The latest Gashapon news...

The Bandai Gashapon blog returned to Mobile Suit Gundam today after a lengthy hiatus for several weeks. Although some of the outlook is rather grim following the collapse of the marketplace there is also some hope for the future. We have news for both Mobile Suit Ensemble and Gashapon Warrior Senshi Forte as well as a brand new concept called Luminous Gundam.

For Ensemble we have confirmation that part 14 is just about to hit the market in early June. The set features two alternate timeline Gundams as well as the Zeta Plus. Besides the extra equipment set one box contains body armor parts to convert the AGE-1 into its Titus or Spallow modes. Bandai pretty much begs us to purchase as many as we can and that's when I keep thinking that if you could make life a little easier for us army builders then sure, I wouldn't mind to spend a bit extra. Still, realistically I'd want to pick up three sets of this wave just to be able to build and display all the variations of the AGE-1 and a couple extra Zeta Plusses surely never hurt.

Also introduced rather casually are two new EX figure sets. EX20 features (to no one's surprise) the Ex-S Gundam which I was just waiting for following the release of the S-Gundam in part 13. The second EX figure is the Gundam F90II with option parts to build its two Intercept Type and Long Range Type modes. This kit is going tobe awesome and I definitely want to get three boxes which is going to be very painful, but hey I did it for the F90D/H kit (apologies for having not reviewed that figure already, I am trying to work on the back log but it has been tough just keeping up with the new releases). The Ex-S and the F90II are both P-Bandai figures that are planned for delivery in September. Each has a P-Bandai price of ¥4620. Ouch.

The lead figure for Ensemble Part 15 is also revealed; the GN-001 Gundam Exia. It will come with option parts to create the Seven Swords configuration, not sure if this means the additional parts will go into the regular equipment package or if they plan some sort of B-box with Exia specific accessories. The other two figures in the wave are unknown to me. The lead designer points out that the Gashapon market is currently in a very grim situation but that they will strive to release wave 15 come October. The two glowing Gundam figures you see here next to the Exia are following the two Ultimate Luminous Zaku II figures that were supposedly out this March (which I have yet to see any trace of by the way). It seems like this set is still in development and price and release are appear very unclear.

Things are actually moving also in Gashapon Warrior Senshi Forte. You can see concept art and prototypes for the Gundam Deathscythe Hell and the Serpent above. I really want a team of those Serpents, let's see you do a Leo as well! To be honest I had actually given up on this series as left for dead but apparently there is still some life in the old horse. To quote the lead designer:


ガシャポン戦士はf11がやはり厳しいタイミングに当たってしまいました。8月の12弾はそのまま進行予定ですが、以降が未定となっております。販売方法含めた調整など、今まで通りにはいかないというのが現状なので方針が固まり次第皆様に共有させていただきます。

これがね・・・本当に難しい。なんとかカプセルで出したいですが、今までもすでに「即打ち切るべきレベル」でコスト的にきついアイテム（非常に売れ行きの良い商品なのですが）なのでアンサンブルのように次がフル受注状態で来月展開！とかではない以上、今まで通りとはいかない状況です。じゃあ値上げすればよいのか？というとそういう簡単な話でもなく、値上げしても数量が下がってしまったら赤字がむしろ大きくなるという可能性もあり、一度上げたらもう戻せないので値上げした瞬間に「詰み」になるかもしれない。

プレミアムバンダイ限定にして6種セット5,000円で一定数受注が来るのであればシリーズきついとかなんとかの世界から抜け出て色々出しまくれるけど、そうじゃない気もするのでそれも難しい。


A stint through Google Translate suggests this translation:

As for Gashapon Warrior f11 has hit the difficult timing. The 12th wave in August is scheduled to proceed as it is, but the rest is undecided. Since the current situation is that adjustments such as sales methods will not go as before, we will share them as soon as the policy is finalized.

This is ... really difficult. I'd like to manage it as a capsule, but it's already a "tightly discontinued item" and it's a costly item (although it's a very well-selling item), so next month it's a full-order product, like an ensemble! The situation is not as it used to be. Then should I raise the price? It is not such a simple story, and there is a possibility that the deficit will increase if the quantity decreases even if the price is raised, and once it has been raised, it can not be returned anymore, so it may become a "clog" at the moment of raising the price.

