SD Gundam Full Color Stage 47

Stage 47 is one of my personal favourites from the long running SD Gundam Full Color Gashapon series. Primarily because not only does it contain four army builder type figures, but three of those happen to be some of my preferred mobile suits as well. The set is constructed around three dueling pairs with a Gundam thrown in for good measure.

I have picked up several sets from Mandarake (still available there for as low as ¥600) as well as additional loose figures here and there. I have found this set to be fairly easy to come by compared to several of the other SD Gashapon sets. Stage 47 released in February 2004 and contains seven different mobile weapons that originally sold for ¥100 per figure.

Since this is one of the later sets in the Full Color series you can see how elaborate the designs have become compared to the early figures that were pretty much solid statues with little to no articulation.
   

291 : RX-78-2 Gundam (Ver.23.0)

Hoooh boy... version 23 of the granddaddy Gundam. That means that the RX-78 has appeared in every second set on average, not a bad feat and well out of reach for any other mobile suit.

This version of the RX-78 comes with the traditional loadout of beam rifle and shield with both arms articulated and the equipment removable. It also comes in a slightly leaning action pose. I sort of expected this figure to have a peg hole in the backpack so that you could mount the shield on its back when not in use but you'll need to pick up another SD Gundam for that feature.

At first pass this seems like your average Gundam figurine, so what is the special draw of this particular version of the RX-78? Well, it has been sculpted to resemble the final "Last Shooting" scene from the anime - remove the head and left arm and relive this epic moment of Gundam History in SD form. I don't know about you but I can't say I am particularly enthralled by this gimmick but whatever... :)

Since there are a bazillion of Gundam figures in the line I just placed it here next to a pair of the others with a similar loadout to them. As you can see the proportions of the mobile suits themselves as well as colour choices tend to vary a lot over the different stages.
   

292 : RB-79 Ball (Ver.2.0)

The original Ball figure was released back in Stage 5 already in September 1998 and saw a minor version 1.1 upgrade in August 1999. Bandai revisited it again here in Stage 47 and decided to build a pair floating on an action base which is a neat idea and something they did with the Zeon Dopp fighters before.

I have purposely selected a crappy pair of figures here to represent how some of them will have issues with the peg size for the cannon not fitting very well into the top, you may need to work them over a bit. I am not really a great fan of the two different sizes in use here; i can see what they were going for but frankly I think it looks better to just remove the little extra ball and stick with the main one on the peg.

This revised Ball figure has been scaled down to better match the sizes of the mobile suits which I think is a good design choice. On the right you can see a recent Ball from the Gashapon Warrior NEXT line released in 2013.

Even if you are not really into the concept of this Ball figure it should be pointed out that it comes with a valuable SD Full Color series action base which is compatible with the other SD figures and these are always useful as they are often missing from items you purchase second hand.
  

293 : MS-14A Gelgoog (Ver.2.0)

Next in line to receive an upgrade is the Mass Production Type Gelgoog and what an upgrade it is. The Gelgoog always seems to appear as an afterthought once the Zakus, Goufs and Doms have been exhausted so it is nice to see it receive some fresh attention and even a flying pose on a stand.

The revised figure has received the updated colour whereas the original figure sported the warmer yellow toned livery that you can also find in older illustrations. More importantly we now also have a figure with the typical loadout of beam rifle and shield compared to the original figure that came with a beam naginata only.

The flying 2.0 figure compared to the MS-14A Gelgoog as it appears in its version 1.0/1.1 configuration (left) and the weirdly proportioned Gelgoog from the Full Color Custom 12 set released in August 2007 (center). Yes, the Custom figure is also sporting a horrible muscle car flame pattern put there by the previous owner. :)

    

294 : RMS-099 Rick Dias (Ver.2.0) (Early Production Type)

Here is my favourite figure from this set; the black coloured early production type Rick Dias. The version one figure was of course the red type and it appeared already in December 1998 way back in Stage 6.

The black version figure comes with an interesting pose where the pilot is pointing at or challenging something (you'd think they can share targeting data via link so pointing seems a bit 20th century but whatever...). This looks great for a single figure but admittedly makes it a bit harder to use as an army builder.

The version one figure looks pretty archaic even for an early SD Full Color figure. Perhaps not unsurprisingly it was revamped into the 2.0 design and reissued in Full Color Stage 60 (released October 2005). That figure also got a spiffy beam shield accessory of sorts that you can clip to the figure's wrist. I am not entirely convinced by it but it is there if you want to use it.

 

295 : RMS-117 Galbaldy Beta (Ver.2.0)

The last of the army builder type mobile suits in this set is also a revised version figure. The Galbaldy originally saw the light of day back in Stage 6 together with the Rick Dias and was really just as much in need of an upgrade as the former. Not that there is anything wrong with the original figure, but the new version shows just how far the series had evolved around this time.

The upgraded Galbaldy retains the same equipment and like its predecessor uses its shield to protect itself from incoming fire. Once again the action pose sculpt makes army building look a little forced but it works for the most part.

Man, those Galbaldys keep shrinking in the laundry each time... From left to right we have the figures from Stage 6 (released December 1998), Stage 47 (February 2004) and with Ballute landing equipment from Stage 57 (May 2005).

 

296 : ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam (Ver.3.0)

We're nearing the end of this stage and we have yet another version of a previously released mobile suit. Here it is the Freedom Gundam itself and it had a really busy release schedule with this being the fourth incarnation since it first appeared in Stage 40.

This version three figure is the first of the Freedoms to come with its wings fully spread, in fact none of the other Freedoms with wings spread can match the size of this one. The mobile suit comes armed with a single beam rifle and a really nicely detailed shield.

The Gashapon Full Color series features six main types of the Freedom (a couple more reissues also exist) lined up here in the order they were released. Top row: Freedom with folded wings from Stage 40 (April 2003), version 2.0 with railguns deployed (Stage 41, May 2003), a really tiny Freedom with the METEOR strike package (Stage 45, November 2003), the 3.0 from this set with fully spread wings, the fourth version with double-edged beam saber (Stage 54, January 2005) and lastly a translucent Freedom with railguns from Stage 59 (released August 2005).
  

297 : ZGMF-X13A Providence Gundam

Well, well, finally... in the very last slot of this stage we actually have a brand new mobile suit type; the Providence. This important design, perhaps the ultimate mobile suit design to come out of the first Cosmic Era war was revealed far too late to really make much of an impact in the television series and so the general lack of figures tend to reflect this.

You couldn't really tell from this figure just what a beast the Providence is. Some of the SD Gashapon figures do a really good job of hinting at size (figures for the Zock and The-O come to mind) but here the Providence looks just like any other mobile suit. The colouring of its head and face is neat though and adds a little bit of that menacing feel.

Here the Providence poses with its beam saber wielding clear color version from Stage 59 as well as its cousin from Full Color Custom 08 (released in February 2007). The Custom figure has that bit of missing weight added to it and looks more imposing (although its strange proportions make it less attractive than the Stage 47 figure).
   

Conclusion

Not a whole lot to add here, I have sung this set's praises enough already. It is very versatile and fairly easy to obtain. i guess since it is not focused on a particular era or series like many of the other sets are this could be the primary factor standing in the way of a purchase decision.