Mobile Suit Ensemble EX 20 : MSA-0011[Ext] Ex-S Gundam

In February this year Bandai released Mobile Suit Ensemble part 13. It broke the mold for this Gashapon series not only in how much a figure was allowed to cost, but the parts for some of the figures couldn't even fit in the usual plastic capsules. The set featured a lovingly crafted S Gundam as well the Xeku Eins as extra glamorous figures. Now that the Ex-S Gundam hits Ensemble Bandai will have an opportunity to recoup on some of that development cost.

 

The Ex-s Gundam figure carries number 20 and illustrates how the EX range is taking over the Ensemble brand. We saw the same thing in Assault Kingdom towards the end of its lifecycle as regular Gashapon sets petered out and a slew of EX figures arrived in their place.

 

With the original MSA-0011 S Gundam appearing in stores in February the preorder phase for the Ex-S followed shortly afterwards and deliveries began in September. The preorder price was ¥4620 and the figure currently sells for around ¥7000 on the secondary market where it will probably be popular.

 

As you can see from the parts this is a pretty straightforward build. The only dedicated option parts are three sets of different hands and the build instructions only cover a single mode; the unique keyboard player pose.

 

I'll begin by saying that just like almost every other Gundam Sentinel figure out there the design is loaded with various moving parts and components that can be a bit frustrating to line up symmetrically and that are also prone to falling off if you begin messing with the figure. I basically take a hands-off approach with this type of figure once I find a pose I like. As evident from the photos I haven't bothered trying to line up the wing binders to rest properly on the support struts that reach out to grab them from the base. Rest assured that if Bandai designed it this probably works impeccably but I for one don't have the energy to try to align everything and would much rather just remove the support altogether.

 

The MSA-0011[Ext] Ex-S Gundam flanked by the MSA-0011 S Gundam and the MSA-0011[Bst] S Gundam Booster Unit Type, both from Part 13.

Another thing about the Sentinel mobile suits designs is the use of many small details with multiple colours. This is obviously hard to capture even on an EX Gashapon figure but the effort is decent. Just like the S Gundam figure before it the main areas to work over are the legs and I spent some time to bring out a bit of their details and it made the figure look a bit happier.

 

I am not huge fan of action bases and so was curious to find out if the figure could stand upright with its heavy wing binders and booster units. Unarmed the figure has no chance but to my surprise it stands quite well when armed with the Beam Smart Gun, Notice the very ugly seamlines that run straight through the wing binders. Out of the box these components don't fit together as snugly as you would normally expect and you'll want to work them over to get better results than I did.

 

The Ex-S Gundam figure sure feels like it has a lot in common with the basic S Gundam figure but as is evident from the comparison the many differences become clear when placed next to each other. Everything is more pronounced on the Ex-S, there are a couple more colours here and there and so on. Do you need both the S Gundam and the Ex-S Gundam in your Ensemble line-up? Probably not, but if you can stomach the price you'll most likely love this figure to bits. :)