SD Gundam Full Color Stage 35 "Federal Forces Special"

SD Gundam Full Color Stage 35 was released in August 2002 back in the good ol' days when Gashapon figures cost a mere ¥100. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like being a child in Japan at that time, walking past the Gashapon machines everyday to school. Perhaps I should be grateful I had no such enticements on my own way to school...

Stage 35 is pretty unique in that it is made up entirely of E.F.S.F. units from the Universal Century era. The only other stage I can think of which is similar is Stage 51 which contains 10 different Zaku variations.

As you can see, things are pretty straightforward here, not a whole lot going on. We'll just jump right in to the individual figures themselves.


204 : RX-78-2 Gundam (ver.16.0)

It can't be easy coming up with new RX-78 figure variations all the time, especially since Bandai's figure designers seem to love to reuse the same pose over and over again. This is especially egregious in the character figure department, I mean how many Matilda Ajans holding a packing list do you need?

The designers for Stage 35 have really outdone themselves this time though. In the five years since the series started we are already on the sixteenth RX-78 variation and here someone had the interesting idea of sculpting its hangar bay dock. You can remove the supports if you want to simulate the figure being lowered to ground level for transport or maintenance which is a nice touch.

The Gundam figure itself comes without any accessories and it is slightly smaller than your average RX-78 figure which is fine, since there are enough gun-toting Gundams around anyway. The only drawback I can think of is that it is not possible to load it inside the Gunperry... oh and that there is no similar figure for the Guncannon.




205 : Gunperry

Continuing the logistical vibe the Stage has a special treat for us next; the Gunperry. This VTOL transport craft is pretty unique looking and I really like the idea of a heavy lifter but the design should probably have focused on a modular cargo compartment so that the vehicle could lift containers rather than having a fixed cargo compartment but whatever...

It is not immediately clear what the loading capacity of this 34 meter long monster is except that its max weight is rated at 185 metric tonnes. Compare this to the heavy-lift Mil Mi-26 helicopter which loads about 20 tonnes and weighs about 28 tonnes itself, we can estimate the capacity of the Gunperry to be somewhere in the 80 tonnes range which should be more than enough to lift a fully loaded RX-78.

Metrics aside, I really enjoy the garish look of the Gunperry and the SD figure retains this feeling with just enough colour applications. The only drawback of this figure is like I mentioned before that the RX-78 figure does not fit inside the cargo space. I can imagine that increasing the size would be difficult due to Gashapon capsule size limitations but I still think this is a missed opportunity. The second missed opportunity is the lack of a peg hole to make the figure compatible with the standard SD action base. For a flying unit this is really poor. While it should be possible to drill a hole in the bottom support beam to accomplish this it the beam looks kinda thin and perhaps a bit too fragile for my taste.

Above: Oh, so close... Below: Desert deployment at dawn.

206 : RGM-79[G] GM Sniper

Next up we have the first of three grunt type mobile suits in this set which means good news for the EFSF army builder. The first of these is a badass looking GM Sniper dwarfed by its long range sniper rifle. However, I immediately have a problem with this figure.

Now, my Japanese isn't really up to scratch but the booklet clearly identifies this figure as the RGM-79SP Sniper II which is another sweet looking machine featured in War in the Pocket. This figure however is clearly the RGM-79[G] mark one from The 08th MS Team, an evolution of the Ground Type GM. It is even paired up with the Ground Type Gundam in the booklet for crying out loud.

The GM Sniper is an evolution of the Ground Type GM while the GM Sniper II is based on the GM Command variation.

Speaking about the beautiful blue GM Sniper II, this mobile suit has never been featured as a Gashapon in any figure series. FusionWorks seems to like it though, because they have released it in 1:220 scale twice as part of the Shokugan Ultimate Operation and STANDart series. We could really do with one in the SD family, how about it Bandai; something for the next Senshi Forte family?



207 : RX-79[G] Gundam Ground Type (Ver.2.0)

And speaking of The 08th MS Team; here we have another mobile suit from this series. This time it is the limited production Ground Type Gundam in what is probably its most iconic pose, resting its 180mm cannon on its equally classic shield.

