SD Gundam Full Color Stage 21

Stage 21 of the Gashapon SD Gundam Full Color series was released in November 2000 and is the second set dedicated to the War in the Pocket miniseries. The set contains five mobile suits to complement the five from Stage 18 and after that we only ever heard from them again in Stage 35 where the last two figures appeared. The series was then skipped over completely in the SD Full Color Custom range and since then we've only had a few sightings. The Alex and the Kämpfer appeared in Gashapon Warrior NEXT in 2014 and then the duo returned together with the Zaku Kai in Senshi Forte last year. For a series that produced so many nice looking mobile suits that is kind of heartbreaking.

As you can see from the component shot there is not a whole lot to mull over here as most of the figures are preassembled and good to go. The figures originally sold for ¥100 and a set that I picked up fairly recently from Mandarake cost me ¥1200 so they are still pretty affordable. Based on my own Gashapon hunting I'd say that the figures in this set are not very common, I have mostly encountered GM Command which is also the one I have the most duplicates of.
   

110 : RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 "Alex" (Ver.1.0)

Of course the Gundam Alex is the first figure of this volume. It is a fairly basic figure that comes in a bit of an action pose, revealing one of its wrist-mounted Gatling cannons. I don't know how the Alex manages to conceal these weapons so effectively in its arms but they somehow fits inside...

My favourite figure variants of the Alex are those that feature the Gatlings as pieces separated from their blue protective casing, allowing you to choose to display the cannons concealed or in use. This is obviously outside of the capabilities of this very basic figure but I still think this looks a bit underwhelming. I would have preferred an Alex with Beam Rifle and Shield.

Even if I do find this version of the Alex a bit underwhelming the good news are that it also appears in two other variants, with Chobham Armor as the NT-1 ''Alex'' Full Armor Type in Stage 18 and with a Beam Rifle and Shield as version 2.0 in Stage 35. The revised figure is also larger than those of the previous generation.
   

111 : MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai

Next up we have Bernie Wiseman's Zaku II Kai, ready to dig into the Alex with its powered up Heat Hawk. We all know how that story ended up... Perhaps this is why the Zaku II Kai isn't seen nearly as often as I would have imagined even though it is a rather iconic design.

We have loads of nice colour applications on the Zaku figure, better than I would have expected actually. The only thing I am a little miffed about is that we only have the Zaku in SD form with a Heat Hawk. I sure would have enjoyed a V2.0 figure armed with the MMP Machine Gun for some more interesting army building. At least now we have both of those weapons available with the recently released Senshi Forte figure.
   

112 : MS-18E Kämpfer

The next combatant for the Alex to deal with is the Kämpfer, you know that bad-to-the-bone swift messenger of death that destroyed the entire E.F.S.F. Scarlet Team. It too comes in a bit of an action pose, with a clenched fist and a Chain Mine assembly in full swing.

I do find the paintjob on the Kämpfer figure decent but I it feels a bit barren with only two of the many thrusters lit up in yellow. This is pretty par for the course as far as Kämpfer figures are concerned though. My main disappointment with the figure is that out of all weapons available to it - shotguns, bazookas and rockets - we get a figure wielding an improvised string of mines. Making a squad of these would look a bit silly, I really wish that this figure had been armed with the shotgun instead,
   

113 : RGM-79G GM Command

The GM Command or Colony Type is a further improvement of the Cold District Type GM with increased performance and better maneuverability. It was developed in tandem with the RGM-79GS which is a zero gravity version while the RGM-79G is intended to operate under artificial gravity in a colony environment. It is seen mostly at the receiving end of Zeon punishment in the show (and the Space Version doesn't fare much better either).

Bandai sure went all melee weapons in this group but at least evens the odds against the Zaku Kai and the Kämpfer. Still, I'd take a machine gun and shield equipped figure over this any day. Check out the improved Gashapon version of the Space Type figure below to see what could have been.

War in the Pocket era GM's from left to right: RGM-79D GM Cold District Type (released in Stage 18), RGM-79G GM Command and RGM-79GS GM Command (Space Type) from Stage 35.
   

114 : MS-14Jg Gelgoog Jaeger

Not to be confused with Char Aznable's prototype red Gelgoog MS-14S the Gelgoog Jaeger is a highly advanced late type upgrade of the MS-14A through the Zeon United Maintenance Plan. Its single appearance in the Operation Rubicon space battle at Libot Colony gives me goose bumps every time I hear the distinct pulse of its wrist mounted Beam Spot Guns.

Hey, finally a figure in this set equipped with a beam rifle! These early Gashapon figures don't have elbow joints for the most part so the arm will be stretched out to the side but you can at least swivel the head to a direction of your liking. It seems all the figures in this set have really expressive poses.

All the twelve mobile suits from the SD Gashapon War in the Pocket range. The only major combatants missing here are the GM Sniper II and the Mass Production Type Guncannon but other than those they are all here.
   

115 : XXXG-01D2 Gundam Deathscythe Hell (EW)

The last figure in the set is an odd one out, ths time from Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz. I always get confused by the Gundams from Wing with their multiple variants and it doesn't help when the figure has a really basic paint scheme either. This figure however looks very reminiscent of the Deathscythe Hell as seen in the SD Gundam G Generation and Super Robot Wars games.

I dunno... this figure has a really convoluted pose. I get what they are going for but the arms on my figure just keep sliding up and blocking most of the face and that's not what it was supposed to look like according to the booklet.

Here the Deathscythe Hell (EW) poses with the basic XXXG-01D Gundam Deathscythe from the original television series, released as part of Stage 30. The basic Deathscythe Hell figure was also released in Stage 52 but I currently do not have it available for comparison. The version from this set was also reissued in the jubilee Stage 50 edition as version 1.5 which is pretty much the same figure.
   

Conclusion

Stage 21 is a great Gashapon set even if I am not entirely pleased with all the weapons choices. It is worth pointing out that four of the mobile suits were only released as part of this very set, so if you are into War in the Pocket this lot is pretty much a cornerstone of that collection.