Mobile Suit Ensemble Part 22

Ensemble Part 22 has been out for a while now, released as it was in the pleasant summer month of July. With Bandai's recent output slowing down a bit over the last couple of months I have also taken it as an excuse to focus on some other projects. On the near horizon, part 23 is scheduled for release this month, perhaps the first couple of figures are already finding their way to consumers in Japan. It will feature a very eclectic suit selection, a brave choice as the market looks rather uncertain over the winter with all the recession crap going on.


Ideally I would have wanted to wait publishing the review until I could find at least one figure from the Gashapon vending machine range but so far all I have got my hands on are the boxed versions seen here. The figures themselves are the same of course but I will replace the topside banner with the Gacha booklet once one finally comes my way. The boxed versions on the other hand were easily available on Mandarake for a long time, and I grabbed some sets which were selling for ¥2500, at the nominal MSRP price of 500 yen per figure.


If Ensemble 23 is a bit eclectic in its selection then part 22 is very traditional, we have four figures from the mid-Universal Century eras of Stardust Memory and Zeta Gundam. The mobile suit choices themselves however are all really interesting, and traditionally each one of them is a bit of an underdog compared to the other suits they would be sharing their screen time with.



138 : RX-78GP03S Gundam GP03S "Dendrobium Stamen"


Perhaps it isn't really fair to call the Dendrobium Stamen an underdog - it is the final Pokemon evolution of the GP-01 Zephyranthes after all, and gets to sit in the center of an enormous mobile armor - but as a suit it looks rather bland compared to the blue and white colours of its predecessor. As a result the Ensemble figure is also really, really white except for some blue on the torso and its feet. I went over the thing with a marker pen and you will likely want to detail yours up as well. The potential to make it great is all there in the sculpt however.


The Stamen is a really traditional Ensemble build with a couple of extra thrusters to wrap around the hip. The most peculiar design choice is the multi-part shield. The thing is split in two halves and has a center component which the outer two edges latch on to. The assembly was sturdier than I anticipated but will still fall apart very quickly if you try to handle it which is frustrating. The shield sections are made of hard plastic this time, I would speculate that this may have been a result from seeing the soft and bendy shield that featured on the GP-01 Zephyranthes which didn't looks all that great either.


The Ensemble Gundam Project family now features the GP-01, GP-02A and GP03S (and will be crowned by a large Dendrobium mobile armor that releases in the Ensemble EX line this fall). I really would have liked to see the Zephyranthes Full Burner'n in this line-up but at this point I will be happy enough if the Ensemble series itself survives to Part 24 to begin with.






139 : AGX-04 Gerbera Tetra


Next up is a really interesting mobile suit choice, and one that no doubt presented a bit of a challenge for the designers. The suit has more in common with the Sazabi than the RX-78GP04 it is based upon, and so to pull it off within the retail figure budget constraints is quite impressive I think. The suit is again, very red, and will benefit greatly from some additional detailing. The large shoulders and wide head also limit articulation quite a bit but this is to be expected from so many Ensemble figures due to their small size and proportions.


We have a lot of unusual looking runners for this figure which might be a bit confusing at first. Where does that tiny red component next to the head go for example? Luckily the new Ensemble assembly guides that Bandai uploaded to youtube are really good at explaining which parts are used where although the lighting conditions in the videos sometimes make it hard to see what really goes on for the darker coloured components. Notice the head with a donut-shaped monoeye-ring (it sits on the runner with the beam rifle). I found that the eye has a will of its own and decided to let it stare wherever it pleases. I was less impressed with the back of the head, the gap between the two head armor components feels wider than it should be and also comes with an unsightly nub mark you'll want to take care of.






140 : MSK-008 Dijeh


I never thought the day would come when we would be presented with a Dijeh figure in the Ensemble line-up (I did however expect to see it pop-up in Converge in the E.F.S.F. dark blue colours when Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative was all the rage) yet here we are. Again the designers had to deliver something to match the 500 yen price-range and the result is not bad at all. The suit looks suitably chunky although the colour tone seems a bit more green than turquoise.


