As the One Year War dragged on the Earth Federation began a massive effort to deny the Principality of Zeon its mining operations in Central Asia. During this campaign a massive EFF army challenged a far smaller contingent of Zeon forces, although the latter was enjoying a massive advantage in available mobile suits. Exactly what this has to do with The 08th MS Team I do not know, but Bandai still decided to theme this set of figures after the Odessa Campaign.
This is the second Strategy of Gundam set and was released as randomized Gashapon in the Autumn of 2006. While I have never seen the figures in their original packaging I am going to go ahead and assume that they were available from capsule machines and came in whatever contemporary capsules were used in the day (probably of the same type as the near in size Gashapon HG figures). Originally sold at a price of ¥200 the figures remain cheap for the most part as long as you hunt for them in Japan, while tending to be overpriced on the overseas market. I recently picked up another set from Mandarake for a total of ¥800 and figured I may as well review it since most of my other S.O.G. figures don't have any unboxing photos.
Since we haven't really discussed S.O.G. in great detail on the blog before I'll just mention a couple of things about them in general. As far as Gashapon figures go, I'd say these are some of the most detailed and colour accurate figures out there (not counting pricier Shokugan figures like STANDart). Besides upholding a good painting standard many sets also feature weathering or washes to further enhance their appeal. Articulation varies from figure to figure but you can usually get a couple of poses out of each of them. All figures are meant to adhere to the 1:300 scale which means you get some really beefy looking mobile suits like the Zock or the Hy-Gogg in the mix. On the flipside they do not really scale well with other figures out there except some of the various Banpresto/Unifive keyring figure series and the occasional undersized Gashapon HG figure.
RX-79[G]Ez-8 Gundam Ez8
While the Ground Type Gundam is a real staple in many figure series the Ez-8 seems to be less popular with the manufacturers. It is also a bit puzzling that neither it nor the base RX-79 have been featured in the Converge reboot series yet, especially when you consider how they are down and mucking about in rare F91 and League Militaire variations at this point. The S.O.G. version of the Ez8 is a traditional looking figure armed with a heavy BLASH XBR-M-79E Beam Rifle and the iconic RGM·S-Sh-WF/S-00116·Ap-A Shield as well as an empty carrying frame on the back. Notice the attention to detail where the colour of the shield differs from the main mobile suit, a cheaper figure would not always be this accurate (in this case it probably helps that the Ground Gundam is up next...). It would have been nice to have the number 08 on the shield in some form but you can easily amend this yourself if you want to.
RX-79[G] Ground Type Gundam
Next up we have the basic RX-79[G] also in a moderate action pose which is not too extreme from an army building point of view. The armament is a bit lacking, coming only with a YHI YF-MG100 100mm Machine Gun and the same shield as the Ez-8. It would have been really nice if there had been a second variant of this figure in the set armed with the 180mm cannon and the classic backpack. Later S.O.G. waves feature A/B figure variants of GMs and Zakus so in this case I guess the RX-79 would have been a bit more interesting if it had been released later down the line.
This figure does have one gimmick however - an optional Ground Type GM head for your Karen Joshua custom ride. Again notice the attention to detail in the colouring of the head, too bad the series doesn't feature a full RGM-79[G] as well because it would have looked great. And on the topic of rarely seen mobile suits, I don't get why the attractive Ground Type GM isn't a common figure appearance either.
RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type
Here is another really rare bird, the mass production type Guntank. Perhaps Limited Production Guntank would have been a better designation because onyl a handful appear to have been built before being replaced by the far sexier RMV-1 Guntank II (Converge figure, where are you?). The figure is basically a redesigned Guntank with very long barrels for its new 120mm Low-Recoil Cannons. Since S.O.G. figures are made out of bendy soft plastic you can expect these to be slightly out of shape for the most part.
Paired up with the RX-75-4 Guntank from the first S.O.G. wave. As you can see this is a completely resculpted figure and not just a lazy colour conversion with minimal modifications.
