SD Gashapon Senshi Forte 10

Today's entry into the department of overdue reviews will be Gashapon Warrior Senshi Forte part 10. This set of figures was released in August 2019 and distributed both in capsules and blind boxes. It follows the annoying practice of grouping figures in four, meaning that for each four boxes you will get one each of the first three and then the A or the B version of the last figure.

Unless you want to pick up full 12-piece boxes I usually find eBay sellers in Hong Kong to be the best place online if you want to buy full sets of Senshi Forte figures as Japanese sellers tend to be quite pricey in comparison.
  

F066 : ZGMF-X13A Providence Gundam

The first figure in the set is the mighty Providence from the finale in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED yet it still isn't interesting enough to get to sit on the front the booklet apparently. Pfft...

Originally designed as a bulky close combat suit with heavy armor it also sports a massive beam rifle and a composite armed shield system on the left arm (sadly with no beam saber effect parts). When Rau Le Creuset was assigned as its pilot it was also converted to field a DRAGOON remote weapon pod system and this large backpack gives the machine its very unique profile.

Notice that this figure only comes with two optional left hands, since the left arm is absorbed into the composite shield system.

It is nice to see the Providence return to the SD line since its last appearance was back in the SD Full Color Custom era back in 2008. Rau Le Creuset really needs more love in the figure world. Enough with the Char Aznables already, give me Le Creuset in flight suit. MegaHouse, are you listening? :)

Here the Providence poses next to versions from SD Full Colour Stage 47 (released 2004) and Gundam Converge SP07 (from August 2016).

   

F067 : RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 "Alex"

I feel like it was only yesterday that I reviewed the Alex for Converge #17 and indeed that figure and this one are only four months apart. I am honestly a bit surprised that it hasn't yet made it into the Mobile Suit Ensemble line-up as well.

I'm not going go too hard on the Alex here but it really could use some more colour applications. The original design benefits from a lot of smaller details that unfortunately tend to disappear in figures such as this one. I considered going over its leg exhaust ports with yellow and black but couldn't be bothered right at this time. The worst omission out of the box is the exposed Gatling Cannon which is also simply plain white.

The Alex comes with two gear options. You have its classic BOWA XBR-L beam rifle as well as an optional underarm which comes with a raised 90mm Gatling Cannon. There is of course also the nice shield which has the Alex logo carved into it but you'll have to fill it out carefully yourself if you actually want it to show. My Alex also came with a significant manufacturing flaw. The pegs on the backpack were completely out of proportion like they had melted out of a mold or something and I had to get to work with a knife to hack them down to size. Unfortunately I had already sold off the second Alex figure I purchased so I don't know if this is something commonly seen or if I was just unlucky.

Here the Senshi Forte Alex poses next to the older Gatling equipped figure from Gashapon Warrior NEXT 18, released in 2014. Notice how that figure has parts molded in gray for the cannons. A modular design with optional cannon components would have worked so well with this figure but would probably also have pushed the Alex out of the budget constraints.

   

F068 : MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai

Just like in Converge, the Alex is teamed up against the Zaku II Kai, its final opponent in the 0080 War in the Pocket miniseries. Designed under the Zeonic United Maintenance Plan the Zaku II Kai features several system upgrades and parts standardization features. It will sometimes appear with an alternate head sculpt based on aesthetics from the German World War II-era Stahlhelm although this figure only comes with the traditional and rather sleek looking Zaku-style head.

The Zaku II Kai figure has an attractive two-tone green armor with just enough colour applications here and there to make it fare so much better than the Alex. if I were to modify this figure it would primarily be painting the blade of the Heat Hawk in a bright yellow.

The Zaku comes with two gear options; the MMP-80 machine gun and the previously mentioned Heat Hawk axe-style weapon. Senshi Forte volume eleven will be the first set in this series to also release a box set with accessories for the figures in the wave. Had such a box existed for this volume I guess we would have found a Stahlhelm head in there and perhaps also a beam saber for the Alex, the Zaku II Kai's worst nightmare...

The head on the Zaku has a pretty ugly seam running all around its forehead. This is of course to allow access to the cylinder on which the monoeye is painted, allowing you to reposition it.

It can get rather expensive to army build Senshi Forte figures but this time I was lucky enough in finding a couple of singles for the Zaku II. Notice the tweaked shoulder types on some of the figures above.
   

F069 : MS-18E Kämpfer (Shotgun ver.)

The last two slots in this set are also dedicated to a mobile suit from the War in the Pocket series; the Providence Gundam really had to fight its way into this set. First out we have the Kämpfer A-type figure. Presumably, every other Kämpfer figure will be of the A-type, the others of type B.

Man, I just painted up a whole lot of thrusters on the Ensemble Kämpfers and here are a whole lot of them again... maybe another time. At least we got the white bands on the shoulder spike and the antenna. However, if you really want this figure to pop you should go to the trouble of painting up all the yellow exhaust ports that litter the arms and legs of this machine.

The A-type Kämpfer figure comes with two shotguns and a pair of Sturmfaust disposable rockets. One of the guns has its stock folded while the other is extended. ideally, you'll want to put the folded version on the mobile suit's back skirt when not in use. The Sturmfausts aren't really designed to be hand held but there are slots for them on the figure's legs.
   

F070 : MS-18E Kämpfer (Bazooka ver.)

Since the two Kämpfer figures are really only different in the equipment they field we proceed straight into the Kämpfer B-type figure. Indeed, these accessories would have been thrown into an equipment set box if Senshi forte followed the Mobile Suit Ensemble concept.

The Kämpfer B-type figure comes with three new weapons for the Kämpfer. Two 360mm Giant Bazookas and the odd "Chain Mine" assembly, which consists of a pearly band of mines on a cable that can latch onto surfaces. Bandai really loves this accessory but honestly I would have preferred a translucent beam saber any day. :)

The main "problem" I have with the B-type Kämpfer is that there is no way for it to carry the two bazookas on its backpack. Pretty much every other Kämpfer figure can do this and the money would have been better spent there than one the gimmicky chain mine thingy...

The chain mines go into the hands as any regular weapon but although the plastic is of the softer bendy type you can't really do anything interesting with them.

Here we have the Kämpfer with a couple of its friends from Gashapon Warrior NEXT 18 and NEXT SP04 (with the spiffy metallic gear) as well as the really compact figure from FW SD Gundam Neo 3. Notice how they all neatly store their bazookas on their backs.

   

Conclusion

Overall Gashapon Warrior Senshi Forte 10 is a damned fine set in a proven line of excellent figures. We will soon see volume eleven hit the shelves in March but from then on we don't really know exactly what Bandai are going to do next. Part 11 will supposedly feature the revised joint system and standardized hands (like Ensemble does them) so say goodbye to anything other than black hands from now on. Senshi Forte 11 will also feature a wholly new base system which will be a type of modular shelving system. Honestly I won't be sad to see the current stands going although I hope the new figures will continue to be compatible with them.