Today we are looking at a release that almost disappeared amid the noise of the pandemic. Senshi Forte Part 11 was supposed to be released in April but I am not sure exactly when it made it to market. I recall Bandai mentioning that the figures had completed manufacturing before the lockdowns and shipping disruptions began but I don't know exactly when they reached retail. I picked my own set in August from a seller in Hong Kong for about 30 USD. I would have loved to pick up extra GMs and Z'Gok's but these are difficult to source as singles so it is going to take some time to accomplish unfortunately.
Volume eleven is also a watershed moment in the Senshi Forte development history. It is the first set to feature a completely revised anatomy which is taking a lot of cues from Mobile Suit Ensemble. While the new format has the added feature of being significantly easier to build the primary reason for its introduction was to lower production costs by utilizing common parts.
F071 : ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam
The first figure to take advantage of the new build is the Strike Freedom which is an interesting choice since we can compare it directly to the Freedom Gundam which is an older Senshi Forte figure.
Looking pretty good there, sir. While I did put some extra colour on the shoulders and arms the figure is really attractive straight out of the package. We can see some nice two-colour schemes on single parts like the feet and the hip-mounted railguns, not to mention the wings of course.
Here you can see the revised build strategy implemented with Senshi Forte 2.0. The torso is now made up of a front and a back panel where the back-panel is standardized. This mimics the Mobile Suit Ensemble figures to the letter and also means we don't have to punish our figures with the dumbbell-shaped double-ball joint pieces anymore. Those were a real pain to insert properly and would leave your figures really sore after having put together a few figures. The new figures snap together very easily in comparison. Note that the entire inner frame and base are molded in gold colour. This is because the hands are now part of the same sprue and so they got to decide the rest of the inner frame's colour.
The Strike Freedom has articulated wings so that you can choose to display it with wings folded or extended like above.
Size and style comparison of the Strike Freedom from Gashapon Warrior NEXT (Volume 17, released in December 2013), the base ZGMF-X10A Freedom from Gashapon Senshi Forte 08 (January 2019) and the new Strike Freedom from Senshi Forte 11. Notice the considerable size difference between the two Senshi Forte figures.
F072 : RGZ-91 Re-GZ
The next figure to take advantage of the Senshi Forte makeover is the Re-GZ. We saw its friends from Char's Counterattack in Senshi Forte Part 09 which I am ashamed to say I still haven't built but I will update this review with some comparison shots eventually... :)
The Re-GZ is one of those figures that tend to change colours between various ranges and in my opinion this one is a bit on the pale side. There is enough interesting detail on the front torso but the the rest of the figure is a bit bland so I went all over it with a black marker pen to make it stand out a bit more.
Unlike the Strike Freedom figure the rest of the figures in this set all utilize the standard black inner frame components and so all feature the exact same black hands. This is one of the most obvious downsides to the Senshi Forte 2.0 format since the old figure has mini-sprues for the hands only and so enjoyed custom hand sculpts and colours but from now on we are stuck with the same type across the board.
Comparison of the RGZ-91B Re-GZ Custom from Gashapon Warrior NEXT 15 (2013) and the base Re-GZ from Senshi Forte. Apart from these two we only have a pair of old Gashapon Full Color versions of the Re-GZ so it is nice to finally get a Re-GZ in the new NEXT/DASH/Forte scale.
F073 : RGM-79 GM
The classic GM has enjoyed recent appearances in both the Mobile Suit Ensemble and the MicroWars lines and so it is nice to see it pop up here as well. You can never have too many GM's, especially since the E.F.S.F. line-up from UC 0079 is pretty much the GM and the Ball next to the White Base crew.
I think the GM figure really benefits from the 2.0 format. The inner black frame adds some nice mechanic feel to the figure which would probably have looked decidedly blander if the entire torso was a single piece.
The GM is equipped with a really tiny Beam Spray Gun and a very nicely painted and sculpted shield. You will find a bazooka in the equipment set as well, more on that later.
F074 : MSM-07S Z'Gok (Char's Custom)
The Z'Gok is another classic design that gets a lot of appearances in almost all figure lines. Strangely enough it hasn't yet found its way into Mobile Suit Ensemble but perhaps this figure will help opening the way.
