Mobile Suit Ensemble Part 3.5

With the upcoming reissue of the EX03 Hazel Custom boxset this December I decided it would be a good idea to finally crack my own box open and build the darned thing. Since the set is closely related to figres that appeared in Mobile Suit Ensemble Part 03 I decided to enlist the help of these figures and do a really deep dive. We save the review for Part 03 a few days ago and here comes the next review in this mini-series, wave 3.5 which is one of those tiresome Ensemble alternate colour sets. I say tiresome because there is usually only one or two figures in the set that really warrant this makeover, the rest is just tacked on and probably helps the sales volumes while collectors end up with a lot of useless duplicates. But enough about that...

 

Ensemble Part 3.5 was released in November 2018 in between waves 07 and 08. The original Part 03 set was first seen in July 2017. Part 3.5 was distributed both in Gashapon capsules and the blind cardboard boxes typical for Ensemble. I can't show a box because I don't own one. And what may look like a nice crisp set in the above figure is actually the result of hunting these figures down one by one since they were rather difficult to find at the time. It wasn't until November 2019 that I managed to find the last figure of the set, the Acguy. At that point I had managed to source three sets of Hazels though so I can at least show some variants next to each other.

 

Hazel madness. I had only built a couple of the white variants before starting on this crusade. This review series has really freed a large number of pile of shame figures from their tight confinement.

   

 

043 : RX-121-1 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel Custom] (Titans Colour)

 

I'm not going to dwell too much on the figures in this set since we just went through them the other day. Feel free to jump to the Part 03 review for some additional commentary since all the figures in this set are mere colour swaps.

 

The first figure in the set is the Hazel Custom which replaces its white Test Team colours with a proper official Titans dark blue (almost a little violet streak in there) livery. I like both colour variants and there is no obvious reason to go for one or the other as far as variants go (except maybe that will change once the Hazel Gigantic Arm Unit figure drops in November, which will give the white figure a slight advantage).

 

Nothing surprising here, we have the same accessories as for the white figure. The short beam rifle and the beautiful shield, still decorated with a Test Team logo which is weird when you think about it; surely an official colour machine would ditch such markings? Anyway, no reason to dwell on it, let's move on...

   

 

044 : FF-X29A G-Parts [Hrududu] (Titans Colour)

 

Next we have the companion support fighter for the Hazel Custom, and this figure isn't much to look at all by itself. It might even be less interesting in blue and black compared to its black and white counterpart.

 

I should point out once again that the figure comes with a special clear adapter that is sitting at the tip of the regular Ensemble stand. This adapter converts the rectangular peg to a circular one, which might also be useful for some other types of figures (although Ensemble stands don't really offer much usability).

 

The main power of the Hrududu-set is that it offers interesting add-on components for the Hazel Custom figure. On its own this may well be the most lackluster figure in the entire Ensemble history.

 

Here the blue and white Hrududus, from Part 3.5 and Part 03 respectively, ride on a custom stand built by components from the retired Assault Kingdom line. I wish that Bandai would rework the Ensemble stands into something that would make displaying figures more interesting.

 

   

 

045 : MSZ-006 Z Gundam (Marking Plus Ver.)

 

Next up we have the two filler mobile suits of this wave. Sure, the Zeta Gundam is never a bad thing but this whole "Marking Plus" thing Bandai keeps on doing jut reeks of cash grab.

 

The revisited Zeta Gundam figure comes in a slightly different colour scheme with what I guess could be considered more modern colours. Both the blue and white have been replaced with slightly colder hues. We can also see some various markings on the shoulders and front skirts, we have some hard to see A.E.U.G. logotypes as well as the "AG" marking for the Argama. There's even a tiny Sentinel-style logo on the chest. it is cool but not really canonical.

 

The Zeta comes with its signature long beam rifle and in my case, a somewhat bent shield. You can use the transparent beam saber from the equipment pack if you want to change the armament a little. I was thinking how cool it would have been if the Zeta would get its large launcher with a slot for a beam saber at the tip of the barrel but no such luck yet.

 

Side to side comparison of the basic Zeta from Part 03 and the Marking Plus Ver. from Part 3.5. I don't know about you but I prefer the colours of the first figure. They did the same thing with the Zeta in Gundam Converge, which also saw a reissue in these darker tones.

   

 

046 : MSM-04 Acguy (Marking Plus Ver.)

 

The next figure to get a completely useless makeover is the Acguy. I realize that it is probably easier for Bandai to just reprint the whole wave than tinkering with the set-up to only reprint certain figures but they are certainly adding a lot of useless bulk just for the heck of it.

 

The new Acguy figure has the tiniest of colour variations compared to the original (at least that is what I am telling myself) and comes with a couple of unit markings. I don't know if these have actually been collected from some unknown source (maybe Thunderbolt for example) or if someone had to get creative. These remind me of the old 1:400 scale Gundam Collection figures that actually featured several different Zeon unit markings like air-defense and engineering squadron etc. This would have been a nice touch also here rather than just "Marking Plus".

 

The Acguy comes with two different hand types; a missile launcher and a claw hand. The claws on the claw hand can be set to extended or retracted which is a cool gimmick.

 

See what i mean about useless reissues? At least an Acguy still functions as an army builder so I don't mind a couple of extra units. As usual with Bandai's Gashapon and Shokugan series it isn't unusual that the army builder figures are often the hardest to find.

