Gundam Converge CORE : New Mobile Report Gundam W Endless Waltz Operation Meteor

I confess that I sometimes find it difficult to understand the theory behind the Converge CORE program. Sure, I get that the idea is to make the Converge line more profitable but what exactly is the scope of the Converge Redefinition brand? It originally launched as a means to sell us the same old mobile suits all over again but now with a little bit of altered colours, some metallic colour detail and completely bogus markings. Then a couple of figures showed up with completely new molded parts such as QAN[T] Full Saber and Strike Rouge I.W.S.P. and before we knew it a completely new machines like the Gundam Virtue and the Core Fighter appeared.

 

The Operation Meteor set balances somewhere in between introducing new sculpted detail and introducing brand new mobile suits, or at least versions of them. The set delivered in January 2020 and remained scarce on the secondary market. it took me more than half a year to finally grab a box from Mandarake and by that time the price had climbed from the P-Bandai offering of ¥6160 to a full ¥9000. Ouch. Still, if you a quick search on eBay you may find some even nastier surprises as far as prices are concerned.

 

As you can see from the parts there is nothing particularly excessive about this set. It contains five mobile suit figures which are basically rehashes of previous sculpts with varying degrees of alterations made to them. Why these figures were not allowed into the main Converge retail line I don't really understand, considering the many variations of Victory and F91 designs we have seen as of late. I guess Bandai was more interested in selling fewer figures at higher prices rather than going for mass-market volume this time.

   

 

XXXG-01W Wing Gundam (EW)

The Wing Gundam is the centerpiece of the five Colony Nations Gundams and piloted by the most annoying character (barely) of the bunch. The Wing is no stranger and we have seen both the 01W and the 00W0 Wing Gundam Zero released into the retail line already, in fact this figure is a simple rehash of the previous retail figure.

 

The Wing has an elaborate and colourful straight wing design as its main concept and I think this looks much better than the organic angelic wings on the Wing Gundam Zero. The attention to detail in the paint scheme is great but then again this is not something we haven't already seen before.

 

The Wing comes equipped with its large Buster Rifle and a nicely decorated shield. I wish a little bit more effort could have been aimed at painting up the rifle, seeing as the figure hasn't really received a lot of attention in this reissue. This is supposed to be a CORE release after all.

 

Can you spot which figure is the CORE version and which is the retail figure from Converge #06 (released in April 2017)?

A more interesting comparison is made when you pair the Wing up with its predecessor the Wing Gundam Zero. The latter is a retail figure from Converge #09, released in January 2018. Now that I think about it, it would be interesting to see Ricardo Fellini's custom green Wing Gundam Fenice hitting the regular Converge line, even though I am not a huge fan of the Build Fighter designs in general.

   

 

XXXG-01D Gundam Deathscythe (EW)

 

The Deathscythe Gundam is one of the more popular designs from Wing and it has a couple of interesting variants between the original television series and Endless Waltz. I guess it also helps that it has the only charismatic pilot character of the lot.

 

The basic Deathscythe from Endless Waltz has some nice black and yellow detail going on but overall it is a pretty standard Gundam design and perhaps not as imaginative as the upgraded version.

 

The Deathscythe comes armed with its signature Beam Scythe and a clawed Buster Shield with some offensive capabilities. It is quite lacking in ranged weaponry and is instead designed to use stealth and speed to perform hit and run assassination-type strikes, which seems a rather risky strategy if you ask me.

 

At first glance the Deathscythe looks like a completely different suit from the Deathscythe Hell. However, a closer inspection will reveal just how similar the two figures actually are. It is great to have both variants of this figure although the CORE figure has some trouble competing with the awesomeness of the retail Deathscythe Hell (released in Converge #07 in June 2017).

   

 

XXXG-01H Gundam Heavyarms (EW)

 

Aaaaand... we have a winner. Here is, without a single doubt, the best figure in the operation Meteor Box. The Heavygun is another popular design although it does not seem to get quite as much love as the Wing and the Deathscythe.

 

I am so smitten by this figure, mostly because of its strong red and orange colours. When the retail Gundams from Wing were released they all looked really nice but when grouped together would look a bit dark and dull with greens, blues and greys. The Heavyarms Gundam adds that missing red flair.