This figure suffers quite a bit from whiteout, you would think that Bandai loved their Gundams more than this but no; this figure is white nearly all over. You could at least have added a colour blotch on the little shield. Speaking of the shield by the way, you will often come across second hand figures missing this component. Not that it really takes much away from it but as usual it is buyer beware.

Ground Type Gundam v1.0 from Stage 25, v2.0 from Stage 35 and the Full Color Custom 11 update.

We have a couple of Ground Type Gundams in the SD Full Color and Full Color Custom families. I like how they come with different gear choices which makes it easier to forgive there very different anatomies.

We have a rather nice line-up of E.F.F. mobile suits to form an MS Team of our own by now, I wish all Gundam franchises would receive this much love.



208 : RGM-79G GM Command (Space Type) (Ver.2.0)

The GM Command was mentioned in the Sniper section above and here we are treated to its Space Type variation, which was seen getting shot out of the sky a couple of times in the brutal battles of War in the Pocket. If you wanted to make your own custom RGM-79SP Sniper II, this should be your figure of choice. A repaint should go a long way and then you just need to find a suitable rifle as well.

The Space Type Command GM comes armed with a measly BOWA Beam Gun and the same NFHI shield that is also equipped by the Sniper II. The two have completely different backpacks though so you would have to be able to look past that.

Here are some of the main GMs on offer in the SD Full Color figure range. From left to right we see a beige RGM-79G GM Command, an RGM-79 Powered GM from Stardust Memory, the RGM-79GS GM Command Space type, the granddaddy RGM-79 GM itself, an RGM-79[G] Ground Type GM armed with a missile launcher, the RGM-79D Cold District Type GM and finally the RGM-79[G] GM Sniper.



209 : RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 "Alex" (Ver.2.0)

The Alex is the experimental Gundam unit that nearly gets blown up a number of times by the elite Cyclops Team sent after it in War in the Pocket. This is the second time the figure appears in the SD Full Color series but for the moment I won't be able to show you a comparison photo.

The previous figure from Stage 21 comes with its wrist Gatling Gun deployed while this figure has a more traditional loadout with a beam rifle and shield. Once again the flipside looks awfully white but there is at least a decent amount of detail on the front and shield. Notice especially the blue elbow armors which are in fact the panels covering up the Gatling Guns.

Here is the Alex next to its Full Armor variation from Stage 18. Notice the rather iconic orange marking on the Full Armor figure's shoulder. This is present as a sculpt detail on the regular Alex as well, although Bandai didn't bother painting it up. It is an easy fix which will make your Alex figure stand out a bit more.


The Alex was recently released in a modern variant through the Gashapon Senshi Forte series but I have thus far been unable to secure a set for review myself. The availability of Senshi Forte figures is turning quite bad as of late...



210 : RX-78-6 Mudrock Gundam

Rounding out Stage 35 is a Gundam from the Mobile Suit Variation range, the 6th Gundam or Mudrock as it is more commonly known. It takes the shoulder cannon idea from the Guncannon and boosts its armament with two 30 cm cannons which is an upgrade to the 24 cm caliber on the Guncannon itself.

This is an example of an SD Gundam figure done right. Look at all the nice colour applications on the arms and back. Granted, this is the result of the backpack being part of the cannon mould rather than the figure itself but I kind of wish that more attention was given to the SD figure backsides.


The Mudrock received a rather significant upgrade in the short-lived FW SD Gundam NEO Shokugan series where it was released in September 2017.



Conclusion

I kind of like the idea of thematic volumes such as this one. I can imagine going on a spending rampage if a Gashapon machine was to be loaded with an army such as this today. Of course, Bandai would have messed me up anyway, with the Gundam figures being far more common than the GMs or something to that effect but you get the idea. I wish I was there back in 2002 when these machines were around. How can you even be nostalgic for something that you have never experienced yourself? :)

Anyway... this is a killer set and E.F.F./E.F.S.F. generals and squadron commanders of all sizes would probably approve.