The only thing I don't think turned out that well for the Dijeh is its wings, which are made from bendy plastic. These are attached to ball joints in a very tight fit on the figures back and they end up very closely together. You can still bend the wings outwards a bit but as you can see in this example it can sometimes look a bit iffy.






141 : DODAI Kai


In the freestyle slot of Part 22 we this time find a mobile suit atmospheric sub-flight system of Zeta-era fame. The DODAI Kai system supports one or two mobile suits and the Ensemble figure can easily accommodate two as well but you will have to balance it well since its footprint is really small. The two handlebars up front are compatible with the Ensemble figure hands and lets you place figures in a leaning/lying down pose although I would never stress the joints of my figures with such exercises. :)


The DODAI Kai figure really functions like a miniature model kit and again the assembly instructions are really helpful, it is a pity that they are only found online. Bandai will cancel this figure line one day, and the Ensemble webpage will probably go down with it.


The figure comes with a specialized adapter plug that lets you firmly attach any standard Ensemble mobile suit to the flight unit. Good for when you want to run around the house with the Dijeh on its back and scream whoooooooosh! until mom kicks you out, but otherwise not that essential since it nullifies any custom posing. And on that note, there are plenty of circular peg holes on the body of the DODAI Kai which are compatible with the good old Assault Kingdom action bases. This lets you create much cooler poses but you'll have to work something out for the mobile suit as well.





142 : Equipment Set for Wave 22


The equipment pack for volume 22 is a simple affair this time, and features something for everyone. Notice that Bandai have omitted the inclusion of a standardized beam saber, something we used to see a lot in the past, I guess they are banking on most of the collectors drowning in those already. The lack of a pair of standardized expressive open hands also disappoints a little as you will only find those in the premium kits.


The Dendrobium Stamen gets its two collapsible folding bazookas - you know, for those times a 140 meter and 450 tonnes mobile armor just isn't cutting it. And as usual with Ensemble figures, you'll have a bit of an issue trying to do any interesting poses with them, limited as they are by the stubby and bulky arms characteristic of the series.


The Gerbera Tetra figure gets two new accessories. The most recognizable of these to me is the large Stürm Booster thruster-pack which is a disposable unit made up of additional thrusters and a pair of large fuel tanks. These are intended to be jettisoned after use although a more permanent assembly was proposed for the improved Gerbera Tetra Kai variant. The improved design was never completed following the suit's destruction. The second feature is a completely redesigned head which matches Bandai's premium "Roll Out version" of the Gerbera Tetra. I wasn't familiar with this form of the suit before I came across this figure and don't know if it has actually appeared in any other source than that kit itself.


I found the two designs of the Gerbera tetra interesting enough to keep two figures for the collection. I should equip one of them with a beam saber for some added variation.






The Dijeh also gets two new weapon choices. One is the obvious 30cm Clay Bazooka which is also used by the A.E.U.G. in the same era (and this accessory will be a perfect option for the Rick Dias that arrives in Ensemble Part 23 since the bazooka included with that figure appears to be much smaller? The second option is a Beam Naginata which reveals that the designers glanced heavily at the Gelgoog when they designed the Dijeh in the first place. The Dijeh is a mass-production (or at least limited production) type of suit so all of these choices help to round out your squadron.






Conclusion

I am really pleased with the contents of wave 22 and it should be an easy buy for all Ensemble fans out there. In addition, the DODAI Kai flight system can be used to spice up many of your displays in general. I wonder how well the set fared though when you consider the unusual suit selection. This in fact worries me a bit for the future of Ensemble. Wave 23 will (finally) introduce the Barbatos and a Graze mass-production suit for it to battle with as well as the new Gundam Aerial. This lacks the typical Universal Century firepower that seems to attract most collectors out there. The Aerial is also now being pumped out across all figure lines simultaneously which risks creating fatigue rather than hype but I hope it can become a bit of a vitamin injection that the Gashapon and Shokugan figure ranges seem to desperately need.