Gundam Converge CORE : Hi-Nu Gundam vs. Nightingale

I have never really been able to shake the controversy surrounding this whole Converge Redefined figure line. At best this line takes a basic Converge figure and shakes it up with some fancy new gear or colour patterns. At worse it feels mostly like a "look, we made you buy the same figure twice, and we raised the price 200% in the process!" type of gig, which can be tiring really fast. Examples of what I would consider good CORE releases are the FA-93HWS Nu Heavy Weapons Type (CORE 004) or Perfect Strike Gundam (CORE 008). Less impressive sets could be for example the Sazabi and Nu Gundam twin pack (CORE 010) or the Dendrobium (CORE 015).

The latest twin pack-offering from the CORE end of Converge is this here fancy metallic color version set featuring the RX-93-v2 Hi-Nu Gundam and the Sazabi stand-in MSN-04II Nightingale. Basically the set is a Beltorchika's Children counterpart of the old CORE 010 Nu Gundam vs. Sazabi pack and I have to confess that it had a real uphill struggle ahead of it to try and impress me.

This set is firmly in the "we repainted the old stuff" category and priced to scare even the most well meaning Converge fan away from the gate. Bandai sold this set through the Premium Bandai service for ¥5280 which is quite a lot to set aside to re-buy something you already own. It didn't help that it seems that the set is popular enough that Mandarake managed to squeeze ¥7000 out of me just for the privilege to do a brief rant about how much I hate paying for the same thing twice. Well, who knows, perhaps this set can still prove itself worthy of praise...

The parts will look familiar to veterans since there is nothing new under the hood this time, at least as far as components go. Everything is about the metallic colours so let's find out how they work out.

I have to say; looking pretty good there, Mr. Hi-Nu. I love the metallic blue they are going with and the other blacks, greys and whites are great as well. Notice the tiny little E.F.S.F. and Londo Bell markings on the front skirt, the crest and 01 on the shoulders as well as those purple warning markings on the lower legs and arms.

The side-by-side comparison with the original Hi-Nu figure (from Converge #05, released in January 2017) reveals both the extra detail as well as some new design choices. The old figure has yellow vents on the torso where the metallic color version goes for silver, and the shield has been repainted in the weird blue and white pattern as well as having new markings on top. Both styles work out really well, I find the yellow detail on the older figure is a really nice eye catcher and it would have been interesting to see how it would have turned out in metallic.

The older Hi-Nu figure was first released as part of the Operation Revive box-set in February 2014 and then received a pearl color version (the one seen above) in the Hong Kong limited Revive reissue from August 2015. While the newer figure has a lot of technical improvements I still prefer the proportions of the old figure. The new figure looks great when on its own but when parked next to the old sculpt the new figure's larger head starts getting to me a bit.

Here is the full Converge Hi-Nu line-up with the two Operation Revive figures to the left and the updates from the Converge Sharp line.

Next up is the Nightingale which is an alternate take on the Sazabi (and with a whole lot of steroids added to the mix). Everything about it is just bigger and meaner but not necessarily better. The Converge figure has some really odd proportions going on and the result is pretty much open to taste.

What is clear beyond a doubt however is how much better this thing looks with metallic colour applications. Red plastic can be tricky from a realism point of view and this here metal finish certainly does the trick. However, I still can't shake the feeling that I am looking at some kind of late generation legendary Pokémon rather than a mobile suit design.

The Nightingale comes with three right hand options; a clenched fist or signature beam saber and beam rifle. Not an easy choice since both weapons look great. The bulky arms make it tricky to fit the saber properly although it gets there in the end.

The new Nightingale really outshines the old figure on all accounts. Unlike with the Hi-Nu I can only see advantages with the metallic color figure over the older figure which just looks very plastic in comparison. The original figure was released as EX 14 and had a price tag of about ¥3000 by the way, so if you are in the market of a Nightingale you may as well go for the newer figure in my opinion.

I guess that would actually be my overall recommendation for this set in its entirety; if you want a Converge Nightingale (and don't mind that it looks a bit quirky) you may as well pick this twin set over the older EX-figure. At the time of this review Mandarake has raised its price to ¥8000 and that is just ridiculous. Will this mean that the set will continue to rise in price? I'd say it is not unlikely; the RX-93 and v2 seem to be quite popular but with this set out since March only it may as well be a spike in interest that will go down over time. Hard to predict which way it will go but unless you are a real completionist or Nightingale fan I'd say hard pass on this one.