We're hanging out with the NEXT series again and this time with volume 05 which arrived in Gashapon machines sometimes around the end of 2011, most likely December. Since then these figures have been leading a very secret life away from the prying eyes of the secondary market. I finally stumbled on a set in 2020 and was very excited to finally strike some SD gold. At ¥2000 the set must be considered somewhat pricey so I am going to assume that they aren't all that easy to score in Japan either.
The set continues the NEXT tradition of pairing enemies with each other and then throwingin a character at the end, in this case in two variants. As usual with NEXT assembly is a quick affair due to the low number of frustrating joints that you have to contend with on the slightly more complex DASH and Senshi Forte figures.
01 : AGE-1S Gundam AGE-1 Spallow
While Delta vs. Shamblo is the main event for this set the actual Gashapon cardboard display has the AGE-1S listed as figure number one of the set so not sure what is up with that. The Spallow is a very sleek mobile suit and the super deformed format is not the right avenue to attempt to emulate it. I had similar complaints regarding the more recent Ensemble version of the suit and I think Bandai should just give it regular size limbs to avoid the balloon head effect.
The main armament of the Spallow is the anti-armor Shiguru Blade which has been reproduced in stylish white and green colour. The paint detail on the mobile suit itself is also very elegant with a lot of features present were other figures would just have a single colour.
02 : xvv-xc Zedas
The Spallow's lightweight and high mobility design was intended to counter the Zedas so it seems fitting that we get this rare bird in this volume. The Vagan forces are practically non-existent in figure form so here is a rare chance to own one. The suit retains a fair bit of the original design's character and flavour and has an attractive colour scheme to boot.
The components of the Vagan figures can be a little confusing since their build is a bit different from your average mobile suit build. The skirt armor for example can be worn in two different ways and the large Zedas Sword can be held either in hand or attached to the rear end used as a tail.
The flight mode sees the skirt armor extended to the sides and the beam attached in a tail-like fashion. There is no action base or similar for this mode so you will have to get a bit creative if this is how you want to display the figure.
Here we see the Zedas in its two modes as well as the very similar looking evolution the xvv-xcr Zedas R. The latter figure hails from Gashapon Warrior NEXT 06 where it goes up against the Gundam AGE-2 Normal.
03 : MSN-001A1 Delta Plus
The Delta Plus sits on the same development tree as the Hyaku-Shiki, both originating from the Delta Gundam (which in turn is canonically developed from the Rick Dias if you can entertain such a thought). At first sight it very much resembles the Zeta Plus which cannot be a bad thing now, can it? The figure has a really sexy colour scheme of dark gray and blue with glowing orange eyes. It comes armed with a beam rifle as well as a Zeta-style slim shield that attaches to the back of the arm.
The Delta Plus is a transformable suit but there are no half-baked gimmicks to transform the figure into the Waverider form. I wouldn't mind seeing some dedicated figures for these modes just like the ReZEL got a Waverider form in the old Bandai Digital Grade UC series.
04 : AMA-X7 Shamblo
The main course for this wave is definitely the enormous Shamblo mobile armor. With a height of about one and a half of your average MS and a length of 80 meters you are going to face some issues trying to squeeze it into a NEXT capsule. The figure still commands a respectable size and with the designers primarily representing its size through the width of the shoulders.
I initially had no clue how to assemble this figure and had to slowly figure it out by piecing it together one step at a time to see what would make the most sense. The final result isn't the most stable or flexible when it comes to posing but it does a reasonable job. The main gimmick is the articulation of the two claws. There is a large mega particle cannon inside the head as well but you will not notice it unless you know it is there.
If you want a more severe challenge for your SD figures you may consider the Gundam Converge version of the Shamblo which also retains some of the super deformed aesthetic. The only other option I can think of is the Mini Kit Collection scale model which is even smaller.
05 : Knight Gundam
The Knight Gundam is one of the most recognizable figures from the SD fantasy adventure series, perhaps together with the Musha Gundam. This suit or rather character is quite well represented in figure form including conversions into "realistic" mobile suit proportions. It Where the Musha goes heavily into the Samurai aesthetic the Knight Gundam takes every imaginable trope from medieval Europe and slaps it onto the figure, complete with full armor, cape and a large blade. The EFSF-like logo on the cape is a neat touch as well. The figure is often designed with more life-like eyes but the NEXT Knight goes for classic EFSF style Gundam eyes which I really like.
This variant of the figure is straight forward. The sword and shield are carried as most mobile suits would operate them and the cape is attached to a backpack-looking extension on the back of the torso. The fit is pretty awful though and the cape will often fall out at the slightest touch.
Here the NEXT version of the Knight Gundam stands next to 2017's Senshi Forte variant. While the two share a lot of features the end result is completely different. I don't know if there is any particular reason in the lore that explains the wildly different colouring but I would imagine the SF figure is a further refinement on the original design.
05 : Knight Gundam (Rare ver.)
The Knight Gundam comes in two flavours and the second variation has a little blurb in the booklet that my translating app calls the rare version. I am not sure that is the exact description and I am even more skeptical to one of the two being more rare than the other. I would assume these are distributed in either A or B form with every full set making them effectively half as common as the other figures in the set but I have nothing to back up that claim. All I know is that some of the last NEXT sets were distributed in such manner.
The most notable difference between the two figures is that the "rare" version loses the sword and cape and goes for a magnificent lance instead. It also loses the backpack and gets a centaur-like four legged main body instead. This transformation is a bit underwhelming on the figure but it is there if you want to use it.
The two variants of the Knight Gundam are easy to mix and match if you would like to have the lancer wear the cape (or why not dual wield its weapons) etc. but there is only one option for the shield which goes on the pg of the right arm.
Conclusion
Gashapon Warrior NEXT volume 05 is a neat set that brings a really varied and unusual selection of mobile suits (and mobile armor). As seems to be the case with the NEXT range of figures these are quite rare to come by online and the best bet would be to look into the local secondary market if you are able to.
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