Gundam Converge EX 28 : RX-9/A Narrative Gundam A-Packs

Now, here's a figure that has been out for a while. You may have thought that I have been purposely putting off this review and well... that assumption wouldn't be completely incorrect. The biggest hurdle however was actually finding the figure to begin with. It wasn't until late February that I actually had one in my hands.

The A-Packs variant of the Narrative Gundam was released in the end of October last year with a whopping MSRP of ¥6000. Let's put that into some context. Among the other recent EX figures the Neo Zeong II was ¥4200, the Pale Rider ¥2600 and the Rafflesia came in at ¥3200. This makes the A-packs figure a terrible purchase right out of the gate. So what exactly do you get for that money of yours? Well, there's an awful lot of bags in there, I'll give it that:

Hoh-boy... this looks tedious. You know what I like about the Zeonic mobile armor designs? They generally go for outlandish Space Ogre style with fewer but wildly coloured chunky soft plastic parts. See, that round hole there, that's a mega particle beam weapon! The Federation side mobile suits and armors on the other hand look like someone tried to explain the inner workings of even the most basic sci-fi concepts. Hence, these designs tend to make use of a lot of hard plastic, frustrating assembly and pieces falling off left and right. I think I know which of the two categories this figure is going to belong to.

Before I continue I just want to preface this review by pointing out that I know absolutely nothing about the whole Narrative A-Packs concept. So far I have only seen the free preview on gundaminfo and I didn't feel like spoiling the rest of it by reading too deeply into the Gundamwiki even though I had to do a bit of fact finding just to find out what in the world I was building.
 

Mode 1: Just cruisin'

The manual lays out a couple of different build modes and let me tell you, getting trough the first one was already testing my patience. While the assembly instructions are generally fine for the most part there's always the odd place where I cannot really work out exactly what it is they want to communicate with the illustrations. Let's just say it took a couple of iterations before I figured out how to put everything together and it ended up a rickety mess with pieces constantly falling off and I had some issues aligning everything properly. You can see that these long white beam cannon thingies are already sagging and the booster rockets didn't want to sit properly in their slots and I couldn't care less...

Okay, so I built this weird thing and slapped it on its base and just stared at it thinking "what the hell is this thing, it looks ridiculous!?" Sure, I like the colour scheme and it has some really nice detail but the overall presentation is a bit busy for my taste. The cannons and those weird triangular things kept falling off and then I noticed the colour differences between the soft and hard white plastic pieces. Here is where I kind of took a couple of weeks off the project and let it sit around while I cuddled and cared for the most recent MicroWars figures instead. Tough love...

Sure, it may look imposing and dynamic in its anime version but my figure looks like a shot down jet transported on a really large flatbed trailer. Seriously, what is it with these oversized bases we've been seeing lately in Converge and Mobile Suit Ensemble? They look absolutely horrific and have exactly zero playability. Even the old 1:72 fighter planes I used to build in my youth came with bases that allowed you to place them in interesting poses. Here the presentation is completely flat.
 

Mode 2: It's Psycho-Capture time!

Two weeks later... I decided to tackle the remaining modes of the A-Packs figure. Luckily this mode didn't require that much reassembly but you still have to disassemble those long cannon thingies and rebuild everything about them with some curious option parts. The end result is... umm... this:

Seriously, it looks absolutely ridiculous. Who would want to place their figure on the shelf like this? Notice by the way how the presentation can be improved by tilting the base by whatever means you have at your disposal. It suddenly looks more like actual flight and you can see more of the detail otherwise obscured by the cannons.

At first I thought the yellow triangles were missile pods of sorts but it didn't make sense to send them up front like oversized hands. Surely they aren't supposed to be grappling claws like some Bigro 2.0? I'd like to think that Gundam designs have evolved since 1979. So I went to the Gundamwiki and informed myself that these are actually emitters for some type of field that destabilizes psycho-waves for messing with newtype mobile suits like in this case, the Unicorn 03 Phenex. So you just have to chase it down and trap it within this little zone of control to catch your prey. Yeah sure, that seems easy, good luck with that...


Mode 3: Bare-bones

Those Psycho-Capture claws didn't stay on for longer than it took to snap a couple of photos. Next up is a really basic mode of the Narrative Gundam with its legs replaced with these high maneuverability type boosters, kind of like the Deep Striker or Hummingbird. You'll note that the pose is more upright this time around. FusionWorks actually provides a separate hip joint so you have to strip the figure down and rebuild everything below the waist. Even the base itself has received an extra component propping the figure a bit further up. Notice also the replacement hands.

This is fine. I like this mode a lot better; it is simple and even looks a bit aerodynamic. The base however doesn't work here at all. It is much too large and I'm not about to pose a ¥6000 figure like that anyway. Let's continue...
 

