The MicroWars figure line was introduced a little bit over a year ago with its first set out in March 2019. A couple of sets followed but then it was quiet for a while and I wondered if that was going to be the end of it. Then Bandai revealed another three sets as the year was coming to an end. Since then a total of four regular sets have been released as well as the lot we are going to look today, which marks the first special ever for MicroWars.
At the time of writing MicroWars volume 5 which was supposed to be out this March has been pushed back to August due to the market disruptions everyone have suffered through. I guess this means the figures were not manufactured before the close down unlike some other Gashapon released that were successfully released during the market upheaval.
MicroWars SP repurposes four already released figures and gives them some new colour schemes, mostly of the Real Type variety which is perhaps not that interesting as say a custom suit would be but let's see how it all turned out. The set is currently fairly easy to find and not as expensive as you may have expected, currently sitting around ¥1500 on the market.
01 : RX-78-2 Gundam (Real Type Color Ver.)
The first figure in the set is the first ever Gundam figure of the line and it comes in spiffy real-type colours. This translates to a semi-military looking garb in olive and black with enough coloured detail to make it a bit more appealing.
If you have been following the MicroWars figure line this set will not hold any surprises for you. There are no new sculpt details, gimmicks or even gear choices. The articulation points look more interesting than they really are, but if you are fine with this you will find much to enjoy about this fine figure.
While the figure may be the same as before, I was pleasantly surprised to find that all the components come pre-separated in plastic bags. Compare this to the
old figure which came with sprues from which you would have to grab the arms and legs. You still have to deal with sprues when it comes to the other figures in this set but hey, at least it is something. Notice also the horrible wrap-around stickers intended for the feet. I just ignore them and paint the area with a marker pen since these decals are nothing but a pain.
Since this SP set consists of four mobile suits instead of a the typical MicroWars line-up of three mobile suits and two support craft we also get the corresponding pilot figure directly with the MS which is a nice gesture. For me personally I really did not mind that there are three pilot figures lumped together with a tank or similar as this is great for army building... ;)
A quick comparison of the original Gundam figure and the new real type color version. I think this new figure is a worthy addition to the MicroWars line-up, a bit more than the GM and Zaku II as we shall see.
02 : RGM-79 GM (Real Type Color Ver.)
The Real Type Color GM was seen fairly recently in the
Mobile Suit Ensemble 2.5 alternate color set and it felt really forced already back then. Basically this is your average GM with a few really discrete colour swaps but the MicroWars figure features even less of these than the Mobile Suit Ensemble figure did so I can't say I am very impressed with it even though I didn't expect anything from it to be honest.
I don't really know why, but I somehow expected the SP figures to come with preprinted markings directly on the plastic. Instead we get these cheap
Universal Unit style decal sheets but at least the colour accuracy isn't fairly decent here, the marking 24 doesn't look completely out of place like on some of the UU figures. You will notice that I painted the feet with my regular marker pen so they are of the classic bright red variety rather than the more muted colour of the real Type GM but I honestly couldn't care less as far as this figure is concerned.
It would have been nice if Bandai had produced some new accessories for this SP set like a couple of Beam Sabers for the Feddies and the (already existing) Zaku Bazooka for the Zeonic forces. This would have given you more opportunity to mix and match gear with the regular figures (which you no doubt already own if you were interested in grabbing the SP figures in the first place).
The differences between the regular and the Real Type GM are as you can see not much to write home about. As an alternative Bandai may well have opted for the classic cyan rather than white coloured fuselage that we see on some of the old GMs. Just imagine if they would have gone bonkers with a black and white White Dingo version instead, I'd have bent over backwards to grab those. :)
Both the Real Type Color Gundam and GM come with the standard orange mobile suit pilot figure we have seen before in the series and I really appreciate that. Some may have preferred Amuro Ray's white colour figure with the Gundam but personally I have enough of those and would prefer regular pilots any day of the week. Still, white figures are easy to find a use for but what to do with all those red Char Aznables... :)
Real Type Color or not, a GM is always a GM and can you really have too many of those? I just formed a second platoon.
