We are slowly continuing through Bandai's F90 variations series with yet another pair of weird F90 variations. It is not uncommon for mobile suits to have official MSV variations but the F90 really takes the cake. It is as if someone decided to fill out every letter of the alphabet with a new variable form and at some point you have to ask if this wasn't really the objective there. EX25 was released in tandem with the EX24 set which we reviewed recently and featured the F90A and F90P types. Ensemble also released the F90 proper as well as the D and H types back in March 2019 with the EX11 set.
Today's kit the EX25 was released in February this year with a P-Bandai price of ¥3850, making it one of those semi-painful kits to acquire. I secured mine at release but by then the price had rocketed to ¥5500 on the secondary market. I have seen it remaining in the ¥4000 to ¥6000 since then.
Just like the other entries in this series you only get enough parts to complete one mobile suit, so you have to decide on how many kits you want to buy. I settled for two this time because I don't like to swap parts around if I don't have to, so one box for the V Type and one for the M Type it was. The base F90 figure is the same as before.
Once again I'll start by recycling part of the review of the Ensemble EX 10 figure which has the same basic Gundam F90 inside. There could possibly be the slightest of colour difference here or there but hey, if Bandai can recycle their figures then I can copy-paste my review...
F90 Gundam F90 (Unit 1)
This is the basic configuration of the F0 and is a really traditional design as far as a mobile suits and Gundams in particular go. The figure is for all intents and purposes a regular Ensemble figure with a couple of finesses tacked on to it. Specifically we have nice blue armor plating on the shoulders, arms and lower legs that plug into the elbow and knee joints, effectively covering those ugly holes up. Since the shield occupies this same slot you will have to sacrifice one of the armor plates on that arm, it would have been nice to see a different engineering solution but it is fine.
The figure comes with three types of manipulators; the regular holding hands common to all Ensemble figures as well as expressive open hands and clenched fists for both left and right arm. Apart from the single beam rifle we also have two beam sabers made up of clear plastic parts for the blades and solid whites for the handles. The handles slot into the backpack when the sabers are not in use. This simple gimmick should have been made standard for all Ensemble figures right from the start, since it makes both the sabers and the backpacks really attractive.
I put in most of the effort on this figure to make the shield look at least somewhat decent, since it is missing its yellows and most egregiously the number "90" which is almost a hate crime. Seriously, you are making a P-Bandai figure and you couldn't even put such an iconic detail on there? I obviously don't have any decals for a Gundam F90 lying around but the transfers I used for the Swedish Army project came in handy here.
F90V Gundam F90 VSBR Type
The F90V armed with two variable speed type rifles has a lot in common with the F91 VSBR variant. I don't know which design was the first but I'd wager a bet that the F90V is made with more than a couple of glances at the F91 VSBR. Basically what you are seeing here is the base F90 sans rifle, shield and backpack. All the blue armor components are replaced with the heat dissipation fins that we find also on the F91, only this time they are longer and have serrated edged and look a bit.... dumb. Notice also the cool hip storage for the two beam saber hilts that normally sit on the backpack.
The custom V-Type backpack can swing the two VSBR rifles forward just like on the F91, although you will have to move the arms away to bring them forward. Each rifle has a large handle but I very much doubt you could make the figure actually hold on to them (and it seems kind of pointless anyway). If I wanted to display the figure with the rifles forward I would consider cutting the handles off.
F90M Gundam F90 Marine Type
Next up we have the Marine Type F90 which is just silly. I mean, don't get me wrong, the figure looks really cool. It replaces the F90's basic blue armor components with all sorts of underwater gadgetry painted in a bright orange like if it was a search and rescue helicopter. You have large torpedo canisters on the arms and legs, an underwater searchlight on one shoulder and a weird camera periscope on the other shoulder. As fun as this thing is, it makes absolutely no sense from a practical point of view. I can kind of get behind the Zeon amphibious designs with their streamlined bodies and waterjets, this thing is just extremely ill-suited for trying to fumble around in water. I always had a bit of a problem with this when the various Gundams are able to defeat underwater suits in underwater combat which seems highly implausible.
All the five F90 variations released through Ensemble thus far (and I kind of doubt they will be doing more). We also have a pair of F90II variants that I will get around to review as well, eventually. The main problem shared by all these variations is that the articulation has pretty much gone out the door. The compact Gashapon style already limits movement and with so much extra bloat attached to shoulders and hips there just isn't anywhere for the limbs to go. It would probably have made more sense to make these beautiful sculpted statue-style figures with normal proportions in say 1:220 scale.
Conclusion
Overall I feel the F90 expansion sets are an interesting approach to developing already existing figures yet at the same time I can't imagine that there is a huge interest for an obscure machine such as the F90, especially considering the steep price. I actually don't mind Bandai milking their designs as much as possible but it would make much more sense if they worked on some of the more common designs. Imagine what they could do with Zaku or Gelgoog variation packs for example.
No comments:
Post a Comment