Mobile Suit Ensemble EX 11 : Apsalus II

Oh yeah, we're rolling now... Day three of the Mobile Armor Week sees the majestic Apsarus (or Apsaras or Apsalus or whatever spelling you prefer) II mobile armor from the anime The 08th MS Team, a show I still haven't had the fortune to view. As such, I can't claim much knowledge about the mobile armor itself other than what I have read up on about it in the Gundam Wiki. The figure itself was released in late July 2019 through the Premium Bandai program. The price was set at ¥4860.

The Apasalus is the eleventh EX figure in the Mobile Suit Ensemble Gashapon figure series and comes in a big box filled to the brim. Unlike some products where the box is intimidatingly large just for the heck of it this thing is crammed full of stuff. Incidentally, when you have finished building the figure you will notice that the box dimensions are just a few millimeters shy of actually fitting the completed figure. You can still get it in there if you put it at a quirky angle but it would have been so nice to be able to actually store it comfortably within.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. First we have to assemble the damned thing and just look at all these bags and components... hmm it all seems a bit complicated.

Thankfully we have some solid step by step assembly instructions included with the box that take you through the process one thing at a time. Many of the crucial components are branded not only on the runners but on the parts themselves which is extra helpful. I encountered no difficulties in assembling this armoured egg; the designers have done a really good job as far as I am concerned.

The Apsalus II is mainly assembled from parts coloured in dark gray and medium gray. There are a few pieces in yellow and the mega particle cannon is painted with a nice metallic effect. Most of the components are made from hard and rigid plastic while a few of the details such as the yellow piping is made from bendy soft material.

The figure can stand upright by resting on the belly and its four extremities. The latter feature double joints which enable the Apsalus to extend or retract them as needed and they also open up forming what resembles claws but might actually be intended as some sort of landing gear. I actually have no clue how this mobile armor is intended to stand on the ground. Thankfully Bandai have supplied us with a sturdy cross-shaped base. As always I would have preferred it if the base was manufactured in the same clear material used for the regular figures but, oh well...

Even the underside of the mobile armor has a lot of nice detail and a generous amount of yellow pipes. This could easily have been omitted in favour of some simple sculpt detail on the base plate but they went the extra mile and the result looks great.

The Apsalus II figure comes with an option part that can be used to cover up the gargantuan mega particle gun. This is Bandai's way of saying "hey, your Apsalus II figure is now the Apsalus I, cool beans!".

The artwork above shows the Apsalus in its version one and two configurations. The first form of the Apsalus was a testbed prototype only and was unarmed. I think it takes a little bit more effort to do the Apsalus I design justice than just slapping a piece on top of the cannon. I kind of entertain the idea of purchasing a second figure and having it repainted but... we'll see about that.

While the Apsalus II is a cool looking figure it doesn't have a whole lot of playability going on with it. The extremities wobble in and out a bit and you can put a cover in front of the cannon. So, the developers decided to have a little fun by making the figure open up and hold an entire mobile suit within. The mobile suit whose head is seen peeking out from the top is actually held firmly in place by two pegs in the top lid that slot into the mobile suit's backpack. An extra connector piece is also inserted between the torso and the head to make its neck longer, ensuring the lid will close nicely above the mobile suit.

The High Mobility Test Type Zaku figure included with the Apsalus II is a simple recolouring of the figure from Ensemble vol. 9. It even gets both a Zaku Machine Gun and a Heat Hawk even though the Heat Hawk was only available in the volume nine equipment set.

"Hey man, quit screwing around!"

You can mess around with your Ensemble figures to see if you can find any other suitable candidates to pilot the Apsalus II. It is going to require a suit with proportions that aren't too outrageous though.

We'll finish off with a couple of size comparison shots to see the thing in action. Although it is a large figure I wouldn't really call the Apsalus II collection centerpiece material; it works better in the background. Here we see it with a Ground Type Gundam and a Hover Truck from the Ensemble line itself.

Is the Apasalus II figure suitable for Gundam Converge collectors? Well i would say yes. The Zaku head peeking out isn't all that large compared to the Converge figures and the overall size and deformation level seems pretty compatible with Converge. Still, I wouldn't put it past Bandai to pump out a Converge EX figure of the Apsalus II as well, now that they have got around to doing the Big Zam.

I think the size and feel of the Apsalus II is also quite suitable for posing with larger Gashapon SD figures such as those from the NEXT, DASH and Senshi Forte collections. The heads on SD figures tend to be larger but overall I still think it works quite nicely.

As far as actual Apsalus II figures go it is a pretty barren world out there. There are some outrageously expensive garage kits in short supply. Other than that I only know of a handful of candidates. Two of them are tiny figures from the Mini Figure Selection and the SD Gundam Full Color series and those are as small as the mobile suits of those figure series. The gold standard Gashapon Apsalus II figure instead comes from the Gashapon HG EX Mecha Selection series, and it is quite hard to find (and when you do find it you'll probably do a double take once you see the asking price...). Your best bet is probably a flea market lucky find or as in my case finding a complete set of used Mecha Selection 7 figures.

In closing I find the new Mobile Suit Ensemble Apsalus II figure a really nice and worthy addition to the Ensemble collection. The price tag will probably start somewhere around ¥5000 and who knows where the price will be a few years from now. The figure also seems to be in rather short supply so it will probably take a bit of effort to dig one up.