03 : MS-06F Zaku II (Real Type Color Ver.)
The second figure in this set that I also think misses the mark here is the Real Type Color Zaku II. And when I say miss the mark I mean that there are so many things you can do with a Zaku II that a Real Type version almost feels like a waste of resources.
While there is nothing wrong with the Real Type Zaku II it is perhaps even less exciting than the GM when it comes to colour variation compare to the original. The main standouts are some brown colour apps where the regular figure is dark green and then you have two stickers to apply. The large one goes on the shoulder shield and since that is a big flat surface it has some chance to survive on there. When it came to the "06" marking for the left knee I painted the knee with a black marker and then cut out the immediate area around the number to avoid having to deal with a wrap around decal that I just know will cause problems down the road.
The Bandai Zaku II figure is generously including optional heads with and without commander antenna as well as both a Zaku Machine Gun and the Heat Hawk close combat weapon. Still, to get your hands on the Zaku Bazooka you need Char's Custom Zaku II figure which was released in comparatively small numbers as part of MicroWars volume 1, making it the rarest of all the MicroWars figures ever released.
As I said before, I don't know why Bandai enjoy the Real Type Color figures as much as they do. We've recently seen it both in
Gundam Converge and
Mobile Suit Ensemble, I guess it is one of those figures that are somewhat cheaper to produce to offset against pricier figures like the Gundams.
The Zaku II and the Z'Gok figure in this set recycle the bog standard Zeonic mobile suit pilot figure in dark green. These are great and always in short supply.
While I may not be super-invested in the Real Type Color GM and Zaku II figure they are both great for building a second platoon, the Zaku II even more so because of its few but appreciated option parts.
04 : MSM-07 Z'Gok (Mass Production Type)
Now, the figure that really had me salivating when this set was first announced is the seemingly unspectacular mass production type Z'Gok. When MicroWars volume 3 was revealed I was a bit sad that it contained Char's red Z'Gok since we already have him cropping up in a Zaku II and a Sazabi as well. There is no incentive to army build such a figure and I think it would have been a better candidate for this SP set but hey, at least now we have both versions available. I guess I can repaint my superfluous red Z'Goks in Zeon Remnant green sometime down the line (but I'll wait until the figure line is done just in case Bandai decides to do another SP version of the Z'Gok...).
Unlike the other figures here this is just a simple colour-swap. This is also the only mobile suit in this set to come straight out of the original anime and so is immediately recognizable and good to go. I still don't know why the designers have made the MicroWars Z'Gok so small, I feel it could have benefitted from a couple more millimeters to better intimidate the GM.
The Z'Gok comes without any accessories but in return it has the most annoying decal sheet. Just do yourself a favour and work it over with a black pen instead of trying to fiddle around with the tiny decals. If you are the sort of person to have the patience to build a proper model kit you should go straight for a HG kit instead anyway. :)
Alright, now we're cooking. This line-up is really making me happy and when the Z'Goks are joined by Acguys in MicroWars 5 this aquatic army is going to be formidable indeed.
The Z'Gok has the easiest access to the cockpit but in return it also comes without an articulated head. Actually, some of the MicroWars figures can be a bit finicky when it comes to you placing the pilot figurine inside. Available space can be really cramped in some of the mobile suits such as the GM for example.
Conclusion
While the MicroWars SP set might not be the most awe-inspiring of the MicroWars releases out there it does a good job of bringing some variety to your collection, especially if you like me aren't too excited with the Unicorn and Char's Counterattack-era figures and prefer the U.C. 0079 period. The main reason to get the set is in my opinion the Mass Production Type Z'Gok but I have so far not seen any of these figures sold one by one so buying a full set now while they are still readily available is probably the way to go.
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