 

Just like the other Colony Nations Gundams the Heavyarms is heavily specialized and ranged attack is the order of the day. Apart from its belt fed Beam Gatling (which is highly reminiscent of the Gouf Custom's Gatling Shield) it also carries various types of guns and missiles concealed underneath its armor plating or in storage racks attached to its legs. There are no optional effect parts for these which would have been a nice touch. Rounding out the gear is an "Army Knife" (just exactly what army is it designed for?) attached to the right arm.

 

While the Heavyarms and the Heavyarms Kai figures sport very different looks you can clearly see how the earlier retail figure has been reused and tweaked. It is hard to say which is the most elegant of the two, but the Heavyarms Kai has to lose points for that half-face clown mask which looks ridiculous. This retail figure by the way has set some kind of record. It routinely sells at Mandarake for ¥5000 which is nothing short of amazing containing it is a mass-produced figure that was released as late as April 2017.

   

 

XXXG-01SR Gundam Sandrock (EW)

 

After a string of colourful designs it is time for something bland. The Sandrock from the original television series had some black and yellow stuff going on all over its torso and shield but the Endless Waltz design - while stylish with its white and dark gray/blue markings - comes off as really white in Converge. For some reason my figure also has a head that wants to constantly tilt to the right. I guess he is skeptical of the colour scheme too.

 

The Sandrock figure is dominated by its two Heat Shotel blades which are even larger in the Endless Waltz format and take away a bit from the figure in my opinion. I have never been a huge fan of the giant sword trop in anime and that is exactly what these oversized garden tools remind me of. At least the two colour scheme used on the blades is looking spiffy.

 

Some Sandrock figures allow you to store the two Heat Shotels on the figure's back when not in use but this figure has them permanently attached to the hands. I think that it would have been nice to get some option parts to allow for the blades to be stowed and then give the Sandrock another weapon and shield as well.

 

The retail Sandrock Kai figure addressed all my concerns with the CORE Sandrock figure. The retail figure (Converge #12, released October 2018) has better accessories and a more interesting colour scheme. I understand the premises of the Operation Meteor box-set but it would have been more interesting to see the Sandrock Kai with its anti-beam cloak option rather than the bland white figure we have now.

   

 

XXXG-01S Shenlong Gundam (EW)

 

The fifth and last mobile suit in the gang is the one with the name that I can never remember. The Shenlong is the basic form and it is later renamed the Altron in its 01S2 configuration. Just to make it more confusing Wufei throws around the name Nataku as alias for both versions and I'm afraid that my attention span isn't big enough to pick up on these subtleties.

 

If the Deathscythe is modelled around the Grim Reaper the Shenlong mostly resembles a Roman-era gladiator with trident and buckler shield, only the capture net is missing. The overall colour scheme is a bit bland also for this mobile suit so the figure comes off as very white.

 

The Shenlong comes armed with a Beam Trident as its main weapon (the original design features a Beam Javelin in its place), a round shield and the Dragon Fang, which is a large close combat weapon attached to the back of the right arm. It is equipped with a pair of flame throwers which seems to be an idiotic weapon for mobile suit combat... Surely a wing of Aries should be able to perforate this suit from a safe distance without much trouble.

 

While I am not a huge fan of this mobile suit there is no denying that its upgraded Altron form has a really unique and attractive colour scheme. Once again the retail figure comes out on top of the CORE variant in my opinion.

 

And so finally here we have the entire Ensemble lined up and smiling for the camera. The red Heavyarms figure brings so much needed happy colour to the group and is easily my favourite pick of the five. As much as I would love to see an equally impressive line-up of Oz mobile suits I harbor no such optimism unfortunately.

  

 

Conclusion

 

The Operation Meteor set may seem like a no-brainer purchase if you are a fan of the Gundam Wing mobile suit designs but I think you can get pretty good mileage out of the basic retail figures as well. Ironically one of the retail figures has become extremely expensive and so the pricing gap isn't as large as you would have first thought. Still, coughing up the current asking prices for this set is going to be rather hard to stomach. One for the completists only, I would say.