If you receive a certain number of orders for 5,000 yen for 6 types set for Premium Bandai only, it will come out from the world of tight series or somehow, but various things will come out, but it is not so, so that is also difficult.


I really hope that Bandai will find a way to continue to release these awesome figures and as I have reiterated time and again; please make it easier for army builders to actually get the mass production figures. You cannot expect me to buy a 12-box of Senshi Forte figures only to get one or two grey GINNs in there (and triplicates of all the Gundams)...

If you wish to read the full announcement it can be found here.

Mobile Suit Ensemble EX 17 - HFA-78-3 Heavy Full Armor 7th Gundam

You know that something must be amiss when EX figures are dropping like Zeon colonies all around a besieged group of collectors who are just trying to play with their retail capsule figures. Then you take a step back and realize that some of the EX figures are pretty much evolutions of the basic figures only they go full in as far as detail and appearance goes. And price... Usually when a Gashapon series hits this phase you presume that the line might be fighting for its very survival. This happened quickly in series such as Assault Kingdom although others like Gundam Converge seem to soldier on just fine.

Today's item is one of the latest EX figures from the Mobile Suit Ensemble line, the Heavy Full Armor 7th Gundam. The basic Full Armor 7th recently appeared in part 12 of the regular retail line and was released in January. To grab the heavy version you are looking at a steep price hike from the basic ¥500 into ¥5280 for this Premium Bandai offering, which by the way has one of the best looking boxes I have ever seen for a Gashapon figure.

As expected, there is a whole slew of plastic bags in this box but on the whole the parts count isn't that overwhelming as I had first anticipated. I also found the overall assembly quite straightforward when compared to other recent experiences such as with the freedom's METEOR Unit for example.

I think it is interesting that the preceding EX figure, the G-Self with its Perfect Pack was almost as expensive as the Heavy 7th which is a much larger figure. I guess the answer lies in all those sexy translucent blue components that were on offer for the G-Self, here we have a more functional and classic paint style.

At the heart of the set sits a completely regular Ensemble figure. The Gundam itself is in many ways similar to the basic retail figure but a closer inspection will show you just how many components that are actually redesigned. You are looking at new shoulders, torso, skirt armor and leg thrusters. There were some corners cut on the shoulders which feature detailed multi-color paintwork on the front side only, but this will generally not be an issue as you will not see much of the figure's back once it deploys its full armor suite. The new shoulders also limit the figure's shield-holding ability. Perhaps the designers could have included an optional grip to allow it to also be handheld.

Comparison shots of the basic FA-78-3 from Ensemble Part 12 and the Heavy HFA-78-3. Although not pictured here the Heavy figure has the exact same tail booster but since it is built into the larger armor package I did not bother to include it here.

The Heavy Full Armor System can actually be displayed on its own which is a nice touch. The set-up is very rigid and there isn't really anything much as far as moving parts go. The two front facing weapons (I guess they are beam cannons of some sort) can be slightly repositioned but that is pretty much it. The heavy launcher on the shoulder (the long range Mega Beam Cannon I guess) looks like it might be articulated but it is not.

There are plenty of hard points in the form of peg holes on the Armor Unit's sides so I guess if you have various weapons lying around from the basic Ensemble equipment sets you could go pretty wild here.

The 7th Gundam figure slots in neatly in place by attaching through its backpack peg system. You might need to fiddle a bit with getting everything in the correct place because that shoulder armor really gets in the way of the Mega Beam Cannon. All in all, the pose is pretty convincing though.

There are option parts available for the two 8-tube missile launchers that allow you to deploy or stow the launchers which is a nice touch although I will definitely keep mine out and at the ready at all times.

At first I wasn't too convinced about the Heavy Full Armor 7th when it was announced but now that I have seen it next to the basic figure and come to appreciate how well they complement each other I am very happy to have added it to my line-up. There are some indicators that the price may not skyrocket as fast as say the G-Self Perfect Pack figure did, but as with all things P-Bandai, you just don't know.

Gundam Converge EX 29 : MA-08 Byg-Zam & FF-X7-Bst Core Booster

When Bandai began dropping the Zeonic mobile armors in the Converge EX line we immediately began speculating about the Byg Zam and now finally it has arrived with a couple of Core Boosters as a nice surprise. It will be interesting to see if Bandai and FusionWorks are going to release any further mobile armors from the original U.C.0079 television series considering how many classics were introduced there. I mean it is nice and all that we are going to see a Neue Ziel II in Converge later this year but come on, were are the Bigros and the Grublos?

