SD Gundam Full Color Custom SP (Silver Ver.)

In this review we will briefly go over one of the more gimmick SD figure sets, courtesy of the Full Color Custom series. As is sometimes the case, Bandai tries to give a figure series on its last legs a little push into desperation territory. We have seen the switch for example in both Gundam Converge and Mobile Suit Ensemble, and similar patterns could be seen in e.g. Gundam Collection and Assault Kingdom. basically, you take something previously released and make some superficial change and churn it out in new brand spanking packaging, appealing to the completionists out there to please buy some more.

 

The SD Full Color Custom series however had only barely just started when this set appeared. Four volumes and six months in, with a total of 40 figures released thus far, it was time for a silver color rehash. Ten of the previouly released figures were selected for a silver colour makeover and thrown out in this fashion. I don't know however if the set was released in conjunction with some particular event when it launched in October 2006. I doubt it because I picked up a full set for ¥800 recently and event limited stuff tends to be quite pricey.

 

On closer inspection you will notice that each figure in this set comes with one piece of seemingly random accessory. In fact there are five types of components distributed evenly among the ten figures in the set. You are invited to make use of these to build your own creations (somehow) and the exact same gimmicky components also show up in other Full Color Custom SP sets. I will not be looking into these in more detail but you can see each component above and below the respective mobile suit in the parts shot above. We have a sword, a funnel-type bit (that looks like it belongs to the Sazabi), what looks like some sort of shield, some type of link and the little craft which looks suspiciously like the Orb Union's mobile worker MAW-01 Mistral.

 

 

01 : ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam

 

As you will quickly find out I will not dwell very much on the individual figures and pretty much let the pictures speak for themselves. If I can get around to reviewing the original sets we will look at them in more detail there. The first figure here, the Strike Freedom, was also the very first figure of the Full Color Custom line itself when it premiered in April 2006.

 

 

02 : METEOR System

 

The METEOR system showed up in Full Color Custom 02 together with the Infinite Justice which was not deemed important enough to be reissued in this set which I find odd considering some of the other figures that were indeed chosen.

 

 

03 : ZGMF-1000/A1 Gunner ZAKU Warrior

 

The Gunner ZAKU Warrior figure is a bit novel in that Bandai had already released both a mass production green variant in volume 02 as well as Lunamaria Hawke's red custom color variant in set 03 so I guess you can decide for yourself which one this is (you can of course read the booklet which is more than my translate app is capable of considering the funky font style).

04 : ZGMF-1001/K Slash ZAKU Phantom (Yzak Joule Custom)

Yzak Joule's odd version of the Slash ZAKU Phantom is originally light blue but here's your chance to repaint it and give it to someone else, or why not paint it mass production green, that would have been a novel twist.

 

 

05 : LCAM-01XA Archangel

The legged ship sits in the next slot and I really like this early sculpt, especially from the rear. The Full Color Custom series also features the Eternal and the Minerva.

 

 

06 : GAT-01A1+AQM/E-X04 Gunbarrel Dagger

The Gunbarrel Dagger is an odd choice for this set but I really dig it. The figure can be posed either with the thruster pack on the mobile suit or attached to the business end of the AQM/E-X04 Gunbarrel Striker itself. You only get one engine pack though so you have to choose which configuration to run with.

 

 

07 : ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam

The Destiny comes fully equipped yet still manages to look pretty unappealing and simplistic - especially when compared to the spread wings on the Strike Freedom.

 

 

08 : ZGMF-X56S/a Force Impulse Gundam

Why on Earth they selected the Force Impulse for this set I don't know, it is such a vanilla and uninteresting design. There were so many more interesting figures already among the initial forty, even the Sword Impulse would have been a better choice.

 

 

09 : MBF-02+P202QX Strike Rouge I.W.S.P.

The slot with the Strike Rouge is also pretty weak. At least it has the I.W.S.P. gear but still comes off as a bit flat. They should have gone for a mobile suit with a completely different look in my opinion, say the Legend Gundam or a GINN for example.

 

 

10 : GFAS-X1 Destroy Gundam

The last figure in the set is the very large Destroy Gundam in its mobile armor mode. There are other variants of this mobile suit in SD format that can actually transform between MA and MS mode but this figure is static.

So there you have it. Not the most Earth shattering of releases out there but it has feature novelty value. This is the only silver colour set released in the Full Color and Full Color series. Bandai would later continue with the transparent colour sets, some of which we will see here on the blog in the future as well.