Is the S.O.G. Mass Production Guntank suitable for displaying with your Converge figures? Well, size-wise it can function fairly well as long as you keep it away from the very differently proportioned RX-75-4 Converge Guntank. You would probably want to shorten the long cannon barrels a bit to better match the Converge aesthetic but with the top part removable that can be done in a jiffy.
MS-07B-3 Gouf Custom
Never a dull moment to be a Guntank pilot when Norris Packard is around in his formidable Gouf Custom. Armed to the teeth here with its Heat Sword drawn and Gatling Shield at the ready you know there is going to be trouble. The S.O.G. Gouf Custom figure is truly sublime and very menacing looking figure and the attention to detail nothing short of astounding. A huge blocky stand is included for the cannon to rest upon but I did not include it in the pictures here since you will have no trouble displaying the figure with out it.
MS-07H-8 Gouf Flight Type
We have a second Gouf in this set and it looks just as good. The experimental Flight Type unit features several tacked on jet engines and a number of wing-like stabilizers all over its body but its aerodynamics look questionable. The wide legs are reminiscent of the MS-09 Dom or the High Mobility Type Zakus. It carries a modified Gatling Shield although this figure does not brandish a Heat Sword. The Gouf Flight Type is an excellent figure design (although still beaten by the 1:220 Ultimate Operation incarnation) and like most of the figures in this set I can only scratch my head as to why it hasn't been made a Converge figure yet. The 1:400 Gundam Collection line features another two variations of the Gouf Flight Test Type in red and blue, there is so much new figure potential being wasted here...
MS-06RD-4 Zaku High Mobility Test Type
The last mobile suit in this set is even further from the Odessa Campaign, it being a space type testbed and all, but of course also features in the 08th MS Team storyline. We are basically looking at a Zaku II with a lower body of a Rick Dom (the Space-type version of the Dom) and a colour scheme highly similar to the ultimate appearance of the MS-09. While I would rather have seen this slot awarded to a Ground Type GM or alternate version of the Ground Type Gundam it is still a very decorative and unique looking figure.
RB-79K Ball Type K / Type 74 Hover Truck
In the last capsule we find a two-for-one where Bandai has paired up a space type Ball with an Earthbound Type 74 Blood Hound Hover Truck. The orange-coloured K-Type Ball features different armaments from the basic RB-79 variant faithfully reproduced in this version unlike say the Gundam Converge mishap that was just a recoloured RB-79. The thin dual 180mm Cannons will often appear bent like in the example on display here. The white action base is completely removable.
The Converge Ball figures are quite underwhelming and so you could consider the Strategy of Gundam Balls as stand-ins. Here is the basic RB-79 Ball (from S.O.G. wave 5) hanging out with a pair of Converge GMs.
I really like the M354A4 Bloodhound Hover Truck and the Strategy of Gundam variant is the biggest to-scale figure out there unless you count the various model kit incarnations (which are both quite rare and expensive). The most interesting feature of this particular figure is that it comes with an optional loadout. You can either run it as the traditional flatbed cargo carrier or equip it with a monstruous dual launcher to augment that puny 20mm turreted pea-shooter Gatling cannon up front. I haven't seen an actual description of this large weapon which looks like some sort of gun platform but it could easily be proxied as an air defence system, I imagine it hails from one of the various games or mangas out there. If anyone happens to know feel free to drop a line in the comments.
An early morning movement of elements of a light mechanized company under heavy escort by battalion air defence cover. Look out, spacenoids!
The Bloohound as it appears in 1:350 scale (Gundam Gsight), 1:300 S.O.G. and then deformed in Mobile Suit Ensemble and MicroWars respectively. One of the advantages of the Gsight figure is that there were a handful of different ground vehicles made in that scale whereas the Strategy of Gundam selection is quite limited.
Conclusion
The Strategy of Gundam figures are really excellent for miniature gaming with them being both cheap, of high quality and very durable. As far as I know however, there is no game system to go with the figures themselves even though the name would seem to imply it. Eager gamers can of course consider conversion of their favourite rules set (the 1:400 Gundam Collection game would be its closest relative). There is much to love here for regular figure collectors as well although you will lock yourself in to an awkward scale and almost exclusively Universal Century mobile suits if you do.
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