The Byg Zam was released in the middle of March with a recommended retail price of ¥5170. The first ones I saw online just swooped right out into sold out territory until it was my turn to grab one in late April at a price of ¥5000. This surprised me a bit as I would have expected it to be one of those figures that would shoot up in price quickly, and certainly not down. I got my first indication as to why when the box arrived, this thing is much smaller than I had anticipated. The box dimensions are the same as for the Devil Gundam and roughly the same size as the Penelope box which just seemed a bit off to me.

Ah... okay, I see, it is one of these things that is going on again. My spirit fell a bit when I opened up the box only to realize it is the AMA-X7 Shamblo experience all over again. And what I mean by that is that the Byg Zam figure is not a meaty, chunky, soft figure like the Neue Ziel or the Psyco Gundam, but a rather tiny and delicate hard plastic figure like the Shamblo and the Rafflesia. The Core Booster figures on the other hand have that classic Converge feel to them.

The next disappointed came as I began going through the components in the box. It turns out I have got one of those really rare occurrences where the components are not complete; I received a total of three feet for the right leg and only one for the left leg; something you can perhaps forgive in a cheap Gashapon or Shokugan figure but for ¥5000 EX figure this is just pathetic.

Luckily the feet don't differ as much on the exterior, it is mainly the weird multi-shaped peg-holes that presented the problems here but I was in no mood to try and do something about it other than to find a way to force the right foot onto the left leg and deal with it. They say first impressions are everything and well, things certainly don't start out well for the Byg Zam.

Anyway, here it is flying around on its action base with two right feet dangling beneath it. You can see that foot on the left leg doesn't attach fully but it is a minor nuisance and to be frank, the other components don't fit together all that well either. The legs should just slot gently into the torso but instead you have to squeeze and pull to get them to stick, wondering if you will accidentally break something delicate on top of the body n the process. Who designed this thing? The shaped pegs for the feet are overly complicated and not sturdy at all. What happened to just drilling a circular peg hole and letting your customers figuring out exactly in which direction the toes should point? Sometimes I think Shokugan figures are over-engineered to the point that it starts to take away from the figure

Here the Byg Zam uses its standing feet option parts and a slightly lower action base which works fine except that now the figure is even shorter than before. The Converge Byg Zam is a dwarf and so it definitely needs every centimeter it can get.

The figure can stand upright without the use of the base as well but the pose is kind of terrible as it looks like it is about to just topple over. I don't know FusionWorks, if it was me I would have designed a figure with much taller legs and no wasted effort on alternate feet or action bases, just something that could stand upright and look formidable and evil.

I know I haven't yet written anything about how beautiful the sculpt of the Byg Zam's body is. The details are fantastic and very true to the original design. However, most of that is for nothing if your figure just comes off as small and timid like this here thing.

Here the Byg Zam poses together with its counterpart from the Gashapon Warrior NEXT Premier line, a figure from 2014. And while the Converge figure is all the more exquisite in just about everything it does, notice that it isn't much bigger. The old figure had a better size advantage on the regular Gashapon figures though, and that accounts for a lot when it comes to a machine that is supposed to be epic in scale.

Check out the Byg Zam next to some of its Converge EX family brethren. I think these photos are everything the Byg Zam review needs to be as it drives home just how badly it fits in together with the other Zeonic mobile armors. Well, except the Shamblo them, which was also a bit of a dud in the size and feel department.

Moving on to the Core Booster I found much more to appreciate here. These two figures are basic and simplistic yet they hammer home that Converge feeling much better. You can see that they have a fair amount of detail and some nice painted detail yet at the same time they are of soft plastic and come with traditional Shokugan imperfections such as slightly bent components. I can see that this won't be to everyone's liking but this is to me what Converge should be all about.

The main complaint I have against the Core Boosters is the weird design of the action bases that not only fit very poorly into the peg holes but also prevent any interesting display options. This is however par for the course for Converge figures so I won't moan about it too much. I will just reiterate that cheaper Gashapon figures have accomplished this feat to near perfection in the past and it seems odd that the designers refuse to learn from that experience.