Mode 4: Yes, those cannons again

Here we just continue to deck out the Narrative Gundam with the full A-Packs gear that we have already seen. The only difference from when we started is that the figure's legs are now in a different pose and the action base has even more walls of clear plastic now. This time I even got the boosters to slide neatly into their assigned places. You can of course do the thing with the extended capture claws in this mode as well.

Okay, fine, I admit; this thing is starting to look really cool. I guess it helps that the legs get more room to show off their details and colours in this mode. The action base still gets in the way but if you remove the support underneath the guns it will look even better and unless you plan to park it on a shelf for an extended period of time it won't affect the figure too much.
   

Comparisons

Let's wrap this up with a couple of quick comparisons. At first we of course have the mandatory side-by-side with the Narrative Gundam rocking its B- and C-packs. Now ask yourself if you would prefer twelve figures like those instead of the A-packs figure...

Here is a size comparison with the Freedom+METEOR combo from Mobile Suit Ensemble that I happened to have nearby. Look at that drooping cannon on the Narrative Gundam, what a sorry sight.

I'll just finish this review with a nice ensemble shot of some of the recent Narrative Gundam figures that we saw in Converge last year. While this review was perhaps a bit more sarcastic in its tone than it needed to be I wasn't overly enthused with this figure. Its hefty price tag doesn't help but the overall flimsiness is what caused me the most headaches. I guess I just like my Converge figures simple. I would give this a definitive skip unless you are a die-hard fan of Narrative, Converge or both. Pick up the Neo Zeong II instead if you haven't yet, it is cheaper and just outperforms this figure in every regard.

The latest Gundam Converge news...

I think we were all waiting for the inevitable news that the old Converge Neue Ziel figure would be due for a CORE upgrade, just like the Dendrobium and Neo Zeong before it. Likewise, no one should be surprised when the Neo Zeong II receives a similar upgrade, not to mention the Byg-Zam which is due out any day now. However, few must have seen the Neue Ziel II coming; this is quite the pleasant surprise and likely the first time in history for this exotic design to hit figure form.

The AMA-X2 Neue Ziel CORE upgrade is of course a P-Bandai special, with a price tag of ¥3700. The AMA-X2S Neue Ziel II will be a regular EX figure with a recommend price of ¥3500. Both figures are scheduled for delivery in July. Judging from price and promotion pictures the AMA-2X will not be getting the bonus components from the 0083 The Last Decisive Battle Option Set which includes beam effect and psycommu parts together with a few accessories for the Dendrobium. However, I guess it is not completely out of the picture that the Option Set could be reinvented now that both the Dendrobium and the Neue Ziel are available as CORE designs. Whether the Neue Ziel II will also receive a bonus parts set down the road is currently unknown.

Mobile Suit Ensemble EX 14B : METEOR

The METEOR system support craft is one of those toys that start out with a cool name and then someone tries to come up with an explanation for it. The Cosmic Era tech has some really desperate acronym explanations and this is right up there with the best of them.

Released as a companion item to the Freedom Gundam in December last year the METEOR will set you back another ¥4950. I can't remember if there was a P-Bandai combo price but otherwise you are looking at a rough 9000 yen to get your war on in a fully decked out Freedom. When I picked these up in February through - what else - Mandarake the Freedom had increased from its ¥4180 to ¥5000 while the METEOR had come down to ¥4500. Of the two, my guess is that the Freedom will continue to be in much higher demand.

As usual, the box is loaded to the max and wow; there are a lot of components here. Still, the METEOR is a pretty straightforward design so apart from a couple of critical components the build wasn't too tedious. Man, how I miss the days of just picking up a prepainted 1:220 figure...

The METEOR is a large Ensemble figure but its footprint is even more enormous. Here it has reached the point that the base stands out more than the figure itself, which cannot really be a good thing. There is a recent trend in both Mobile Suit Ensemble and Gundam Converge to come up with these oversized and ugly bases that really detract from the presentation. Just look at the box art itself, the base stands out like a sore thumb.

Not only is the base big but the display is also 100% flat and uninspiring. I placed a Gashapon base underneath it here just to get some more interesting camera angles in the photo shoot. Man, the base looks even bigger now.

Once again, Assault Kingdom comes to the rescue. There are a couple of peg holes on the METEOR engines which are somewhat compatible with the Assault Kingdom bases but you will need a couple of them to build something sturdy.

One of the main gimmicks of the METEOR is that its center body can fold into a more aerodynamic shape when not in use by a mobile suit. I wasn't able to fully close the fuselage on my figure, probably because I placed one of the hinges backwards, the instructions are really fuzzy on that part, and frankly I couldn't be bothered to pull the figure apart just for this shoot since I will not use it anyway. Still, it is a pretty cool feature.

All the missile hatches open up on the METEOR unit except the smaller ones on the fin. The fin instead has an option part with the hatches fully opened. This is the only option part you will have lying around after the kit is built which is a testament to some good engineering.

