Mobile Suit Ensemble EX 19 : Gundam Leopard Destroy and Gundam Airmaster Burst

Whenever Bandai decides to launch a new figure series they have the chance to take it in an unprecedented direction. Will the designers decide to play it safe and begun churning out the usual suspects of RX-78s, Zaku II's and Unicorn Gundams or will they take a chance and break some new ground? In the case of Ensemble it was definitely the former - the initial releases were so Vanilla that I decided to pass on it. Then they hit Advance of Zeta with all the experimental Hazel designs and immediately my interest peaked and I was suckered in. Over time the designers have dared to step outside of the well-trodden path here and there and when I first saw the notification about the Leopard Destroy and Airmaster Burst set it again signaled the will to do something brave and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

 

It costs to be brave however, so of course this had to be a Premium Bandai limited release. The boxset was delivered in June 2020 together with the reissued Double X Gundam set which was one of those dreaded "Marking Plus" releases. With the Double X coming in at ¥4950 and the Leopard/Airmaster Twin Pack costing ¥5500 this means a serious dent in the collector's budget. These EX-releases are no joke.

 

No two Ensemble boxes seem to be the same size (which makes them annoying to store...) but this set is roughly the same size as the G-Self Perfect Pack and features enough components for what is basically two standard figures with a couple of extra option parts.

 

Not a bad parts count in this box and lots of components with nice paint detail applied to them. I found myself doing minimal additional colour applications to them, usually just a couple of black marker dots here and there to bring out some extra detail.

 

Some of the variants of the figures you will see in this review require the G-Falcon parts from the Ensemble Double X Gundam figure sets. It doesn't matter which version you get as each box continues a single G-Falcon unit with only minor painting differences.

   

 

GT-9600-D Gundam Leopard Destroy

 

The Leopard Destroy is an upgunned version of the base GT-9600 Gundam Leopard following it receiving heavy battle damage. The previously teal green Gundam also receives a dashing new red and white paint scheme. I would really like it if Bandai were to release the base Gundam Leopard figure as well since I love figures with strong or unusual colour schemes.

 

The Leopard Destroy has a really attractive red and white style with plenty of black detail and a few dashes of yellow here and there. It comes with two hand held accessories which appear to be some sort of bladed weapons, molded in boring transparent plastic. These are presumably the Beam Knife and a Heat Axe but I didn't see any illustration of what they are really supposed to look like so I just left them as is. I assume the knife is the same as can be seen permanently sheathed on the side of the right leg.

 

When it comes to the overall body shape the figure looks very much like your traditional Ensemble Gundam figure but the actual mobile suit has a rather bulky and broad-shouldered appearance that hasn't really translated that well into this figure.

 

Looking at the oversized Virsago Chest break figure I think it would have been nice if Bandai had accentuated some of the Leopard Destroy's features a bit. They certainly have the technology for it.

 

I like this clean look of the Leopard Destroy the most. Next we will begin to expose its various weapons in more or less appealing poses.

 

The Destroy features two missile racks with operable hatches. On the left leg there is a small optional container with four tubes while the left shoulder now has a huge 11-tube missile rack with a separate lid that can be posed in open or closed mode. Unlike the small lids on the leg pod this component is actually not hinged but just slid into the sockets, hopefully these will not be worn out by frequent use as that could become a bit of an issue.

 

Getting the Leopard Destroy into a pose with all its weapons brandished the figure has to undergo a not insignificant parts conversion exercise. You start by removing the kneecap and breastplate armor and replace these with option parts that brandish Gatling cannons (you can barely see these on the legs) in what looks like After War Gundam X's take on the Heavyarms from Gundam Wing. next you remove the hands and reassemble the weapon pods stored on the backpack rack to create a mix of various weapon systems. I have no idea how the Gundam would actually go about to do such a maneuver as I have not seen the show but it seems highly implausible it could be done on in the field.

 

I don't know, I guess I find this pose a little bit over the top. Also, where the hell does the Gundam store all the ammunition for such a barrage of firepower. It looks like you would do one full burst alpha strike and then you have to rely on that knife for the remainder of the fight...

