SD Gundam Full Color Stage 15

Stage 15 is the first of two sets dedicated solely to U.C. 0093 and Char's Counterattack. It seems to date from a slightly more customer friendly era where the marketing people thought "hey, let's just focus on this show in these two releases and then we shift focus to something else" instead of "how about we just mix everything up and spread it out evenly to encourage people to buy everything for fear of missing out?" Aaah, memories.

 

Joking aside, this set was released in March of 2000 back when Gashapons were sold at ¥100 per capsule and had I lived in Japan I would probably have spent a considerable time in the Gashapon Arcades trying to determine where to spend my pocket money. Apart from lose figures I have picked up over the years the most recent purchase is a complete set from Mandarake last year which cost ¥1200 so these figures shouldn't be terribly hard to find.

 

As usual, here is a shot of how the figures come out of their bags, not much assembly required. Normally figures from this era will feature one or two movable arms and at times maybe a removable head.

 

As a little bonus, here is the cardback from the Gashapon vending machine from when the figures were kicking around in the shops. The things I drag home...

 

 

080 : RX-93 Nu Gundam (Ver.1.0)

To no one's surprise the first figure is the Nu Gundam, one of the true evergreen designs with so many things going on around it. It also has a rather spectacular range of accessories which makes it suitable for toy production.

 

This is a very clean looking sculpt with beautiful attention to detail. As usual the colour applications are very limited outside of the head and torso, that's just how things usually go with these figures. Personally I think most of the figures in this set could have benefitted from some colour particularly in their shields, which often feature two-tone colour schemes. Amuro's logo for example was painted on the shoulder so it would have been nice to find on the shield as well. The bazooka carried on the back is not intended as optional gear since the hand is molded directly onto the beam rifle.

 

Here you can see a pair of fellow Nu Gundams from the same figure series. To the right is the version 2.0 figure with a Beam Saber and a set of Funnels from Stage 16. The figure on the left is another beam rifle holding figure (notice the painted Amuro logo on the shield) and is either the Version 3.0 figure from Stage 37 or the Nu from the enigmatic Stage 61 which looks very similar to the Version 3.0 figure on the microscopic pictures of it that I have seen. Also not shown here is the 2.5 version from Stage 50 (which is a reissue of the 2.0 figure with a special stand).

 

 

081 : RGM-89 Jegan

Next up we have one of the two mass-production type suits in this set, the other being a Geara Doga for the Neo Zeon opposition. I always look for more of these when I am browsing the used toy shops (with the recent plague going about that seems like forever ago...) because who could possibly resist this cute little green guy?

 

Another fantastic sculpt here. The super deformed proportions of the head gives the figure something of an Ancient Greek helmet look which just oozes confidence and menace. Surprising that we haven't seen that aesthetic used more in overall Gundam design. My main complaint would be the large area of the shield that should have been painted dark gray, it would have made the figure even more appealing.

 

There is only one Jegan sculpt available in this figure series but at least it is a good one. You had to wait 14 years for it to come back in Gashapon Warrior NEXT form in 2014 (together with two great ECOAS variants). Lately it has also appeared in Senshi Forte 09 in 2019 and MicroWars 04 in 2020.

 

 

082 : RGZ-91 Re-GZ

The first half of this set belongs to Londo Bell and it is rounded of by the fine Re-GZ which feels like something that should have been mass-produced. I usually try to army build these guys since it offers some variation to the very GM and Jegan-centric line-ups of the E.F.S.F.

 

Another clean design and nice looking figure here. You can of course guess at this point that I am going to whine a bit about the lack of colour application on the shield but have you ever seen Bandai skimp it on the RX-78? Exactly; all the RX-78-2 Gundams in this figure series have shields painted in red and white with a yellow cross. Surely some love could have been given to the many other half-painted figures - this is the Full Color series after all, it says so right on the booklet... :)

 

The Re-GZ returns in Stage 16 with its Back Weapon System deployed. That figure could perhaps have been a little bit larger but they still display nicely together and the colour matching between the two is near perfect.

 

 

083 : AMS-119 Geara Doga

Halfway through the set and we are switching to the Neo Zeon side. You may have been forgotten to have expected to see the Sazabi leading the charge but come on, Bandai has to keep something up the sleeve to help sales for Stage 16 (a set that the Nu Gundam got to lead as well anyway because that's how Bandai rolls).

 

A beautiful if a bit stumpy looking Geara Doga here. Notice how the paint apps on the shoulder and the spiked shield add some nice flair to the figure, this is how the Jegan and the Re-GZ could have been enhanced as well. Looking at the back side of the figure we have a very clean display of the factory stampings often found on these Gashapon figurines. We have a copyright in traditional characters followed by an S, a Made in China stamp and at the skirt the letter B followed by the typical four dot stamping. If someone has any insight into these various markings I'd be curious to learn more.

 

Rezyn Schnyder joins the fun with her custom Geara Doga in Stage 16 and these were the only variants of the Geara Doga made in the series. Of particular note also is a stumpy figure from the short lived SD Gundam Bind series from 2009 (that I should have been foreseeing enough to include here) that can also work as a decent team member, I'll see if I can remember to update this image later on. :)

 

 

084 : MSN-03 Jagd Doga (Gyunei Guss Custom)

Next up we have one of the two prototype Jagd Doga newtype mobile suits. Fitting with the general strategy here, you can find the second figure in Stage 16. Then it was quiet on the Jagd Doga front until 2016 when the pair once again made an appearance as P-Bandai figures in Gashapon Warrior DASH Premier 02. Interestingly enough they haven't made it to neither Senshi Forte nor MicroWars, figure series that have spent quite some effort on Char's Counterattack. They appear to be slated for an appearance in Mobile Suit Ensemble in the near future however and if handled correctly ( = don't go cheap on the painting) that should be great.

 

I am not entirely convinced by this figure to be honest. The sculpting is great and while the painting is quite good it is hard to spot the dark gray areas which make it a bit plain looking (especially when compared to its red sibling). Still, here two colours have been carefully applied to the shield which is a huge plus.

 

Neo Zeon's misfit newtype squadron line up for a shot. Both of Quess' machines - the Alpha Azieru and the red Jagd Doga - were released in the following Stage 16.

 

 

085 : RMS-116H Hobby Hizack

Hold on, what is this? The last slot in the set is actually not Zeon at all, but civilian. Yep, thrown in here almost a bit like a meme, is the Hobby Hizack for recreational use. It is great to see it here, especially since it has such a distinct colour scheme.

 

There is not a whole lot to say about this figure. Being a civilian machine it of course has no weaponry but instead an interesting pose with a lifted foot and held out arm. It kind of resembles a grandma doing early morning tai chi in the park. It is cute but I would have preferred if the budget would have been spent on getting the other suits' shields painted.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Overall this is of course a great themed set. If you are into Char's Counterattack this lot together with Stage 16 will set you up with everything you need. It helps that the figures are on the cheaper end of the scale but as usual, availability outside of Japan and a few other Asian countries will be limited still.