam Full Color Stage 31. It is a nice figure lot with a couple of gimmicks here and there. As such pretty much par for the course as far as the Full Color figures go. As usual, the Full Color figures remain inexpensive to this day, but unless you are fortunate to go digging for them in Japan or related Asian markets, they can be pretty hard to find.