 

If you want to mess up the appearance of the Leopard Destroy even further and are lucky enough to own the Double X Gundam + G-Falcon set you can make use of the G-Falcon components to create this hideous abomination where the Gundam docks with the G-Falcon unit. I bet it looks way cooler in the show.

 

Unlike many EX figures the Leopard/Airmaster pack only comes with two regular Ensemble-style stands. These are highly unsuitable to creating any interesting poses and so as usually I have to break out my Assault Kingdom stuff to come to the figure's rescue.

   

 

GW-9800-B Gundam Airmaster Burst

 

The second figure in the box, the Airmaster Burst has a lot in common with the Leopard Destroy. After the GW-9800 Airmaster was bested in battle and seriously damaged the machine was upgraded into the Airmaster Burst configuration. Apparently this was also a good opportunity to repaint it into a new set of colours and offer it to an unsuspecting buyer good as new.

 

I really like the look of the Airmaster Burst figure, it just shows what a little well applied colours will do. it has a bright livery of white and blue with some darker parts in navy and black and a few splotches of yellow here and there. Absolutely stunning.

 

The Airmaster used to be white and red and is a real looker as well. I sure wouldn't mind seeing the original version hitting Ensemble but it would require a bit more effort to realize than converting the Leopard destroy into the base Leopard figure. One can always wish, right?

 

The Airmaster Burst for its part comes with two hand held weapons which I assume are its Buster Rifles. These also double as cannons in the mobile armor mode. The figure also has a single optional missile rifle which looks like a double barreled shotgun with a couple of missiles tucked on to it. It would have been nice if the guns were molded in grey like on the official artwork but whatever.

 

The Airmaster's gimmick is conversion into a mobile armor mode which resembles a fighter jet. The Ensemble figure can also do this and the transformation involves a bit of messing around with the components but it gets more involved than with the Leopard Destroy since you have to take apart the figure at the hips (and later even pull apart the legs which is not something I am too keen on doing with Ensemble figures). As always I would recommend deciding which mode you want to have your figure in and stick with it.

 

I have to say the mobile armor mode is really nice looking, at least the front section of it. I have the same kind of reservations toward the Re-GZ with its BWS attached (or the Macross Valkyries for that matter...); fighter jets with feet sticking out at the back don't look too hot in my book. It would help if there were option parts for the feet allowing them to slide backwards. A good base is a must as it will go a long way towards making the figure look more appealing as well.

 

Another slightly annoying detail is how the buster rifles that are now acting as forward facing cannons actually aren't facing forward at all, since it is not possible to align the arms in such a fashion. For an Ensemble figure though, this is still not a bad effort and overall I really enjoy the fighter mode so much so that it would have been nice to own multiple figures to be able to display both modes.

 

But wait, we're not done yet! The Airmaster Burst also has a G-Falcon docking option which turns it into a real beast similar to the ZZ Gundam's G-Fortress mode. Once again you need the Double X set to make it happen so if you really wanted to build a flying armada where all three Gundams were attached to G-Falcon units it would be really expensive to accomplish. Too bad the various figures weren't available on their own in the regular line-up.

When docked with the G-Falcon you have to remove the legs under the knees and use a special lower leg component that is also attached inside the G-Falcon. Messing with that conversion too many times will quickly were out Ensemble joints so be careful.

 

Out of all the figure modes available for the Leopard Destroy and the Airmaster Burst this is my clear favourite. I kind of hesitated to take it apart as I would really like to keep it in this configuration but I still have to review that G-Falcon as part of the Double X Gundam set. :)

   

 

Conclusion

 

Mobile Suit Ensemble has really spoiled us with a number of interesting After War Gundam X releases. While only the Gundam X itself showed up in the retail line (together with conversion parts for the X-Divider mode) we have had three really nice EX twin-packs really fleshing out the line-up. It seems I will have to wit in vain for some nice grunt-type suits like the Daughtress and the Jenice but still two thumbs up for Ensemble daring to go down this path. The downside is of course the price, expect to pay around ¥6500-7000 for any of the EX figures. This has definitely lessened my appetite for picking up a second box to build the Airmaster Burst in MA mode which is a real shame. :)