The Senshi Forte Z'Gok looks excellent with a distinct and vibrant colour scheme. Because of its unorthodox headless build the figure actually has both a front and a back panel to completely encase the inner frame from view. The headpiece sits on a ball joint and is not a perfect fit with the rest of the body which will look a bit quirky and will probably bother some collectors.
Because of the nature of the 2.0 figure design you will get regular mobile suit hands on the sprue for this figure as well. Good for spare parts I suppose, I added them to the quickly growing pile of surplus components.
Poor GM, never gets to catch a break from the Z'Gok it seems...
F075 : MSM-07 Z'Gok
Next in line we have the colour variation for this set; the mass production type Z'Gok. Senshi Forte tends to have two figures of the same type in each volume, typically a colour or slight component variant. Bandai then typically packs the figures in A-sets and B-sets where the A-set will contain all the other figures in the set together with the first variant of the figure, and a B-set where only the colour variation is different. This creates an artificial rarity for these figures while the market becomes flooded with surplus units of the other figures (in this case the Strike Freedom, Re-GZ and the GM). So, building a squad of mass production type Z'Gok's is much harder work than building a squad of GM's. And this, as always, sucks royally.
Not a whole lot to say about this figure, it is the exact same as the red one save for the colour scheme. It has been a really long time since Bandai made the olive green version in use by the Zeon remnants in Unicorn; I sure would like to see it as some sort of colour variation down the line.
The Senshi Forte Z'Gok figures come with one open and one closed claw. If you are happy to own multiple figures you can create variants where both claws are opened or closed as well.
The Senshi Forte figure is just sooo much better looking than its predecessor from Gashapon Warrior NEXT (volume 16, released in 2013) both were anatomy and colour choices are concerned.
F076 : Equipment set for wave 11
The other major introduction with Senshi Forte 2.0 is of course the dreaded equipment set. Designed as yet another cost cutting technique it puts various accessories for the rest of the figures in the wave in a box of its own. This is of course also intended to make you want to buy the entire set rather than just the figures you happen to like.
The equipment set for volume eleven contains three additional weapons and the new standardized modular display stand.
As we have seen in the component photos the basic Senshi Forte figures come with simple stands of their own. These are much sturdier than the old stands which tend to topple over very easily. The new stands also feature connectors so that you can string them together horizontally which is a nice touch. Here the differently coloured stands look a bit out of place though.
The build instructions area rather limited so I am not exactly sure what Bandai intended we do with the stands that come in the equipment sets. Here I have utilized all the components from an equipment set plus the regular base from one of the figures on top. Then I have combined stands from three equipment sets to create this half-baked stand. I guess you are supposed to be able to build both horizontally and vertically to create some really impressive displays. The fact that you only get one these stands per full set of figures means you will never have enough of them. Bandai might want to consider selling them as accessories.
On the gear side of things we have the combined Long Range Beam Rifle for the Strike Freedom. This is a combination of two MA-M21KF rifles of which you only get one with the Strike Freedom itself. It seems to me Bandai could have included a second basic rifle either with the figure itself or the equipment pack. This accessory isn't as interesting as say a beam saber would have been either.
The Re-GZ is the clear winner of this set and receives a rare translucent beam saber made up of two different types of plastic. Absolutely zero complaints here - this is how you convince a collector that they need the equipment set. :)
The GM receives a Hyper Bazooka of the same type that the RX-78-2 Gundam uses. The same weapon also found its way into the equipment set for Senshi Forte 12 so with two of them you can create the Final Battle Specification for the RX-78. Shown here also is the Gundam's beam saber from Senshi Forte 12 which can be a useful accessory for the GM if you prefer to equip the RX-78 with a beam rifle.
Conclusion
Overall I am positively surprised by the Senshi Forte 2.0 concept. Initially I had some reservations about the mobile suits losing their unique hand sculpts but the simplified build process is a huge plus. The new bases are ok and I suppose can come in handy for other projects as well although I am not planning to make much use of them myself.
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