   

 

047 : Equipment Set for Wave 3.5

 

At the tail end of the set we have the traditional equipment pack. Save for a standard transparent beam saber and a couple of connector pieces that you can use for your own custom builds the remainder of the components are intended for the Hazel Custom.

 

The Hazel-related components were mainly white or black and white in the Part 03 set. Here a few pieces have been repainted in whole or part with the signature blue colour of this wave. Let's go through the various extra Hazel types that you can build:

   

 

RX-121-1 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel Custom] (Shield Booster Unit)

 

This is the most basic transformation. Just stick on a couple of shield boosters from the equipment pack and you're all set. The only drawback is that you only get two of these in the equipment pack so you need at least two of those sets to make it happen. Three in fact, if you wish to use the full color black and white boosters that I prefer, and of which only one is provided per pack.

 

I don't know much about the lore that surrounds the Advance of Zeta storyline but I was a bit surprised that the shield boosters were not repainted into blue and black. Perhaps they never made it past the experimental stage of the Hazel development plan. It doesn't bother me that the boosters remain white though, since the overall blue Hazel figure is a bit gloomy overall.

   

 

RX-121-2A Gundam TR-1 [Advanced Hazel]

 

Next we have the Advanced Hazel configuration which some of you will recognize from its appearance in Gundam Converge a couple of years ago (2015 in fact, time flies). it is a bit goofy looking with its oversized feet and large rectangular sub-arm assembly attached to the front skirt section. It also uses a slightly different configuration for its backpack which allows it to use two different types of shield boosters as well.

 

One interesting point of note here is the white trim on the figure's feet. Again I was a bit surprised that the white colour areas on the feet were not converted into blue for Part 3.5. Then again, I am not familiar with the AOZ lore so perhaps this section was always supposed to be white. However, as you will soon see, the corresponding components were indeed painted blue on the Premium EX03 figure so something weird is going on here.

 

Since I happen to keep one of my white Hazels in the Advanced Hazel mode I can do a quick side by side comparison of the two. The white figure isn't that bad but the blue version is definitely more interesting to look at.

   

 

RX-121-1+FF-X29A Gundam TR-1 [Hazel-Rah]

 

I think I mentioned it in the Part 03 review, the Hazel-Rah is probably my favourite mode to display this figure in. You will need to strip a Hrududu for parts as well as one of the shield boosters from the equipment pack to build it.

 

This machine has a really sleek look going for it. The wings and heat blade beam rifle add to its menacing appearance and is vaguely reminiscent of designs such as the Freedom Gundam. Sorry, no comparison shot with the white colour version here since I must first field strip my white Hazel-Rah with Booster Unit and that will happen first after the EX03 review has been posted.

   

 

RX-121-1+FF-X29A Gundam TR-1 [Hazel-Rah] Second Form

 

The second form Hazel Rah is where things start to become a little bit ridiculous for their own good. Basically you need to slaughter a second Hrududu and open up a second equipment pack to salvage enough components for the full deal. The result is a machine which wears the wings of the second Hrududu like side skirts and adds its bladed beam rifle as the worst looking phallic object in Gundam history. You also have to drag the arms out of their sockets otherwise the wings won't fit underneath. This figure only looks good when you view it from certain angles (and I don't think I managed to find one such angle here...).

 

The second form Hazel-Rah also equips the oversized feet and forehead sensor array that we see on the Advanced Hazel design. The whole thing mostly resembles experiments from my childhood Lego obsession where the amount of available parts would set the design rather than any form of design idea. The "more is more"-approach if you will. :)

 

I should also point out that the Hazel-Rah Second Form that you see in this review is actually not built using components from the Ensemble Part 3.5 set. Instead it has been assembled with the exact same type of pieces from the EX 03 Premium figure. You can see here that its blue colour is a bit different from the basic Hazel-Rah made up of components from wave 3.5. Here you can also see the blue-painted large feet on the premium figure as opposed to the white feet which come from the Part 3.5 equipment pack.

   

 

RX-121-1+FF-X29A Gundam TR-1 [Hazel-Rah] Second Form with Booster Unit

 

Lastly, this final figure is just a sneak peek at the full Premium EX03 figure which will have its own review shortly. Basically it is the Hazel-Rah Second Form figure attached to the large booster engine found exclusively in the EX 03 box. All the other variations that feature in the EX 03 box can be built using the basic Part 03 or Part 3.5 figures, but you'll need multiple boxes to build some of the larger types. The Hazel-Rah Second Form requires one Hazel Custom, two Hrududus and two Equipment Packs to fully complete

 

   

 

Conclusion

 

Overall the Ensemble Part 3.5 set is a great wave of figures dragged down only by the fact that if you were a veteran of the series you most likely already owned Part 03 when this set came out. If you are still looking for both of these sets either would make a fine purchase. This goes especially for those of you who enjoy tinkering with the figures as the Hazels are some of the most intricate and customizable designs in Ensemble. Availability however remains pretty scarce and it is the same story for both of these sets. In my experience the Hrududu and the Equipment Packs can be reasonably easy to find and if you want to go all in on the Hazels you may want to pick up some of those as spares to complement a full set (if you can find one that is).