The kit has a hinged connector piece specifically design for the Freedom Gundam figure, although it should work fine with various other Ensemble figures that are not too bulky to fit comfortably inside. You being by stripping the Freedom of its HiMAT wing assembly and gear it might be holding. the pegs on the Freedom's backpack match up with two peg holes on the connector piece and still gives the illusion that the wings are connected to the mobile suit.

Next up you unlock the two hand held beam cannon assemblies and slide them forward. Moving handles pop out and these can easily be connected to the Freedom's two hands. I didn't try it with any other mobile suits but I would think that several other figures should be able to use the METEOR system as well.

Since the original base is so horrible I just ditched it in the photos below. Now that the Freedom Gundam figure itself is connected and can help carrying some of the weight you can probably come up with something less distracting yourself using bits and pieces from other figures you have lying around.

I have to say, this looks pretty impressive. And then we just take things to the extreme by attaching the two MA-X200 beam swords to the tips of the beam cannons:

As cool as the beam swords may look, they sure don't make it easier to display the figure. You'd need a lot of shelf space to pose it as if engaged with another mobile suit. Oh, yeah speaking of other figures... where is the Justice Gundam, eh?

Conclusion

I give the Ensemble METEOR high marks for execution and fun factor although the kit definitely is an acquired taste and certainly only for the Freedom Gundam fans out there. You can spend those four or five thousand yen on something more crucial otherwise. Having said that; if Bandai decides to release the Justice Gundam in Ensemble I would seriously consider picking up another METEOR because yes, I am that stupid.

Mobile Suit Ensemble EX 14A : ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam

I am really behind on the Ensemble EX reviews but hey, here is something that comes in a rather small box and looks really straightforward. So I dug straight into it.

The Ensemble Freedom Gundam was released in December 2019 as a premium figure and premium it truly is. Especially the price. At ¥4180 it comes in at the higher end of the EX figures. I even had to spend ¥5000 to grab one off Mandarake. By the way, does anyone know what is up with the X101 designation on the box (and on the figure itself)? I haven't encountered this number before.

The box may be small but Bandai still managed to squeeze five bags of components and a large instruction sheet inside of it. Impressive.

As you can see from the components here we are basically looking at a typical Ensemble figure that happens to come with a couple of extra accessories and features. The paintjob is probably responsible for propelling the price quite a bit and I would hazard a guess that there were a bunch of development costs to recoup as well.

While the Freedom will at first glance look like a standard Ensemble figure we have quite a bit of new technology here. Notice the new and seemingly complex sprues with a lot of new joint components. These seem to only be present in the Freedom so far.

These are the revised shoulder- and waist connectors. It doesn't really make a huge difference since a bulky figure like the Freedom will have a pretty limited movement range in its limbs anyway.

A comparison of the beam rifles and shields used by the Strike Gundam and the Freedom Gundam. The Strike is a basic ¥500 figure and it has a typical one-colour weapon with a large hole drilled through it to increase playability or something. The beam rifle for the Freedom on the other hand looks absolutely amazing. Imagine if this was the standard for all Ensemble figures.

Here we have the Freedom assembled with its various weapons systems stowed. It looks absolutely striking straight out of the box although my figure does have some paint smudges here and there. I added a little bit of marker pen detail here and there but overall this machine looks great as is.

The figure will stand unaided as long as you keep the wings in a position that do not upset its balance. When the wings are folded and swept all the way back you can cheat and use them as an extra support.

Notice the two plasma cannons hidden inside the wings. These can be folded forward and feature small bending joints which allows them to face forward even when the wings are positioned at various angles. Meanwhile the two railguns at the hips also unfold. They unfold in the same way the letter Z would, if it started folded up and was then straightened out to a straight line.

Apart from the cannons and guns built into the suit itself we get three different hand-held weapons and the shield. Apart from the beam rifle there is also a standard Ensemble all-transparent beam saber here plus the extra long double bladed version (as seen in the battle with the Providence Gundam in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED). I guess if Bandai had added another ¥500 or so to the figure's price we could actually have got beautiful beam sabers in translucent purple but it was not to be.

The figure comes with a somewhat awkward looking action base designed to look like the top section of the mobile suit carrier Archangel's upper bridge section. You can kind of see what they were going for here; the scene where the Freedom is revealed in its full glory for the first time (I can watch that episode over and over again too. Better not do it now because then I will most likely end up binging four hours of SEED again...).

As I have moaned countless times, the Ensemble line is a bit weak on the mobile suit selection. Lately it seems to have become fixated on a lot of high profile titular mobile suits and so far we only have the Strike and the Freedom available together with the Skygrasper fighter jet. I'm really hoping for more of the Cosmic Era mobile suits to join in on the fun.
  

Conclusion

I must admit that I enjoyed this figure much more than I thought I would. Expensive though it may be, if you have even the slightest interest in this mobile suit you should seriously consider adding it to your Ensemble line-up. It is hard to tell if this will become one of those highly sought after figures with ridiculous asking prices; I would say it stands a pretty fair chance.