Gundam Converge : II Neo Zeong Option Parts Set

There has been an unusual amount of EX figures on the review pile lately and I'm afraid this review will be more of the same. I dunno, I think that an EX figure should be something a little extra, made with special love and care for the collectors. This magic has all but disappeared as every other figure seems to be a colour swap, marking plus or similar these days. The II Neo Zeon Option Parts Set kind of sits in this camp - we've seen it before, and only a fool would pay the price of admission. Well, you are looking at one such fool right here... :)

This option parts set is a companion item to the Gundam Converge EX 27 II Neo Zeong. Unlike the mobile armor itself, which was made available as a retail item this item had limited distribution. And of course, where you can pick up the mobile armor itself at a price near half of the option parts set you can see what a pain it is to acquire. I grabbed the II Neo Zeong itself for ¥3500 last September but it wasn't until June 2020, nine months later, that I was able to source the option parts set, spending no less than ¥5500 to obtain it. I guess I can now put it on a pedestal in the P-Bandai - You really don't get what you pay for hall of fame.

Just like the II Neo Zeong figure is very similar to the original Neo Zeong figure, the option parts set is equally similar to the set will be very similar to the parts set which was developed for the original figure. I guess technically they give you a couple additional pieces here but the gist of it remains the same.

Ah, yes ¥5500. Please remind me again why I submit myself to this? I guess I am just stupid. Four additional arms, a psycho shard ring and some replacement parts to place the Narrative Gundam at the centre of the armor instead of the Sinanju Stein. Full disclosure here, I have only seen the promotional 20-minute or so beginning of the Narrative Gundam movie so I have no idea exactly how the RX-9 will fit together with the rest of the mobile armor as far as using Psycho Shards or extra arms so the review will be a bit lacking in that regard.

First things first. To the left we have the Converge EX 27 second Neo Zeong in its standard configuration with its four extra arms stowed on its back. To the right these are replaced with the active ones that come out of the option parts set. This is really neat but like I always say, Bandai and FusionWorks could have done so much more here. My favourite complaint is that they could have made at least one or two option hands with psycommu fingers launching, just like how they did it on the Assault Kingdom or the HG UC figures. Anyway, I have moaned about that through all three Neo Zeong figure reviews already and I'm sure I'll repeat myself one more time once an inevitable CORE metallic color second Neo Zeong is announced.

Next up the ring of Psycho Shards is fully deployed. Apart from the pseudo-scientific newtype mumbo jumbo about this thingamajig actualizing the pilot's thoughts I can just say that yes, it is a decorative framing for the figure but that it can also interfer a bit with the extra arms on the back (not that you are going to get a whole lot of articulation out of them to begin with anyway).

The most interesting aspect of the option parts set from a technical perspective is how the RX-9 Narrative Gundam can take the place of the Sinanju Stein at the center of the mobile armor's torso. This is fairly complicated and I had some issues getting the front armor in place over the lower torso, the arms also felt like they didn't really belong in the cramped space provided for them.

I have no idea how or why the Narrative Gundam sits inside the II Neo Zeong but it looks cool and is a nice break from the Sinanjus I have operating the two older Neo Zeong figures. I will keep the RX-9 in the mobile armor as I am sure there will be an even pricier silver metallic second Neo Zeong figure released through CORE before too long and I will give the Sinanju Stein the honours of piloting that one. So if you are having thoughts about getting two of these suckers just so you can let both the Sinanju Stein and the Narrative deploy in MA Form, keep in mind that there is a fairly high chance we will see an ultimate version of this figure released through CORE later on.

Here the Narrative Gundam pilots the II Neo Zeong next to the original EX 15 Neo Zeong figure with the MSN-06S Sinanju at its core. The two figures are so similar that it gets boring but at least you cannot fault the FW designers for this creative bankruptcy; that responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the writers of Narrative Gundam.

Here we have the Sinanju Stein at the core of the II Neo Zeong parading next to the Converge CORE metallic color version Neo Zeong. That figure was sold with the option parts set included and cost ¥7000 through the P-Bandai program back then. Brace yourself for something close to five figures once a CORE II Neo Zeong is announced.

The most fun I got out of this set was updating my little RX-9 Narrative Gundam family. I don't really know if there is a designation for the RX-9 when equipping the II Neo Zeong mobile armor form. Perhaps it was something that happened in a spur of the moment of the movie...

Anyway, I feel that most of what I needed to say about this option parts set has already been said in the previous Neo Zeong reviews and this one is just parroting the same views all over again. I would also guess that most readers that are interested in the II Neo Zeong already have hands-on experience with the first Converge Neo Zeong figure and so know exactly what to expect from this one. If I were to give a recommendation to someone on the fence I'd say "hell, no!" but having said that, the Neo Zeong is still one of the best realized mobile armor figures released in the Converge line and that must count for something. Whether it is enough to convince someone to spend ¥8000-¥9000 is of course an entirely different question.