Comparison of Core Boosters from Gashapon Warrior NEXT, Gundam Converge, Strategy of Gundam and the Gashapon HG MS series.

Do you remember the action base Bandai made for the Mobile Suit Ensemble series Gundam F91 being attacked from all sides by four bug type weapons? I feel that some type of diorama action base was needed here as well, because right now you cannot really do anything interesting with the pieces in this box.

To me, the highlight of Gundam Converge EX29 is being able to construct a White Base squadron where the Core Boosters fit in just beautifully. It is a shame that they Core Booster (and the Core Fighter) wasn't sold as a standalone basic figure so that more people could pick it up and enjoy it without having to spend ¥5000 getting a mildly disappointing Byg Zam figure as an accessory. Overall I was pretty disappointed with this figure but at least the Byg Zam can be stored in its tiny little box, which is where my unit is currently residing. As much as it pains me to say it; I cannot recommend this figure.

Mobile Suit Ensemble EX 16 : YG-111 G-Self (Perfect Pack)

What is it with Mobile Suit Gundam and odd names and titles? This 2014 series Reconguista in G (or G-Reco for short) kind of leads a life in anonymity even though it is only a couple of years old. The initial reception seemed to be that of confusion mainly and it was quickly overshadowed by Sunrise's Build Fighters franchise which is currently being milked really dry. As a result we have seen very few figure releases from the Regild Century era.

The main suit of the series, the G-Self, finally made its way into Ensemble part 12 which we reviewed the other day here on the blog. That machine came together with a Core Fighter and one of its many specialized backpacks; the Space Pack. Today we will shine the light on its more expensive P-Bandai cousin, basically the machine with a different backpack but of the more extravagant variety.

The box might be small but it is teeming with components. At its core though we are talking a regular sized Ensemble figure with an enormous action base and some bits and pieces to create the backpack itself of course.

Look at all those translucent blue components. Bandai really went all in on this one, guns blazing. It certainly is reflected in the price as well. The G-Self figure sold for ¥4950 and I had to cough up no less than ¥7000 to secure a copy on the secondary market just a little more than a month after its release. So what is this hype about exactly?

Let's begin by taking a look at the basic YG-111 G-Self mobile suit. While this figure is at first glance very similar to its retail ¥500 counterpart there are a number of new features here. Most prominently the shoulders have been redesigned and now come as a very detailed multi-part set-up with translucent components even on the backside. These blue components are Photon Batteries and you can find more of the scattered across the figure's body. My figure also has a more distinct red framing of the eyes. I am not sure if this is an actual improvement over the base figure or if these are simply manufacturing variations. The V-fin look-alike horns are still of the same soft plastic as the base figure which will probably turn some people off.

Here you can see the G-Self next to its retail version from Ensemble Part 12. The basic figure was pretty slick to begin with but this new figure turns detail up to eleven. If I were to moan about something I think the EX figure also could have included a translucent beam saber but since the blade is red I guess that was out of the question for financial reasons.

Next we attach the Space Pack and place the figure on the enormous action base. There are actually two large transparent supports for the backpack to rest upon but I did not include them here since it brings a lot of clutter but they are there if you want them. I have to say I really did not enjoy putting together the Perfect Pack. The whole thing is much more complex than it needs to be and the components fall apart way too easily. This thing even managed to draw blood from me at one point so no, I do not intend to tinker with it although you could come up with a couple of custom poses I suppose.

Here's what this figure is all about. With the shields deployed to the sides you can form a protective Photon Shield which looks absolutely spectacular. Sure we have seen concepts like wings of light before but this thing is just gorgeous. Notice also how the lower shields can rest upon the action base in this mode, you will need to position the pieces carefully to achieve this which is why I think they could just have simplified the entire backpack in my opinion.

No further G-Reco suits have been hinted for Ensemble to my knowledge. For now we only have three variations of the G-Self; the basic machine as well as versions with a Space Pack and the Perfect Pack. There are of course also two variations of its core fighter. I sure wouldn't mind seeing one or two companion suits to go with it; the G-Arcane and the Montero come to mind.

Would I recommend this figure to Ensemble collectors? Well, if you can stomach the price then hell yes! I think this is one of the best looking Ensemble figures to date but the basic figure goes a long way as well if you don't feel like throwing money into black holes such as these overly expensive EX figures.